thyroid overdose? t3?

[Mavs3982]

On Dec 1 2006, I found out that my TSH had gone up a ton. I was previously taking 30 mg of Armour Thyroid and in Jun of 06, my TSH was 1.1. I got the results back on 12/1 and my TSH was 13.1. SO, the dr said to go from 30 mg to 60 mg. I did, and noticed I wasn't feeling really great. I had a headache, but nothing too horrible. The next day(12/2), I accidentally took 90 mg, but went to 60 mg the following day. I noticed that once I took the dose, I had an immediate headache. It was within 15 mins. It stayed with me all day until the following day. Then, I went back down to 60mg, as directed, and felt absoultely wretched. The headache would not go away and I still have it.

I was put on prednisone and my doctor found out that prednisone inhibits t4 from converting to t3. So, I stopped taking the medication on Dec 17 and since then, the headache has gotten slightly better.



I am so sad and desperate for help. I have never heard of thyroid medication affecting someone so much. My pharmacy says that I may be sensitive to t3 (since when I took the medicine I would feel awful within 15 mins or so)



I know that t4 has a long half life and right now, I am not on any medication. Ironically, my TSH went from 13 to 11 since I've been off the meds. My pharmacist said the medicine could still be in my system .



Does anyone have any advice? I had been on 30 mg of armour for about a year and never had any problems. All I know is that as soon as I increased the dosage of this medicine, within MINUTES I got a headahce and now it's not going away.

[venora]

I say go back to where you felt good.It is my understanding that you cant just dose tsh with armour.You have to go by t3 and t4as well when you are on armourI know there are others on this board who can answer labs better than me like graveslady.

I would definatly stay where I felt good and never mind the tsh.

Love Venora

[Mavs3982]

the problem is that once the dose was increased, the dr put  me back to 30 mg.



the headache kept getting worse and worse the longer i kept taking the medicine. i stopped the medicine and its very sloooowly getting better.



but im stuck in bed and had to take a work leave because my headaches are so bad. im wondering why this happened.



i felt fine, increased the dosage, got HUGE Headache that is not going away...i dont get it.

[GravesLady]

Are you spreading out the med dose throughout the day?

Armour is harder to regulate in some patients and contains a much higher T3/T4 ratio than most humans need, after all, pigs have different thyroids and levels than humans. Liothyronine (T3) is almost totally absorbed 95 percent in 4 hours.  T3/T4 ratio of Armour  favors T3 much more than the normal human thyroid ratio.



Armour can cause hyper symptoms if the med dose is taken all at one time. Some people taking one dose notice some transient hyper symptoms (like headaches) within an hour. Dividing the dose and taking it 2-3 times daily can help with this.

The reason why there can be problems using Armour or cytomel (T3) especially if there is heart issues has to do with the life span and action of this particular chemical. It has a very short biological life compared to T4, and is also the form of thyroid hormone immediately used by cells. The T4 is continuously converted into T3 in the body as the body needs it. When you swallow a pill with T3 in it (whether it is Armour or cytomel) you are providing a spike of hormone that will be immediately used in cell metabolic functions. It could be that your body does not need the T3 at that point in time, but it gets it anyway. It is difficult then to provide enough of a constant of the hormone in the background, to avoid ups and downs. In someone with a wonky heart, these ups and downs and create problems.

Sometimes combining Armour with T4 leads to optimum levels, and therefore feeling better.  Or stop Armour completely.

[nmc00]

I found this website when I did a search for "Armour+headache".  I have had a headache for almost 3 months, non-stop!  I've had tests done on my sinuses, an MRI on my brain, and the dr. just prescribed a very low dose of blood pressure medicine.  (I've also been dealing with something called "cough headache" where I get shooting pains in my head whenever I bend over, cough, or sneeze - in other words, anything that puts pressure on my head.)But I'm thinking it's probably the Armour.  I had blood drawn today, but the results won't be back for at least a week.  My situation is similar to yours - I was on 45 mg., then he put me on 60.  I couldn't take the heart palpitations, so I went back to 45 (30 in the AM, 15 at night).  The headache started about 7 weeks later and hasn't let up yet.  I'm willing to wait on my doctor's report, but I'm curious - what do y'all think?  Nancy

[needhelp01]

have you had adrenal function cheked via 4x saliva not 1 time blood work?this may be your problem,i am to hypo,and on cortef for xtra support for armour,low adrenal function can make you feel really hypo wen labs look good,or hyper feelings on low doses of any thyroid meds.or shakes and nausea with back pain.

[Lindy43]

July 11, 2008
Hello,                                                                                  
My doctor increased my throid medication from .50 mg to 1.75 after lab work and within a few weeks my heart started pounding.  I could only sleep on my right side for several months, my family doctor immediately started decreasing the medication slowly,  I had to see a cardiologist and was treated with medication, yet I still have episodes of this even two years later. This was definitly an overdose.  Has anyone else experienced the same? I am a type two diabetic and this was certainly not something I needed to happen.
L.M. Mullen