Aa
What to do?
My husband was on Synthroid from the time he was child till last year when he switched to Armour. Since we'd been married (13 yrs) he had always had anxiety issues. When he switched to Armour the anxiety went away but he was left with palpitations that worsened when the doctor tried to get him to optimal. He was eventually left on a dose that put him in a not optimal but passable.
Because he noticed that I was having a better result on levothyroxine he decided to give synthroid another chance. Our current doctor gladly put him on Synthroid. A week later his old symptoms returned (anxiety and muscle tension), he's now going on his 3 week and things are getting worse again. Yesterday, (while he was at work) he called me telling me he was experiencing an anxiety attack. It eventually subsided and he was able to continue through the day without another attack. He switched back to Armour this morning but he doesn't know what to do cause he knows the palpitations will return but yet he'd rather take that over the anxiety.
Our question, he can't continue below optimal range but what options does he have? He fears trying another T4 med but is open to it. As for the NDT, he is also open to giving natural-throid a chance.
Because he noticed that I was having a better result on levothyroxine he decided to give synthroid another chance. Our current doctor gladly put him on Synthroid. A week later his old symptoms returned (anxiety and muscle tension), he's now going on his 3 week and things are getting worse again. Yesterday, (while he was at work) he called me telling me he was experiencing an anxiety attack. It eventually subsided and he was able to continue through the day without another attack. He switched back to Armour this morning but he doesn't know what to do cause he knows the palpitations will return but yet he'd rather take that over the anxiety.
Our question, he can't continue below optimal range but what options does he have? He fears trying another T4 med but is open to it. As for the NDT, he is also open to giving natural-throid a chance.
COMMUNITY LEADER
If your husband wants to go back on Synthroid (I'd recommend a different brand of levo, personally), he can always start with a lower dose than he knows he needs and work up more slowly... of course, he will go more hypo to start, but if he works up very slowly, he may avoid the anxiety. Just a thought.
Yes, ask your friend to come on the forum and we can try to help her; can't do much without all of her info.
Yes, ask your friend to come on the forum and we can try to help her; can't do much without all of her info.
Exactly, I know Armour works great for many people but it did not work for me. I've felt more normal on Levothyroxine than I ever did on Armour or without meds period. Of course at this point it's a different story cause I need my med to be adjusted. LOL!
This is why I was hoping Synthroid would help my husband but it's not. Googled to see if there was a link between anxiety and Synthroid, there are many who are going through the same thing as my husband.
Not too happy with his last labs, hoping the doctor can adjust it by adding a low dose of T4.
As for my friend. She had it rough in the beginning. A few years ago her first doctor put her straight on 175mcg of Synthroid then decreased it. Talk about torture. She asked me if that was what my doctor did, I was like "umm no, they're supposed to start with a low dose and gradually increase." Last I talked with her, she was on 75mcg and still getting bad palpitations. She showed me her last labs while on that dose, problem was the lab did not include the ranges.
I'll see if she'll be open to come on this board. Thank you for all your help once again. :)
This is why I was hoping Synthroid would help my husband but it's not. Googled to see if there was a link between anxiety and Synthroid, there are many who are going through the same thing as my husband.
Not too happy with his last labs, hoping the doctor can adjust it by adding a low dose of T4.
As for my friend. She had it rough in the beginning. A few years ago her first doctor put her straight on 175mcg of Synthroid then decreased it. Talk about torture. She asked me if that was what my doctor did, I was like "umm no, they're supposed to start with a low dose and gradually increase." Last I talked with her, she was on 75mcg and still getting bad palpitations. She showed me her last labs while on that dose, problem was the lab did not include the ranges.
I'll see if she'll be open to come on this board. Thank you for all your help once again. :)
COMMUNITY LEADER
Perhaps your friend's doctors are trying to give her too high doses all at once? It's always best to start at the lowest doses possible and work up very slowly, even though it takes longer to get there.
She can always join and start another thread and we can see what we can do... remember, symptoms quite often get worse before they get better, so sometimes we just have to ride them out and let the med do its thing.
She can always join and start another thread and we can see what we can do... remember, symptoms quite often get worse before they get better, so sometimes we just have to ride them out and let the med do its thing.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Actually, if your husband was eating right after he chewed his med, he was probably getting a lot more than you think because med was, basically, going down with the food and was already dissolved when it hit the stomach. The logical thing is that he may have been eating foods that were inhibiting absorption. I chew my T3 med most of the time, often with food... But T3 med can be taken with food.
I can't imagine why your doctor said you have to wait 1.5 hrs after taking Armour before eating. That's overkill...
Okay, so if he wants to stay on Armour, then he's going to have to get to a therapeutic dose; that means he's probably going to have palps again. In that case, he'll either have to ride them out, which can be scary as heck or talk to his doctor about trying a low dose of a beta blocker, such as atenolol to see if that will help... the beta blocker doesn't have to a permanent thing -- I was on them for about 4 years, then was able to get off, but he'll have to do what it takes to get to a therapeutic dose of thyroid med and that might include the beta blocker or anti-anxiety med.
At some point, he will probably have to add some T4 med to supplement the Armour in order to keep his FT4 from being too low, which can also cause symptoms of hypo.
I'm not against Armour, for those that need that much T3, but for many/most of us, dosing T4 and T3 meds separately is much easier and works better. Myself, for instance - I don't convert adequately, but I take 100 mcg Levoxyl and only 10 mcg T3 daily and do very well. I can't imagine how I'd do that with a desiccated hormone since just one grain of Armour has 38 mcg T4 and 9 mcg T3... That would be my entire day's T3 and only 1/3 my T4. Just another way to look at the whole thing.
I can't imagine why your doctor said you have to wait 1.5 hrs after taking Armour before eating. That's overkill...
Okay, so if he wants to stay on Armour, then he's going to have to get to a therapeutic dose; that means he's probably going to have palps again. In that case, he'll either have to ride them out, which can be scary as heck or talk to his doctor about trying a low dose of a beta blocker, such as atenolol to see if that will help... the beta blocker doesn't have to a permanent thing -- I was on them for about 4 years, then was able to get off, but he'll have to do what it takes to get to a therapeutic dose of thyroid med and that might include the beta blocker or anti-anxiety med.
At some point, he will probably have to add some T4 med to supplement the Armour in order to keep his FT4 from being too low, which can also cause symptoms of hypo.
I'm not against Armour, for those that need that much T3, but for many/most of us, dosing T4 and T3 meds separately is much easier and works better. Myself, for instance - I don't convert adequately, but I take 100 mcg Levoxyl and only 10 mcg T3 daily and do very well. I can't imagine how I'd do that with a desiccated hormone since just one grain of Armour has 38 mcg T4 and 9 mcg T3... That would be my entire day's T3 and only 1/3 my T4. Just another way to look at the whole thing.
What had happened back then was that he had no clue you had to wait to eat after taking your med. He was on 100mcg for YEARS because he was living with his mom and she would give it to him at bedtime since he was a kid but once he moved out on his own and was in charge of taking it himself he didn't bother to figure out how he should take it....doctors just assumed he knew what to do. They just kept increasing his dose accordingly. He or they never assumed he wasn't taking it correctly and most likely washing half of the med out as he brushed his teeth. He was pretty much chew it right before eating his breakfast then brush his teeth right after, who knows how much he actually took in.
It wasn't till I went on Armour and my doctor told me I had to take it 1.5 hrs before eating that my husband decided to do the same and that's when things got very bad.
He is saying he plans to stay on Armour for a while before thinking about trying another T4 med. He is listening to your suggestions to weigh out what he should do. He says, thank you. :)
I have a friend who's also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism but she's been getting severe palpitations with any med she goes on. Doctors have no clue what to do with her.
It wasn't till I went on Armour and my doctor told me I had to take it 1.5 hrs before eating that my husband decided to do the same and that's when things got very bad.
He is saying he plans to stay on Armour for a while before thinking about trying another T4 med. He is listening to your suggestions to weigh out what he should do. He says, thank you. :)
I have a friend who's also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism but she's been getting severe palpitations with any med she goes on. Doctors have no clue what to do with her.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I suppose your husband was taking his med incorrectly because he in a hurry to get ready for work or something? You only have to wait up to 30 minutes, not the full hour after you take the med. When I was still working, I'd take my med, then get my coffee going, get my shower and everything and by the time that was done, 30 minutes had passed, so I could go ahead and eat and everything before I left for work. It only required getting out of bed an extra 10 minutes or so earlier. Some people set an alarm for an hour or two before it's time to get up, take their med, and go back to bed, then by the time they get up, they can do whatever they want. We have to accommodate the med, one way or another.
That said, it's not unusual for symptoms to worsen or for new ones to appear when changing med or dosages. You have to give the body a change to adjust to the new med. Since it takes at least 4-6 weeks for the med to reach full potential in the blood, 3 weeks wasn't enough time.
Switching back and forth will keep him on a roller coaster than will be very hard to get off from and it will be very hard to find a right dosage.
It sounds like he doesn't even need the Armour at all. While many of us don't convert adequately, we also don't need the extra amount of T3 that pigs produce. It sounds like your husband might do better with a T4 med (possibly he'd do better on Levoxyl than Synthroid) and a smaller amount of T3 added. But he'll have to give the med a chance to reach full potential in his system, which could mean even going back on anti-anxiety med until his thyroid levels are optimal. I had to take anti-anxiety med for a while. It's not the end of the world and it doesn't have to be permanent. Once my thyroid levels started going higher, I was able to get off them.
Another option, if your husband wants to stay on the Armour is ask his doctor for a beta blocker, such as atenolol and see if that will help with the palpitations. I was also on that for a while for palpitations, so there are options, rather than just stopping/starting/switching meds.
That said, it's not unusual for symptoms to worsen or for new ones to appear when changing med or dosages. You have to give the body a change to adjust to the new med. Since it takes at least 4-6 weeks for the med to reach full potential in the blood, 3 weeks wasn't enough time.
Switching back and forth will keep him on a roller coaster than will be very hard to get off from and it will be very hard to find a right dosage.
It sounds like he doesn't even need the Armour at all. While many of us don't convert adequately, we also don't need the extra amount of T3 that pigs produce. It sounds like your husband might do better with a T4 med (possibly he'd do better on Levoxyl than Synthroid) and a smaller amount of T3 added. But he'll have to give the med a chance to reach full potential in his system, which could mean even going back on anti-anxiety med until his thyroid levels are optimal. I had to take anti-anxiety med for a while. It's not the end of the world and it doesn't have to be permanent. Once my thyroid levels started going higher, I was able to get off them.
Another option, if your husband wants to stay on the Armour is ask his doctor for a beta blocker, such as atenolol and see if that will help with the palpitations. I was also on that for a while for palpitations, so there are options, rather than just stopping/starting/switching meds.
He started back on Synthroid 3 weeks ago, he was supposed to say on it for 6 weeks in order to have labs done but since he had the panic attack on Monday he switched back to Armour Tuesday morning.
2 yrs ago, The doctor who was prescribing Synthroid (prior to Armour) only looked at TSH and supposedly FT4 only. Because my husband wasn't taking his meds correctly (he would chew the med, eat breakfast, and brush his teeth) his labs obviously were low so that doctor increased his dose to 175mcg (from 150 mcg) which sent my husband into full blown panic attacks to where he couldn't work for a few days. That's when he went to a holistic doctor who told him to stop taking the med for a few days then put him on Armour. He was a new man after that point but then that's when the palpitations started and got worse when his med was increased to 120mg a few months ago. He's back on the 105mg of Armour. Forgot to mention, my husband was born without a thyroid.
2 yrs ago, The doctor who was prescribing Synthroid (prior to Armour) only looked at TSH and supposedly FT4 only. Because my husband wasn't taking his meds correctly (he would chew the med, eat breakfast, and brush his teeth) his labs obviously were low so that doctor increased his dose to 175mcg (from 150 mcg) which sent my husband into full blown panic attacks to where he couldn't work for a few days. That's when he went to a holistic doctor who told him to stop taking the med for a few days then put him on Armour. He was a new man after that point but then that's when the palpitations started and got worse when his med was increased to 120mg a few months ago. He's back on the 105mg of Armour. Forgot to mention, my husband was born without a thyroid.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Sorry, I missed that, but I went back and reread... now I see it.
I'm confused, though... you said he'd been on Synthroid from the time he was a child, until last year, when he went on Armour, at which time he got palpitations... He was apparently on Armour for most of last year, according to the labs (is that the current year 2014?). Then you said he noticed you doing better on levothyroxine so his doctor switched him to 125 mcg Synthroid and his anxiety returned. Then you said "He switched back to Armour this morning but he doesn't know what to do cause he knows the palpitations will return but yet he'd rather take that over the anxiety."
When did his doctor take him off the Armour and put him on the Synthroid? Must have been between September and now? Was there no blood work during the time he was on Synthroid (between September and now)?
I'm not trying to badger you, I'm just trying to pinpoint time frames and figure out what his labs looked like on the Synthroid, as it appears that maybe he simply doesn't convert well, and rather than having all the T3 in the Armour, which causes heart palps, he might simply need to add a small amount of a T3 med to his Synthroid. Or maybe he'd do better on another brand of T4 med, such as Levoxyl, with a T3 med added. Not everyone needs the amount of T3 available in NDT, so it's not the best choice for all of us.
I'm confused, though... you said he'd been on Synthroid from the time he was a child, until last year, when he went on Armour, at which time he got palpitations... He was apparently on Armour for most of last year, according to the labs (is that the current year 2014?). Then you said he noticed you doing better on levothyroxine so his doctor switched him to 125 mcg Synthroid and his anxiety returned. Then you said "He switched back to Armour this morning but he doesn't know what to do cause he knows the palpitations will return but yet he'd rather take that over the anxiety."
When did his doctor take him off the Armour and put him on the Synthroid? Must have been between September and now? Was there no blood work during the time he was on Synthroid (between September and now)?
I'm not trying to badger you, I'm just trying to pinpoint time frames and figure out what his labs looked like on the Synthroid, as it appears that maybe he simply doesn't convert well, and rather than having all the T3 in the Armour, which causes heart palps, he might simply need to add a small amount of a T3 med to his Synthroid. Or maybe he'd do better on another brand of T4 med, such as Levoxyl, with a T3 med added. Not everyone needs the amount of T3 available in NDT, so it's not the best choice for all of us.
He's now back on Armour cause the anxiety turned him off. He was on it all his life and always suffered from anxiety. Before coming off Synthroid last year he was on 150 mcg and on anxiety meds. He switched to Armour and anxiety went away & so did the anxiety med.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Both anxiety and palpitations can be symptoms of being hypo...
When is he due for labs again? We need to see what's going on with the 125 mcg Synthroid.
When is he due for labs again? We need to see what's going on with the 125 mcg Synthroid.
My gut tells me the same thing...stay on Armour and supplement with a T4
Here are his labs
May 2014 (90 mg Armour)
TSH 7.870 (.36-3.74)
FT3 2.4 (2.18-3.98)
FT4 .7 (.76-1.46)
June (120 mg Armour)
TSH .060 (same as above)
FT3 4.3 (same as above)
FT4 .8 (same a above)
Sept (105 Armour)
TSH .390
FT3 2.7
FT4 .8
The Synthroid the doctor gave him was 125 mcg this after he specifically asked to be put on a lower dose of the original 150 mcg he was on last year to avoid the anxiety but that didn't work.
Here are his labs
May 2014 (90 mg Armour)
TSH 7.870 (.36-3.74)
FT3 2.4 (2.18-3.98)
FT4 .7 (.76-1.46)
June (120 mg Armour)
TSH .060 (same as above)
FT3 4.3 (same as above)
FT4 .8 (same a above)
Sept (105 Armour)
TSH .390
FT3 2.7
FT4 .8
The Synthroid the doctor gave him was 125 mcg this after he specifically asked to be put on a lower dose of the original 150 mcg he was on last year to avoid the anxiety but that didn't work.
Please post his blood labs most recent with the reference ranges.
It may be that he is best to be on a combination. NDT and some T4 (synthroid) to help achieve optimum dose.
Another option is the reverse. To go with combination synthetic T4 AND synthetic T3.
My gut reaction with little to go on is that he may be best served to stick with his sub optimum NDT (Armour) and then try adding in some T4 and working up slowly to see if he can get to a balance that works well for him.
It may be that he is best to be on a combination. NDT and some T4 (synthroid) to help achieve optimum dose.
Another option is the reverse. To go with combination synthetic T4 AND synthetic T3.
My gut reaction with little to go on is that he may be best served to stick with his sub optimum NDT (Armour) and then try adding in some T4 and working up slowly to see if he can get to a balance that works well for him.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
