Introduction and Question

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

From what I have read, progesterone is supposed to facilitate

thyroid hormone activity. By using progesterone cream for a few

months it has been known to reduce the dosage of thyroid medications

and in some cases, eliminate it completely.

For me, I must have a very mild case of hypothroidism. I didn't

even know that I had hypthroidism until I went for a physical. Even

to this day, as far as I know, I do not display any symptoms. I take

my pill everyday like clock work.

Chris

[Guest guest]

progesterone helped me immensely, 100mg 2X a day, but I still take Armour

thyroid, and grateful for it.

Gracia

> Hello Everyone,

> I am 52 and have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism for over ten

> years now. I am currently on synthroid but with what I have read in

> the past six months, I hope to get off of it soon. I just discovered

> this support group and I am certainly glad that you are here.

> I have been using a natural progesterone cream since December of

> last year and by what I have heard, I could now get off of my

> Synthroid because the progesterone cream will allow my thyroid to

> start working because of the possibility that I may not of had it in

> the first place(hypothyroidism, that is).

> My question for anyone is, has anyone heard of this? Any comments?

> Today I started just taking half a pill and will gradually wean

> myself off of it.

> Thanks,

> Chris

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

first i was given triple estrogen and progesterone in pill form. HORRIBLE

now I use it in a cream WONDERFUL

I was able to lower Armour thyroid with the cream (from 120mg to 90mg) Get

it at a compounding pharmacy like http://www.womensinternational.com

today a woman was telling me that she went through 9 years of fertility

treatments. finally she had a full term baby when the doc gave her

progesterone suppositories. today she is sick with MS (badly needs thyroid

meds) just did chemotherapy and is on Prempro!!!!!

she is getting the worst medical care money can buy. Prempro is synthetic

progestin and will actually make her progesterone deficiency worse.

Gracia

> > Gracia,

> Do you take a progesterone pill or cream? My understanding about

> progesterone pills is that it is not really progesterone. I may have

> been mislead here but I don't know.

> Since you have been taking the progesterone have you been able to

> lower your dosage of Armour thyroid?

> Chris

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

And I thought I was on the highest dose! When I see a new doctor they

always double check when I tell them that I take 200 mcg a day because

they think I'm mistaken.

Re: Re: Introduction and Question

Ahhhhhh, learn something new everyday from the

board.... my dosage is quite high I take 2 .125

tablets every day------gets expensive..oh well back to

work. thanks for the info Chris

[Guest guest]

You wrote:

> ... If I notice any symptoms appearing, I will put

> myself back on the synthroid immediately. I won't do anything that I

> feel may harm me. I just want to see if I can get off of it.

You should be aware that any sudden change in synthroid dosage, either

an increase or a decrease, can cause a blood level " oscillation " that

can be quite dangerous. That is why the proper way to administer it is

in small increments, especially near the optimum level. The distance

between an effective dose and a dangerous over dose is surprisingly

small.

Chuck Blatchley

[Guest guest]

> You should be aware that any sudden change in synthroid dosage,

either

> an increase or a decrease, can cause a blood level " oscillation "

that

> can be quite dangerous. That is why the proper way to administer

it is

> in small increments, especially near the optimum level. The

distance

> between an effective dose and a dangerous over dose is surprisingly

> small.

>

> Chuck Blatchley,

I am on .088mg I don't know if that is considered a high dosage or

not. What do you mean by " oscillation " ?

Chris

[Guest guest]

You asked,

> I am on .088mg I don't know if that is considered a high dosage or

> not. What do you mean by " oscillation " ?

Most long term maintenance dosages are above 100 micrograms, women

higher than men. That suggests you are either on a gradually increasing

regimen or you have a relatively mild insufficiency, i.e. you still have

some natural thyroid function.

The dosage induced oscillation occurs in your blood levels. Since the

biological half life of this hormone is fairly long compared to other

medications you may take, your blood levels can take several days to

settle down after a change in dose. It is subject to various up take

and removal responses, particularly in the liver and kidneys.

If you make a large change in dosage, these can over respond or be

temporarily overwhelmed, producing blood levels that go way too high and

then drop way too low, hyperthyroid then hypothyroid, all on the same

steady in take. Eventually the bumpy ride will stabilize to a steady

level, but if they are allowed to go too high on one of these

excursions, you can risk a heart attack or stroke. That is why we all

had to suffer that slow build up in dosage until it got in the right

range, if we were lucky.

Chuck Blatchley

[Guest guest]

I have been on this dosage for the last five years and feeling fine.

Actually have always felt fine.

So in your opinion, do you think that I shouldn't try to reduce my

dosage?

I go to the doctor's the end of May and maybe I should continue my

regular dosage and ask to be put on a natural thyroid instead. I

just know that I want off of this synthetic stuff. It has caused my

mom to have osteoporosis.

Chris

[Guest guest]

> ... I go to the doctor's the end of May and maybe I should continue my

> regular dosage and ask to be put on a natural thyroid instead. ...

I would suggest that you not adjust your prescription without talking to

the doctor first. If he/she agrees with your self diagnosis, you can

probably get directions to cut back over the phone. They may want to

monitor your changes with blood tests to figure out what is really going

on.

Some prescriptions are designed to allow adjustments to taste or " as

needed. " Synthroid is not one of them. It is safer to argue or perhaps

to seek a new doctor, but don't just guess on your own.

Chuck Blatchley

[Guest guest]

I think it is frigging outrageous. The fertility industry is another big

bucks industry. Progesterone cream plus Armour costs pennies a day. It

might be important to continue using progesterone, not just during a

" treatment " . It will keep you and your thyroid healthy.

Gracia

> This is what happened to me after 4 years of fertility treatments. Our

> insurance suddenly dropped fertility coverage so I told my doc to try

> everything during our last treatment. We added baby aspirin,

> progesterone, antibiotics, prednisone. Voila! I was knocked up! We

> figured it was the progesterone that did it because I started to cramp

> and bleed at six weeks and as soon as we upped my progesterone it

> stopped and I now have a beautiful, healthy, happy baby girl. I've not

> taken progesterone since then. I guess I'm not really sure HOW to use

> it if it's not in a suppository. Can someone explain?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Chuck for your information. I really appreciate you taking

the time to help me out. I never really realized that by me weaning

myself off could cause any damage since I don't have any symptoms of

thyroid disease anyway.

It is enlightening to know that my thyroid could be partially

working on it's own becuase of the low dosage that I am on.

I will continue to stay on my regular dosage and wait till I go to

my doctor. If he is not willing to work with me then I will go

elsewhere. I just want off of this synthetic medication.

Chris

[Guest guest]

>

> Why not combine Armour plus progesterone. Then you will feel

great.

> $ynthroid is bad stuff IMO

> Gracia

>

> I hope to get on it(Armour) in May or get off of everything

completely. I am just praying that the progesterone will take care

of it.

Chris

[Guest guest]

I just wanted to add that I spent $60 recently on Progesterone cream and the

only thing I noticed was that it made me ravishingly hungry.

chris_barnes76117 <chris_barnes76117@...> wrote:

>

> Why not combine Armour plus progesterone. Then you will feel

great.

> $ynthroid is bad stuff IMO

> Gracia

>

> I hope to get on it(Armour) in May or get off of everything

completely. I am just praying that the progesterone will take care

of it.

Chris

[Guest guest]

>

> I just wanted to add that I spent $60 recently on Progesterone

cream and the only thing I noticed was that it made me ravishingly

hungry.

Wow! That was expensive cream! I pay $25. a jar for mine and I have

been on it since Dec. I haven't felt any different and it hasn't

made me feel hungry either. I just hope that it helps me get off of

thyroid eventually. What ever it takes!

Chris

[Guest guest]

HMMM If a doc " disapproves " of armour they can sometimes be most

unhelpful. I think you might need more meds. I used to have the swollen

face thing before I got meds. I found my own dose without tests--I guess

that's the old fashioned way, how docs used to do it going by symptoms.

How much Armour are you taking?

Gracia

> Gracia,

> I have a question,..I started using prog. cream and my face broke out

> like crazy.I did feel better but the face thing out weighed the

> effect.Any thoughts on that one?Is this a side effect of prog.

> cream?Also,..I switched to Armour at my Drs. unapproval he gave me a

> script but now my face is swollen all the time,(again with the face

> thing,hehehe)maybe not enough or allergic reaction?Any thoughts

> appriciated,Thanks,

> Deneen:)

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

> progesterone helped me immensely, 100mg 2X a day, but I still take

Armour

> thyroid, and grateful for it.

> Gracia,

Do you take a progesterone pill or cream? My understanding about

progesterone pills is that it is not really progesterone. I may have

been mislead here but I don't know.

Since you have been taking the progesterone have you been able to

lower your dosage of Armour thyroid?

Chris

[Guest guest]

Well that is encouraging to me to hear that someone has had their

thyroid medication reduced by taking a natural progesterone along

with it. I hope that will happen to me as well:)

Thanks,

Chris

[Guest guest]

This is what happened to me after 4 years of fertility treatments. Our

insurance suddenly dropped fertility coverage so I told my doc to try

everything during our last treatment. We added baby aspirin,

progesterone, antibiotics, prednisone. Voila! I was knocked up! We

figured it was the progesterone that did it because I started to cramp

and bleed at six weeks and as soon as we upped my progesterone it

stopped and I now have a beautiful, healthy, happy baby girl. I've not

taken progesterone since then. I guess I'm not really sure HOW to use

it if it's not in a suppository. Can someone explain?

Re: Re: Introduction and Question

today a woman was telling me that she went through 9 years of fertility

treatments. finally she had a full term baby when the doc gave her

progesterone suppositories.

[Guest guest]

I guess I'm not really sure HOW to use

> it if it's not in a suppository. Can someone explain?

I get my natural progesterone cream from a health food store and I

just do what the directions say on the jar. You apply a rounded

1/4th teaspoon somewhere on your body twice a day. You start on day

12 and continue through day 26. Make sure you use the whole jar in

that three week period.

My daughter has PCOS and that is what she is using as well,

hopefully to get pregnant.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Gracia,

I have a question,..I started using prog. cream and my face broke out

like crazy.I did feel better but the face thing out weighed the

effect.Any thoughts on that one?Is this a side effect of prog.

cream?Also,..I switched to Armour at my Drs. unapproval he gave me a

script but now my face is swollen all the time,(again with the face

thing,hehehe)maybe not enough or allergic reaction?Any thoughts

appriciated,Thanks,

Deneen:)

[Guest guest]

I did some searching on the internet since my last post and refreshed

what I used to know about progesterone cream and fertility. It's

amazing how I forgot my many years of fertility research the second I

got pregnant! I never really knew it helped thyroid, though. If your

daughter is using it to try to get pregnant then she needs to make sure

she ovulates before she starts using it and it may not always be on day

12. She also needs to make sure she isn't pregnant before she quits

using it. Progesterone will keep ovulation from occurring and it can

cause spontaneous abortion (induces your period) if you are pregnant and

suddenly quit using it. That was my problem with fertility. I was

getting pregnant. All those months we spent thousands on fertility

treatments. We're pretty sure I was getting pregnant, but I didn't

produce enough progesterone to maintain the pregnancy so when it was

time for my period to start, there was no progesterone present to stop

it and I miscarried. Have you or your daughter read about the

progesterone therapy used to induce GOOD ovulation in women with PCOS?

If not, let me know and I'll explain. I think I'm going to try this,

starting next month. I'm ready for another itty bitty baby now that my

first baby is trying to walk and doesn't want to be cuddled all the

time.

Re: Introduction and Question

I get my natural progesterone cream from a health food store and I

just do what the directions say on the jar. You apply a rounded

1/4th teaspoon somewhere on your body twice a day. You start on day

12 and continue through day 26. Make sure you use the whole jar in

that three week period.

My daughter has PCOS and that is what she is using as well,

hopefully to get pregnant.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Chuck, for your information on sudden changes in Synthroid

dosage. I wish I had known that 3 years ago when my TSH crept up a

few points and the Dr. changed my dosage from 100 to 200 mcg. I didn't

think I should do that, but he insisted, and I did. It almost killed

me and sent me on a roller coaster that has lasted until quite recently

when I found a doctor who knows how to treat this.

If your doctor ever tells you to do anything like that, don't do it!!

Find another doctor as fast as you can.

[Guest guest]

I am taking 2 grain which is a higher dose than when I was on Thyolar(I

was on 1 1/2grain equivalent).I just don't know,I want to do the natural

thing but it seems that I do better on the synthetic.Go figure...:)

Deneen:)

[Guest guest]

> I did some searching on the internet since my last post and

refreshed

> what I used to know about progesterone cream and fertility. It's

> amazing how I forgot my many years of fertility research the

second I

> got pregnant! I never really knew it helped thyroid, though. If

your

> daughter is using it to try to get pregnant then she needs to make

sure

> she ovulates before she starts using it and it may not always be

on day

> 12. She also needs to make sure she isn't pregnant before she

quits

> using it. Progesterone will keep ovulation from occurring and it

can

> cause spontaneous abortion (induces your period) if you are

pregnant and

> suddenly quit using it.

,

Thanks for all your information. My daughter starts on a different

day other than day 12. She was told to start using it on day 5 or 7.

She also knows to continue using it when she does get pregnant up

until or through her third month of pregnancy(I am not sure which).

Since she has started using the progesterone cream, her periods have

become more regular and her basil temperature is not as low as it

was and she can now tell when she ovulates so it has been helping

her. She has gone though a bunch of tests and the only thing that

has come up is a low progesterone level.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Hi o,

When our son was on the high doses of pred he would beg and cry for food so we had a really hard time following a good diet.Our rheumy told us lots and lots of fruit with high water content.From his 3rd b-day to his 4th b-day he gained 30 lbs and had the classic cushingoid features.Moon face, swollen,distended belly,buffalo hump on the base of his neck,and lots of hair.Once the dose got more stable the weight became stabalized.My son has been off steroids since valentines day and has lost 10lbs grown like a weed and looks great again.I don't think there is a whole lot you can do to avoid the weight gain.Steroids are such a huge appetite stimulator.I would be just as cautious of how much they eat as to what they eat.

Hugs

Becki and 4systemic