Recently I wrote an article entitled “Comparing The Different Brands of Natural Thyroid Hormone”, and I thought it would be interesting to see the experiences some people have had with natural thyroid hormone medication. Although it’s true that the goal should be to address the cause of the problem, some people with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis do need to take thyroid hormone medication. While most endocrinologists recommend synthetic T4, many do better when taking desiccated thyroid hormone medication. But of course everyone is different, and there are some who don’t do well when taking natural thyroid hormone.
Anyway, if you have taken Armour, Nature-Throid, WP Thyroid, or a different brand of desiccated thyroid hormone, please let me know what your experience was. If you felt better and would recommend natural thyroid hormone to others please let me know! And if you didn’t have a good experience with natural thyroid hormone please let me know! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with everyone.
Hi Dr. Eric.
Recently I switched to Nature-Throid from Synthroid/Levothroid.
Initially my doctor was reluctant to put me on it, as I had approached her and asked her for this natural alternative, after reading about it in blogs etc.
So she started me off on the lowest dose and I felt so good when I took it. Eventually she increased my dosage to the second level since my TSH was still about 5 and she wanted to bring it down lower.
However, I can totally tell the difference between the synthetic drug and this natural one. I don’t feel like I am on medication, when I take Nature-throid. With Synthroid/Levothrooid, sometimes I would feel jittery and I would get headaches (from hypoglycemia).
But this natural one doesn’t give me those extreme feelings – I am haooy to have switched to this dessicated one (from pigs, I hear :-))
Thanks for asking.
I was treated with synthyroid for10 years with good results as I did not get sicker or die. My endocrinologist would not prescribe NDT and dosed by TSH levels. I felt better with them low Dr felt better with them in range. Being limited in resources I could not seek different Dr. I bought thyroid-s and strated increasing dose while reducing synthyroid. I felt better! Except for a bout with candida, I got better with treatment and continued. Candida came back, with advise from wife and alternative practitioner I stopped thyroid-s and odered Thiroyd. I went back on synthyroid. Upon reciept of thiroyd Again I raised dosage and reduced synthyroid as recommended every two weeks to 3 grains per day in split dose. I tested and tsh was not readable and ft4 ft3 and rt3 were about the same. I increased to 4 grains and 21.875 mcg of synthyroid then 4 1/2 grains and no synthyroid. Retested and tsh still unreadable ft4 ft3 mid range and rt3 was lower from near high range. I am currently at five grains equal to 175mcg of t4 and 41.55 mcg t3. I will retest in may. I feel better than in years, still some aches and pain but maybe hard living for 65 years. I am gluten and soy free and eat organic if possible with most coming from our garden. Limited dairy butter and some cheese. I am glad I stopped listening to Dr and started listening to my body! Diagnosed in 2005 after having high tsh since 2001…back when I was stupid.
I was on Synthroid for about 8 years before things really started to go south. I had a hard time finding a doctor who would prescribe NDT, but I finally did. I started out with Armour, but got no help with my adrenals, so it actually didn’t go very well. Went back on Synthroid and Cytomel for a few years and then found a dr. to prescribe Nature-throid. I’ve been on that for about 9 years now and all of my headaches have disappeared. I’m also on adrenal supports, so that, combined with the NDT has helped my energy a lot. I feel that, if I had been given natural adrenal and thyroid supports long ago, I could have avoided a lot of the issues I’ve been dealing with since the 90’s. I wish doctors would get a clue…..
What kind of adrenal support were you taking and are you still taking it?
I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in 2005. I was put on Armour Thyroid and did extremely well until about 2 years ago. They tried switching me to Synthroid and T-3 and I felt awful. I lost half the hair on my head and gained about 30 lbs. I went back on Armour Thyroid and I am doing better. I believe that a big part of having difficulties with my thyroid was because of having extreme adrenal fatigue. I am no seeing a Naturopath and I am finally beginning to feel so much better.
I was diagnosed with hashimotos thyroid about 12 years ago. Every time I try dessicated natural thyroid my TSH goes sky high…99. I always feel so much better!! The last time was for 2 years on WP thyroid and my hair fell out so bad so now back on synthroid and cytomel but don’t feel well at all. Trouble sleeping, and just not a good feeling most days. Labs are good. My hair is looking great though!😀 what a price to pay. What to do next?
I started out on Armour but felt like I was sweating from it so I switched to Nature thyroid. I sweated on that one too so I thought I’d try regular old Synthroid, but, sigh, it makes me sweat too. I know it’s the cause because I’ve been able to stop the sweating by changing my dose on several occasions but after a short period of time it always comes back. Anyone know what’s going on?
I’m early in my diagnosis of Hashimoto’s (only 4 years) and am only on 60 mcg of Synthroid. I don’t feel any different being on it or not, as my thyroid is still keeping up. Since I sweat on all of them I’d like to go back to NDT again.
Nikkei. How does sweating stop when you change dosage? Increase or reduce dosage?
What is NDT?
I have been on everything. Did my best on Armour until last year it seemed to stop working (stared gaining weight again) switched to WP Nature Thyroid and cannot shake off the weight! Armour went up in Price and has more additives so would like to stick with the most pure NDT. Will try to up the dose I guess and see if that works.
It is frustrating to have to switch Meds every few years, butbit sounds like it’s pretty common. The body gets used to it and stops improving. ..
Ana, don’t forget that if your weight increases you will need a higher dose of whatever you are on. So it may not be the medication changing it might be your increased requirements.
I am glad to see that issue is shared by someone!
I have only taken Armour Thyroid. Excessive sweating is a major issue in my daily life! Has anyone found any relief from this problem? It sounds silly but it really is awful!
Thank goodness I finally found others mentioning the profuse sweating. Mine began before I was even diagnosed with hypothyroid (from tsh bldwk). I’m from Miami, FL and believe me, I know what normal or even excessive sweating is…I grew up playing in the sun, was on the school football team,etc. and this is NOTHING like that. It’s like someone poured a bucket of water on my head (especially my head and face–it gets in my eyes and stings, etc) of course soaking wet shirts, etc. BUT this awful sweating started BEFORE I even began taking Synthroid (then switched to generic Levo, immediately several of the weird side effects (from the additives in Synthroid)disappeared. Did levo for a couple of years, now recently finally found a doc to write NDT, began Armour a few weeks ago, IMMEDIATELY felt better, the first day! Still sweat, though, but I did lose five pounds (of the excess 30 pounds I gained in a few weeks when this began–all in the abdomen)without changing diet or more exercise or anything, just switched to NDT, a week later got on the scale and lost five pounds!But I digress…my point in replying was to say that in my case, the sweating began with the hypothyroid, BEFORE any meds, and has never gone away. I just heard about Nature-Throid, and will ask my doc to switch me from Armour next month…have read many bad things about Armour, including high prices, etc. But it sure as heck is better than Levo!!The very first morning after I took Armour NDT, I awakened feeling refreshed! Instead of like I’d been wrestling Hulk Hogan all night, I also now sleep 4-5 hours before mysteriously waking up, then immediately going back to sleep, then waking up every hour on the hour, you can set your clock by it. I hate that symptom, but worst, and scariest of all, is the “Cognitive Decline”…memory and concentration issues, clumsiness, absentmindedness, etc. because I was caregiver for my Mom with the despicable Alzheimer’s Disease for 8 years…the end was awful. So all this “forgetfulness” picking up the BenGay instead of the toothpaste, etc. is quite scary. These are NOT “Senior moments” these are much more. so far, no change on NDT, still praying..tried several of the “Brain” supplements, no help. Sorry it’s so long…I was just gonna say how my sweating began BEFORE I started th meds.
(took synthetic T4 and T3 for a while, definitely needed the T3). Was interested in taking a more natural hormone (we don’t really know what not having T1 or T2 does, do we?), so I took Armour for several years (with T3 supplements, I’m ‘thyroid hormone resistant’, just as I’ve become ‘insulin resistant’, sigh). Then a naturopath suggested I try Naturethroid. There was an immediate difference! Felt like a bit of ‘fog’ had lifted. this was after I did an elimination diet test and figured out that I’m sensitive to corn, so based on your article, my reaction to the change makes sense. I later changed to WP and think there was a different (although, not so dramatic). Since I can afford it and prefer fewer additives, am sticking with WP.
I was on armour thyroid a few years which kept my TSH in “normal” range so my doctor would not run a thyroid panel-only if my TSH was not normal! I had issues off and on, stayed on a gluten free diet 3 1/2 years. Went off the gluten free diet last summer about the same time my armour was changed by pharmacy to NP thyroid-within a couple months my tsh became high, hypothyroid, I gained weight and had many of the lousy symptoms from it! I finally refilled my armour thyroid, taking it for a few weeks now, gone back on gluten free diet…..been taking iodine and started taking thyroid energy supplements to try to help my thyroid to function on its own…..wish I could find a good integrated MD near me to go to that could work with me on healing my thyroid….
I felt awful on Synthroid. It didn’t address my symptoms and made most of them worse. I decided to see a naturopath who is helping with low cortisol, iron and Hashi’s, swelling, edema, hair-loss–all the things my “doctors” ignored for over 30 years– but she is not licensed to give me NDT yet. I will need to get my cortisol and iron up before trying it anyway. Still, I’m better off now than I was on Synthroid.
I went to my MD last week to get my thyroid prescription refilled armed with your article and ready to state my case why I wanted to try either Nature-Throid or WP. I was expecting that she would finally be won over after my stating my case repeatedly for 1.5 years. It turned out that she left that medical group and I was given a different doctor who wasn’t about to listen to anything I had to say about how, even though my blood test numbers looked like they were in range, I still had lots of symptoms of hypothyroidism. She just dismissed them all and wrote the prescription for the generic levothyroxine. And I have Hashimoto’s and several other autoimmune disorders – so taking the generic means I’m playing Russian roulette with the fillers they might have in them every time I get the prescription refilled. It’s so frustrating! GRRRRRR!
I ave been on thyroid medication for many years. Luckily I have never been on synthetic thyroid medication. Started on Armour first and didn’t tolerate it well (corn in the coating). Was then put on Nature Throid and did pretty well on that. Presently I am on WP Thyroid and doing fine although I am still having difficulty losing weight. I have recently been diagnosed with “mold illness” which I have likely had for many years. So…now starting treatment for the mold (which by the way can significantly affect the thyroid, etc.)Hoping that will improve how I feel even more!
Hi Jenny,
How are you being treated for mold illness?? Just inquiring because that may be one of the issues I’m having, along with trying to find the right medication and dosage for not having a thyroid!! I had a Total Thyroidectomy in August of 2017 because of multiple nodules, and I have been so I’ll on the Levothyroxine as well as the Tirosint So many adverse side effects. Now I’m trying the Naturethyroid. I’ve been on the 48.75 dosage (1 and 1/2 pill) for about 7 days now. The pill alone was dropping my levels even more after only 2 weeks, so the Dr. added 1/2 pill to the dosage. Still not feeling any better after the 7 days of the higher dose. At this point, I just don’t know what to do. I’m running out of thyroid medications to takeI!! I wish I’d done more research before I had my thyroid removed…
Lisa, I wish I had too
I changed to NDT Armour overnight from Levo. I was terrified of taking a new med, not knowing what to expect. Everyone of my symptoms disappeared within the first 20 minutes, my muscles in my legs changed as I lay there (the one hour before breakfast). I swung my legs out of bed and stood up instantly instead of rolling to the edge and gingerly putting one foot on the floor and then the next (that was the Levo way). I walked to the bathroom feeling like I was floating on air – absolutely no joint pain, no headache, no swishing sound in my head. I just can’t say enough good things about Armour Thyroid – (well, it’s getting a bit expensive).
Drop this hideous Levo people, change to Armour and read, read, read up on the subject of thyroid health so that your doctor cannot bamboozle you into taking the wrong medication at the wrong dose (regarding the latter don’t let any doc treat you to TSH, that will guarantee that you will be under medicated. Read “Tired Thyroid” by Barbara Laughed, Look up “Stop the Thyroid Madness” website and join the Forum Thyroid UK. You must educate yourself in all of this, your life and feeling of well being depends upon it.
I was on Armour for 3 years. Never felt any better even when they increased by dosage. Kept on gaining weight and was in a constant brain fog. Went off cold turkey and starting taking Thyrovanz which I bought off the internet. Take 1 to 2 a day. No brain fog and and I pretty good energy now. Also started taking Thyrobin to help support my thyroid. Feel pretty good but can’t loose any weight no matter what I do.
My hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s) has been entirely subclinical for the last 10 years, which means I don’t have any symptoms. Most of that time, I was unmedicated. When my TSH rose above 10 or 11, my doctor strongly urged me to start taking synthetic T4 to “take the stress off my endocrine system.” I hesitated at first, but then complied. I don’t feel any different, but I have adjusted the dose so that my TSH is around 1.0, which is what Dr. Izabella Wentz recommends for Hashimoto’s patients. My LDL cholesterol and LDL particle count are both higher than they should be, which I chalk up to low T3. (T3 is necessary to activate hepatic LDL receptors to clear LDL out of the bloodsteam.). A very low-carb diet might be responsible for this. Low carb intake can suppress T4 to T3 conversion. I have recently changed my carb consumption to be more in line with Paul & Shou-Ching Jaminet’s Perfect Health Diet, which is still moderately low carb but not very low or ketogenic. I will be curious to see what effect this will have when I have my next lab tests in a few months. My other lipids are excellent (low trigs, high HDL) so I am not worried. Hs-CRP is also very low, indicating little or no systemic inflammation.
I was Diagnose with Hashimoto’s five years. was on natures thyroid until last April decided to too quit cold turkey because of the other poison additives in the medicine and because taking hormones can increase your chance of getting cancer. I am happy to say just had blood work tested no sign of Hashimoto’s Tpo 10 .Been gluten free for about 3 years , take plenty of kelp(iodine) iodide , selenium ,had some mercury remove from my teeth,eat mostly organic veggies, take plenty of b vitamins , and c vitamins , plenty of sunshine , reduced all chemicals in all products.
Doesn’t taking iodine with hashimotos not make a difference considering hashi isn’t hypo and it’s not due to a iodine deficiency? I was told if you had hashi taking iodine does nothing for you
Hi All
My question is: Has anyone who had their thyroid completely removed tried any of the natural thyroid drugs compare to taking Synthroid? I have had my thyroid removed and have been on 137mcg of Synthroid for 2 years now. Have a lot of brain fog and am often tired even though I work out 3-4 times a week and mostly eat right. Also started breaking out.
Hi Cheri. I have had my thyroid removed due to a suspicious mass. Also have Hashimoto’s disease. This was in 1997. Post-op, I was placed on Synthroid 88mcg daily, and I slept 16 hours a day and awoke sleepy, always fought to stay awake.
Fast forward to 2002 & one day all of the hair on one side of my head falls out. Im also sleeping 20 hours a day and have been fighting with my highly recommended Endocrinologist since 1997 about my symptoms. Imagine sleeping for 20 hours, pounding espresso just to be able to drive to your kids school, then once you pick them up you pull to the side of the road, fall asleep for two hours, drive home, drag yourself back to bed. My heart rate was 38-50 beats per minute, blood pressure super low. I passed out at my job many times. Despite my bringing these complaints to him, my Endo said “you LOOK fine” and refused to even test for T3, refused to raise my Synthroid dose, he based everything upon TSH values. I had NO Thyroid gland. I told the Endo, this isnt normal, and he said, “just wear a wig”, and refused to run labs nor increase my dose of Synthroid. Being a single parent, having been on a continuous health downslide and being told it was “normal” and “fine” by my “reputable” Endocrinologist, I had my will written- so that my kids would be cared for in the event that I stop waking up. I had to move into my parents home, take leave from work and I slept on my parents’ floor for MONTHS, some days was so weak I crawled to the bathroom. I resigned to my fate and lost hope.
At that point on the cold floor, somehow something drew me to the internet. I ended up reading Thyroid and Hashimotos patient testimonials, and after a while, I realized that my Endo was simply ignorant, and that I had to try to heal myself. I started by reading medical studies as well as the site, “Stop the Thyroid Madness”. I asked around and went to see a doctor that other Thyroid patients in my community recommended. This doctor, I must add, had long been victim of a smear campaign in my community by other doctors, due to his “questionable” thyroid treatment- I was told he was “questionable” by many of the “reputable” doctors in my community. Well this “questionable” MD did an entire Thyroid panel that all of the “reputable” refused to do, found my T3 to be very low and diagnosed me with Hashomotos disease, elevated cortisol, and conversion issues. He encouraged me to try NDT, but i asked for synthetics and so he increased my Synthroid dose to 150mcg/day and started me on a T3 drug (Cytomel) that he slowly titrated up to 25mcg. Immediately my hair started growing back, I slept less hours and was on the road to wellness. Had I not visited this doctor, I doubt that I would still be here today. My previous Endo preferred to keep me in a state of continual profound decline rather than order a Thyroid panel for a severely symptomatic patient. This new doctor attended the latest Thyroid continuing education seminars and made me well. He changed my life forever.
Today, I have been successfully taking a higher dose of NDT and since I have, Ive been well. I work in the healthcare industry and see the ignorance that I had and the ignorance of the allopathic healthcare field in regard to Thyroid. Allopathic Thyroid education is severely lacking, severly behind the times and is harming patients. I am an attestment to the patient harm that ignorance of these so called “reputable” “experts” can inflict upon patients. I was in Myxedema but was never disgnosed with it; something is very wrong when an Endocrinologist can miss such profound symptoms and ignore patients who are doing so poorly. A 32 year old should not have to write a will and farm out children because she can’t even care for herself. This is bad medicine.
My best advice is to read, read, read. Be your own advocate and dont be afraid to get second, third and fourth opinions. Also, the Naturopathic world seems to know far more about the Thyroid, be far more well read, than the Allopathic world. Dont be acraid to consult with a good Naturopath as well. Finally, NDT changed my life. Without any thyroid fuction, T4 isnt enough, we need all of the T’s to be healthy. Good luck Cheri.
I have taken just about all of the thyroid support there is. First Synthroid, then levothyroid, Armour, now Naturethroid….When I first took Synthroid, I had panic attacks, hard to breathe, panicky..felt awful. Then my health settled down, and a few years later, I took Armour, which worked ok, still didn’t feel normal. Armour got too expensive, so started on NatureThyroid, due to cost…and still don’t feel normal, but TSH is about 2…
Ive felt tired for as long as I can remember. Lead a taxing fast-paced life ever since high school. Routine blood work came back indicating hypothyroidism on the low end about 3 years ago. I decided not to take immediate action before I learned more about it. I refused to believe I had to take a drug for the rest of my life, especially the synthetic form. I was only 23!
But after a stressful job/lifestyle got the best of me I started taking Armour thyroid 15mg daily about a year ago based on the recommendation that the additional T3 might benefit my rollercoaster mood/anxiety/depression.
The changes I felt were immediate. I had more energy, less mood swings, but over time I ended up feeling more anxious. I still struggle with the fact that off the medication I’m back to slow sluggish brain fog me, but on the medication I’m too anxious and I’m relying on replacement hormone therapy when I should be able to regain full function of my thyroid, but how???
Hi Dr. Eric and Everyone. I am taking an enormous dose of Nature-thyroid….i tried WP thryoid and it was basically the same…but because of finances my nurse practitioner suggested getting the pharmaceutical synthroid and cytomel? I put on 8 pounds in one month and no habits changed….went back to Nature-thyroid….i know this is not getting to the bottom of things as i am on the autistic spectrum and my body is just totally out of wack…all my hormones are out of wack though i do take bio-identical HRT but i am not sure my cells are even absorbing the thyroid or other hormones because i am on so much. However i am near 67 and did not even get a diagnosis about my thyroid until about 10 years ago…i can’t seem to find a practitioner who can really help…i have relied mostly on Ayurveda…and being a vegan…sorry went on a bit over the topic…Peace
After a few years on Euthyrox (same as Synthroid) and with a nasty brain fog condition I have finally started exploring the web. At first I added a pure T3 along with Euthyrox and after who know how long I felt alive again.
So i investigated some more and come across adrenal fatigue issues. I got my saliva test and it was bad. So I started to change my diet to almost fully paleo, but certainly 100% grain free, and also changed my therapy to Thyrois S. Then after a while I started working out. I feel very good now. I don’t know why, still, if I misbehave a little with the food i expressly gain kilos back, but otherwise I’m good.
The only thing that bothers me is an almost nonexistent TSH. I know it’s good to have a low TSH, but it’s not good to not have it at all. It plays a part in T4 to T3 conversion process, correct.
Does anyone has any suggestion on how to increase it a bit?
Thank You
Your med dosage is probably too high…contact your health professional and have her lower it until you have a TSH in normal range…
About 17 years ago, I started on Synthroid, and had panic attacks and could not breathe well. After a while, those symptoms resolved. One day, a coworker said I should be on Armour, so prescribed it for me…had no issues at all. I have never gotten any hypothyroid symptoms, other than hair loss. NO fatigue, joint pains, digestive issues….but on no meds, my tsh is 145….so I am now on Natur-throid, because Armour became too pricey! I want to wean off meds entirely, so have gone gluten, dairy, soy, gmo free…feeling good….will continue the right diet, hope to leave meds behind!
Does anyone else take Tirosent (pure T4)? I have recently started it and am not feeling much difference from Armour, which costs less.
It is actually spelled Tirosint and is levothyroxine sodium
Hi Amy, yes, I’ve taken Tirosint. I felt great on it, but I slept 9-10 hours at night and took a nap during my lunch break & after work just to get through the day. I also had mental fog after a while. I tried Synthroid and I always had a headache, ate a lot because I always felt hungry; therefore I went from 134 lbs to 141 lbs in less than 3 weeks, and I was moodie all the time. I’m now on NP Thyroid. Today is the first day taking it. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hey Lynne,
Have you looked into hormonal imbalances? I have severe thyroid issues myself. But a friend of mine has thyroid problems, she went on medication about 2 years ago that was helping her symptoms but didn’t help her lose any weight she finally looked into her hormone levels and it turned out all of it was way out of whack, once she began treating the hormone problems on top of treating thyroid issues she felt twice as good as she did before and was finally able to lose weight. Worth a try?
Also maybe get your lepids (be specific Lepids, not lipids) tested through a blood panel, if those are out of whack they can also block your ability to lose the weight. Really hope something helps!
Day 2 of Nature Throid – After being diagnosed with “Graves Disease” I’d been put on Synthroid after having to take the dreaded Radioactive Iodine (RAI) to kill my thyroid that was so enlarged if removed I’d never be able to speak again. I’ve never felt better in years mentally on Nature Throid and I have more energy than I have in years. So far, I love this stuff. I’m on 162.5 mg daily and my appetite has went way down in just a day! Amazing…while on Synthroid I’ve put on over 50 lbs and I’ve been so sad about it. I’d always been a tiny size “0” which I loved. I’ll keep letting all know if I lose weight on Nature Throid. I did have trouble sleeping from having so much more energy and feeling great. Hopefully, that doesn’t continue and I level out in that area.
Also, I wanted to let everyone know on Synthroid my TSH levels when having an entire TSH panel blood work up was always good. I just hate that while on Synthroid my arms looked as though someone had hooked a hose up to them as well as my legs. I’m not sure if this is due to the RAI or the Synthroid but, I’ll soon know since I’ve switched to Nature Throid. I have a feeling that the swelling in my body will go down. But, if not I’ll let everyone know. Hopefully, Nature Throid doesn’t make me swell up more. Again, I’ll keep everyone posted.
Hi Donna,
Thank you for sharing your experience with everyone. Although I’m sorry that you had to receive RAI, I’m glad that you’re feeling great on the Nature-Throid!
I had half of my thyroid removed in 2013 due to a 4 cm nodule. It was benign (PRAISE GOD!) I was never placed in any thyroid replacement meds. For the next 5 years, everything went very well. I had labs drawn once a year, all was “normal”. In Dec of 2017 I started having hyperthyroid symptoms followed by a quick swing to hypothyroid symptoms. I rode this roller coaster for 6 months all the while my labs were “normal”. (Although if anyone would actually look at my HISTORY, rather than just the current lab values, you would see my TSH Wwas going up and down and my T3 was going up and down)
Anyway, to make a long story short, I was referred to an endocrinologist who took a look and my remaining thyroid lobe and recommended a FNA on a 1.2 cm that was changing size and filling with fluid. The pathology came back “indeterminate” and she sent it for further testing (molecular testing), and the pathology came back suspicious. With those two results, studies report a 50% chance of malignancy. Naturally the recommendation was a total thyroidectomy. I did that 7/10/2018. I did very well for 3 weeks on 10 mcg of levothyroxine. My endo recommended at this point that I be on branded synthroid due to the possible variations in generics. She switched me to 100 mcg synthroid. After about a week, my mood was very low, I had fatigue, and pressure in my head. The endo’s office called me to let me know my labs had come back and my t3 was low. (I must say, according to the lab values, it was within range, but my endo thought it was too low, it was 93). She recommended I come off Synthroid and begin Armour. She prescribed 60mg of Armour. When I picked it up from the pharmacy, my pharmacist encouraged me to start with 1/2 of the dose she prescribed me. She said she was concerned that jumping to a med that includes t3 could send me too far too fast to the other side. I followed her advice and cut the pill in half. The next morning I quit taking synthroid and began taking the 1/2 dose of Armour (30 mg). Immediately the flat mood was gone, I had energy, the head pressure was gone. I’m now on day 8 of the half dose, my mood is stable, but my fatigue has returned. It is probably time for me to increase to the full dose. I just wanted to take it slow since the synthroid was still in my body and the 1/2 life of synthroid is about 7 days. I would be happy to post back and let you know how things are going.
I forgot to give God praise, my second surgery had a benign pathology as well!!!!!!
Hi Heather,
Thanks for sharing your experience with everyone. Of course please feel free to post back to let us know how everything is going.
In my early 20’s I was initially put on Synthroid, I really didn’t feel well on it so I eventually stopped taking it. Fast forward 15 years, the past long forgotten, I agreed to take it again. initially my labs came back ok, I can’t really say I felt any different, but after a while I started having more “low-thyroid” related issues, and so tired, well my TSH was headed upwards, so we increased my dose. my “labs” were good, but my symptoms were worse, and repeat until I was on 113mcg, at this point I was all but literally begging, to try something different, ANYTHING different. I was more and more tired and just lethargic. Finally, I advised my PCP that I was going to stop the medicine for a month to let by body just recoup from the medicine, as you can imagine, I was lectured. within days I started feeling better, after 2 weeks I felt good, the lump on “knot” feeling in my throat was gone too. after a month I felt setter then I had in I couldn’t say when. After the 30 days, I tried to start taking the medicine again… I could not force myself to do it, I could think again, I had more energy, I wasn’t just tired all the time. Once I was off it I would see how really bad I was doing on it and I just couldn’t do it. 6 months later I had a Dr office visit, and I explained to him, granted you know he had to have a lot of tolerance to put up with this. but he said some people don’t respond well on Synthroid, and wanted to try me on desiccated, I reluctantly agreed, he knew going in that if it made me feel worse it was over. So here we are 6 months on desiccated, my first labs came back with a within normal, just at the far ranges of normal, so we bumped it up to optimize, my TSH labs just came back a .9, that’s lower then they have ever been, but I feel like the medicine might be a little too strong with a lot of problems sleeping and some extra agitation. So, we’re stepping back to a dose between the 2 doses. I wrote extensively about the change on Facebook, and had some Aunts and cousins come forward that admitted they don’t feel good on Synthroid/Levo either and wanted to know more about Desiccated.
Thank you for sharing your experience with Synthroid/desiccated thyroid Crystle!
Synthroid didn’t work well for me. Years ago, I switched to Armour Thyroid. No thyroid meds make me feel any noticeably better, but at least Armour Thyroid improved my test results.
When Armour Thyroid drastically raised their price (When they minutely changed the formula), I switched to Nature-Throid. Around October of 2017, Nature-Throid became unavailable in my area and still is. I’ve continually checked with my pharmacy and Dr. and they say it’s unavailable (which means WP thyroid etc. are unavailable too since they’re from the same manufacturer.)
Armour Thyroid is 7 times the cost of Synthroid. I can’t afford it, so I guess I have no choice but to try Synthroid again.
Hi, I had my thyroid removed at 29 years old (multinodular goiter) and was put on synthetic T4 only.After 5 years without my thyroid, I developed constant brain fog and cognitive decline despite having normal TSH,fT3 and fT4. I researched the internet and demanded Cytomel (T3) to be added to my T4 only meds. My symptoms got better but did not completely dissolve. At 39 years old, again, my cognitive symptoms worsened despite my TSH, t3,t4 labs being “in range”. My family doctor ordered a CT, MRT, labs for Lyme disease, syphilis, b12, iron and many other parameters. Everything came back normal. I have been on a gluten free paleo diet since I was 34, live a healthy lifestyle and have no other chronic diseases. I came to the conclusion to try desiccated thyroid which my dear family doctor prescribed. I started with 125 mg, which was not enough. I worked my way up to 250 mg/day and feel 80-90% better. My TSH is 0.01, fT3 5.9 and fT4 14. It’s ok for my TSH to be suppressed (*stopthethyroidmadness). My goal is, to find the dose/meds to get rid of that last bit of brain fog I’m experiencing. I’m hesitant to increase my NDT and even though there are lots of blogs and articles about natural thyroid meds, writers hardly describe how much exactly they take. Sometimes it’s refereed to as grains. My desiccated thyroid from Erfa comes in 30mg, 60mg, 125mg “grains”. Question: How much mg natural desiccated thyroid do people take per day (with or without thyroid) and at what time(s)? Thanks so much!!!
Naturthroid is a hoax, there is some serious production problem, people are complaining to pharmacies about it, it seems to me the product is diluted
Hi, In 1932, I was born with a “non functioning thyroid” Was given Armour thyroid. that pill was porcine thyroid, and definitely had a thyroid taste. At that
time Armour (in the pig business for ham), was the only source for thyroid.
Armour now is history, no longer makes thyroid hormone and no longer tastes like it did now t pretty much tastes like fillers & binders and along with that, I find I need to increase dosage , so I am wondering just what percentage of porcine is in my pricy pill… Iodine & L Tyrosine are the components of thyroid. Iodine has basically disappeared from our soil.
This is probably a missing mineral in your diet, a kelp tablet & the other
mineral Selenium necessary for thyroid. A thyroid Supplement, which includes a supporting cast of nutrients is benificial to say the least.
I always had brain fog on Armour, sure could have used some iodine then.
Tyrosine eliminates brain fog & depression. So do your research & ask questions.
I’ve been on a low dose of Armour for about 4 years. Never felt that great on it, blood tests always in the low/ normal range. New doc recently went up on my dose and suddenly I felt like I was hit by a truck – body fatigue, muscle aches, pounding heart, dizzy, jittery, anxious – barely able to function. I am in the process of weaning back down now, having adrenals checked next week. I’m pretty sure I now have all the side effects of Armour and feel completely awful.