can NDT cause itching?

[AnnaS69]

I was on Armour for a year but couldn't find a dosage which relieved all of my symptoms. On 30 mg or 5 grains daily, my FT3 and FT4 levels were mid-range, and my TSH suppressed. Body temp too low, fluid retention worsened (I used to be on 200 mcg of thyroxine daily).

A few months ago, I managed to get Erfa although the script was for Armour. I immediately started to feel better (I have not have labs done yet so no idea what my FTs look like on Erfa) but, after about 8 weeks on Erfa, I started itching all over. I can itch for days (literally from head to toe, including my scalp), then it goes away for a few days or even a couple of weeks, then comes back with a vengeance. The past two days have been horrible.

I feel great on Erfa except for this, although I don't know if the itching has anything to do with Erfa. I take 5.5 grains of Erfa as opposed to 5 grains of Armour, as there is slightly less T3 and T4 in Erfa.

Is itching a sign of overdosing, or could it be related to my adrenals? I recently had cortisol and aldosterone checked; my 8 am cortisol levels were 11 (ref 5-20), and my aldosterone levels were 35 pg/ml (ref 30-146). My doctor said those levels are perfectly normal, and that my adrenals are fine.

I have Hashimoto's, was diagnosed in 2001, and was on thyroxine (working my way up to 200 mcg) for 11 years, before being switched to Armour last year. It seems I was hypo for about five years before being diagnosed.

Has anyone else experienced itching on Erfa? I have been wondering if I am allergic or oversensitive to one of the fillers? But, in that case, would I not be itching all the time, and not just sometimes?

On 200 mcg of thyroxine, my FT4 levels were only mid-range at best, my FT3 levels suboptimal, which is why I was deemed a suitable candidate for NDT.

[AnnaS69]

Interesting! I have tried both 30, 60, and 125 pills, and the smaller pills are definitely worse as far as the itching is concerned...however, I feel slightly better overall on the smaller pills of Erfa...I agree with you, it's hard to know what to do! I have been tempted to try Armour Thyroid, but so many seem unhappy with it...it's really confusing! Unfortunately, where I live, only Armour and Erfa are readily available.

[Cowboyiride]

I've been taking Erfa since the spring. I just renewed my prescription two weeks ago and the itch started. All in all I'm feeling good on ERFA but this itch is driving me nuts. I don't know what to do :-(

[ahmee]

Oops... obviously I did not intend to reply to myself in that last post, but to you Anna!

[ahmee]

Well, your labs look good going by the rule of thumb of FT4 at least 50% of range and FT3 upper two-thirds of range. TSH doesn't matter obviously, as for many people it becomes completely suppressed when on meds containing T3.

It seems that different brands of dessicated work for differently for each person. There are many people who post here who are on Armour-- it still seems to be the most popular brand, maybe because it's been around forever. I'm on Naturethroid, and while I haven't tried other brands to compare, it definitely works for me. I do chew it up in an effort to counteract the cellulose, though I am not certain it makes much of a difference. I still think you may benefit from switching to another brand if all your hypo symptoms have resolved and the only side effect you are having is itching. Itching makes me think you are reacting to a filler, as it is a common allergic reaction and I have not heard of it in connection to hypo or adrenal symptoms. Do you have other symptoms that make you think adrenals are a problem?

[AnnaS69]

Thanks for commenting! I was under the impression that Nature-Throid reformulated shortly after Armour, and was rendered more or less useless, too?

Here are my latest labs (from July) on 300 mg of Erfa:

free T4 1.3 (0.8-1.8)
free T3 4.1 (ref 2.2-4.2)
cortisol blood 8 am 10.5 (ref 5.5-20)

TSH completely suppressed.

I have been wondering if Erfa contains too much sugar for me, or if my adrenals are too weak to handle the onslaught of direct T3?  It seems they should be close to or even at the upper normal range at 8 am, whereas mine are mid-range at best?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[ahmee]

Okay, so it looks like MedHelp doesn't like the website I linked to. But just google "armour vs other brands" and you will come up with the page I was talking about. I am by no means a STTM devotee, but that page is very handy for discerning which brands have what fillers.