Hypothyroidism Support Group
Hypothyroidism is the disease state caused by insufficient production of thyrohormone by the thyroid gland. There are several distinct causes for chronic hypothyroidism, the most common being Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypothyroidism following radioiodine therapy for hyperthyroidism. Advanced hypothyroidism may cause severe complications, the most serious one of which is...
Was doing pretty good on my 30 units of Armour. Had new labs and through the help of CD-THANK YOU!- I decided to make an appt to have meds raised since I did have a few more symptoms. The office totally agreed with CD and doubled my dosage, raising me to 60. (woohoo!)
First day taking the pill, to my horror, I had a bad hypo day- as if I hadn't taken the medication at all. The pill itself is physically bigger.
So it got me thinking- what if the absorption was bad- meaning it passed w/out being fully absorbed because it was twice the size of the 30 units?
More experienced members of the group, *how do you take your pill*? With the 30 unit tiny granule, I'd hold it in my mouth until it was a little soft and then swallow but this pill is a great deal bigger. With the new pill, should I cut it up so that it's smaller and there is more surface area? Should I hold it in my mouth and take it sublingually?
First day taking the pill, to my horror, I had a bad hypo day- as if I hadn't taken the medication at all. The pill itself is physically bigger.
So it got me thinking- what if the absorption was bad- meaning it passed w/out being fully absorbed because it was twice the size of the 30 units?
More experienced members of the group, *how do you take your pill*? With the 30 unit tiny granule, I'd hold it in my mouth until it was a little soft and then swallow but this pill is a great deal bigger. With the new pill, should I cut it up so that it's smaller and there is more surface area? Should I hold it in my mouth and take it sublingually?
Easy stuff first....
Studies have shown that thyroid hormone molecules are too large to be absorbed through mouth tissue.
Therefore, the best way to get your Armour into your system is the conventional one: swallowing the pill with a large glass of water.
I have some comments I'd like to share with you about your bad hypo day (so sorry you had to deal with this - it is, unfortunately, very common).
However, while I was able to find your most recent labs, do you have the labs that were done when you were first started on Armour?
I suspect that looking at those will help me explains things better.
Glad you were able to raise your meds! I am on Nature-Throid and just want to share with you that each time I go to raise my dose I experience worsening of Hypo symptoms. Sometimes I get Hyper symptoms like heart palps when titrating up on my dose. Sometimes I feel bad for one week, sometimes three weeks. =/ I just do my best to 'ride it out'. Sometimes I feel real yuck! Hang in there. I understand it takes some time to get to an optimal dose.
The joints in my hands kill me during titration and it's as if someone rode a steam roller on them, and it took 3 weeks for that pain to go away.
My doc/endo didn't understand and was going to send me to a neurologist if it didn't clear, but from this board I understand that it's not uncommon and all of us have our so called weak spots...and symptoms that go with titration.
labs 8/26:
TSH- 4.64
free T4 .98 (range .82-1.77)
newest labs 10/31:
TSH- .6 (.45-4.5)
T4- .79 (.61-1.76)
total T3 (not free t3, err, none by a new primary doc not prescribing my thyroid med) 1.73 (range .97-1.69) The nurse practitioner said my T4 and t3 aren't in the range they look for so my med was doubled to 60 units of armour.
So my comments make a little sense, please know that I'm confident you had a FT4 test most recently even though you posted T4. I can tell this by the ranges you shared.
And, even though you didn't get a FT3 test either time, I'm sure you can see that your FT4 level decreased since starting Armour.
I suspect that the reason you were feeling better was due to the T3 in Armour since it's fast-acting.
However, with your FT4 level moving in the opposite of the desired direction, it's no wonder you started feeling poorly.
I think it's a complete coincidence that it happened on the same day you started your new dose.
You see, we don't always "feel" our levels until after they "hit".
Just as everyone has mentioned, it's not uncommon to develop new symptoms after dose adjustments. It's all part of the body getting used to new amounts of hormone.
Thankfully, there does come a time when we experience nothing but improvements.....that's a sign our levels are nearing optimal.
If you're not doing this already, I suggest you maintain a symptoms journal. Here's a little something I wrote about mine awhile back:
http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Hypothyroidism/forum/14455047-journal-success
Best of luck to you moving forward!! We're here for you.