hey gonnaloose, sure ... I could probably talk about Armour and thyroid stuff for about a week without stopping
but i'll try to keep this brief.
If you are seeing an Endo you may have a hard time talking them into switching you from a synthetic (like synthroid or levoxyl) to Armour Thyroid. They have been mistakenly taught that Armour is not as stable as the synthetics. Usually it is easier to talk a General Practitioner into letting you switch to Armour. There are lots of doctors out there that are prescribing Armour Thyroid but you may have to hunt to find them.
There are a lot of good websites with great info and I will send those links to you by pm, but Mary Shomon has a lot of good info at hyroid.about.com and there is a new website called "stopthethyroidmadness" that you should check out. Also Armour has their own website where you can check out the info there.
You asked if I could give you more info on Armour so here is some basic....
Natural Thyroid 101
1) Armour is the most well known of the Natural Dessicated Thyroid meds and oldest on the market--since the late 1800's! But there is also Westhroid, Naturethroid and prescription generic Thyroid such as by Time Cap Labs, etc.
Additionally, many folks are using a natural thyroid called Thyroid-S from Thailand with great results. All the former come from pigs, and all are supposed to have their thyroid powder meet the stringent guidelines of the US Pharmacopia.
Natural Dessicated Thyroid contain the same hormones that your own thyroid would produce--T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin, and that's why natural thyroid is SO superior over T4-only meds. They meet the stringent guidelines of the US Pharmacopoeia and are approved by the FDA.
2) There is also OTC natural thyroid, such as Nutri-Meds and others. These are not regulated, and the potency may be ess than Armour and others, so you may have to take more than the FDA-approved brands for the same effect. This may also be true for any "generic" thyroid preparations---they appear to be weaker than the name brands mentioned above.
3) It can be wise to start on a smaller dose of Armour than you will ultimately need, such as 1 grain or less. Why? Because your body may need to adjust to getting direct T3, and, you want to rule out any other issues which can crop up, such as sluggish adrenals or low Ferritin. Some have to start low because the direct T3 will give them palps with each raise--for instance if someone has MVP (mitral valve prolapse)--but the palps should subside within a few days.
It's also important to understand that you WILL NEED TO RAISE within a few weeks, or even less, to prevent your hypo from returning. Just because you start feeling bad does NOT mean Armour is not working. It simply means your body is crying out for more. In fact, you can go up 1/4 to 1/2 grain every few weeks until you get up to 2-3 grains. Then, it can be wise to hold each raise about 4-5 weeks to give the T4 time to build in your system, and show its conversion results from T4 to T3. Generally, most folks don't start finding their optimal dose until they are near 3 grains and over....remember this, and it has NOTHING to do with labs. It's SYMPTOMS.
4) The most biologically effective and direct way to take Natural Thyroid is sublingually or orally. i.e. you place the tablet between your gums and inner check, or under your tongue, or where the least amount of saliva is in your mouth, and forget about it. Either way, it is absorbed by the millions of capillaries that line your inner mouth --taking the hormones straight to your blood, bypassing the stomach and liver. Armour has a touch of sucrose in it, making it more palatible.
Natural Thyroid meds CAN be swallowed, of course, and since those like Nature Throid do not have the suitable taste like Armour does, it can be necessary. But it will be important to avoid iron, estrogen and calcium supplements at the same time, since both bind the thyroid hormones to some degree. Swallowing also brings stomach acid into contact with the Calcitonin in Armour, and you may lose on some of it's benefits to your bones. But it's OK if you have to swallow your meds!! You'll get great benefits!
5) Most folks find dividing their dose to at least twice a day, if not more, is optimal for them. It contains T3, which is short-lived, and peaks about 2 hours after you take it. An example is taking 2/3 in the morning, and the
other 1/3 in the early afternoon. Some folks dose 3-5 times a day. A few even do it once in the morning, and find that to be very effective. But most folks seem to notice a difference when they multi-dose. Experiment to find what is best for you. And remember: your own thyroid gives you what you need throughout the day instead of one dump, thus, multi-dosing is a way to replicate that.
6) Before labs were developed, doctors treated patients solely by symptoms ... and successfully. This is still an ideal way to treat---by symptoms. One important symptom is your temperature. Temps reflect metabolism, and metabolism is controlled by your thyroid. Find a MERCURY THERMOMETER, which is more accurate. Generally, you want your morning temp (before rising) to be 97.8 to 98.2, and your afternoon temp to be around 98.6. This is actually the BEST way to dose yourself!
Unfortunately, most docs put a huge reliance on labs over symptoms. Labs do NOT tell the whole story. So, if you are faced with that, your goal is generally to get your free T3 in the upper part of the range, if not
above. But you have to figure out where it is great for you, based on symptoms. When you get your free T3 at the top, (or when you dose yourself to eliminate all symptoms) you will often have a TSH BELOW range, i.e. below one, and that does NOT mean you are hyper. The TSH is less important once you start treatment, and just because one's TSH can
get lower than 1 while getting the free T3 up there, does NOT mean you have become hyper. Many docs are uninformed about this, so be prepared.
7) Armour et. al is bar-none superior to T4-only meds treatment (Synthroid, Levoxyl, etc) because it is natural (your body accepts ALL of it), it contains direct T3 (the most active hormone and necessary for every cell in your body), and it also contains T2, T1 and calcitonin. T2 has some role in metabolism. Calcitonin keeps the calcium in your bones, and certain docs have noticed improvement in bone density with folks on natural thyroid.
8) It is not uncommon to discover that you need more natural dessicated thyroid than you realize. An amount that gives you excellent energy may not be quite enough to stop hair loss, etc. Or vice versa. Before the TSH
lab came into existence (and played a huge part in ruining good thyroid care), most folks were on 3 grains and more. This is not to say that you will need that much, but it does speak to the reality that you may need more than you realize. MOST folks are on 3 grains or more when they find their optimal dose.
ALSO NOTE THAT THE Synthroid-to-Armour conversion charts are VERY inaccurate. You will need more than stated.
9) Often, there are other areas that need assistance when you are treating yourself with Armour. For one, many folks need to optimize their Ferritin level (storage iron), which is low in many with hypo. Why, we don't know yet. But low Ferritin can cause very similar symptoms as being hypo, OR can cause you to have hyper-like symptoms when you try to raise the Armour.
If upon starting Armour, you have very strange symptoms, including anxiety, insomnia, shakiness, it's a strong sign that you may need adrenal support. Cortisol is needed to distribute thyroid hormones to your cells, and if you are not making enough cortisol from sluggish adrenals, your blood will be high in thyroid hormones, producing the above symptoms. You might need to stop the Armour, or simply lower it, and get on that support for a few weeks before starting the Armour again. There are several adrenal supplements listed in the ADRENALS file on the site--all are used by different folks here. It is strongly recommended that you get an adrenal test--ZRT labs does a good 24 hour saliva test---and this is FAR superior to the one time blood test that ignorant docs will use on you. Or at the very least, do the SELF TESTS in the ADRENALS folder.
11) Take a Selenium tablet with your thyroid. Helps with the T4 to T3 conversion. L-Tyrosine helps, too. Zinc and Vit. C may play a role. Your need for B-vitamins will increase as you improve. Check out the supplement recommendations in the FILES section of this site.
12) If you are able to buy a large quantity of Armour keep it the freezer or refrig to preserve it's potency, pouring out about 1-2 months at a time. Armour does have a long shelf life, though, according to Forest Labs, so it's not a huge worry.
but boy wouldn't it be nice :-)
