> Edith Wallace <[log in to unmask]>

>  I'd also appreciate hearing about adjusting Armour Thyroid dosages
>  according to one's body weight.

The way to adjust Armour is by how you feel, not by weight.  At the beginning
when I never heard weight taken into consideration with thyroid meds I
thought it kind of strange.  Most doctors do not try to suppress the thyroid,
they expect the thyroid to work with the meds so theoretically how much you
need depends on how much your thyroid puts out.

However, when you start on Armour, it is relatively fast acting.  Sometimes
you feel better the first day on it.  My son was emotionally distraught,
covering up with a blanket all day watching TV in the summer.  First day he
was on 1/2 of Armour he improved both physically and emotionally. The temper
tantrums and whining stopped.

After the initial dose, the body adjusts and you stop feeling that well.  At
that point you need another increase of 1/2 to 1 grain.  This cycle goes on
until you get to the best level for you.  For me, I went all the way up to 10
grains, but I didn't feel any better than on 6.  So, I eventually backed
down.  You need to be aware of your temperature (if you feel hot, it doesn't
mean you're hyper you're temperature may just be increasing and may or may
not have reached 98.6), you need to be aware of your pulse rate and blood
pressure.  When increasing it is normal for these to go up.   Some say if
your resting pulse rate goes above 80, that's too high.  Danger level is much
higher than that.  But when you are increasing and approaching 100 beats per
minute you probably want to get your pulse down to somewhere in the 80s
before increasing again.  Pulse rates do not always go up. My wife's pulse
rate on 18 grains of Armour thyroid was in the 80s, without Armour it was in
the high 90s.

Some people think thyroid problems go in one direction.  Doctors will tell
you too much thyroid will accelerate your heart rate to a dangerous level.
It is true, but thyroid hormone generally normalizes your problems.  That
means if your pulse is too fast it might slow it down.  If you are fat, it
will likely make it easier to lose weight.  If you are thin, as a small
percentage of hypothyroid people are, it will help you gain weight.  If
you're blood pressure and pulse are low, it can raise them.  If they are
high, it can lower them.  Thyroid doesn't go in one direction, what it does
is normalize your health.

When increasing my Armour, I noticed something I almost hate to talk about
because I don't want to encourage anyone to endanger themselves.  However,
one does not always feel good when increasing.  If you call your doctor they
would tell you to stop the meds completely.  One time when increasing, my
brain became more fogged than it ever was and my left arm started feeling
numb.  Those are signs of stroke and I was a little scared.  But I solved it
by deciding my body didn't like that level of medication and increased by
another grain.  It worked for me.  And calling your doctor, unless he's a
smart thyroid doctor will just confirm to him that thyroid kills people, so
keep the doses low.  Another time when I increased I felt a ticking sensation
in my head.  It was like the blood flow was returning to an area of my brain
for the first time in years.  It made me so tired I fell asleep on my floor
for the day. The next day I felt great.

That sometimes negative feeling that happens when you increase is why it's
best to have a knowledgeable doctor like Doc Don.  Your average doctor is
going to think you're dying when this happens.  Hopefully you're not and if
you tell your doctor he has the wisdom to know the difference between
temporary effects of Armour that go away and life threatening situations.
The time my arm went numb, it was that way most of my life I just hadn't
noticed it for a while.  I think it was just more feeling returning to the
arm so it could feel the way it used to.  I'm not sure it's a nerve problem
or the site of an injury that I don't' remember.  My suspicion is it's an
injury from when I was too young to remember.

If you keep having to increase Armour, and your pulse and blood pressure
aren't escalating, it may need you're a good candidate for timed release T3.

Skipper

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