Download more free resources on this page. Patients: These patients (those with hypothyroidism) also notoriously struggle with the ability to lose weight and keep it off. JAMA. Accessibility If you switched to Armour recently and haven't lost ANY weight then make sure you have addressed these 5 areas: your dose, how much T3 you are taking in addition to Armour, your leptin levels, your allergies and sensitivities to inactive ingredients in medications and finally your reverse T3 level. At most, it will help you lose 10-20 pounds. I'm Westin Childs D.O. Since this testing is not mainstream (yet!) #1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/909397, #2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4267409/, #3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4980994/, #4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12915350, #5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK285547/, #6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28192176, #7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509195/, #8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6479377, #9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/402379, #10. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/118651-overview, #11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16883675, #12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3205882/, #13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4069066/, #14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608008/, #15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7435122, #16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21149757, Doctor photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com, The Complete List of Menopause Symptoms + How to Diagnose it, Complete List of Hypothyroidism Symptoms with Checklist and Lab Guide, Why Treating Hypothyroidism as a Chronic Disease Is Incorrect, How & When to Use Progesterone Pills (Prometrium). Another strategy worth considering is to split your dose throughout the day. Does Cytomel Help with Weight Loss? Beyond Armour thyroid, there are other types of natural desiccated thyroid such as Nature-throid and WP Thyroid. As Reverse T3 levels climb your cells will have more difficulty taking up active thyroid hormone. Add Back Therapy for Graves & Hyperthyroidism: When to use Levothyroxine, Does Levothyroxine Cause Cancer? And these patients may simply do better on traditional T4 medications. Bookshelf There were no differences in symptoms and neurocognitive measurements between the 2 therapies. 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. Epub 2011 Aug 24. Unfortunately, some people may require higher amounts of T3 due to reasons suchtissue level hypothyroidism,euthyroid sick syndrome/low T3 syndrome,(10) or peripheral thyroid conversion disorders. So if you are taking 2 grains total each day you might consider taking 1 grain in the morning and then another in the afternoon. And, to make matters worse - high levels of leptin actually decrease T4 to T3 conversion(14) in the body. Welcome to my website! Why Levothyroxine Causes Weight Gain and How to Prevent it Another reason that physicians may not be adequately dosing certain patients is that they are unfamiliar with dosing thyroid medications that contain T3. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted If you are taking 2 grains of Armour thyroid then you are taking 120mg. 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. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies Meaning the amount of T3 in each grain of Armour is always the same (this is a good thing from a pharmaceutical and consistency standpoint, but may be a problem due to the inability to titrate individual T3 and T4 doses). Armour thyroid is ranked among a class of thyroid medications known as Natural Desiccated thyroid medications. 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. 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) :). 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). 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. As a result patients with a "sluggish" thyroid often experience symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, cold extremities, constipation and so on. Maca and Your Thyroid: Harmful or Helpful? P.S. I love to write and share what I've learned over the years. But did you know that there are other thyroid hormones? This is actually quite important because the active thyroid hormone T3 is what makes thyroid hormone do its job. 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. This may result in decreased absorption of thyroid hormone or cause a "delayed" release of the medication into the blood stream. The primary difficulties come when transitioning from an existing thyroid medication over to Armour thyroid. Our objective was to investigate the effectiveness of DTE compared with L-T in hypothyroid patients. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Take away from supplements that contain Calcium and Iron but pretty much avoid all supplements if possible. Another strategy that I often recommend is to simply take your thyroid medication at night. 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. So let's talk about the 5 main reasons that patients who make the switch to Armour Thyroid don't lose weight and what you can do to FINALLY lose those extra pounds: One of the biggest issues is that many patients may be undertreated or underdosed. Would you like email updates of new search results? eCollection 2022 Apr. 2021 Oct 21;106(11):e4400-e4413. Patients who still have a thyroid gland that functions may be able to produce T1 and T2 in sufficient amounts to not notice a difference, but either way it's worth discussing. 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. Patients with high stress, high levels of inflammation, leptin resistance, insulin resistance, etc. You can find supplements to treat leptin resistance here. Check out my free thyroid downloads and resources. Normally you wouldn't think twice about this, but it matters when you take thyroid medication. Some people believe that taking Armour thyroid may cause a "flare up" of existing Hashimoto's disease. The real question is what do you do about it? 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. Levothyroxine Dosage Guide: Are you on the Right Dose? It should come as no surprise then to hear that you don't want high levels of Reverse T3 because it competes for binding with T3 which creates tissue level hypothyroidism or thyroid resistance. 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. then you should have your blood work retested and evaluated. This leads to a situation where you will have the symptoms of hypothyroidism but your lab tests may be "normal". While your thyroid certainly contributes (at least initially) to weight gain, it almost always isn't the ONLY contributing factor. This includes inactive ingredients such as methylcellulose and dextrose (and many others). What Your Low TSH Means With Thyroid Medication & Without Careers. Combined levothyroxine plus liothyronine compared with levothyroxine alone in primary hypothyroidism: a randomized controlled trial. If we could reliably test for these genetic differences we would be able to more easily determine what kind of thyroid medication that each person needs. Using this conversion you can see how many people may end up under-treated. 2021 Nov 17;2021:1152572. doi: 10.1155/2021/1152572. While the research is limited in this area I have seen several patients who develop a rapid and excessive increase in thyroid antibodies immediately after starting Armour thyroid. If your leptin is too high - then you should undergo therapies designed to reduce leptin resistance. eCollection 2021. 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. 2004 Jun;60(6):750-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2004.02050.x. I've outlined how to treat leptin resistance in this article. 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. While Armour does contain some T3 it is possible that your body may actually need more. If you fall into this category then you need to make sure that you are "converting" your dose correctly as we outlined at the beginning of this post. These special properties may be one of the reasons that patients who switch to Armour thyroid experience significant improvement in their hypothyroid symptoms. Has it helped you lose weight? Instead, start off on a lower dose and titrate up SLOWLY every 10-14 days. Leptin is a hormone that is pumped out by your fat cells (yes they pump out hormones!). Shakir MKM, Brooks DI, McAninch EA, Fonseca TL, Mai VQ, Bianco AC, Hoang TD. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about using Armour thyroid ranging from who should use it, how to use it safely, how to use it for weight loss and common pitfalls patients experience. Improvement of depression in a patient with hypothyroidism and deiodinase polymorphism with LT3 Therapy. When you have leptin resistance (13) the exact opposite happens: your body thinks you're starving so it decreases metabolism and increases appetite (even though you have plenty of fat). Design and setting: .wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-90491 {margin-left: -2em; }.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-90491 .wp-show-posts-inner {margin: 0 0 2em 2em; } 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. If this happens to you don't let it scare you from using the medication further! 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. 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. 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. Patients were randomized to either DTE or L-T for 16 weeks and then crossed over for the same duration. To see a case study example treatment plan please refer to this post. One of the biggest (and perhaps more important) question that most patients have when considering Armour thyroid is this: Will Armour Thyroid actually help me lose weight? These medications are created by desiccating (or crushing) up the thyroid glands of certain animals - in this case, pigs. That is the question that many patients have and one of the main reasons they want to at least give Armour thyroid a try. T3 can be added to Armour thyroid with the following medications: liothyronine, Cytomel or SR T3. You can read more about my own personal health journey and why I am so passionate about what I dohere. As we've discussed previously, Armour thyroid contains a combination of T4 (the inactive thyroid hormone) and T3 (the active thyroid hormone). This underdosing may have the unintended consequence of exacerbating (at least temporarily) hypothyroid symptoms. Five variables were predictors of preference for DTE. If you fall into any of these categories make sure you monitor your dose very closely. Armour thyroid is a special thyroid medication that is formulated to include ALL of the thyroid hormones - both biologically active and biologically inactive forms. While it's true 1 grain of Armour thyroid contains the same amount of active thyroid hormone (T3 and T4) as a grain of WP thyroid or Naturethroid - these medications differ in the inactive ingredients that they contain. Leptin resistance is often accompanied by insulin resistance and thyroid resistance (all three conditions are caused by the same thing). Usually caused by increased intestinal permeability (SIBO, SIFO, SIBO, leaky gut, etc. Check out my own personal health story. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Your body lives in harmony and functions optimally when it can create the amount of T4 and T3 that it needs on a daily basis. 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. This process is controlled by various factors including your genetics so it may come as no surprise that some people are "better" at converting thyroid hormone than others. #2. Primary hypothyroidism and quality of life. Pharmaceutical companies then encapsulate the desiccated pig thyroid gland and standardize the hormones in each capsule and humans then take it. Leptin levels can be tested easily in the serum and fasting leptin levels higher than 10-12 indicate the presence of leptin resistance. Thyroid. As fat cells grow, leptin levels increase. Because the conventional treatment for patients with hypothyroidism is to supplement with only the inactive thyroid hormone T4. Hegeds L, Bianco AC, Jonklaas J, Pearce SH, Weetman AP, Perros P. Nat Rev Endocrinol. Splitting your dose may help reduce the massive swings in thyroid hormone that occur when you take the entire days worth of thyroid hormone at once. 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. 2021 Dec 6;12:795111. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.795111. Before 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. Most people assume when they switch to Armour thyroid that their extra weight will magically start shedding off And about 90% of people who make the switch don't see those results. Because Armour thyroid contains T3 it can directly bypass this conversion process which allows the body to use some of the thyroid hormone immediately after ingestion. It turns out that many conditions may be sabotaging your thyroid conversion and the presence of these conditions may be causing your body to turn T4 into reverse T3. You simply won't lose weight until it is treated. Because high levels of reverse T3 can be caused by different factors, the best way to treat it is to identify the cause and focus on that issue. The presence of leptin resistance creates hormonal havoc which results in weight loss resistance despite changes to your diet and to the amount that you exercise. In my experience, this kind of reaction is quite rare but it's worth pointing out for this discussion. (former Osteopathic Physician). 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. Restart Medical LLC. The .gov means its official. Disclaimer, National Library of Medicine Use of Thyroid Hormones in Hypothyroid and Euthyroid Patients: A 2020 THESIS Questionnaire Survey of Members of the Swedish Endocrine Society. When you lay out the benefits of Armour thyroid and compare it to T4 only medications it's easy to come to the conclusion that Armour thyroid may be superior, but is this really true? After all - If weight loss were that simple, then Doctors would be prescribing low doses of Armour to every patient! This approach will help you achieve long lasting results and help improve your symptoms more than any other. 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. Some individuals who take NDT (and Armour thyroid) may experience negative side effects while taking this medication which they may wrongly attribute to the active thyroid hormone. It's important to note that leptin resistance is generally a late finding and usually indicates that heavy metabolic damage has already occurred. Context: If you suffer from chronic inflammation then you may need to address whatever issue is causing inflammation in your body. Hey! Armour thyroid is unique among thyroid medications in that it contains both the active AND inactive thyroid hormones (1). As an example Armour thyroid is known to contain both methylcellulose and dextrose and these inactive ingredients are notoriously difficult for some patients to digest and break down. Armour Thyroid and Weight Loss - Will it Help you? But remember that each grain of Armour thyroid only has 38mcg of T4 and 9 mcg of T3. 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.