Armour Thyroid Med.

[Joni686]

I am about to start taking Armour for Hypothyroidism.  Two questions.  Does anyone know if it will raise my blood pressure and/or heart rate as I already have problems in this area and don't want to increase my heart rate.  I am on two blood pressure/ heart rates meds now.  Second question, does anyone know how long it will take to kick in?  I am starting out on the smallest dose possible and each week increasing.
Thanks,
Joni

[Joni686]

I have lupus and recently it has caused me to have vasculitis around my heart.  Basically lupus is an inflamatory disease.  I have SLE which can affect your organs as opposed to discoid lupus which affects your skin.  Anyway, the blood vessels around my heart are inflamed which causes my heart to have to work harder especially if I am standing, walking or even something as simple as brushing my teeth has caused my heart rate to go up to 160.  I was in the hospital in January but am home now trying to control it with steroids, two heart meds and Imuran which is a type of chemo.  Once the chemo kicks in (it's been about three weeks I have been on it) then once it kicks in the vasculitis should start to go away.  I was hoping it would go away with the steroids but even this week I have had some heart rate issues.  So, that is why I have an irregular heart rate, for now.  I spoke with the PA at my cardiologist and she said it was ok to go ahead and take it but I have learned that they pretty much just guess and people who have actually been on it know a lot more.  Plus if I was taking as much of the blood pressure medicine as he wanted me to take I don't think I would wake up.  It had lowered it too much.  So I just messed with it until I got it right.  If there is anything I have learned from being chronically ill the last year and a half is we have to be our own advocates and if we feel we are not getting all the information we have to find a way.
Have you been on Armour?  I am really hoping it works.  I have so many symptoms from the lupus, I don't even know what the hypothyroidism is doing to me and what the lupus is doing.  lol

[laura1967]

It will take a couple of weeks before you start to feel any difference....and it also depends upon if you are on a high enough dosage.
What did your dr say about the possibility of it increasing your heart rate?  Do you have a medical reason they have found for increased heart rate?