Anyone else on Levothyroxine? *Just got my Armour thyroid, pg 8*

[cjeanean]

My dr wanted to wait 3 months between tests....don't know if that's just because she knows I'm broke or because she thinks that's as long as it should take.

Eggs4sale: Most of what I've read says to take it in 2 doses after breakfast and dinner, not all at once....Are your directions different or did u just start doing it on ur own? I thought about trying to find a compounding pharmacy, but I saw a lot of negative stuff about them, that's it's pretty much hit and miss for finding a good one.

 

[Livinzoo]

Here is a good site on thyroid treatment and even has a link to find drs that will treat off symptoms.

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Quote:
I simply didn't have a choice with the compounding pharmacy. I could either take Armour compounded, or switch to Synthroid, which ain't gonna happen.

I originally started doing the single dose at once, mainly because I simply messed up my doses when I split them up. I'd forget one, or forget to not eat, you know how it is. After finding Dr. Lowe's website and switching to Armour, I just kept up the one dose. Then I got his book through inter-library loan The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia, which costs $99.95, hence the inter-library loan.
http://www.mcdowellpublishing.com/ordinfo.htm#How_to_Order
It is a massive book, a text book, a medical book. I read as much as I could in a brain fog, trying to glean only what was relevant to me, since it covers so much. And I remember him saying that often, the single dose works best for some people as a sort of floodgate response. Like one dose doesn't push the door open enough, but two at once floods the room and triggers the response you need. I feel that is what my body needs. I've read on thyroid forums and in books where many people say the separate dose times works great for them, and that's wonderful.
And if I take the pills with food in my stomach, the floodgate does not open. The thyroid med is absorbed and is gone.

 

[insiderart]

I take synthroid. Such a balancing act, and takes a long time to get your levels correct. I also must take cytomel. Which is the T3 component. All was hunky dory until my pharmacy (you know one of those mail order 3 months insurance things) decided to switch my cytomel to the generic. Now I'm a wreck again... off to the endo tomorrow for a blood draw.

I didn't respond well to generic levothyroxine, so my endo had to sign the "don't substitute generics" line. Guess I'm going to have to get the same for Cytomel. Costs a bit more but is well worth it. Luckily I have a very good endocrinologist.

Several people have told me they do very well on Armour, but it is hard to get here in the states. And actually once the endo added cytomel to my regimen things began to turn around quickly. So there is a synthetic equivalent.

 

[FisherMOM]

Quote:
Burt,
I beg you, if you're going to have to take thyroid meds, use Armour.

I say no to Armour. I tried it and could never get it. It was such a pain to try to get.
Also, I did not feel any different on it than when taking Synthroid. I just don't do the generic stuff.

Been on Synthroid for 11 years now. The weight will always be an issue.
I am tired a lot too and suffer from memory issues.
I take the correct dose and get bloodwork done every 6 months.

 

[cmjust0]

This thread is really interesting. I actually have a dog on levothyroxine, but she's not really responding to it. Not that I can see, anyway. She's been on 700mcg 2x/day for a long time now, yet she's still obese, still has a poor coat, still loses patches of hair sometimes, is still snarky with the other dogs (sometimes a symptom)....the works. She was checked, diagnosed with hypothyroidism, prescribed the levothyroxine, took it for about a month, then re-checked to see if the dosage was correct.. Everything was done by the book, and the 2nd test confirmed the dosage to be correct.. They said her 'levels' were 'within range' after the med.

Now I'm wondering A) levels of what, and B) how "within range" was she?

She seems to maaaaybe have a bit more energy, but I dunno... She only eats 2 level measuring cups of food a day and somehow maintains about 65lbs on a frame built more for about 40-45.. She's very, very tubby. She went back to the vet several months after starting the med and I was told that some dogs simply didn't shed the weight on levothyroxine...I was offered no explanation as to why, though.

I started reading some of y'alls comments on T4 vs. T3, and it got me thinking.. I've had cause to investigate several human problems related to genetic mutations and so forth, and it seems pretty common for people to lack working genes necessary to the conversion of certain chemicals into other chemicals.. To lack the genes to properly convert T4 to T3 isn't much of a stretch, I don't think...indeed, I'd bet there's a mutation involved somewhere if someone takes -- or an animal is administered -- T4 and doesn't get better.

I think I may have a talk with my vet about Liothyronine.. Apparently, someone makes it in a vet scrip called "Cytobin," and I wouldn't doubt it's been around long enough to have generics.

Obviously I can't spend a fortune on meds if it's super expensive, but....definitely worth a conversation.

Again...very interesting thread.

 

[cjeanean]

Holy cow that seems like a HUGE dose!!! I dunno about dogs, I have never heard about a dog having hypothyroidism, but I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing that can happen in humans (inability to convert t4-t3) also happens in dogs.

 

[cmjust0]

Hypothyroidism isn't uncommon in dogs. I basically knew what her problem was, and when I brought her in we discussed her issues, they immediately recommended testing her thyroid function. I sorta just needed a confirmation and a scrip for what I suspected, and sure enough, that's what it turned out to be.

The condition in dogs is apparently most often related to an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks and destroys the thyroid...not at all unlike the human version. She had (has) every symptom.. And, yeah, 1.4mg/day is huge in human terms, but dogs have (should have) a much faster metabolism than humans. The dog dosage is .01mg/lb every 12 hrs.. She's basically on an average dose for a 70lb dog...even though she should be a 40-45lb dog!

I'm really thinking, though, that she might need T3...or T3 and T4...instead of only T4.

 

[cjeanean]

That might be the problem since she's getting T4 and not responding. Talk to ur vet about the T3 and see if she can run a test for it or, if it's too expensive to do the bloodwork, if she can give you a little to try her out on. What kind of dog do you have?

 

[littlefarm_bighappy]

THANKS GUYS for posting about the Armour. I will definitely try that out. I know my T3 and T4 levels have been off balance. I will look into this!