Healing the Adrenals on T4 only

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Ok. I got some recent blood tests this week and unfortunately the T4 / T3 ratio

in Armour does not work for me. I was converting all the T4 to T3 and had the T3

on top of that...which meant my T3 was at the top on only 1 grain. It was not

pooling and I did not have any hyper symptoms. I felt fine, but would get tired

as soon as the T3 ran out because I had hardly any T4 to pull from...it was at

the lowest level possible. I was on 1 grain for two weeks when we tested.

So my Doc thinks I am a god candidate for T4 only and we can maybe add in some

T3 later if I need to, but at a ratio that is more similar to a human

thyroid...14:1 versus 4.5:1, which is what Armour has. My T3 has always been

better than my T4 before I started taking meds...so probably not a bad idea to

try it.

My question is, can you still heal your adrenals on T4 only? There is all this

talk about T3 being good for your adrenals and T4 is bad, blah, blah. If you

make enough T3 out of the T4, that should also do the trick, right?

I am taking HC now, but naturally I am keen to get on the right dose of thyroid

and try weaning...can't wait till that day.

I am starting at 50mg of T4 and so far no problems. It is day 5. I will re-test

in 4 weeks.

Thanks!

Jen

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen

I think you'll get different answers from whoever you speak to, i had a quick

search here and it seems some practitioners don't support the adrenals unless an

acth test comes back as a failure

this is interesting from Ray Peat though, he says hypothyroid ism can increase

adrenaline? if so that suggests a strain on the adrenals, so perhaps replacing

thyroid (t4) can reduce this strain?

eg: http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/ray-peat.htm

Dr. Ray Peat: In hypothyroidism, thyrotropin-release hormone (TRH) is usually

increased, increasing release of TSH. TRH itself can cause tachycardia,

" palpitations, " high blood pressure, stasis of the intestine, increase of

pressure in the eye, and hyperventilation with alkalosis. It can increase the

release of norepinephrine, but in itself it acts very much like adrenalin. TRH

stimulates prolactin release, and this can interfere with progesterone

synthesis, which in itself affects heart function.

" I consider even the lowest TSH within the " normal range " to be consistent with

hypothyroidism; in good health, very little TSH is needed. When the thyroid

function is low, the body often compensates by over-producing adrenalin. The

daily production of adrenalin is sometimes 30 or 40 times higher than normal in

hypothyroidism.

The adrenalin tends to sustain blood sugar in spite of the metabolic

inefficiency of hypothyroidism, and it can help to maintain core body

temperature by causing vasoconstriction in the skin, but it also disturbs the

sleep and accelerates the heart. During the night, cycles of rising adrenalin

can cause nightmares, wakefulness, worry, and a pounding heart. Occasionally, a

person who has chronically had a heart rate of 150 beats per minute or higher,

will have a much lower heart rate after using a thyroid supplement for a few

days. If your temperature or heart rate is lower after breakfast than before,

it's likely that they were raised as a result of the nocturnal increase of

adrenalin and cortisol caused by hypothyroidism. "

i guess the only way you'll know is to work with your doctor and see how you

feel and what the tests show? I was 'speaking' to someone ages ago who had no

thyroid and took a fairly high dose of t4, i think over 200mcg, yet she was well

on this and didn't do well on HC, T3, or armour. it is difficult to know what

is right, and if it is right, whether it's right for just a few people or

everyone. everyone's different?

chris

>

>

> My question is, can you still heal your adrenals on T4 only? There is all this

talk about T3 being good for your adrenals and T4 is bad, blah, blah. If you

make enough T3 out of the T4, that should also do the trick, right?

>

[Guest guest]

You need to keep

increasing your Armour until you find the dose that takes away your symptoms.

Because you are taking all the thyroid hormones your body requires, your free

T3 will be right at the top of the range, and if you had your blood tested

after you had taken your Armour in after your afternoon dose, it would show

your T3 to be right at the top, if not outside the top of the reference range.

This is why we advise patients not to take any thyroid hormone replacement for

at least 24 hours before they are due to have their blood drawn. Otherwise, you

get a flawed result.

Also, you should

take your Armour split either twice or three times throughout the day because

the T3 peaks in the blood a couple or so hours after taking it, and if you take

too much all at once, you will get symptoms of hyper. Also the T3 has a very

short half life so you will feel the effects of wearing off after 6 to 8 hours,

so you need to keep your levels topped up throughout the day.Don't listen to

your doctor in this particular case. I have seen so many members being taken

off their natural thyroid extract and put back onto synthetic T4, that they

have been made quite ill, and taken a long time to recover again after they

decided to go back on NDT. Doctors don't understand and will ONLY treat

according to thyroid function tests and they do not realise this is wrong and

they should be listening to their patients. T4 has very little action (if any)

and it MUST convert to T3. If you are a good converted on levothyroxine only,

why did you decide to try natural thyroid extract plus T3? It is not a question

about T3 being good for your adrenals, T3 is needed by every cell, tissue,

organ, brain in your body to make the whole of your body work. If you have

adrenal fatigue, it can stop the T3 from being absorbed at the cellular level so

T3 stays in your blood, going nowhere causing toxic symptoms.

It takes up to 6

weeks on thyroxine only for it to be fully absorbed, so you will notice little

difference until you find the dose you need. You should not be tested until at least

6 weeks have passed.

Luv - Sheila

So my Doc thinks I am a god candidate for T4 only and we can maybe add in some

T3 later if I need to, but at a ratio that is more similar to a human

thyroid...14:1 versus 4.5:1, which is what Armour has. My T3 has always been

better than my T4 before I started taking meds...so probably not a bad idea to

try it.

My question is, can you still heal your adrenals on T4 only? There is all this

talk about T3 being good for your adrenals and T4 is bad, blah, blah. If you

make enough T3 out of the T4, that should also do the trick, right?

I am taking HC now, but naturally I am keen to get on the right dose of thyroid

and try weaning...can't wait till that day.

I am starting at 50mg of T4 and so far no problems. It is day 5. I will re-test

in 4 weeks.

Thanks!

Jen