Starting armour thyroid

[ynnie]

Have been on others for 5 yr's weight gain like mad have gained at 40lbs, Have had half of my thyroid taken out. Dry hair, skin, and lately i'am always tried and can not sleep. Just wondering if this will make me lost at least some of the weight that I gained over the past 5 yr's I never weighed over 135 and then came the weight a few pounds at a time. by the way I have tried ever deit in the world it seems, My doc says that this will help me not be tried and maybe lose some of this weight. It is driving me crazy. Never had to diet ever in my life time and people are telling me once you gain the weight you will neve lose it.

[gimel]

We'd like to help any way we can.  Hypo patients frequently continue having symptoms because the doctor only pays attention to TSH, instead of Free T4 and Free T3.  That doesn't work.  Also, hypo patients taking T4 meds often find that their body does not adequately convert the T4 to T3.  So a look at your test results will help assess your status.  

So, please post your thyroid related test results from the time before you stopped taking the Levo/Synthroid, along with reference ranges shown on the lab report.  Also, what was the diagnosed cause for you being hypothyroid?  If tested for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, please post those as well.  

[cherbel]

I just stopped taking synthroid, have had nothing for 4 weeks. Went in for my blood draw today and told my doctor that I want Armour and nothing but!! I tried both Levo and Synthroid. I as well, gained about 70 pounds. That sure doesn't help when you fell like crap, brain fog, muscle weakness +++ So I'm waiting for my doctor to get back to me. I won't take anything else. I have to try something new. I pray it works for me. I'm tired of being a mess. Are you still doing well on Armour? How is the weight now? I see it's been a few years since you left this message so thought I would ask how you are doing? ;o) Hope all is well. My Tsh came back today 9.3 ( is that really "that" bad ??? )

[joaba]

I am in the UK

[gimel]

This is a very old thread and I doubt you will get an answer from j1387204.  Where are you located?  I ask because that can affect the ability to get some thyroid meds.  

[joaba]

Hi,

Did you get your Armour from the doctor, as I have had no luck trying to get it.

[gimel]

Please post your thyroid test results and their reference ranges shown on the lab report, so that members can assess your current status..  

I think you can be optimistic that the Armour thyroid med can help you.  It is now mostly a matter of getting your Free T3 and Free T4 levels high enough to relieve your hypo symptoms.   I struggled for years with hypo symptoms until I finally got my doctor to give me a therapeutic trial of Synthroid.  This helped a lot.  The dose had to be continually increased until I was taking 200 mcg daily, but still had lingering hypo symptoms, including low metabolism.  After finding this Forum and learning about the importance of Free T3, I got mine tested and confirmed low, even though my Free T4 was at the very high end of the range.  

My doctor switched me to Armour and I started feeling better.  Unfortunately shortly after that Armour was not available for a while.  During this time I gained 18 pounds.  When Armour became available again, I went back on it and after some tweaking my Free T3 is now 3.9 (range of 2.3 - 4.2) and Free T4 is .84 (range of .60 - 1.50) and I feel best ever.    Along with this, over the last 6 months or so, I have lost 17 pounds, without changing anything at all regarding my eating habits and exercise routine.  So this was the result of getting my metabolism back up to normal for my age, weight and height.

Weight is primarily a result of our calorie intake, the amount of activity we have, and our metabolic rate.   When the metabolic rate is less than normal for a person, it becomes very difficult to lose weight without an enormous effort to reduce calories, or increase physical activity.  Even if you are successful in the latter, it becomes almost impossible to maintain the weight loss over the long term.  That is probable why we hear people say things like "once you gain the weight you will never lose it".  I disagree with that, if the basic cause is due to abnormally low metabolic rate related to having low levels of Free T3 and Free T4.  

The most important part of successful treatment for hypothyroidism is having a good thyroid doctor that will treat you clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results.  You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he consults with from a distance.  The letter is sent to the PCP of the patient to help guide treatment.

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf

[j1387204]

Hi there - I started Armour a couple of months ago (July this year) after doctors kept me on synthetic for 3 years.  I kid you not, I'm in the UK and I was always a size 8, weighed between 7st10 and 7st12, I'm 5'3".  In the three years, despite no change in my diet (in fact I used to eat more before I got ill!) my weight has literally doubled.  I became an emotional wreck, combined with the fact that I'm on medication for bipolar disorder the thyroid made me feel like I wanted to die.  I was self-harming and started a cycle of vomiting that I still can't quite control.
Since being on Armour, I've dropped a bit of weight, and one of the big helps has been the fact that I no longer feel ill the moment I start to exercise.  I used to take days to recover from a quick aerobics session (really!).  I gained a ton more weight than you have and I'm already feeling the difference, the fact that I'm on an effective treatment, combined with the fact that I can now exercise and enjoy my hobbies again (no more brain fog!).

I have literally doubled my body weight and for a long time that was terrifying to me - I am still angry and frustrated at my doctors who didn't listen, especially some of the nasty female doctors whom I went to for a second opinion after I was already diagnosed, who told me "to join Weightwatchers" when I was clearly upset and had no control over my badly managed problem.  Some people tell you that the weight will never go  (these seem to be scare stories, mostly found on gossipy websites and magazines), some people say the weight "drops off" with Armour (which would be lovely if true, but I think it just makes it easier!).

Don't despair about the weight never coming off - I've been tearing myself to bits over it for three years and now that I'm on Armour, I finally feel hopeful that my body shape will slowly ease back to normal.  Your weight worries are a fraction of mine, once your Armour dose is optimal I'm sure you'll notice the change. :) I feel like I'm getting my life back after three painful, embarrassing years.  All the best of luck!