Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism

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Going from a TSH of .04 to 56 (synthroid vs armour)

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asharkin
asharkin Posts: 30 Member
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I have been on synthroid for years and i as feeling fine at 200mcg when my TSH went crazy low into decimals so of course my Dr freaks out and keeps decreasing my dose to the point I am so exhausted I can barely function. She wont check anything but TSH so I go to my OBGYN and she agrees to test my T3 & T4 levels as well. She asks if I want to try Armour and of course I do...I'm willing to try anything!

She put me on 60 grams and in a month my TSH was 33...its NEVER been that high! The high end of normal is 6 so this scared me! She raised my dose to 90 grams and my level has now jumped to 56! The funny thing is I still feel better than when I was on synthroid....still get tired by the end of the day but the brain fog isn't as bad. I don't know how to describe it. But I do not have the energy I used to & stamina to do the workouts I used to do.

Now I have been referred to an endocronologist and have to wait 3 months to get in! And...i ask if she will raise my dose sgain and she said to just keep taking the same dose until i go. I am so frustrated!!! Anyone had this happen to them?

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  • MmmDrop
    MmmDrop Posts: 160 Member
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    I can see why your TSH raised so high... you went from taking in 200mcg of T4 to getting only 38mcg of T4 + 9mcg of T3. That's not anywhere close to being equivalent.

    Proper dosing with Natural Desiccated Thyroid should go something like this - you start on 1 grain (60mg), and then you raise every 2 weeks by 30mg until you get to about 2 grains, and then you hold for a while - test your Frees, and see where you're at. Also - dosing with any NDT or T3 for that matter will naturally suppress your TSH, so your doctor shouldn't be relying on that test alone - you HAVE to go by Free T4 and Free T3.

    The fact that you're feeling better on Armour than you did on Synthroid is a great sign! Be wary of the endo you're going to see. All the endos I've seen would never even humor any attempts at having a conversation about NDT, and relied solely on TSH testing to treat me.... and I've seen quite a few of them where I live.
  • asharkin
    asharkin Posts: 30 Member
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    I wondered on the dosing as well....I am also worried about the endo. I have heard of a nurse practitioner in town who is very open to trying new tests and using alternative meds so I might just go see her. Its just getting my records transferred from the Dr is such a pain!
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
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    I've been seeing Endocrinologists for Graves disease for the past 6 years and have never had any problems. They generally test the TSH, T3, T4 every 6-8 weeks and run tests for antibodies every 6 months or so. And I'm currently on my 3rd Endo for this condition.

    Don't be so quick to jump into an alternative. Give the specialist a chance first. Just be sure to take all your concerns with you and insist that they take the time to listen to them. If it requires a second appointment to complete, be understanding. Doctors are scheduled to death nowadays.

    Best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:
  • Dlacenere
    Dlacenere Posts: 198 Member
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    You are on a very low dose relative to the amount of synthroid you were taking. When I was on synthroid I was taking .125mcg and on armour I take 120-180mg (2-3 grains). I have been as high as 240mg (4 grains) at one point. I agree that you have to raise slowly, but that is definitely why you are going in the wrong direction.
  • asharkin
    asharkin Posts: 30 Member
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    UPDATE: I got into the endo earlier than I thought! The nurse told me the wrong date! I saw her today and she was very nice and she asked me if I wanted to stay on the Armour or go back to the Synthroid. I really have been noticing that the Armour isn't lasting me all day and I have days where I am tired all day long... maybe it is just the dosing but I'm not sure I am sold on the Armour yet so I agreed to try Synthroid again. I'm going to the generic and she said if that doesn't seem to work to try the brand name because there is a slight difference (I don't like paying that much though!).

    The bad thing is I have to start off on a low dose of 75mcg and work up to where I was before so it's going to be a rough couple weeks on the lower dose. We will see how it goes. She is running some other tests as well to see if there is some other problems that we aren't aware of.

    I'm really going to try to start trying to eat a lot more clean as well and see if that helps how I feel... I wish I knew the magical cure. Seems like it's up & down for me....I have felt horrible the past 4 days and now today I feel pretty good & have energy. I don't get it at all.

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