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side effects of armour? Mood and energy
Hello
I recently went onto armour from cytomel. I switched to 1 1/2 grain from 15 mcg of cytomel. I have been tired, and really cold with dry skin, so I switched to 2 grains. I am feeling lower mood-wise now. Is this normal?
Cytomel used to help my depression, but this is making my mood a little worse. yesterday I tried isocort because my doc suspects adrenal fatigue but I could not handle it because it also made my mood more depressed./
I recently went onto armour from cytomel. I switched to 1 1/2 grain from 15 mcg of cytomel. I have been tired, and really cold with dry skin, so I switched to 2 grains. I am feeling lower mood-wise now. Is this normal?
Cytomel used to help my depression, but this is making my mood a little worse. yesterday I tried isocort because my doc suspects adrenal fatigue but I could not handle it because it also made my mood more depressed./
Stella,
You seem very knowledgable and I was hoping you could help me though adjusting my armour. I have no thyroid (RAI) and took 1.5 grains of armour 1X day for a year with no problems. Almost overnight, my TSH raised to 5.8 and my FT3 dropped to 2.3, FT4 .61 so I needed to raise my armour. Ever since this time, I have struggled. I had a doctor put me on IsoCort who never tested me first (mistake #1) and I have been taking the higher dose of Armour in 1x day (mistake #2).
My ACTH test is good, AM Cortisol Test good, Vitamin D levels normal (now after supplementing), take Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin C (500 only), progesterone and estradiol. My current Armour dose is 1.75 with TSH of .069, FT3 3.0, FT4 .96, I have dry skin, acne, mood swings, irritability, light sensitivity, weight gain, irregular bowels, etc. When I tried to lower my dose (per my doc), they got worse! I feel better on 2.0 grains but after a week, I start to backslide with feel overmedicated.
I don't like to take Armour subligually...it gives me the jitters. How can I dose it best? It seems I do good on 1.5 grains in the AM. If I add the .5 grains before lunch, how will this affect my levels or should I go back to the lower dose and add only .25? Does splltting the dose affect how much you actually need to take?
Debbie
You seem very knowledgable and I was hoping you could help me though adjusting my armour. I have no thyroid (RAI) and took 1.5 grains of armour 1X day for a year with no problems. Almost overnight, my TSH raised to 5.8 and my FT3 dropped to 2.3, FT4 .61 so I needed to raise my armour. Ever since this time, I have struggled. I had a doctor put me on IsoCort who never tested me first (mistake #1) and I have been taking the higher dose of Armour in 1x day (mistake #2).
My ACTH test is good, AM Cortisol Test good, Vitamin D levels normal (now after supplementing), take Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin C (500 only), progesterone and estradiol. My current Armour dose is 1.75 with TSH of .069, FT3 3.0, FT4 .96, I have dry skin, acne, mood swings, irritability, light sensitivity, weight gain, irregular bowels, etc. When I tried to lower my dose (per my doc), they got worse! I feel better on 2.0 grains but after a week, I start to backslide with feel overmedicated.
I don't like to take Armour subligually...it gives me the jitters. How can I dose it best? It seems I do good on 1.5 grains in the AM. If I add the .5 grains before lunch, how will this affect my levels or should I go back to the lower dose and add only .25? Does splltting the dose affect how much you actually need to take?
Debbie
Liz - I think Stella was discussing isocort. I have no idea what it is! LOL - what did your doc want you to try it for? I don't know anything about that drug but would be interested in its uses.
Hi Mommy2two,
I noticed you mentioned isocort. I just tried this supplement and had a very strong reaction to it. It made me very depressed and my vision was blurry. The doc did an adrenal stim test but the results haven't come back yet. He wanted me to start isocort and see if it helped. Do you think that I don't need cortisol based on my strong reaction to one isocort pill?
I noticed you mentioned isocort. I just tried this supplement and had a very strong reaction to it. It made me very depressed and my vision was blurry. The doc did an adrenal stim test but the results haven't come back yet. He wanted me to start isocort and see if it helped. Do you think that I don't need cortisol based on my strong reaction to one isocort pill?
Until now I did not tested for any adrenal issues.
All these years I was tested TSH, FT3 and FT4.
But on 7th of this month I was tested for VIT B12 and D as an addition.
I am on Armour 60 mg.
I am not so sure that my doctor will listen to me if I ask for additional testing, as he is pretty much concerned about the normal range of the TSH.
All these years I was tested TSH, FT3 and FT4.
But on 7th of this month I was tested for VIT B12 and D as an addition.
I am on Armour 60 mg.
I am not so sure that my doctor will listen to me if I ask for additional testing, as he is pretty much concerned about the normal range of the TSH.
Ok so it is proven you are Vit D and B deficient - that tells alot on why the Armour may be not right yet.
With thse issues and the amount of Synthroid w/ cytomel added your switch to Armour 90mgs maybe was a bit high - with the possibility of adrenal fatigue being a problem for you too.
You might winde up in a situation where you may have to start all over in dosing with Armour now - if you continue to be on the Isocort. This will be hard to go through b/c your body will now need to "restart" the program again and hypo may set in as it is right now.
You might want to discuss with your doctor a two week dismissal of Armour while adjusting to the Isocort. Then after two weeks begin dosing at 60mgs of Armour ( splitting the dosage at least 2x's a day - or best would be 4x's a day in 15mg amounts.
After a two week on this procedure - along with the HC administering dosages - retest again the TSH - FT3 and FT4. Most likely your TSH levels will still be higher than what will be needed and the Free's will still need tweeking also. At this time after testing it may be helpful for your doctor to increase your meds to a 90mg throughout the day - ( you make the call on how you want to split that.
example: - If you need more in the am - like many do - taking a 60mg in the first part of the morning then a 15mg later and an additional 15mg again - no later than 2pm. Stay on that for another 3 weeks and possibly add an addition 15mgs for another week.
Retest again.
This may help give the adrenals time to re-start cycling again to restore better levels and with the much slower increases on Armour - your body may except the adjustments more evenly and dumps and highs will slow down for you.
In addition to the HC - if you chose to continue that - adding Acetyl - L Carnitine for adrenal support may help and you need to run that past your doctor too.
Your increasing your vit's now and in addition you need to look into adding maybe a Vit C along with this mix to detox and keep your adrenal levels healthyof repair too. Your doctor should approve you moving into a 1500mg VitC to start and see where you are with that adding to the mix.
You have alot of things going on that seem to be working against your Armour to relieve your symptoms.
Unfortunately you need to repair those issues first - before your symptoms start to improve. Some it takes months and other a bit sooner - just depend on how out of whack you are.
I am still concerned over if you had the right testing to even start HC - Were those tests done? If it is just speculation on the adrenals being weak - then there are many things available to assist them too without depending on HC to get them in check.
Personally - I am leery of starting HC when I was adrenal fatigued. I committed to supplements for many months to see if I could jump start them first.
That is only my history and for some you need it - Testing is so beneficial to really know.
With thse issues and the amount of Synthroid w/ cytomel added your switch to Armour 90mgs maybe was a bit high - with the possibility of adrenal fatigue being a problem for you too.
You might winde up in a situation where you may have to start all over in dosing with Armour now - if you continue to be on the Isocort. This will be hard to go through b/c your body will now need to "restart" the program again and hypo may set in as it is right now.
You might want to discuss with your doctor a two week dismissal of Armour while adjusting to the Isocort. Then after two weeks begin dosing at 60mgs of Armour ( splitting the dosage at least 2x's a day - or best would be 4x's a day in 15mg amounts.
After a two week on this procedure - along with the HC administering dosages - retest again the TSH - FT3 and FT4. Most likely your TSH levels will still be higher than what will be needed and the Free's will still need tweeking also. At this time after testing it may be helpful for your doctor to increase your meds to a 90mg throughout the day - ( you make the call on how you want to split that.
example: - If you need more in the am - like many do - taking a 60mg in the first part of the morning then a 15mg later and an additional 15mg again - no later than 2pm. Stay on that for another 3 weeks and possibly add an addition 15mgs for another week.
Retest again.
This may help give the adrenals time to re-start cycling again to restore better levels and with the much slower increases on Armour - your body may except the adjustments more evenly and dumps and highs will slow down for you.
In addition to the HC - if you chose to continue that - adding Acetyl - L Carnitine for adrenal support may help and you need to run that past your doctor too.
Your increasing your vit's now and in addition you need to look into adding maybe a Vit C along with this mix to detox and keep your adrenal levels healthyof repair too. Your doctor should approve you moving into a 1500mg VitC to start and see where you are with that adding to the mix.
You have alot of things going on that seem to be working against your Armour to relieve your symptoms.
Unfortunately you need to repair those issues first - before your symptoms start to improve. Some it takes months and other a bit sooner - just depend on how out of whack you are.
I am still concerned over if you had the right testing to even start HC - Were those tests done? If it is just speculation on the adrenals being weak - then there are many things available to assist them too without depending on HC to get them in check.
Personally - I am leery of starting HC when I was adrenal fatigued. I committed to supplements for many months to see if I could jump start them first.
That is only my history and for some you need it - Testing is so beneficial to really know.
Let me tell you my long story short.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism nov-2006 then I was on levothyroxine(25 mcg) for 6 weeks and my blood work was done, but my results showed I am hypo so my dosage got increased to 50 mcg then blood work then dosage increase, so I was on 75 mcg of synthroid then 100 mcg and until January 9th of this year I was on synthroid 112 mcg. All these years I never feel better.
I had worst symptoms like brain fog, joint pains, memory loss, stress, loss of interest, exhausted, fatigue.
Then I had my blood work for TSH,FT3,FT4, VIT-D and VIT-B12 on January 7th of this year. Usually I used to take synthroid during the night time, so when I had the test on 7th the day before (6th night at 11PM I had my medicine). My blood is drawn on 7th morning around 10:45.
My VIT-D and B12 results are :
Vitamin D,25-Hydroxy: 16.4 ng/ml(32.0-100.0): For this I am taking vitamin D 50000IU capsule once a week.
Vitamin B12: 182 pg/ml(211-911): For this I am taking a B12 shot (1ml) once a month. (I had my first shot on 16th)
I am not taking synthroid now, completely stopped the day I started taking armour thyroid.
I did not know that the armourthyroid should be splitted until I visited this website, the dosage increase.
I have never tested whaever the tests you have said.
thank you
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism nov-2006 then I was on levothyroxine(25 mcg) for 6 weeks and my blood work was done, but my results showed I am hypo so my dosage got increased to 50 mcg then blood work then dosage increase, so I was on 75 mcg of synthroid then 100 mcg and until January 9th of this year I was on synthroid 112 mcg. All these years I never feel better.
I had worst symptoms like brain fog, joint pains, memory loss, stress, loss of interest, exhausted, fatigue.
Then I had my blood work for TSH,FT3,FT4, VIT-D and VIT-B12 on January 7th of this year. Usually I used to take synthroid during the night time, so when I had the test on 7th the day before (6th night at 11PM I had my medicine). My blood is drawn on 7th morning around 10:45.
My VIT-D and B12 results are :
Vitamin D,25-Hydroxy: 16.4 ng/ml(32.0-100.0): For this I am taking vitamin D 50000IU capsule once a week.
Vitamin B12: 182 pg/ml(211-911): For this I am taking a B12 shot (1ml) once a month. (I had my first shot on 16th)
I am not taking synthroid now, completely stopped the day I started taking armour thyroid.
I did not know that the armourthyroid should be splitted until I visited this website, the dosage increase.
I have never tested whaever the tests you have said.
thank you
Yes your antibodies are important to test - get the TPOab test done if you can.
LABS you have
TSH: 3.956 ulU/ml (0.450-4.500) ( Too high - you are over even the range of normal hypothyroidism - Armour thyroid med patients usually see TSH labs of 1.0 to feel decent.
FT3: 3.7 pg/ml (2.3-4.2) - Not good enough here either - when the TSH falls within the 1.0 this should go to where it needs to be too.
FT4: 1.30 ng/dl (0.61-1.76) - this should lower to
In my opinion - you are either flopping dosages - meaning you are not being consistant on one dosage for a period of time - or you are not raising properly every two weeks and at the end of four weeks ( after a 1/2 grain increase) getting tested, and introducing Isocort.
A couple of things here may clear some confusion -
At what time did you test ? Did you take your thyroid meds prior to testing? How long apart were they taken prior to the test?
Your dumping the whole dosage 1x a day - This can work for some - but it does even keel most if you take it 2x's or 3x's throughout the day. Direct T3 can be quick for some patients and if you spike it in the morning - it will deplete as the day goes on. Keeping up that pattern - each and every day will cause the body to spike and drop and eventually you will feel a toll after a long period. This is even without adrenal fatigue.
Were you on a T4 med like Synthroid along with the Cytomel you mention above? What were those actual dosages?
Did you doctor run a ACTH stim test or cortisol to measure the adrenals before HC? Taking HC (Isocort) will change the Armour meds again and along with your recent increase you could be suffering needlessly due to too many "quick" changes of hormones coming into your system.
You can't balance if you are flopping from hormone to hormones and introducing too many switches all at once.
The process of Armour and Isocort takes months for the body to balance out and if too much change is going in all at once - your body can't decide which way it wants to swing.
Did you have any Vit D testing? VitB? Simple deficiencies will cause these symptoms too. VIT D = depression for some. VIT D is linked to the SAD episodes during the winter months - are you in a cold enviroment with little sun now?
Mommy2two - We'll get you back on track - don't worry - everyone tries what you did - Yeah, it is a "trip" you did - but you know what caused it you and know what to do to fix this. Your still "tops " GF !!
LABS you have
TSH: 3.956 ulU/ml (0.450-4.500) ( Too high - you are over even the range of normal hypothyroidism - Armour thyroid med patients usually see TSH labs of 1.0 to feel decent.
FT3: 3.7 pg/ml (2.3-4.2) - Not good enough here either - when the TSH falls within the 1.0 this should go to where it needs to be too.
FT4: 1.30 ng/dl (0.61-1.76) - this should lower to
In my opinion - you are either flopping dosages - meaning you are not being consistant on one dosage for a period of time - or you are not raising properly every two weeks and at the end of four weeks ( after a 1/2 grain increase) getting tested, and introducing Isocort.
A couple of things here may clear some confusion -
At what time did you test ? Did you take your thyroid meds prior to testing? How long apart were they taken prior to the test?
Your dumping the whole dosage 1x a day - This can work for some - but it does even keel most if you take it 2x's or 3x's throughout the day. Direct T3 can be quick for some patients and if you spike it in the morning - it will deplete as the day goes on. Keeping up that pattern - each and every day will cause the body to spike and drop and eventually you will feel a toll after a long period. This is even without adrenal fatigue.
Were you on a T4 med like Synthroid along with the Cytomel you mention above? What were those actual dosages?
Did you doctor run a ACTH stim test or cortisol to measure the adrenals before HC? Taking HC (Isocort) will change the Armour meds again and along with your recent increase you could be suffering needlessly due to too many "quick" changes of hormones coming into your system.
You can't balance if you are flopping from hormone to hormones and introducing too many switches all at once.
The process of Armour and Isocort takes months for the body to balance out and if too much change is going in all at once - your body can't decide which way it wants to swing.
Did you have any Vit D testing? VitB? Simple deficiencies will cause these symptoms too. VIT D = depression for some. VIT D is linked to the SAD episodes during the winter months - are you in a cold enviroment with little sun now?
Mommy2two - We'll get you back on track - don't worry - everyone tries what you did - Yeah, it is a "trip" you did - but you know what caused it you and know what to do to fix this. Your still "tops " GF !!
Hi Liz!
I would say you are still adjusting and depending on what your numbers were, after about 6 weeks, have the doc recheck the labs and if you need an increase, they will adjust then. Its a good drug choice for some, for others, its not, trial and error I guess.
I would say you are still adjusting and depending on what your numbers were, after about 6 weeks, have the doc recheck the labs and if you need an increase, they will adjust then. Its a good drug choice for some, for others, its not, trial and error I guess.
Hi Mommy2two,
Thanks for the reply. I have been on it about two weeks. I feel like I am having hypo symptoms although I am on a slightly higher amount of T3 than when I was on cytomel, with the addition of T4. Maybe I am still adjusting?
Thanks for the reply. I have been on it about two weeks. I feel like I am having hypo symptoms although I am on a slightly higher amount of T3 than when I was on cytomel, with the addition of T4. Maybe I am still adjusting?
I take 1 grain too but I got my doc to write the script for 30 mcg (1/2 grain) twice a day. I take it sublingually and usually let one desolve under the tongue (think nitroglicerin) about 9 a.m. and another between 12-1 p.m. Currently, since I just started it again, I take 30 mcg (I do this for 2 weeks then increase to the whole amount). The first time it took away all my symptoms of hypo -- joint pain, tiredness, etc. (even though I had normal numbers) very very quickly but the residual was swelling. That finally stopped although it did not go down, just did not swell past the point it already was (except occasionally). Thats when I thought I had beaten this possessed gland.
I don't have antibodies either, but I have been diagnosed with hashi with normal bloodwork. This has been going on a year. I was put on Armour in late Aug - September 2008 and by December, I was feeling really good. Hence the screwup of stopping the med. My mistake!
One more thing. T3 in Armour reacts with the body quicker, that is why people split the dose. It dumps in the blood faster and the body uses it up, if you split the dose, you get a more "timed" release of the med.
I don't have antibodies either, but I have been diagnosed with hashi with normal bloodwork. This has been going on a year. I was put on Armour in late Aug - September 2008 and by December, I was feeling really good. Hence the screwup of stopping the med. My mistake!
One more thing. T3 in Armour reacts with the body quicker, that is why people split the dose. It dumps in the blood faster and the body uses it up, if you split the dose, you get a more "timed" release of the med.
Thank you for the response. I was also thinking to wait for some time but was not sure for how long, I think now I got the answer for that.
Were you able to get rid of all the symptoms of hpo/hyper when you started Armourthyroid. If so how long did it take to get back you to normal.
I am just swallowing my medicine (whole 1 grain) in the morning as soon as I get up.I have read that some people on the forum stated that they are splitting their medicine.
Hope you will get back on track soon.
By the way I was never tested for the antibodies. Is it a real concern.
Thanks
Were you able to get rid of all the symptoms of hpo/hyper when you started Armourthyroid. If so how long did it take to get back you to normal.
I am just swallowing my medicine (whole 1 grain) in the morning as soon as I get up.I have read that some people on the forum stated that they are splitting their medicine.
Hope you will get back on track soon.
By the way I was never tested for the antibodies. Is it a real concern.
Thanks
I am not a whiz at numbers by any means, but.... my 2 cents is that you're hypo and that in itself could cause your symptoms. I would say give it a month.... if you still feel the same, then it might not be working for you. Also, armour has t3 mixed in an some cannot handle it. I have heard of people having adverse reactions to it. When I first started it, I got headaches and was very restless after about a week. That all dropped off soon and the med worked for me. I was not put on it for numbers, I was put on it for swelling with perfect numbers. I got retarded thinking I was "cured", stopped it and my symptoms are back with a vengence. I got back on it 2 days ago and I hope it kicks back in so I can start to feel well again!
My blood work was done on 7th of this month.The results are
TSH: 3.956 ulU/ml (0.450-4.500)
FT3: 3.7 pg/ml (2.3-4.2)
FT4: 1.30 ng/dl (0.61-1.76)
TSH: 3.956 ulU/ml (0.450-4.500)
FT3: 3.7 pg/ml (2.3-4.2)
FT4: 1.30 ng/dl (0.61-1.76)
Healthy - when was the last blood draw and what were your levels before? If they were on the lower side, could you now be hyper?
I have been using armourthyroid (1 grain) for the past 13 days. The first 4 days I felt very well. But from the 5th day I started feeling dizzy, glary eyes/blurred vision,foggy thinking, memory loss.
Please advice
Thanks
Please advice
Thanks
How long have you been on the Armour? It could take a little adjustment period. I would give it a little time. I switched from levo to Armour and it was like a light turned on. Unfortunately, I thought it a good idea to stop the med to see what happened and I am paying for it now! I hope you feel better soon.
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