Armour and Cytomel

[KT1969]

I have been on Armour for 5 months now and starting to feel better and dropping some weight. (15lbs.after gaining 50lbs.)  20lbs. of that was in four months on synthroid.  My TSH just came back at .06 and my Dr. said I was overmedicated where I actually feel like my Armour should be upped because of symptoms not all gone.  She wanted to put me back on Synthroid with Cytomel added as well.  Would this be the same as taking armour because I would be getting both T3 and T4?  And Is it possible to just add Cytomel in while taking the Armour.  I am on 120mg now of Armour and have no side effects.  I have taken as much as 240mg and still not side effects.  Can you suggest what to do?

[goolarra]

The reason a lot of doctors don't like to use Armour is that it contains T4:T3 in a ratio of approximately 4-5:1.  The normal human thyroid produces T4:T3 in a ratio of about 20:1.  So, Armour has a lot of T3 in it compared to what your thyroid would produce if it were healthy.  All kinds of combos work for different people, but I would guess that adding T3 to Armour would be a real double whamy of T3.  You'd have to watch your free T3 really carefully to avoid toxicosis.  Synthroid and Cytomel together are similar to Armour, but it's easier to control the ratio of the two because they're two separate products.  However, different things work for different people.

Do you have free T3 and free T4 results?

[goolarra]

Another thought - if you're doing well on Armour, you might want to consider lowering your Armour dose a bit and adding Synthroid to get a better T4:T3 balance.  Just an idea you might run by your doctor.

[laura1967]

When using Armour, your doctor should be dosaging you by your free t3 and free t4 levels not your TSH. A lot of patients fail on Armour due to drs not treating appropriately to the free's. They look at a supressed tsh and think you are overmedicated.
Most importantly is how you feel.
If your dr isn't willing to do this, then you may be better off with synthroid and cytomel both.....but then again, you may need to find a dr who understands the importance of free t3 adn freet4 testing and proper "normal levels". Normal doesn't mean normal.