Question about switching meds..

[MKlacza]

Ok.. My Dr is going to try Armour with me. He wanted me to stop taking the Sythroid today and start the Armour Sunday. He said he was doing this because I have been having anxiety and some heart palps. He said this way some of the Synthroid will be out of my system and it wont me make feel so anxious when I start the Armour..

I think he said that T3 in the Armour acts very fast...

Does this make sense? I know some of you have started right away. Maybe Dr is just being precautious. He also said I would be fine for 4-5 days without my meds. ???? what is the life span of Synthroid. Been on it for 26 days..

[AR-10]

I just got a call from my Endo's nurse.
My TSH the other day was 0.13, and my Free T4 was just a teeny bit high.

They're changing my med dose from 100mcg to 75mcg. A smaller dose, to lower My T4 and raise my TSH. Personally, I think 88mcg would be correct, but I get tired of arguing with them all of the time.

When your hormones get low, your pituitary produces more TSH to stimulate your thyroid to produce more hormones.

When your hormone levels rise too high, your Pituitary slows the production of TSH, so that your thyroid produces fewer hormones. So your TSH level drops. It's how your thyroid is regulated.

You're depending on meds to do the job of your (missing) thyroid now, but your Pituitary doesn't know the difference. It still continues to do it's job, trying to regulate the hormones. It has cut way back on the production of TSH, because your body is telling your pituitary that you have too many hormones available right now.

So a break from the meds for a few days is a good thing.

[MKlacza]

Thanks! Starting to make some sense. Alot to learn..

[AR-10]

When your TSH is low, it means your hormones are too high.
When your TSH is high, it means you are lacking hormones.

That is the short and quick explanation.

There are medical issues that can cause your TSH and your Free T4/T3 to both be high, or both be low.

90% of the time, if your TSH is as low as your is, it means you are getting too much hormone replacement.

Stopping your meds for a few days will lower your hormone levels a bit, and relieve the symptoms you are having, but not immediately.

Synthroid builds up slowly, and it also disipates slowly, so your hormone levels are not going to dive by stopping the meds for a few days. They will drop slightly. That will cause your TSH to rise slightly.

I hope you do well on the Armour, but keep in mind it may take a few months to find the correct dosage that brings you to a balanced (euthroid) state.  

[MKlacza]

Yes you are correct, TSH  was 0.031. So when its higher, does that mean I dont have enough hormone floating around??

[AR-10]

Your TSH has been rather low, indicating you have more than enough hormones floating around, correct?

Being off the Synthroid a few days will help with that. You will still have some Synthroid in your system for the next few weeks.