Trusted Source to purchase Armour?

[Guest guest]

Hello Terri,

I too am a new poster and have not yet had time to write in with my full story but felt after reading your post that I must put finger to keyboard.

I have been on the branded Synthroid for a year. My GP put me on it after a scan of my thyroid showed several nodules - I had had a lump in my throat for nearly two years prior while in the UK - my Dr there would not do any TSH tests. My current GP immediately got an appointment for me with an Endo and he performed an fna (fine needle aspiration). Fortunately it showed all was benign. However, I was put on 25mcg Synthroid for a couple of months then it was upped to 50mcg and I was on this for six months very happily thru to July '06.

Then silly me I agreed to get the medication on a three monthly basis thru my health company - ( I should add at this point I am a Brit living permanently in Florida.) Unbeknown to me this health co. I am with switched my branded synthroid for a substitute L-thyroxine also known as levothyroxine.

For a while I was ok but not great, lost my cat so thought well feeling low because of that etc and also only moved here mid '06 so still settling in. In Oct last year I started on a supply which was very definately a substitue labeled L-thyroxine.... after a few weeks of this I started feeling ill - achey muscles, joints hurt, brain fog, fatigue, unable to make simple decisions. I thought I was going down with flu but I had an appt with my Endo which was disastrous as he said it was all in my head!! So I made an appt to see my female GP who took one look at me and the pill bottle and said 'they should be the same but this is a substitute not branded Synthroid - you need to go back on the branded Synthroid and she immediately wrote me a prescr for 75mcg of Synthroid which i now get locally one month at a time - which is also important. She also gave me vit B12 injection straight away.

Terri I am just a patient so no medical background but I am wondering if you are suffering from the same awful symptoms that I had on the substitute. I noticed as soon as I stopped taking them and did without for a couple of days that immediately my brain fog disappeared. I still felt drained and my Dr at the time of app said I needed extra synthroid as well as vit B12.

Both have done the trick for me - however I am not out of the woods yet. I spent the first month getting over my awful fatigue and exhaustion and am now at the point where I feel pretty good but not perfect. I have an appt with my GP this morning very soon so will be interesting to see what my TSH T3 and T4 blood workup shows.

From everything I have read it is very important once you start taking thyroid meds to keep taking them - don't stop then start again. Also you need to be closely checked for TSH levels to make sure when you start that you are on the right level of stuff and that it is working. No one person's meds work the same for all it seems. Terri with the way you are feeling this would be a very hard thing for you to do I understand that - I have been there too - its really bad. But the best thing for you would be to see a real thyroid GP - can you get to see the ones that are recommended on this forum?

I have read some really interesting books in the past 2 months which I am willing to share with you all if you would like.

Sorry I must go now for my appt -

Manderscheid

ville, FL

On Jan 29, 2008 8:51 AM, terriborder <terri.border@...> wrote:

Hi Everyone,I'm a new poster on the Forum, diagnosed with Hypothyroidism 12 monthsago. I'm currently taking 75 levothyroxine daily which has relieved somesymptoms but caused other problems, specifically weight gain (approx 1

1/2 stones) and those connected with hormone imbalance i.e. enlarged andtender breasts. When I first started taking it I suffered something akinto severe PMS which lasted around 2 months.I have always been supersensitive to chemicals and could never use birth

pill or traditional HRT as they caused the same problems which I'mexperiencing with Levothyroxine, breast pain/growth, weight gain and ageneral feeling of being 'over chemical'. I have no womb or ovaries so

probs are not related to these, when I ceaased taking Levothyroxine fora couple of weeks to monitor, all symptoms disappeared within 2/3 days,my body started to feel like my own again, the weight fell off but my

hypo symptoms returned with a vengeance, exhaustion, severely low moodand weepiness to name a few.I have asked my GP for a private prescription so that I can try Armourto see if it resolves the situation. Armed with an information pack he

is pondering the situation............Has anyone else been affected in this way with Levothyroxine and in casemy doctor refuses, can anyone recommend a reputable source forpurchasing Armour? (Am in UK)

ThanksTerri -- Manderscheid

mobile: (904) 210 9335

[Guest guest]

Hi,

You are more likely to be suffering from undermedication- lots of docs

are happy with patients TSH being anywhere in the range, but over 90% of

healthy people have a TSH of around 1.0. What was yours at last testing?

Once prescribed, Boots or any chemist can get Armour- imported by IDIs world

Medicines.

Hi Everyone,

I'm a new poster on the Forum, diagnosed with Hypothyroidism 12 months

ago. I'm currently taking 75 levothyroxine daily which has relieved some

symptoms but caused other problems, specifically weight gain (approx 1

1/2 stones) and those connected with hormone imbalance i.e. enlarged and

tender breasts. When I first started taking it I suffered something akin

to severe PMS which lasted around 2 months.

I have asked my GP for a private prescription so that I can try Armour

to see if it resolves the situation. Armed with an information pack he

is pondering the situation............

Has anyone else been affected in this way with Levothyroxine and in case

my doctor refuses, can anyone recommend a reputable source for

purchasing Armour? (Am in UK)

Thanks

Terri

Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always

consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing medication.

[Guest guest]

>>> Also you need to be closely checked for TSH levels to make sure when you start that you are on the right level of stuff and that it is working.<<<<

This didn't seem to work in my case. My TSH levels were suppressed when I began to feel bad, and after taking the same thyroxine for 15 years and feeling OK. My GP would not increase the thyroxine because my TSH was very good and therefore he came to the conclusion that I was having sufficient thyroxine. I did eventually get a trial of a higher dose, which made me feel better for about a couple of months, then I started to feel bad again.

I went to a private lab to test my T4 and T3 and they found that the T4 was right on the bottom number and the T3 was below range. Conclusion was that I was not converting to the T3. So keeping an eye on the TSH did not show that I was not taking the right dose or the right medication come to that. It looked like I was taking the right dose and the right medication.

Lilian

[Guest guest]

HI

Come back and tell us as soon as you have your full thyroid function test results. We are told time and time again to stick to the brand of thyroxine that we are happy with as there are differences between each one and some people can have a bad reaction to one that is different to the one they have become used to. I am pleased you have managed to get back your old 'synthroid' and hope you continue to do well on it. You say you have had an increase. What dose are you taking now?

Luv - Sheila

Then silly me I agreed to get the medication on a three monthly basis thru my health company - ( I should add at this point I am a Brit living permanently in Florida.) Unbeknown to me this health co. I am with switched my branded synthroid for a substitute L-thyroxine also known as levothyroxine.

For a while I was ok but not great, lost my cat so thought well feeling low because of that etc and also only moved here mid '06 so still settling in. In Oct last year I started on a supply which was very definately a substitue labeled L-thyroxine.... after a few weeks of this I started feeling ill - achey muscles, joints hurt, brain fog, fatigue, unable to make simple decisions. I thought I was going down with flu but I had an appt with my Endo which was disastrous as he said it was all in my head!! So I made an appt to see my female GP who took one look at me and the pill bottle and said 'they should be the same but this is a substitute not branded Synthroid - you need to go back on the branded Synthroid and she immediately wrote me a prescr for 75mcg of Synthroid which i now get locally one month at a time - which is also important. She also gave me vit B12 injection straight away.

Terri I am just a patient so no medical background but I am wondering if you are suffering from the same awful symptoms that I had on the substitute. I noticed as soon as I stopped taking them and did without for a couple of days that immediately my brain fog disappeared. I still felt drained and my Dr at the time of app said I needed extra synthroid as well as vit B12.

..

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