Hi Moms:
In February, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism (caused by Hashimoto's). Since then, I have been on 3 different dosages of synthroid. While my tsh is under two,and I am doing much better, I still don't feel "right" and I am unable to lose the 15 pounds that I gained before being diagnosed. My doctor suggested switching to Armour thyroid. Does anyone have any experiece with this? Has anyone switched and been seen a difference?
Additionally, has anyone found any books or websites that are particularly helpful to you in dealing with hypothyroidism?
Thanks in advance for your input.
A.
I have been taking Armour for a few years now and I have had no complaints. I did lose some weight when I started and have remained pretty much the same since then. I did try synthroid and it made me jittery and a little weird, so I went back to Armour. I would say to try it and see how you do on it, you can always go back to synthroid.
Good luck!
hi A.,
Yes, I switched from Synthroid to Armour Thyroid three months ago and have noticed a favorable difference. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism five yrs ago (after having my daughter). Synthroid worked for me at first but couple yrs ago I began to develop symptoms again, despite testing 'normal'. The other person who mentioned the difference with the T3 and T4 was also true for me.
Also, since consulting an osteopathic physician - I was able to get a more detailed bloodwork done. Regular physicians consider a much more broad range to be 'normal' while you can still be having uncomfortable symptoms.
Since switching to Armour Thyroid I have lost about 6 pounds and have kept it off and I just feel better overall (no more night sweats or lack of energy). To be honest, I changed my diet at the same time - but I think switching to the Armour Thyroid helped make me feel more motivated.
With either med, you know you have to take first thing in the morning on empty stomach and then not eat or drink anything for 1 hour. It can be a pain but it's worth it. I keep mine beside my bed with a bottled water and wake up early to take it and then go back to sleep.
best of luck !
Hi A.,
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism after the birth of my son. I was put on Synthroid, and have never found a stable dose that works for me- we keep having to increase it. The problem for me is that I want to get pregnant with #2, but keep having to wait until my TSH is stable. I finally decided last month to switch to Armour. I know it's going to take adjusting too, but I wasn't feeling that great on Synthroid and wanted to give Armour a shot. I know I need more of it (I've been feeling very lethargic again..), but I want to see what happens with it. Have you read Mary Shomon's books? They are very helpful and full of info on Armour. It's great you have an endo who is open to it, many of them are not.
Good luck to you!
T.
www.ReadandGrow.com
Armour Thyroid has T3 and T4 while Synthroid has only T4. A lot of people tend to feel better when they have T3, too. The body is supposed to take T4 and make T3 out of it...but if our bodies are messed up enough to need this med, then it probably isn't doing a great job on creating T3.
I am not on Armour thyroid for the simple reason that I have to take calcium twice a day...and with armour thyroid, you are supposed to take it twice a day...it was too hard to remember to take one...then wait 1-2 hours to take the other (twice a day). You DO know you aren't supposed to take thyroid medicine and calcium within an hour or two of each other, right?
I take Synthroid - was diagnosed five months ago hypothyroid - so far so good TSH is at a much better level and I feel good.
