Is it bad to stay on low dose for too long?

[Rachel2033]

I was treated for hypothyroidism in 7/2013, the doctor started me on 30mg of Armour then about 2 weeks later upped it to 60mg. In 12/2013 I had labs drawn and my doctor freaked asking if I had hyper symptoms I said no to each one. He put me on Levo and a T3 med which gave me bad heart palpitations so he told me to get off on all thyroid meds that I wasn't hypothyroid. I asked him about my low heart rate (50) he said that was fine that he had the same heart rate. I asked about my swollen tongue, he said he didn't know what that was about but he'd run tests to find out after the meds were out of my system. I had horrible heart palpitations when I stopped the meds that I went back on the 30mg of Armour and have been on it since then.
   My husband was laid off 12/31/2013, he got a job in CO (we were living in TX) so we had to relocate, 3/2014. I have an appt set for June 6th.
   I read on STTM that staying on a low dose will make you even more hypothyroid than when you weren't on meds, I don't feel that at all. I was getting heart palpitations more than once a day and now it's possibly once or twice a week.
If I go off of the Armour how long before it's totally out of my system and what effects will I experience when coming off?
Thank you in advance. :)

[Rachel2033]

Ok now I know why it didn't come up, thank you.
Oh okay, I read somewhere that a resting heart rate under 80 bpm was considered hypothyroid. Mine used to be 80 bpm a year ago. I was an MA so I frequently liked checking my pulse and blood pressure (when my husband could help me) just for fun. :)
   Yes, my resting morning basal temp is 65-66 in the morning.
The second labs were done 12/2013
So T4 can also be read falsely high? I didn't know that. My husband used to be on Levothyroxine, the doctor never told him to not take his med prior to doing his labs.

[Red_Star]

The T4 will also be falsely high too.

[Barb135]

The site you are trying to link is a competing site and links to it are not allowed on MedHelp.  What you read is misleading.  We've had members that never did get above a starting dose.  Armour has much more T3 in it than the human body produces and many don't need a lot of that.

When were the second set of labs done?

Resting pulse of 64 is perfectly normal.  The only temperature readings that tell you anything (and that's not a lot) are the ones right when you wake up in the morning, before you get out of bed and before you've moved around.  Your temperature is 65-66?

Blood pressure of 90/60 is low, which is very common with hypothyroidism, as is low heart rate.

I see no reason for you to go off the Armour, if you are feeling better with it,  than without.  Blood work will show what your levels are when you have the draw.  Don't take the Armour prior to your blood draw or the T3 in it, will show a false high FT3.

[Red_Star]

When I started thyroid medication I was hyperthyroid for the first week and then my hypothyroid symptoms worsened and didn't improve for another month.  I cannot take Armour as I develop severe bradypnea again. I need T4 only. I am still on the same dosage I was when I started 2 years ago.

[Rachel2033]

Here's a quote from STTM, doesn't look like the link worked. "STAYING ON A STARTING DOSE TOO LONG (same as #1 above). The key to understanding this mistake is with the word “starting dose”, which for many, is one grain. Starting doses help your body adjust to the direct T3. But if a necessary starting dose is held too long (from two weeks to several weeks) there’s a normal suppression of the feedback loop between the hypothalamus, pituitary and thyroid gland, i.e less messenger hormones are released, making you even more hypothyroid than you began (plus you may experience the results of extra adrenaline)."

[Rachel2033]

To clarify: my pulse prior to going on Armour was 50 bpm. When I was on 60mg of Armour it went up to 72 bpm. Now that I've been on 30mg it's consistently been 64mg.
I don't want to get off Armour but I worried that I was causing more harm than good if I stay on the low dose.

Here's the link I was talking about:
http://www.*************************/mistakes-patients-make/