Sorry to hear about a little allergic reaction but, very happy to hear that you feel better than you did with Synthroid. I think many/most of us do better when getting some T3.

What dose of Synthroid/Levoxyl were you taking before the switch?

Would you mind sharing what motivated you to try Nature-Throid vs. Armour?

The dose of the pill was 88 but when I took a full pill it was too much so I would cut off just a little bit.

I tried Armour years ago and had a terrible reaction. My heart beat was over 100, my eyes because too sensitive to the sun and had to were sun glasses in the house, Walking to the end of the street (a very short distant) made me out of breath and so tired... Probably because I was having adreanal problems back then, but still the memories are too hard to forget. Besides I think that it was on stop the thyroid madness that I read that Armour has corn derived ingredients, which I am allergic to.

I'm wondering if that might not be the case with the Nature Throid.

With corn products my throat starts to itch and swell up. Not a fun thing to go through.

You might be interested to know that 1 grain of Nature-Throid is considered equivalent to 100mcg levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levoxyl, etc.)

http://www.nature-throid.com/images/Conversion-Chart-2011.pdf

Here's the prescribing info so you can verify the ingredients:

http://www.nature-throid.com/images/Nature-Throid-PI-Rev041121-03.pdf

Best of luck to you moving forward!

Please keep us posted.

So you can compare the ingredients, here is the prescribing info for Armour

http://www.frx.com/pi/armourthyroid_pi.pdf

Thanks for sharing your experience with Armour. So sorry to hear of the ill effects.

I've contemplated a switch from the synthetic T4 & T3 that I take to dessicated thyroid + T4.

I am of the mindset "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" so, as of right now, I'm not fixing what isn't broken :)

However, hearing about others' experiences is always helpful.

Thank you sooo much cd. I thought since it said 1 grain was 65mg that it was the same as 65 mcg of Levoxyl. Really, I don't know how you do all of the research that you do. But I'm sure that we are glad that you are here to help.

Who knows, Maybe my problem with Armour was that I did the conversion wrong and probably over did it.

Is there a reason that so many people choose Armour instead of Nature Throid?

That is my mind set also. I was doing fine on Levoxyl. But you never know, something that makes us change could actually be better for us.

Happy to help.

I had to research if I wanted any chance of feeling well with thyroid disease. My former doctors certainly didn't help.

Even though my current doctor is somewhat thyroid-savvy, she just doesn't do the work of helping her patients identify and maintain their optimal levels.

I was the one who identified my optimal levels and the one to suggest every dose adjustment.

I learned those aspects from my first-ever thyroid forum and am here to pay that help forward.

1 grain of desiccated thyroid contains 38mcg T4 and 9mcg T3.

Since T3 is 4 times as potent as T4, that 9mcg is "interpreted" as 36mcg T4. In essence, from a mcg standpoint, 1 grain of desiccated thyroid is similar to 75mcg T4.

However, since T3 can be quite powerful, the prescribing info for both Armour and Nature-Throid consider 1 grain to be equivalent in "strength" to 100mcg T4.

One can only guess what happened when you first started Armour. Of course, knowing what dose of T4 you were taking before switching could help.

And, quite frankly, some of the issues you reported are typical for people adjusting to new levels of hormone. The light sensitivity, being out-of-breath and fatigue are all hypo symptoms and the heart rate increase is hyper.

We can have both hypo and hyper symptoms after dose adjustments. It's all part of the body's adjustment to new levels of hormone.

Thankfully, once we're optimized, dose adjustments usually aren't too dramatic if the adjustment is done in a timely manner (as soon as regular labs indicate that levels have started to stray).

I rarely have symptoms after a T4 dose adjustment and might have a symptom here or there for one day here or there after a T3 dose adjustment.

I don't know why people might choose Armour vs. Nature-Throid. That's why I asked you :) I do know that Armour was the first-ever thyroid hormone supplement ever made.

Oops...forgot one thing.

Yes, sometimes it's the best thing when a change is forced upon us.

I won't deny that I still want to enjoy my current state of maintaining optimal levels since I'm just coming up on two years of having optimal levels.

It seems that, sometimes, when people change meds, the clock "re-sets" and it takes awhile to restore optimal levels.

I'm just not ready to risk that right now - especially when I'm not sure my doctor would even prescribe desiccated thyroid.

Me again (sorry about the multiple posts)

I really haven't done any new research in a long while.

I long ago created various email folders to hold links to my research as well as what others have shared on thyroid forums.

It's easy for me to share the stuff :)

Thanks for all the posts!!! I would never had changed either if I hadn't been forced. I haven't been checked in a long while since I was just feeling fine. I'll be back to being poked.

Most of my research was trying to get my Ulcerative colitis under control and trying to find any natural solutions for my four girls that have Von Willebrand's.

I got this meds from my ND.

Today there is no doubt about it. The Nature Throid is agrevating my Ulcerative Colitis.

I guess I will be looking again to see what alternatives there are.

The good news is my thyroid and everything else with my body is happy on the Nature Throid.

NinjaMother

Sorry to hear about your latest issues!

You know, going right to 1 grain Nature Throid after being on T4 only can be quite the shock to the system if you haven't been taking T3.

Remember, 1 grain contains 9 mcg T3.

Most people start out on 5mcg T3 and that can often wind up being their therapeutic dose for a l-o-n-g while.

Maybe you might consider asking your doctor about going down to 1/2 grain Nature-Throid or even 1/4 grain......and then take some T4 in the form of levothyroxine.

If you go down to 1/2 grain, you'd be getting 19mcg T4 so, you would need 62.5-75mcg additional T4 to somewhat equate your old Levoxyl dose.

And, if you go down to 1/4 grain, you'd be getting 9.5mcg T4 so, I'm sure you can figure out how much additional T4 you'd need.

You might want to consider Mylan generic levothyroxine since that is shown equivalent to Levoxyl.

I'm not sure if you had labs done before the switch. It would have been good to look at both your FreeT4 and FreeT3 levels to see if either needed help.

That would help you and your doctor figure out what dose(s) you would need moving forward.

Thank you so much for your suggestions.

Since you sent me the ingredients lists, I found that it contains lactose. Even small amounts bother my digestive system and those little lactaid pills don't help.

I did a little research and found westhroid, which is made by the same company but with only two other ingredients: inulin (from chicory root) and medium chain triglycerides. Both of which I have no reaction to.

My diet is so limited. My daily foods are cooked quinoa, cooked carrots and cooked peas. I also can have on occasion certain cooked beans and cooked yams. Thank God I still have food that I can eat.

So it's no surprise that I will have a reaction to one of the fillers.

I am heading into my 3rd week on Armour 45 mgs.
I was taking .88 one day, .75 another of Synthroid..
I am feeling so much better aready..
I had palps and dreadful anxiety on Synthroid.
Armour just feels more natural...It's hard to describe..but my brain seems to comprehend better than before..
It feels like a lightbulb has been turned on.. I do believe the immediate dose of T3 is very beneficial..
My anxiety is less too..so that makes me VERY happy :)
I know we are all different, I have full blown Hashi's..but for now with Armour, it's the best I've felt in a long time!