I know it sounds weird but it works incredibly well for several reasons: When your thyroid is functioning at 100% it naturally produces 2 thyroid hormones each and every day. Before But remember that each grain of Armour thyroid only has 38mcg of T4 and 9 mcg of T3. Use of Thyroid Hormones in Hypothyroid and Euthyroid Patients: A 2020 THESIS Questionnaire Survey of Members of the Swedish Endocrine Society. The primary difficulties come when transitioning from an existing thyroid medication over to Armour thyroid. Taking your medication at night offers several advantages: First is that you don't have to worry about taking it on an empty stomach because most people generally don't eat right before bed. I've discussed the thyroid hormone obesity myth in detail and you can read more about this unique approach to weight loss in thyroid patients here. These patients also often experience a worsening in hypothyroid symptoms such as an acute increase in fatigue an increase in weight gain, etc. Siegmund W, Spieker K, Weike AI, Giessmann T, Modess C, Dabers T, Kirsch G, Snger E, Engel G, Hamm AO, Nauck M, Meng W. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). Nat Rev Dis Primers. This sort of reaction tends to be rare, provided you slowly increase your dose over time and monitor your serum thyroid levels as you go. Even if you assume that T3 is 3x more potent (which isn't the best indicator of biological activity in the body) then you still come up short with this conversion - let's break down the math: 9 mcg of T3 x 3 = 27 mcg of T4 "equivalents" in each grain of Armour thyroid, 38mcg + 27mcg = 65 mcg of T4 "equivalents" in each grain of Armour thyroid total. While none of these are hard and fast rules they can help you get started. Not all forms of Natural Desiccated thyroid are created equal. Leptin resistance is often accompanied by insulin resistance and thyroid resistance (all three conditions are caused by the same thing). Another reason that physicians may not be adequately dosing certain patients is that they are unfamiliar with dosing thyroid medications that contain T3. Patients can take advantage of this increased potency and may actually feel much better when switching from other medications to Armour thyroid. government site. These extra hormones may not be of benefit to each and every person but it is certainly possible that patients who don't have a functioning thyroid (such as those who have had it surgically removed) may benefit from the extra T1 and T2 that comes in this medication. Instead, make sure you re-evaluate your lab tests and determine if you are on a sufficient dose or if you need a higher dose. Celi FS, Zemskova M, Linderman JD, Smith S, Drinkard B, Sachdev V, Skarulis MC, Kozlosky M, Csako G, Costello R, Pucino F. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. If you dose your Armour too quickly you are likely to end up with side effects from the T3: Heart palpitations, Anxiety, Heat intolerance, etc. Using the table below you can see that the NDT form of thyroid hormone with the least amount of ingredients is WP thyroid - though this doesn't necessarily mean that it is the "best". As you probably know hypothyroidism is a condition in the body which results in a decreased production or utilization of thyroid hormone in the body. If you experience any of these symptoms you should seek help with your physician immediately. I also happen to formulate the best supplements on the market (well, at least in my opinion!) Our objective was to investigate the effectiveness of DTE compared with L-T in hypothyroid patients. Disclaimer, National Library of Medicine Instead, it may be possible that they would do much better by switching to a different formulation rather than switching back to T4 medication. More common than excessive dosing is insufficient dosing characterized by hypothyroid symptoms: The presence of these symptoms may indicate that your dose is insufficient or not high enough for your body. special thyroid medication that is formulated to include ALL of the thyroid hormones, active thyroid hormone T3 is what makes thyroid hormone do its job, it usually isn't enough for weight loss by itself. I go to great lengths to help my users better understand their health; however, the content you see here is not a substitute for medical advice. It may be no wonder why some patients who "transition" to Armour thyroid often feel symptomatically worse during the transition. In fact, it has been estimated that at least up to 15% of patients may have trouble tolerating T4 only medications(3) and they manifest this "trouble" with low serum T3 levels despite a "normal" TSH. This is also confirmed with studies(12) which have shown that transition from T4 to T3 dosing (based off of pituitary and TSH testing) improves all of these markers. Patients (n = 70, age 18-65 years) diagnosed with primary hypothyroidism on a stable dose of L-T for 6 months were included in the study. and transmitted securely. Instead, start off on a lower dose and titrate up SLOWLY every 10-14 days. You can think about methylcellulose as a glue which holds on tight to the thyroid hormone component of the medication and in order for your body to absorb (and properly utilize) your intestinal tract must separate the methylcellulose from the active thyroid hormone. If your leptin is too high - then you should undergo therapies designed to reduce leptin resistance. FOIA This means that you can never use a "dosing calculator" to simply determine what your dose should be, instead you may need to use a combination of trial and error along with frequent laboratory testing. So your total dose stays the same but you are "splitting" that dose throughout the day. As fat cells grow, leptin levels increase. These changes in inactive ingredients help to explain why some patients react poorly to Armour thyroid with symptoms like headaches, worsening fatigue or rashes - only to find that these symptoms completely resolve upon switching to naturethroid. In reality, it may be more accurate that the patient was underdosed which resulted in a hypothyroid state and a subsequent increase in the TSH. These conditions are characterized by physiologic changes in which the patient may require higher doses of T3 to saturate cellular receptors and allow thyroid hormone to get into the cells. 2) If you fall into one or more of the categories listed above AND you are taking T4 medication (including Armour thyroid, but especially T4 only medications like Synthroid or Levothyroxine) then your medication may be contributing to your inability to lose weight. Welcome to my website! As a general rule of thumb (though not always accurate) certain patients tend to need higher doses of thyroid hormone. This resource is dedicated to helping people with thyroid problems, hormone imbalances, and weight loss problems get the help that they need. Levothyroxine, on the other hand, only contains T4. Hey! then you should have your blood work retested and evaluated. If a patient is hypothyroid, meaning their thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormone naturally, then they must undergo thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. It would be silly of us to assume that simply because we don't know what they do or how they work that they are unimportant, but that is kind of the mentality that we have when it comes to the human body. Comparative Effectiveness of Levothyroxine, Desiccated Thyroid Extract, and Levothyroxine+Liothyronine in Hypothyroidism. Thyroid hormone can bind to certain substances which may reduce the dose of thyroid medication that is delivered to your body. If you have hypothyroidism and are more than 20 pounds overweight there is a high chance your weight gain is due to some other hormone imbalance. Because T4 has the option to turn into T3 or Reverse T3 we need to concern ourselves with what causes the body to preferentially create more reverse T3. (former Osteopathic Physician). Design and setting: All rights reserved. While your thyroid certainly contributes (at least initially) to weight gain, it almost always isn't the ONLY contributing factor. The Complete Guide to using Nature-Throid for Thyroid Patients In addition to these general rules there are also other factors that you should consider when using armour: #1. Replacement therapy with levothyroxine plus triiodothyronine (bioavailable molar ratio 14 : 1) is not superior to thyroxine alone to improve well-being and cognitive performance in hypothyroidism. This is ok for some patients but doesn't allow for altering individual dosing of the T4 and T3 if necessary. Does Cytomel Help with Weight Loss? Patients in this category include those with higher metabolic demands (those with a higher metabolism), patients who are overweight or who have a higher than average BMI and patients who may be taking medications that block or limit thyroid hormone action. Context: This may result in decreased absorption of thyroid hormone or cause a "delayed" release of the medication into the blood stream. eCollection 2021. I don't practice medicine anymore and instead specialize in helping people like YOU who have thyroid problems, hormone imbalances, and weight loss resistance. If you have more than that to lose there is a good chance your extra weight is from something else entirely. It's important to note that leptin resistance is generally a late finding and usually indicates that heavy metabolic damage has already occurred. If this sounds confusing, don't let it be: Armour thyroid (and other forms of Natural Desiccated thyroid) contain fixed ratios of T4 to T3. Thyroid. So where does Armour thyroid fit in here? If this happens to you don't let it scare you from using the medication further! Patients: The portion of T3 thyroid hormone in each "grain" (which is a unit of Armour thyroid dosing) is actually still quite small: Doctors know that T3 it is approximately 3.3 times more effective at dropping the TSH than T4 medication alone (9) (Synthroid and levothyroxine). 2003 Dec 10;290(22):2952-8. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.22.2952. Would you like email updates of new search results? If you can identify and treat these conditions then your body will naturally be able to convert T4 into T3 which is exactly what you want. JAMA. The actual thyroid hormones from the porcine derived thyroid gland are EXACTLY the same as the ones your body produce but, as we stated previously, Armour also contains other inactive ingredients that may cause issues when ingested by humans. If you transitioned from Levothyroxine (T4 only medication) then you should know how to properly convert your medication. Epub 2011 Aug 24. This can help maintain constant serum levels of thyroid hormone and may be especially helpful for patients who are sensitive to T3. Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error. MeSH .wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-90491 {margin-left: -2em; }.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-90491 .wp-show-posts-inner {margin: 0 0 2em 2em; } These other thyroid hormones, known as T1 and T2, also exist in your body but they don't get much credit because they are considered to be "less biologically active" than T4 and T3. This change is not necessarily indicative of the failure of Armour thyroid but more a failure with the conversion and dosing process. But emerging research(6) is showing that these compounds are still important nonetheless, even if we don't completely understand what they do or how they work. 2022 Dr. Westin Childs | Thyroid & Health Supplements That Work Built withGeneratePress and powered by Kinsta. Clin Case Rep. 2022 Apr 12;10(4):e05651. A more accurate conversion process may look something like this: A couple of important points when considering this information: If you are transitioning from a T4 only medication do NOT start yourself off at the maximum dose of Armour. This means that some of you out there are just not very good at converting T4 into T3(8) while some of you out there are incredible at doing it. eCollection 2021. I am a former Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (no longer practicing) that now focuses on producing the information you see here while also formulating some of the best supplements on the market (in my HUMBLE opinion) :). Has it helped you lose weight? Metabolic effects of liothyronine therapy in hypothyroidism: a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial of liothyronine versus levothyroxine. doi: 10.1002/ccr3.5651. As we've discussed previously, Armour thyroid contains a combination of T4 (the inactive thyroid hormone) and T3 (the active thyroid hormone). I've outlined how to treat leptin resistance in this article. For various reasons, physicians may be relying on tests that may not accurately identify the status of thyroid hormone in the body. Conclusion: From conditions like SIBO, Hashimoto's, Food allergies, nutrient deficiencies, medications, etc. Armour thyroid is unique among thyroid medications in that it contains both the active AND inactive thyroid hormones (1). Maca and Your Thyroid: Harmful or Helpful? Patients were randomized to either DTE or L-T for 16 weeks and then crossed over for the same duration. Reasons to use or stick with Levothyroxine/Synthroid: Instead of focusing on which is the "best" thyroid medication it's more helpful to determine (through testing and symptom management) which is the best thyroid medication for YOUR body. Along this same vein, it's also possible that your dose of T4 may be either too high or too low relative to your dose of T3. Reasons to try or consider using Armour thyroid: This is not a complete list but instead focuses on our current understanding of thyroid physiology, genetics, and thyroid conversion and attempts to come up with logical reasons why some patients might feel better on Armour thyroid compared to other medications. Armour thyroid is, therefore, a significantly more potent thyroid medication when compared to thyroid medications such as levothyroxine and Synthroid. Shakir MKM, Brooks DI, McAninch EA, Fonseca TL, Mai VQ, Bianco AC, Hoang TD. To see a case study example treatment plan please refer to this post. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. What happens when Reverse T3 levels are too high? Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies Other factors such as your sex hormone binding globulin may be a better indicator of tissue levels of thyroid hormone. This includes inactive ingredients such as methylcellulose and dextrose (and many others). Patients lost 3 lb on DTE treatment (172.9 36.4 lb vs 175.7 37.7 lb, P < .001). Beyond Armour thyroid, there are other types of natural desiccated thyroid such as Nature-throid and WP Thyroid. As they increase they are supposed to tell your brain to increase metabolism and start burning off that extra fat you just gained. Results: DTE therapy did not result in a significant improvement in quality of life; however, DTE caused modest weight loss and nearly half (48.6%) of the study patients expressed preference for DTE over L-T. 2021 Nov 17;2021:1152572. doi: 10.1155/2021/1152572. and I'm proud to say that over 70,000+ people have used them over the last 6 years. It's important to remember that Armour thyroid comes from an animal and animal tissue is considered "foreign" to your body. The .gov means its official. Your body has created a special mechanism to "control" the amount of thyroid hormone that it needs on a daily basis through a system known as thyroid hormone conversion. I mentioned previously that Armour thyroid is more "potent" and more "active" than T4 medications such as Levothyroxine and Synthroid and part of this is because it contains the active T3 hormone but another important part is that it doesn't require as much activation. At most, it will help you lose 10-20 pounds. This approach will help you achieve long lasting results and help improve your symptoms more than any other. In the subgroup analyses, those patients who preferred DTE lost 4 lb during the DTE treatment, and their subjective symptoms were significantly better while taking DTE as measured by the general health questionnaire-12 and thyroid symptom questionnaire (P < .001 for both). Along the same vein as taking your medication on an empty stomach is to avoid taking your medication with other supplements - especially those that contain calcium or iron. it may be beneficial for certain individuals to use Armour thyroid over the traditional T4 medications like Synthroid. 2018 Jun;28(6):707-721. doi: 10.1089/thy.2017.0681. Many physicians will tend to underdose you on the transition because they aren't familiar with using medications that contain T3. New Study Explained. PMC Combined levothyroxine plus liothyronine compared with levothyroxine alone in primary hypothyroidism: a randomized controlled trial. I've even had patients who report that when they switch to Armour thyroid their TSH increases and the physician then states that Armour thyroid is unreliable. Another strategy that I often recommend is to simply take your thyroid medication at night. That is the question that many patients have and one of the main reasons they want to at least give Armour thyroid a try. These medications are created by desiccating (or crushing) up the thyroid glands of certain animals - in this case, pigs. These hormones (along with probably other enzymes and hormone precursors) are present in the thyroid gland of animals and therefore make it into the pharmaceutical medication as it is prepared. Patients previously treated with desiccated thyroid extract (DTE), when being switched to levothyroxine (L-T), occasionally did not feel as well despite adequate dosing based on serum TSH levels. No matter how you look at it though there may be some individuals who benefit from the "extra" thyroid hormones T1 and T2 that come with the whole Armour thyroid package. Thyroid dosing is highly individualized and depends on factors such as your current metabolic rate, your sensitivity to T3 and your peripheral thyroid conversion status. 2022 Apr;18(4):230-242. doi: 10.1038/s41574-021-00625-8. Relevant to this article it's important to understand that dosing based on the TSH alone may not be the most accurate way to manage Armour thyroid dosing. And it is these inactive ingredients that may cause certain people to respond well (or not) to these medications due to how they react to these inactive ingredients. This underdosing may have the unintended consequence of exacerbating (at least temporarily) hypothyroid symptoms. 2021 Dec 6;12:795111. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.795111. There were no differences in symptoms and neurocognitive measurements between the 2 therapies. While many patients report almost immediate improvement in their hypothyroid symptoms when switching to Armour thyroid there are plenty of patients who also report negative symptoms (more on that below). It should be stated that Armour thyroid is not a perfect thyroid medication nor will it necessarily work for every person. Why Levothyroxine Causes Weight Gain and How to Prevent it Pharmaceutical companies then encapsulate the desiccated pig thyroid gland and standardize the hormones in each capsule and humans then take it. 2011 Nov;96(11):3466-74. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-1329. Armour thyroid is a prescription medication that is used to treat patients with the diagnosis of hypothyroidism. All of these changes ultimately lead to weight gain. You can read more about this idea in detail here. Again it's not the difference in the concentration of thyroid hormone in each individual medication but most likely a reflection of digestion and absorption. Some studies even suggest(11) that temporary supraphysiologic dosing of T3 may help to overcome these hormone imbalances, provided it is used safely and correctly. Biochemical and neurocognitive tests at baseline and at the end of each treatment period were evaluated. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the As Reverse T3 levels climb your cells will have more difficulty taking up active thyroid hormone.