Guest guest Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 i have been taking the adrenals with good results initially, but i think this was the placebo effect. i feel tired again and back to feeling my normal crappy self. i have also stopped all anti Dep. medication and feel a bit dizzy at times. i have taken 1/2 grain of armour now for 3 days without any effect. i just wondered how long this takes to show it is working? i will go up to 1 grain this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 When you started to feel better, did you do too much too soon. If so, then you would feel tired again. Everything with this should be gradual. Anti depressants should not be stopped they should be gradually stopped, although I suppose that depends on how long you have been on them. If only a short time I would think it would be OK to just stop them. If your adrenals still need treating then the Armour might not be absorbed properly, however much you increase the dose. However people do differ as to when they start feeling better. Lilian i have been taking the adrenals with good results initially, but ithink this was the placebo effect. i feel tired again and back tofeeling my normal crappy self. i have also stopped all anti Dep. medication and feel a bit dizzy attimes.i have taken 1/2 grain of armour now for 3 days without any effect. ijust wondered how long this takes to show it is working? i will go upto 1 grain this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 Hi hon This is one of the reasons I dare not stop my antidepressants until I am stable on an optimum dose of Armour. I have been on my Seroxat 6-7 years and even tapering would give me bad effects. Dizziness is so difficult to pinpoint the reason for so the fewest reasons available to deduce from, for me, the better. I feel that the dizziness I was feeling before I got taken into hospital was a combination of flagging adrenals and too little thyroid, if I had been cutting out my antidepressants at the same time I wouldn't have known that. How long have you been taking them and what are they? Mine are SSrIs and if you are taking these, and have been for a few months please don't just stop taking them suddenly. lotsa luv Dawnx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 Hi, I've been boosting my adrenals for a week now. I think the advice about not doing too much too quickly is right. My initial instinct was to rush out and be the pre-hypo me, but I've worked out that I'm not there yet, so I'm still going to pace myself (I guess I'm learning to walk before I start to run) We've all been down a long dark road and I guess it takes a while for our bodies to recover. Did you stop all thyroid medication for a while to let your adrenals recover? Sheila advised me to stop them for a month before restarting thyroid meds (they stay in your body for a long time so that shouldn't be a problem). Take care of yourself and take it easy. Pen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Geraldine, What a lovely update, so deserved after having been through so much.Good on you for being so assertive, not that any of us should have to be. Great for your husband and pupils to be getting their girl back. Good luck for 2009 and may all your troubles be only the patter of tiny feet. All the best, x > > Hi Everyone >I have started back at work and the pupils I teach are delighted to > have me back. > > My husband and I can finally start trying for a family, (which the > ENDO is also keen for us to try for). I am hoping 2009 is better than > 2008. Without the people in this forum I would have felt so alone and > lost with this illness. Thanks > > Geraldine > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 HI Gerladine This is wonderful news and thanks for coming back to let us know how you have been getting along. I wonder if it would help if you added in a little more T3. We often find that the pains caused with being hypothyroid are helped enormously once you get onto the right amount of T3. I would ask your doctor if you could give this a try. Seems the 75 mcgs levothyroxine isn't doing very much though as it is very low still. Do you know if the endocrinologist has ever prescribed natural thyroid extract from his patients? Could you write to me privately to give me the name of this endocrinologists and the hospital he works from as I keep a list of doctors who will prescribe combination synthetic therapy (they are few and far between) and endocrinologists who treat using natural thyroid extract. Let us know what happens, and well done. Luv - Sheila …however we agreed to work together and they would keep a closer eye on me. My blood was taken and I had to see him again in 6 weeks - my results came back with a TSH of 33.6. A week later I was given 20 mcg of liothyronine and to continue my 75 mcg of levothyroxine. Since then I have not looked back. I finally feel like me again. My family and friends have notice a huge difference and my husband finally has his wife back. I had my next visit with ENDO on Dec 23 the blood was taken again my result are as follows: TSH 1.45 Range (0.35-5.00) Free T4 10.8 Range (9.00-21.0) I still have the hot flushes and muscle pain/spasms my GP has given me 10 mcg of amitriptyline to take at night for the muscle pain and vitamin B6 for the hot flushes. It least I can now get a sleep at night. I have started back at work and the pupils I teach are delighted to have me back. My husband and I can finally start trying for a family, (which the ENDO is also keen for us to try for). I am hoping 2009 is better than 2008. Without the people in this forum I would have felt so alone and lost with this illness. Thanks Geraldine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hi Val I am so pleased at the progress you have made - it is messages like yours that keep me going as it is so wonderful to see such positive results that have come through you doing your research and breaking away from the NHS treatment regime. Had I still be treated through the NHS, I honestly doubt I would be here today, and if I was, I would have ended up wheelchair bound. I am pleased you managed to get your Dad over to see Dr P and I sincerely hope he starts to improve, as I am sure he will. However, it is a shame that your GP appears to be reluctant now to prescribe Armour for him as natural thyroid extract has been used successfully and safely for over 100 years and was the ONLY treatment for all sufferers of hypothyroidism before the synthetic thyroxine was manufactured and declared the 'gold standard'. Armour thyroid, USP is not in the British National Formulary because it has never been licensed. The MHRA does allow doctors to prescribe Armour Thyroid manufactured by Forest Pharmaceutical. Armour is a fully official FDA-registered drug in the USA, and appears in the dale Pharmacopoeia – page 1604. It is legal to prescribe Armour Thyroid to a patient in the UK and it can be delivered by UK pharmacies if there is a prescription from a licensed physician. Indeed, Armour Thyroid can be obtained very simply on a named patient basis and Idis World Medicines will source it for any pharmacist. All a doctor has to do is to write 'Armour Thyroid' and the dosage, and at the side of this the doctor should write " for the treatment of hypothyroidism " and the patient then takes this to their local pharmacist. The pharmacist will also require a short letter from the GP in explanation as to why s/he is prescribing Armour rather than the licensed recommended levothyroxine. All she needs to write is something along the lines " I am prescribing natural thyroid extract (Armour Thyroid) for this patient because s/he does not do well on levothyroxine " . If you look in our FILES on this forum, scroll down until you see the letter from the MHRA telling doctors that they can prescribe Armour. However, having said all of this, because it is NOT licensed a doctor has to take full responsibility for prescribing Armour as his medical insurance does not cover such events. Armour and several other thyroid medications were 'grandfathered' in when Congress passed the Kefauver- Drug Efficacy Amendments of 1962 to tighten control over drugs. Before marketing a drug, manufacturers had to prove the safety and effectiveness for the product's intended use. The requirement was applied retrospectively to 1938, when the Food, Drugs and Cosmetics (FDC) Act was passed. Pre-1938 drugs were allowed because they were generally recognised as safe and effective, provided no evidence to the contrary developed. Too much evidence to the contrary developed concerning the levothyroxine products and the FDA decided none was generally recognised as safe and effective, so these synthetic products lost their 'grandfathered' privilege and had to go through the NDA process. Armour Thyroid continues to retain its 'grandfathered' status since no evidence to the contrary has developed concerning its safe and effective status. Your father's GP might come across the British Thyroid Association's Statement on Armour Thyroid and be frightened by what they say. The fact is that most of what the BTA state is misleading and in parts, incorrect. They used a single reference to back up their statement, which is quite appalling. I have written a rebuttal to the BTA and sent it to them last March asking them to amend their statement and backed this up with 147 citations to the science, research and studies showing the BTA's statement to be wrong, but to date, they have made no changes. You might want to copy this rebuttal to show to your father's GP if the BTA statement is affecting her decision as to whether or not to prescribe Armour. You can find a copy of the TPA-UK response to the BTA on Armour either on our website www.tpa-uk.org.uk or in the FILES. You need to be well armed with ALL of the facts when asking a doctor to prescribe Armour because you can be sure that any information your doctor does have about natural thyroid extract 9if he does in fact have any) will be negative. Let us know if this information is of any use and whether any of it actually works. Luv - Sheila Sheila,I caught a post from you about G.Ps prescribing Armour.My dad's GP looked it up,but couldn't find it,I take it that was because it isn't licensed.She was prepared to prescribe it for him,but didn't in the end.It would be helpful if you could give me direction on this matter. Take care everyone, Love Val 2 xxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hi , your final dose of l-thyroxine would be in the range of 250/300mg. I say this as I had a friend who had this op, and she is taking 300 mg of l-thyroxine per day. your T4 seems a bit low at present so a slo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hi Geraldine, So glad to hear you are somewhat better, but those muscle pains would probably go with T3- mine did. Can you ask endo to do FT3 when you next see him? Subject: Health Update Hi Everyone I had my next visit with ENDO on Dec 23 the blood was taken again my result are as follows: TSH 1.45 Range (0.35-5.00) Free T4 10.8 Range (9.00-21.0) I still have the hot flushes and muscle pain/spasms my GP has given me 10 mcg of amitriptyline to take at night for the muscle pain and vitamin B6 for the hot flushes. It least I can now get a sleep at night. Geraldine ------------------------------------ TPA is not medically qualified. Consult with a qualified medical practitioner before changing medication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.