BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Thyroid Health Questions before my appt. tomorrow!

Hi,

I'm so glad that I just found this site. I have a few questions...just looking for opinions since I can't seem to find a good doctor but I'm going to a new one tomorrow and wanted to ask some advice first.

I'm presently on compounded T3 and T4...anyone else? I switched from Armour after an allergic reaction. My last labs were:

TSH 6.8 range 0.5-4.5
T4 1.2 range 0/8-1.8
T3 299 range I can't remember the ranges but the middle range is 330 so she said I'm too low

Anyways even though my T4 and T3 have improved slightly from last month, my TSH has gotten higher (from 4.83 to 6.8), so my doc just upped the T3 in my medicine. However after a week I'm getting hyper symptoms and had to go back to the old dose. She said she didn't want to raise the T4 because I'm already in the middle range. However it seems I cannot raise my T3 anymore without getting hyper symptoms. I have also been extremely fatigued and weak for about 6 weeks, since my TSH levels have begun raising, and have been hardly functioning. My hair is also falling out.
I'm wondeirng what I should ask my new doctor to try next? raising the T4? When I was on Armour it was the equivalent of more T4 but less T3 and I was doing awesome! Can I just ask to be put on the exact same dosage..would that work?

Also I had the 24 hr saliva cortisol test and it showed low cortisol all day and high at night. Does that mean that I could not have Addison's disease? Just wondering...I'm currently treating the cortisol mess with a supplement for the past 2 months...could this be affecting my TSH?

Thanks so much!

mickeymouse30,

Sorry I didn't find your post before your appointment today. I do first want to welcome you and glad to see you aboard!

It sounds like you have a dilemma with being sensitive to the fillers in Armour which seem to be an allergen to you and also showing some sensitivity when your T3 and T4 ratio isn't right for you.

Since Armour seemed to have a better T4 to T3 ratio than the compounded type you've been taking, you might consider an Armour alternative. There are several out there but one more well known brand is Nature-Throid, which is hypo-allergenic but has the same ratio of T4/T3 as Armour does.

The manufacturer of NatureThroid has been making it for many years, is reputable and their thyroid hormone medication is under USP standards (meet certain consistency and potency standards) although not FDA approved. It is a prescription drug and should be as effective as Armour because it contains the same amount of T4/T3.

I could actually have my Dr. order NatureThroid from Wal-Mart Pharmacy in the past but after a while the Pharmacy said they had a hard time getting it.
It might be worth a trial of it, monitored by your Dr. with follow up blood retests and by your symptom improvement.

Here's a link that informs about the drig:
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