Armour and Hashi's

[aiko_an]

Well. I was diagnosed with Hashi's about two months ago. I started doing my research then, on the best thyroid meds available, so that I can start feeling my best again (I had hypo symptoms).  I found out that Armour is what works best for lots and lots of people...so I had my dad (who's a doc)  prescribe me some instead of the an T4 only med.

But here's my doubt/fear.

I started to read around that Armour may cause thyroid antibodies to RISE....that makes me very very nervous, because I retested my antibodies and they were almost completely gone...and taking Armour now and seeing them go through the roof will make me very upset.

so I'd like to know if anyone taking Armour and who has Hashi's, has seen their antibodies rise/stayed the same/ gone down?


Any input on this would be great.


Thanks in advance!

[stella5349]

Mine have lowered.

Antibodies are not effected by T3 meds.

Most find adding selenium to their thyroid treatment when they  have Hashi's suppress them.

[Barb135]

I've been taking selenium daily for about 3-4 months.  Although, my antibody levels were higher on the last test done, the selenium seems to keep them "rampaging" so much.  So long as I take it daily, I don't have the symptoms (swollen neck, choking feeling, etc) like I had before I started it.  

I a bio-citrate selenium capsule that is supposed to be absorbed more readily into the body.  Seems to do better than the caplets I had before.  

[aiko_an]

Hello! thank you so much for your replies. I also take Selenium daily. About 200mcgs actually. I also have my antibodies lowered, don't know if because of Selenium or proper treatment..but Im very glad.

[aiko_an]

Barb135, what is bio-citrate Selenium?? and where can I get it, if it's better then the capsules?

[stella5349]

From what I read about Barb's Selenium product is it is "an express" absorption method.

Most products that have the work "citrate" attached to it is a quicker absorption formula

Truly Barb, I forgot about that citrate formula.

What do you notice on it compared to the old stuff?

[aiko_an]

Sounds interesting. I'd also like to know what the difference is.

[Barb135]

The biggest thing I notice is that "it works" - the others didn't.  

I'm not a chemist, so I can't really tell you the chemical difference between the citrate and the oxide forms, but I've read several articles stating that the citrate form is much more readily absorbed by the body.  

The "old stuff" I took was a drug store brand in a LARGE pill style, hard for me to swallow and didn't seem to do anything for me at all and I began to wonder if my body was even absorbing it and I believe that was probably the truth because within a few days of beginning these "new" capsules, the choking, swelling, soreness in my neck started getting better.  I can also tell a difference if I miss a couple of days - I start feeling miserable again.  

I don't know if I'm allowed to post it, but the brand is Solaray and I purchased it at the Vitamin Shoppe - I'm sure other health food stores would also carry it (or something similar).  I'm wondering if it's the fact that they come in a capsule form rather than a pill or caplet.  

I purchased the same brand/style of magnesium and calcium.  I honestly believe there is a huge difference in all three of the minerals.  Within a few days of beginning the magnesium, I noticed that the muscle/joint pain was not nearly so bad either.  Now I feel better about taking the calcium too because I feel like it's probably doing a lot more good than the old tablets I used to take.  I have osteopenia so I take calcium on doctor's orders - I hope my next dexa shows some improvement.  

[aiko_an]

Hey Barb!
Thank you so much for the information. I probably will check for the selenium citrate today at the vitamin store at the mall Im going. I really do feel better while taking selenium on a daily basis. Before I used to get a lot of pain on my neck area, even though my thyroid antibodies were never that high...they were barely positive and still causing quite some damage...but ever since I introduced selenium into my daily routine, Ive noticed that the pain has slowly diminished. So I cant imagine how the citrate form can make me feel :) Im so glad I fond out about this. Last time I checked my thyroid antibodies the wre almost at zero...so below the negative mark...I really hope the selenium citrate works for me too.

Btw, remember not to take your magnesium or even less calcium pills close to when you take your thyroid medication. They should be at the very least 4 hours apart from eachother. Calcium inhibits proper absorption of the thyroid meds, so be careful ;)

take care! and thanks again