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Has Armor thyroid made me worse?

I was diagnosed with Hashimottos about 6 weeks ago. My TPO was a 35, but all of my other numbers (T3, T4, TSH) were all normal. My doctor put me on a very low does of Armor Thyroid. I actually started to feel better and my chronic pain went away. Then, about four weeks after starting Armor, I had trouble breathing. I thought it was asthma, but when it wouldn't get better and my inhaler wasn't helping, I went to the ER. They did every lung test they could, but everything looked fine. I just can't get a satisfying breath. Other problems were/are my lactic acid is very high, my resting heart rate is  high, my face is flushed, and I have an extreme appetite. After staying in the hospital for days, they couldn't find anything and sent me home. They say my TPO is now 157!! It was 35 in December! However, all of my other thyroid levels are still completely normal. These symptoms sound like thyroid toxicity to me, but my t3, T4, and TSH are still normal. I asked doctors if these symptoms were due to starting Armor Thyroud and they ALL dismissed me and said no. They say that I definitely have Hashimottos, but that these symptoms aren't related. I just find it too coincidental that this happened right when I started thyroid meds. I'm still having these symptoms. Any help would be appreciated. (I'm a 23 year old female)
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
You said you were on a "very low dose" of Armour... What's the exact dose you've been taking?  Have you been taking it all at once?  The symptoms are very possibly "not" caused by the medication (or because you, actually, need a higher dose), but before we can determine anything, we'll need to know exactly what those, so-called, "normal" thyroid hormone levels are.

Please post the actual TSH, Free T3 and Free T4 results and be sure to include the reference ranges from your lab report, since ranges vary from lab to lab and have to come from your own report.

Shortness of breath is a, relatively, common hypo symptom (I had it pretty bad, when I was hypo), as are joint pains.  In addition, it's not unusual for symptoms to worsen or for new ones to appear, when starting on a replacement thyroid hormone medication.  

With Hashimoto's, it's not unusual for symptoms to appear long before actual thyroid hormone levels go out of range.  
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Avatar universal
Sorry I mean they not thought of armour medication you took.
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Avatar universal
Those doctors are foolish to think about armour medication you took. Yes its off cource from armour as they ruled out other reasons. You are probably getting spike of large free t3 which is making you hard to breath and also other symptoms like increased heart rate may be more sweat, increased thirst etc. Watchful waiting is good or you can get equivalent levothyroxine dose from your doctor and take it especially when get those hyper symptoms.
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