Hello everyone! I just recently started Armour thyroid. I been fatigued and could not get out of bed for 2 years due to Lyme and the Dr found out that my thyroid was a problem. That explains the fact that i have been low carbing for a while but still was not able to get at low 200's.

My main concern is which one is more effective for 1. energy , 2 weightless and 3 recovery? synthroid with cytomel or Armour either alone or with cytomel? Ratios that worked for people might be helpful. How many dosages per day?

What i have noticed is that cytomel alone, which i was initially prescribed wore me out and I could not recover so I would sleep all day. Armour which i just started today makes me feel better at 1 grain.

I want someone who has personal experience. I do not have a preference if it is synthetic or natural as long as I get back to having 1. more energy 2. not crashing and 3. losing weight?

Petru

Petru-

I take 112 mg Tirosint (levothyroxine) and 30 mcg of cytomel a day. However, it's taken me about 3 years to get my dosages right, with constant monitoring. I've found that weight loss only comes with lowering my calories and exercising, and by eating no processed food and no dairy. I feel really good- lots of energy, but you have to understand thyroid medication isn't going to be a one-stop shop kind of fix for weight gain/low energy. What you put into your body is 90% of it. I've never taken Armour, so I can't give advice on that, but lots of people on this board do take it and like it a lot. Good luck!

I do not have personal experience with cytomel, but I was on Synthroid for ten years. At first it was ok, but it got worse and worse. I was more and more tired. More and more hair loss, weight gain, etc. I started getting awful joint pain, foggy headedness, etc, etc, but I was on the right dose. At times I was on enough Synthroid to get my TSH down to a 1 or less and still just felt awful. Armour is life changing for me. I have only been on it for 6 weeks and I have not even had my dose correction yet, but I can tell you....I will NEVER go back to synthroid. The fog has lifted, my weight is budging, and my joint pain is gone. Please stay on Armour for now and see how you feel when your lab work says you are right. If it doesn't work then feel free to give the synthetic combo a try.

I believe some people actually take Armour + cytomel for additional T3's.....she may need to add some cytomel to the mix to raise her energy....

I take 88mcg Synthroid, and it had no effect on my weight loss. I lost very slowly by eating at a deficit—20 lbs. in a year on ever-increasing doses.

My energy level is better (it was non-existent at diagnosis), but far from optimum. I'm often tired, and I sleep up to 10 hours a night.

It took a whole lot of pressure from me, but my endocrinologist finally agreed to add Cytomel to the Synthroid. (My free T4 & TSH are good, but my T3 is low.)

Everybody's different, and it takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you.

I've never heard of Erfa, but interesting info about armour and cytomel. My TT was almost a month ago so I need to think about which direction I want to go. I am currenly on 125 mg of levothyrixine but would like to try a NDT. I feel good right now but my T3 is a little low so was going to ask about armour and cytomel. But I'll have to go through my regular doctor versus my endo who doesn't prescribe NDT s.

I take Nature-throid (natural dessicated thyroid like Armor), and I really like it. I see you're feeling better, but just wanted to suggest one thing for the weight gain -- have you been checked for insulin resistance?

I learned that I have insulin resistance and it was quite a surprise to me -- I was actually in the pre-diabetic stages. My doctor says that although they don't have definitive research on it, it's often found hand-in-hand with those who have thyroid issues that have gone untreated (or mistreated) for years -- which was my case. So, he put me on metformin to help my body metabolize glucose correctly. He told me that once the insulin sensitivity is reset (and the weight lost) and the thyroid is treated properly, oftentimes the insulin resistance does not reappear. It's not a guarantee, but it's a strong likelihood.

I've only been on it for a month, and I'm still dosing up, but I'm finally starting to see some movement on the scale. All the diet and exercise is finally starting to *actually* work. I'm finally see a result from my 700+ calorie daily deficit. I also low-ish carb to help that along (50-80 carbs per day). So, I'm hopeful.