What Armour Thyroid is doing for me
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tecallahan
Posts: 732 Member
This is amazing -- it took 3 months, and I can't believe it -- after 15 years of taking medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I am completely off of these medications -- my b,p, has actually gone to LOW blood pressure - 97/68!! My HDL (good cholesterol) is up to 83!! It was 53 when I started on Armour.
I am now medication FREE... except for my Armour which is all natural!! I'll be 60 in July
-- 10 years ago I was on 11 (yikes) prescription meds - (3) for bp, (2) for cholesterol, (1) for thyroid, (1) for depression, (1) for blood thinning, (1) for menopause (1) for osteopenia and (1) for vertigo.
Friends - just don't give up -- do not be a lamb led by the nose by your endos and GPs. Educate yourself about your metabolism and thyroid and demand that your doctor treat your symptoms -- al of them. Don't let them make you think you are crazy because you are not losing weight. AND hold yourself accountable for healthy eating and exercise.
If we are giving in to sugar cravings everyday, we can't really blame our thyroid... we just aren't doing the work to feed our bodies what is needed o get rid of the cravings. Great article on SUGAR: http://www.healthlady.com/articles/is-sugar-our-enemy-sugar-facts-2/ - if you are eating, say under 1200 calories a day, but 400 of those calories come from sugar, and not losing weight, I am guessing that the sugar is what's preventing you from losing. It's causing insulin spikes that is keeping the fat on you.
Did you know that belly fat creates ESTROGEN? And estrogen keeps us fat!! So belly fat actually perpetuates itself.. YIKES!! and if we are peri-menopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal, we don't have enough Progesterone or testosterone to battle the estrogen. So, estrogen takes charge and KEEPS US FAT! Then we give it lots of starch, gluten and sugar and our belly fat has a party - making us even fatter. We work out and restrict calories, without giving our body the nutrition it needs to be healthy.
I actually caused myself to have Reverse T3 by doing intense exercise and not enough calories. My body was saying "oh my God, she is starving me. I have to slow down all her systems to not burn any calories." :sad: Are you kidding me??? I did this to myself? And what did I eat on weekends? Jimmy John Subs with Chips and diet coke. By body was saying "why is she giving me this crap? how can she workout for 4 hours and then give me junk?"
Sorry -- I am going on and on -- I am so passionate about this!! Look at your diary and be honest with yourself. If you are eating a high number of carbs (over 100-150 gms a day)... and those carbs are not coming from fruit and veggies, your body might be saying the same things that mine was!! Begging you for the nutrition it needs to be healthy. And that has nothing to do with your thyroid!!
Thanks for listening!
Terri
I am now medication FREE... except for my Armour which is all natural!! I'll be 60 in July
-- 10 years ago I was on 11 (yikes) prescription meds - (3) for bp, (2) for cholesterol, (1) for thyroid, (1) for depression, (1) for blood thinning, (1) for menopause (1) for osteopenia and (1) for vertigo.
Friends - just don't give up -- do not be a lamb led by the nose by your endos and GPs. Educate yourself about your metabolism and thyroid and demand that your doctor treat your symptoms -- al of them. Don't let them make you think you are crazy because you are not losing weight. AND hold yourself accountable for healthy eating and exercise.
If we are giving in to sugar cravings everyday, we can't really blame our thyroid... we just aren't doing the work to feed our bodies what is needed o get rid of the cravings. Great article on SUGAR: http://www.healthlady.com/articles/is-sugar-our-enemy-sugar-facts-2/ - if you are eating, say under 1200 calories a day, but 400 of those calories come from sugar, and not losing weight, I am guessing that the sugar is what's preventing you from losing. It's causing insulin spikes that is keeping the fat on you.
Did you know that belly fat creates ESTROGEN? And estrogen keeps us fat!! So belly fat actually perpetuates itself.. YIKES!! and if we are peri-menopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal, we don't have enough Progesterone or testosterone to battle the estrogen. So, estrogen takes charge and KEEPS US FAT! Then we give it lots of starch, gluten and sugar and our belly fat has a party - making us even fatter. We work out and restrict calories, without giving our body the nutrition it needs to be healthy.
I actually caused myself to have Reverse T3 by doing intense exercise and not enough calories. My body was saying "oh my God, she is starving me. I have to slow down all her systems to not burn any calories." :sad: Are you kidding me??? I did this to myself? And what did I eat on weekends? Jimmy John Subs with Chips and diet coke. By body was saying "why is she giving me this crap? how can she workout for 4 hours and then give me junk?"
Sorry -- I am going on and on -- I am so passionate about this!! Look at your diary and be honest with yourself. If you are eating a high number of carbs (over 100-150 gms a day)... and those carbs are not coming from fruit and veggies, your body might be saying the same things that mine was!! Begging you for the nutrition it needs to be healthy. And that has nothing to do with your thyroid!!
Thanks for listening!
Terri
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Replies
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This is amazing!!! I'm so happy for you! So far I've learned so much from you! Very excited for you!!!!! And thanks for the scoop
Keep it coming! 0 -
Terri I am so happy for you! I am also a happy camper on Armour and don't understand why most physicians have such reluctance to prescribe it.
Also, you have worked hard and through lots of trial and error have found solutions that work for you. Be proud and don't underestimate your part in the journey for health and well being!!0 -
YAY!!!! My armour has changed my life and I'm so happy that it's working for you!0
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What brand of Armour are you taking? My naturpath says I'm taking Armour -- but I'm confused. Almost two years ago, she started me on Nature-Throid NT -1/2 grain (32.5 mg), wanted to increase it, but I objected because of heart palpitations and the shakes. When she lowered the dose, I felt much better. Now she has me on Westhroid TH -1/4 grain (16.25 mg) because she says she can no longer get Nature-Throid, which I believe is better because it doesn't have fillers. I still feel great. My question: Is this truly Armour? I've heard so much about the formula being changed. So, curious as to what the label on your bottle says.
Thanks for all your knowledge and insight!0 -
Amazing! I'm so happy for you!0
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Armour Thyroid is made by Forest Laboratories, Inc., it is the only company that makes Armour. There are other pharmaceuticals that produce similar products.
There was an Armour shortage and reformulation a few year back. My doctor gave me a script for Erfa'sThyroid (at my request) which I had filled by an internet Canadian pharmacy until I was able to get Armour again.0 -
Yep - there's several brands of Natural Dessicated Thyroid (NDT)... my naturopath started me on Armour - but he would have given me another brand if I wanted it. I don't know if there's big differences in the brands.0
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How long did it take you to get off the antidepressants? I started cutting mine back 2 weeks ago, but I'm so afraid to drop it another level !0
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How long did it take you to get off the antidepressants? I started cutting mine back 2 weeks ago, but I'm so afraid to drop it another level !
I actually stopped them about 5 years ago -- I was getting so fat and at that time didn't know what I know now about hypothyroidism, and I blamed it on Paxil. I stepped down off of them, cutting in half, etc. I'm thinking it took about a month.0 -
That's awesome tecallahan! I'm huge into the self research angle now for my wife, and I refuse to believe that she has to be on any meds other than thyroid and refuse to accept that at 33 years old she's always going to be overweight, in pain and just not herself anymore.
I personally also think that she's suffering adrenal fatigue and has a ton of symptoms and I encourage (read "force") her to talk about these things when she has a visit.
Don't ever accept that perscription meds and conditions are necessary, keep fighting!0 -
That's awesome tecallahan! I'm huge into the self research angle now for my wife, and I refuse to believe that she has to be on any meds other than thyroid and refuse to accept that at 33 years old she's always going to be overweight, in pain and just not herself anymore.
I personally also think that she's suffering adrenal fatigue and has a ton of symptoms and I encourage (read "force") her to talk about these things when she has a visit.
Don't ever accept that perscription meds and conditions are necessary, keep fighting!
OH YEAH!! Buy her the book on stopthethyroidmadness.com -- it is eye-opening. I thought I had adrenal fatigue, too -- but now, that I'm leveling out on the Armour, I'm thinking my adrenals will be ok. But it's pretty common for adrenal fatigue, iron levels, cholesterol, etc. to be out of whack due to thyroid. For younger women, it also messes bigtime with their cycle and fertility.
I hope she can turn the corner and not accept her condition.
Terri0 -
Desiccated Pig Thyroid changed my life. It lifted the 'fog' I felt mentally. I have stopped gaining but I am still having a hard time losing weight though. I keep a very strict 'clean eating' philosophy. I train with weights three tines a week and do 4-5 hours of intense cardio. I'm starting to get frustrated and could use some support from other people with thyroid issues!!
Thank you in advance for reading my post
ShariAnne14 0 -
I am not on Armour, I'm on Cytomel and Levothyroxine (T3 & T4 synthetic).
My life has changed when I started to take the two combined. T4 alone is not enough to be symptoms free.
Emmijsmom I I so glad you are better. I recall you were a bit skeptical at first because it didn't "work" straight away. But you got there. Brilliant.0 -
Thanks Terri, another extremely useful post.
I'm glad you are so much better but I am angry that it has taken you so long to get there.
Like you said, unless we educate ourselves and "demand" the right treatment, we're left out.
Eating organic meat can help too I think: they put oestrogens for rapid growth and other undesirable chemicals in the meat. Just a thought...0 -
Thanks Terri, another extremely useful post.
I'm glad you are so much better but I am angry that it has taken you so long to get there.
Like you said, unless we educate ourselves and "demand" the right treatment, we're left out.
Eating organic meat can help too I think: they put oestrogens for rapid growth and other undesirable chemicals in the meat. Just a thought...
Definitely -- eating organic veggies and meat is a big help also -- the hormones in meat are killer and getting much worse in the past 5 years or so. Then there's the deadly 12 - the veggies that have the most pesticides and other sprays on them - so especially important to eat only organic on those - and celery is #1 deadliest!!
I'm also gluten free, dairy free and sugar free -- but I'm biting my tongue not to push that all on people -- it took me 15 years to get to this point and to believe that what I was eating was as important (or more so!) as how much I was eating.0 -
Emmijsmom I I so glad you are better. I recall you were a bit skeptical at first because it didn't "work" straight away. But you got there. Brilliant.
Oh no, I was incredibly impressed by armour right off the bat! Within a week, I had already noticed a distinct difference. Now it's been over 2 months and I'm feeling amazing. I was skeptical about weaning off my antidepressants, but I'm giving it a shot. My dr thinks I may have had problems with hashi's for years, it just now really blew up on me. So he thinks that's the reason I've had depression on and off for years. I also stayed "cold" longer than I had expected. That has mostly cleared up now though I do notice I'm still more cold than the average person, I don't have a heating pad on my hands and feet half the day anymore though. I've also lost 16 lbs since starting armour and am noticing hair regrowth.0 -
Im happy for you! I agree on the diet thing. I wasnt eating good, before a week ago and was wondering why I wasnt losing....Apparently dairy (all animal products) is not good for me (or anybody else) Ive decide to go vegan/raw food because for ME its makes me feel better , and hopefully lose weight too! I know Ive lost some but dont want to weigh just yet. Any who are having trouble losing and have a thyroid issue watch "Forks over Knives" it will change how you think about food! Im still on Levothyroxine and before I started the vegan diet My TSH was 8.2 (the increase in meds is not working) I cant wait to see if my TSH goes down after eating mostly raw!0
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Im happy for you! I agree on the diet thing. I wasnt eating good, before a week ago and was wondering why I wasnt losing....Apparently dairy (all animal products) is not good for me (or anybody else) Ive decide to go vegan/raw food because for ME its makes me feel better , and hopefully lose weight too! I know Ive lost some but dont want to weigh just yet. Any who are having trouble losing and have a thyroid issue watch "Forks over Knives" it will change how you think about food! Im still on Levothyroxine and before I started the vegan diet My TSH was 8.2 (the increase in meds is not working) I cant wait to see if my TSH goes down after eating mostly raw!
Love the "Forks Before Knives"!! And YIKES on TSH of 8.2!! That can make you feel so bad -- 2 months ago, mine was 20.7 - I was sick!!! Waiting for my new numbers on blood tests, but I'm not too worried about it as I feel really good.
Make sure most of your carbs are GREEN and stay away from Soy -- it's not good for your thyroid - so if you need Protein, try Vega One products -- all vegan protein - and really good tasting too.
Fingers crossed on your weight loss!
Terri0
