Re: Another newbie introduction

[Guest guest]

So Dusty, do you have low BP or just the symptoms?

cw

-- Re: Another newbie introduction

Dusty,

What blood pressure meds are you looking at? I would like to go to the doc

armed with information.

The body temp thing might have been a total fluke. I've had sore glands in

my neck for some time now.

This is driving me nuts though. Early this morning I was up and down quite

a bit but it stabilized for most of the day. Here in the last hour or so it

is

the yo yo again. The body has energy, but the mental fog is back, and forth.

Oh, before I started the thyroid treatment, my BP was 116/67 and I was on

track for lowering the dose if my BP was that low on my next visit. This

weekend I'll monitor my BP closely and see of these valleys are due to

low BP/bradycardia. If so, most of my roller coaster symptoms are due to

a conflict between BP and thyroid meds.

I hate this mental fog...

> > >

> > > Mike,

> > >

> > > Sorry, this makes no sense to me. NONE.

> > >

> > > Your doses (even combined) are way too low for someone who really has

> > > hypoT. Did you take any blood tests, before this chemistry experiment

> > > began? If so, please share the results. If not, what makes you (or

your

> > > doctor) think that you are hypoT and that thyroid meds are in any way

> > > appropriate? A body temperature of 98.1 is not consistent with hypoT.

> > >

> > > The usual STARTING dose for titration is closer to two full grains

(120

> > > mg) of Armour or 75 mcg of T4.

> > >

> > > Chuck

> > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Hi,

> > > >

> > > > I'm 2 weeks into treatment for hypothyroidism. I was supposed to

start

>

> > > > with 15 mg Armour

> > > > and 25 mcg Levothyroxin, then increase to 30 mg Armour at 2 weeks. I

> > > > guess the doc

> > > > wanted a different t3/t4 ratio for me. By the second day there were

> > > > significant changes in

> > > > my metabolism. I went from a baseline body temp of 98.1 to 99.5, BP

of

>

> > > > 116/67 to

> > > > 145/105 and pulse of less than 60 to 85-88. I dropped the Armour for

a

>

> > > > few days and

> > > > sunk back down to zombiedom. I switched to Armour only. After about

a

> > > > week, I start

> > > > noticing that I'm on a roller coaster in terms of energy, mood and

> > > > temperature. The temp

> > > > doesn't actually change, I just go from feeling hot to shivering. At

2

>

> > > > weeks, the roller

> > > > coaster is getting worse, and my neck feels like it is being

stretched

>

> > > > out like a bullfrog's

> > > > neck during mating season.

> > > >

> > > > Do many people experience this roller coaster effect and a sore neck

> > > > during the initial

> > > > phase of treatment?

> > > >

> > > > Are there any foods or supplements that I can take to help smooth

this

> out?

> > > >

> > > > I am working on reducing and eventually eliminating the caffeine.

Oh,

> I

> > > > forgot to mention

> > > > that before this, I consumed caffeine at levels that the AMA would

> > > > probably deem toxic. It

> > > > was the only way I could keep awake all day. Little did I know that

I

> > > > was only making

> > > > things worse.

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/6/2008 3:54:23 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

mlawson66@... writes:

,> can you believe that I'm supposed to be taking a statin

>with my cholesterol numbers?

>Total 147 - HDL 21 - LDL 61

OMG...you are kidding me...IMHO, you need to get your cholesterol higher.

When cholesterol gets too low, as I think yours is, there are other health

conditions that can be problematic.

BarbF

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Me too, Gracia. It's my understanding that hypothyroidism can make your

arteries less elastic, raising the diastolic pressure. When my thyroid got

under control, it lowered nicely. When it started to go up, it was clue to my

doc that I needed more AT. Interesting stuff.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/7/2008 12:07:12 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

circe@... writes:

Armour at the right dose should lower BP--it did for me.

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Unfortunately, I'm still on BP meds, but even on the meds my lower number

was getting into the 90's. More AT brought it down.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/7/2008 10:16:16 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

mlawson66@... writes:

Man, I would be so glad to get off of the BP meds,

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Hi Barb,

> > can you believe that I'm supposed to be taking a statin

> >with my cholesterol numbers?

>

> >Total 147 - HDL 21 - LDL 61

>

>

>

> OMG...you are kidding me...IMHO, you need to get your cholesterol higher.

> When cholesterol gets too low, as I think yours is, there are other health

> conditions that can be problematic.

> BarbF

Crap, they will probably try to put me on another pill for that. LOL!

Sorry, I got one of the numbers wrong. LDL is 66. Looking at the

lab, I've got a red flag on the HDL. It is supposed to be > 40. I don't

think that the docs look at all of the numbers, just the ones that

the lab flags.

The cover letter on top of my lab results says:

The recommendations for a cholesterol of this level are as follows:

1. Consume a diet low in fat, particularly saturated fats (found in

meats, poultry, butter, and all dairy products with the exception of

non-fat dairy products). Include in your diet fresh fruits and

vegetables to the greatest extent possible.

--- That is funny. I am primarily a vegetarian. I guess the term

--- is pescatarian, I still eat salmon, snapper and tuna.

2. Blah Blah Take an aspirin a day, and lots of Vitamin E...

3. Blah blah Exercise more....

4. Recheck fasting lipid profile in 12 months.

My file says I have lipidosis.

[Guest guest]

> Me too, Gracia. It's my understanding that hypothyroidism can make your

> arteries less elastic, raising the diastolic pressure. When my thyroid got

> under control, it lowered nicely. When it started to go up, it was clue to

my

> doc that I needed more AT. Interesting stuff.

> BarbF

Man, I would be so glad to get off of the BP meds, and just take Armour

and probably some kind of med for adrenal fatigue.

[Guest guest]

Barb, that sucks. Are the AT side effects rough? I'm probably going to take

Toppers advice and stick to this dose of Armour for 6 weeks before adjusting

again. In that time I'll see what I can find out about lowering BP without

getting

wiped out. If I find anything useful, I'll be sure to share.

> Unfortunately, I'm still on BP meds, but even on the meds my lower number

> was getting into the 90's. More AT brought it down.

> BarbF

[Guest guest]

hi Sheila

I have been greatly helped by the ATP cofactors, vitamins B2 100mg and niacin

500mg, found on http://www.vrp.com in addition to Iodoral.

Gracia

HI Mike

You are probably still experiencing all these symptoms because you are

nowhere near to taking the right dose of Armour that your body needs.

You must be patient and let your body get used to these new hormones

they have been without for some time.

Do you know whether you have a high cholesterol level? If you want to go

down the natural route to bringing your pressure down, try high doses of

CoEnzymeQ10 n(say 300 mgs) and also the non-flushing Niacin (vitamin

B3) at 350mgs. My husband had very high BP and refused to use the

synthetic meds. our doctor recommended and has brought it right down

using these.

Get your doctor to check out your sore glands. Infections last a long

time when your metabolism is low. I am sure once you get on the correct

dose of Armour you will feel so much better. However, having said that,

remember there are many associated conditions that go along with

hypothyroidism that you may need to treat before you get the full

benefit of Armour. OLnce on the right dose, your brain fog will go. I

know, my brain was the first thing to come back to me when I started

Armour.

Your BP is not high. Low BP is to be expected in somebody with

hypothyroidism. I would suggest you try to find out whether your

adrenals are compromised and if your cortisol is low, get some

supplementation. If you start adrenal supplementation, then take your

BP, temperature and pulse daily to see if this is making a difference.

Sheila

>

>

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[Guest guest]

Hi Gracia

Do you take the ordinary or 'non-flushing' Niacin. Many people cannot

tolerate taking niacin at all. Another excellent source for buying the

non-flushing high dose Niacin is at www.iherb.com.

Sheila

>

>

> hi Sheila

> I have been greatly helped by the ATP cofactors, vitamins B2 100mg

and niacin 500mg, found on http://www.vrp.com in addition to

Iodoral.

> Gracia

[Guest guest]

Barb,

I wouldn't intentionally increase the dose until you reach hyperthyroid

symptoms. If you find a level that makes you feel good, stick with it, but

keep an eye on your symptoms. As your body gets used to exogenous

hormones, it *gets lazy* and produces less of its own. That means that

the general trend is that you will take more and more thyroid meds until

you reach a point where the thyroid is either completely shut down, or

just idling. That is what is going on with these folks that are at levels of

3 grains or more. They are getting most of their thyroid hormones from

the the thyroid meds.

> If we find a dosage where we feel good and are seemingly symptom free, do we

> just stay there? Or do we keep going till we reach a hyper dosage and then

> drop back? This is all very confusing to me.

> BarbF

I agree with you. What makes it even more confusing is that all of these

endocrine systems interact with each other. Tweaking the thyroid might

have results with the Adrenals or the sex hormones, or vice-versa, as

these other systems may be compensating for each other. Low thyroid

often causes more demands on the Adrenals, which can impact

sex hormone levels, which in turn impacts thyroid levels.

With all of this complexity, it makes sense to try and change only 1 thing

at a time, and give it some time to settle down.

Best of luck reaching that happy, symptom free state.

-Mike

[Guest guest]

how old are you? enough Armour, cortef and estradiol normalized my BP.

gracia

Unfortunately, I'm still on BP meds, but even on the meds my lower number

was getting into the 90's. More AT brought it down.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/7/2008 10:16:16 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

mlawson66@... writes:

Man, I would be so glad to get off of the BP meds,

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

definately stay with the dose that feels good! but be aware you might need

more than thyroid meds.

Gracia

If we find a dosage where we feel good and are seemingly symptom free, do we

just stay there? Or do we keep going till we reach a hyper dosage and then

drop back? This is all very confusing to me.

BarbF

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[Guest guest]

the bottle says each tablet contains

B2 riboflavin 100mg

niacin (inositol hexaniocotinate) 500mg

I think it is time release but the bottle doesn't say! I take 1 2X a day. I

don't know if iherb carries this formula?

Gracia

Hi Gracia

Do you take the ordinary or 'non-flushing' Niacin. Many people cannot

tolerate taking niacin at all. Another excellent source for buying the

non-flushing high dose Niacin is at www.iherb.com.

Sheila

>

>

> hi Sheila

> I have been greatly helped by the ATP cofactors, vitamins B2 100mg

and niacin 500mg, found on http://www.vrp.com in addition to

Iodoral.

> Gracia

[Guest guest]

Hi Bbircie

If you find a dosage where you feel good, then definitely stick with it.

If however you are not getting to that lovely place, then 4 weeks or so

after your last increase, it is fine to increase by another half grain

and see if that helps. Some of us do need to increase until we do feel

'hyper', and then we know we have reached our sweet spot, but going a

little over the top is nothing to worry about as you usually get

symptoms of feeling a bit spaced out, dizzy, perhaps sweaty etc a couple

of hours after your latest dose increase, and after a couple of so

hours, you will feel OK again. The following day, simply take the dose

you were taking before your increase and that is the dose your body

needs.

Good luck

Sheila

>

>

> If we find a dosage where we feel good and are seemingly symptom free,

do we

> just stay there? Or do we keep going till we reach a hyper dosage and

then

> drop back? This is all very confusing to me.

> BarbF

>

[Guest guest]

the funny thing was, with me, that the docs ONLY wanted to give me BP

meds---thyroid never entered their heads. I would ask for thyroid test and then

be told " your thyroid gland is perfect " ! TSH of one something. (I have had

lots of hypo symptoms my whole life, had a partial thyroidectomy at age 22 and

no meds for 30 years). Parts of me were starting to shut down and I was dying.

I borrowed some Armour from a friend and started to feel better, could only

tolerate 90mg though. I needed other hormones by then.

Gracia

> Me too, Gracia. It's my understanding that hypothyroidism can make your

> arteries less elastic, raising the diastolic pressure. When my thyroid got

> under control, it lowered nicely. When it started to go up, it was clue to

my

> doc that I needed more AT. Interesting stuff.

> BarbF

Man, I would be so glad to get off of the BP meds, and just take Armour

and probably some kind of med for adrenal fatigue.

[Guest guest]

http://www.westonaprice.org

Gracia

Hi Barb,

> > can you believe that I'm supposed to be taking a statin

> >with my cholesterol numbers?

>

> >Total 147 - HDL 21 - LDL 61

>

>

>

> OMG...you are kidding me...IMHO, you need to get your cholesterol higher.

> When cholesterol gets too low, as I think yours is, there are other health

> conditions that can be problematic.

> BarbF

Crap, they will probably try to put me on another pill for that. LOL!

Sorry, I got one of the numbers wrong. LDL is 66. Looking at the

lab, I've got a red flag on the HDL. It is supposed to be > 40. I don't

think that the docs look at all of the numbers, just the ones that

the lab flags.

The cover letter on top of my lab results says:

The recommendations for a cholesterol of this level are as follows:

1. Consume a diet low in fat, particularly saturated fats (found in

meats, poultry, butter, and all dairy products with the exception of

non-fat dairy products). Include in your diet fresh fruits and

vegetables to the greatest extent possible.

--- That is funny. I am primarily a vegetarian. I guess the term

--- is pescatarian, I still eat salmon, snapper and tuna.

2. Blah Blah Take an aspirin a day, and lots of Vitamin E...

3. Blah blah Exercise more....

4. Recheck fasting lipid profile in 12 months.

My file says I have lipidosis.

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Mike, for all that good info. It makes some sense out of all of

this.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/8/2008 10:01:55 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

mlawson66@... writes:

>Best of luck reaching that happy, symptom free state.

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Hi Gracia..I'm 56. Right now I'm taking Isocort and Armour. Can't take

estradiol cuz of a history of breast cancer. Took my blood pressure yesterday

and it was 106 over 70...so maybe the addition of the isocort will be enough to

get me off the meds. That would be great!

BarbF

In a message dated 6/8/2008 1:18:36 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

circe@... writes:

how old are you? enough Armour, cortef and estradiol

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Sheila. I was asking because when I started Isocort I cut way back

on the AT, but actually feel pretty good. But also feel that I'm not quite

there yet. So in a couple of weeks I'll add 1/2 grain. Does adding adrenal

support often result in a reduced dose for the long term?

Thanks.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/8/2008 4:16:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

sheilaturner@... writes:

symptoms of feeling a bit spaced out, dizzy, perhaps sweaty etc a couple

of hours after your latest dose increase, and after a couple of so

hours, you will feel OK again. The following day, simply take the dose

you were taking before your increase and that is the dose your body

needs.

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

I didn't at first, but went into a major hyper mode. So even though it's

light, it might be that my adrenals aren't totally burnt out, but just need a

little push. I've cut back since last Friday, and this coming Friday will add

1/2 grain. Do you think that is enough time before upping the dose?

Thanks.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/9/2008 9:31:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

circe@... writes:

Isocort is very lite. I don't think you need to cut back on AT.

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Isocort is very lite. I don't think you need to cut back on AT.

Gracia

Thanks, Sheila. I was asking because when I started Isocort I cut way back

on the AT, but actually feel pretty good. But also feel that I'm not quite

there yet. So in a couple of weeks I'll add 1/2 grain. Does adding adrenal

support often result in a reduced dose for the long term?

Thanks.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/8/2008 4:16:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

sheilaturner@... writes:

symptoms of feeling a bit spaced out, dizzy, perhaps sweaty etc a couple

of hours after your latest dose increase, and after a couple of so

hours, you will feel OK again. The following day, simply take the dose

you were taking before your increase and that is the dose your body

needs.

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

how much Isocort are you taking? 8 pellets? I think the " major hyper mode "

could be adrenal! meaning they were a little bit stimulated but not enough.

most ppl don't stay on Isocort for very long b/c it is too lite.

Gracia

I didn't at first, but went into a major hyper mode. So even though it's

light, it might be that my adrenals aren't totally burnt out, but just need a

little push. I've cut back since last Friday, and this coming Friday will add

1/2 grain. Do you think that is enough time before upping the dose?

Thanks.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/9/2008 9:31:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

circe@... writes:

Isocort is very lite. I don't think you need to cut back on AT.

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with

Tyler Florence " on AOL Food.

(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4? & NCID=aolfod00030000000002)

[Guest guest]

Hi Gracia...I'm taking 6 per day. And I have put together another piece of

the puzzle. I am on Arimidex...a breast cancer drug that inhibits estrogen

production by the adrenal glands. This is making some things more clear, and

others less understandable. I think my hypo and adrenal problems may be

directly related to Arimidex...which I am going off next week cuz it's been

five

years. Way too much to understand.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/9/2008 3:04:28 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

circe@... writes:

how much Isocort are you taking? 8 pellets?

**************Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best

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[Guest guest]

you have just got to get iodine for breast cancer prevention

http://www.breastcancerchoices.org

Gracia

Hi Gracia...I'm taking 6 per day. And I have put together another piece of

the puzzle. I am on Arimidex...a breast cancer drug that inhibits estrogen

production by the adrenal glands. This is making some things more clear, and

others less understandable. I think my hypo and adrenal problems may be

directly related to Arimidex...which I am going off next week cuz it's been

five

years. Way too much to understand.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/9/2008 3:04:28 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

circe@... writes:

how much Isocort are you taking? 8 pellets?

**************Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best

2008. (http://citysbest.aol.com?ncid=aolacg00050000000102)

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Gracia. I already do iodine..have done the loading test etc. and am

a big believer. But I also think there are other things one can do to

prevent recurrence. Arimidex is one of them. But the good news is I'm winding

it

down now...5 years is almost up.

BarbF

In a message dated 6/9/2008 9:13:36 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

circe@... writes:

you have just got to get iodine for breast cancer prevention

**************Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best

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