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First I would like to say that i am a believer in holistic medicine as well as the modern medicine approach.It takes a combo of these two to heal us.
With that being said....
I am concerned about synthetics vs natural thyroid hormone debate.Let say that there is nothing in this world that didnt start out naturally up to and including the synthetic thyroid meds.Now to me I dont think it is natural to take little piggy hormones.But as we all know everyone is different.
I do believe however that Deity gave us these hormones so we could help our bodies help themselves.Be it "synthetic" or "natural" hormone.All of us know too well that what works for one amy not work for another.We just keep trying till we find what that works for us.
Personally I dont care what you call it I am for taking the med that will give me back my quality of life and make me feel better when my body wont do it for by its self be it snythetic or natural and since I have a cancer diagnosis I will be on the "synthetic" which is very natural to me.
I see so many people jumping on the natural bandwagon without understanding that ALL things come from natureNatures tears.Besides poisonAmmonia poisoning Campylobacter enteritis Contact dermatitis E. coli enteritis Food poisoning Lead poisoning Meningococcemia Methylmercury poisoning Poison control center - emergency number Poison ivy - oak - sumac Poison ivy - oak - sumac rash ivy is from natureNatures tears but we wouldnt eat it or rub it on our skin.
so to all of you that want to quit your meds because they arent "natural" please reconsider.It is too dangerous for you to be off your med.And if you arent feeling right on the med ,be persistant with your doc till you get the med you need to be your best.
your right about natural not always being better. I just want to try ArmourArmour thyroid because I figured out I feel almost like a different person on different brands of thyroid. I actually have a different look on different brands if u can believe that. So I'm wondering what i would feel like on ArmourArmour thyroid. I done with synthroid and switched back to generic brand thyroxine. I thought if i stayed on synthroid long enough i would get used to it and feel good but It never happened. Synthroid made me feel like i was going to have a stroke after I was on it for a while. So some people might just need to try another brand of thyroxine before trying armour. I probably won't try Armour for awhile since i need to get feeling good first for awhile and I already know the generic brand makes me feel good.
Also synthroid would get my pulse up to 120 when i was adjusting to it and my tsh was 3.8. No other brand got my pulse that high when adjusting to it. So if anybody doesn't feel good maybe u just need to switch brands b4 trying Armour. Also u might need a lower dose if u switch from synthroid to another. I needed a higher dose on synthroid. I was also bloated on synthroid and I was on it more than long enough to b adjusted to it. I wasted over 4 months on synthroid.Seems like the cheaper the brand the better i feel.
The list of ingredients in synthroid is longer than the others so maybe the extra stuff gets in the way. Who needs sugar with their thyroxine?
when i was first diagnosed.. they put me on synthroid.. it was a nightmare.. then..they gave me levoxyl.. once again a nightmare............ i did some research... here.. go to stopthethyroidmadness.com
i have been on armour thyroid for several years.. and couldnt be happier.
Information that I have gathered through the years.
The best thyroid medications is the medication which safely makes you feel your best. And there's no predetermined formula to tell which drug will be the best for you, until you try them all, find optimal doses, and see how you do over time.
Synthroid , Unithroid, Levoxyl and Levothroid thyroid hormone medications are not a chemical meant to trick our system in any way. It is not toxic like other medications since it is made the same as our naturally occurring thyroid hormone.
Taking T3 in pill form is like swallowing uppers because there's a immediate rush, and then a quick let down and it can have serious, adverse health consequences. I heard it called cocaine of thyroid drugs.
T3 is the most potent form of thyroid hormone and it is the form which enters directly into cell metabolism. T3 is no "magic" pill that will necessarily make you feel better. For some, T-3 might work, while others T-3 might not. I have heard of persons having to go off of it after a period of time because it was creating heart issues. Plus ending up with the same symptom as the reason for going on T-3.
Some people can not tolerate the smallest dose of T3, even cutting the smallest dose in half and developing some heart issues. We have T3 in our body so the natural breakdown of T4 into T3 absolutely must occur all the time because the cells use T3 not T4. But the natural breakdown occurs as you need it not when you pop it into your mouth. T3 has an extremely short biological life in the body, half-life of 8 hours or so, so it gives a high and then a low. T4 replacement has a relatively long life in the body, half-life of a week, so it is constantly there ready to be used over time. So the issue remains the same, you need to find the right dose of replacement. With T3 it is harder to manage finding that right dose, and it also is much more dangerous to overdo.
Cytomel may decrease T4 and if labs are done before cytomel dose, it will make the T3 look low as well..
Armour has slightly more T3 relative to T4 than the human body produces
Influx of T3 (Armour has a 4:1 ratio of T4 to T3 while the human body is more like 9:1) will accelerate heart rate and cause defibrillation. It's not the Armour per se--it's the T3.
Armour Thyroid will initially make people lacking T3 feel better, but over time, the level of tissue T3 builds up and then you feel bad again. Supposedly because the proportions in Armour are 80% T4 and 20% T3...that does not match the body's natural state, which is 98% T4 and 2 % T3.
T3 is much more potent than T4, so if T3 levels get too high you feel bad again.
For many people the slight increase is fine but some people can have problems. Also Armour can cause hyper symptoms if the med dose is taken all at one time.
T-3 alone or Armour should be used with caution in patients with cardiovascular disease, including hypertension. The development of chest pain or other exacerbation of cardiovascular symptoms will.
Pork allergies may make these products problematic for some people. There are some people and practitioners who are also concerned about these products due to fears of prion-related diseases such as Mad Cow Disease, despite manufacturer assurances that these products are safe.
There are no convincing studies showing difficulty in converting T4 to T3 except in extremely rare or clinically obvious conditions. Failure to convert T4 to T3 at anything like a normal rate will lead to a compensatory increase in TSH, which will overcome any potential block.
Also, there is no current evidence of any advantages of taking natural thyroid extract over synthetic thyroxine. The disadvantages are that because it is made from pooled thyroid glands from animals, which may vary from batch to batch in their thyroxine levels, the exact dose of thyroxine cannot be estimated precisely. Therefore one dose from one batch of tablets may well create different thyroxine levels from the same dose in a second batch of tablets.
Also synthroid would get my pulse up to 120 when i was adjusting to it and my tsh was 3.8. No other brand got my pulse that high when adjusting to it. So if anybody doesn't feel good maybe u just need to switch brands b4 trying Armour. Also u might need a lower dose if u switch from synthroid to another. I needed a higher dose on synthroid. I was also bloated on synthroid and I was on it more than long enough to b adjusted to it. I wasted over 4 months on synthroid.Seems like the cheaper the brand the better i feel.
The list of ingredients in synthroid is longer than the others so maybe the extra stuff gets in the way. Who needs sugar with their thyroxine?
I must agree and know what youre thinking!!!! Womens' Intuition!!
i have been on armour thyroid for several years.. and couldnt be happier.
The best thyroid medications is the medication which safely makes you feel your best. And there's no predetermined formula to tell which drug will be the best for you, until you try them all, find optimal doses, and see how you do over time.
Synthroid , Unithroid, Levoxyl and Levothroid thyroid hormone medications are not a chemical meant to trick our system in any way. It is not toxic like other medications since it is made the same as our naturally occurring thyroid hormone.
Taking T3 in pill form is like swallowing uppers because there's a immediate rush, and then a quick let down and it can have serious, adverse health consequences. I heard it called cocaine of thyroid drugs.
T3 is the most potent form of thyroid hormone and it is the form which enters directly into cell metabolism. T3 is no "magic" pill that will necessarily make you feel better. For some, T-3 might work, while others T-3 might not. I have heard of persons having to go off of it after a period of time because it was creating heart issues. Plus ending up with the same symptom as the reason for going on T-3.
Some people can not tolerate the smallest dose of T3, even cutting the smallest dose in half and developing some heart issues. We have T3 in our body so the natural breakdown of T4 into T3 absolutely must occur all the time because the cells use T3 not T4. But the natural breakdown occurs as you need it not when you pop it into your mouth. T3 has an extremely short biological life in the body, half-life of 8 hours or so, so it gives a high and then a low. T4 replacement has a relatively long life in the body, half-life of a week, so it is constantly there ready to be used over time. So the issue remains the same, you need to find the right dose of replacement. With T3 it is harder to manage finding that right dose, and it also is much more dangerous to overdo.
Cytomel may decrease T4 and if labs are done before cytomel dose, it will make the T3 look low as well..
Armour has slightly more T3 relative to T4 than the human body produces
Influx of T3 (Armour has a 4:1 ratio of T4 to T3 while the human body is more like 9:1) will accelerate heart rate and cause defibrillation. It's not the Armour per se--it's the T3.
Armour Thyroid will initially make people lacking T3 feel better, but over time, the level of tissue T3 builds up and then you feel bad again. Supposedly because the proportions in Armour are 80% T4 and 20% T3...that does not match the body's natural state, which is 98% T4 and 2 % T3.
T3 is much more potent than T4, so if T3 levels get too high you feel bad again.
For many people the slight increase is fine but some people can have problems. Also Armour can cause hyper symptoms if the med dose is taken all at one time.
T-3 alone or Armour should be used with caution in patients with cardiovascular disease, including hypertension. The development of chest pain or other exacerbation of cardiovascular symptoms will.
Pork allergies may make these products problematic for some people. There are some people and practitioners who are also concerned about these products due to fears of prion-related diseases such as Mad Cow Disease, despite manufacturer assurances that these products are safe.
There are no convincing studies showing difficulty in converting T4 to T3 except in extremely rare or clinically obvious conditions. Failure to convert T4 to T3 at anything like a normal rate will lead to a compensatory increase in TSH, which will overcome any potential block.
Also, there is no current evidence of any advantages of taking natural thyroid extract over synthetic thyroxine. The disadvantages are that because it is made from pooled thyroid glands from animals, which may vary from batch to batch in their thyroxine levels, the exact dose of thyroxine cannot be estimated precisely. Therefore one dose from one batch of tablets may well create different thyroxine levels from the same dose in a second batch of tablets.
Thats my two cents worth, well, dollar worth ;)
GL
GravesDiseaseAndRAI