Q. At 40, my health, weight and energy were all normal. Then I began to feel tired all the time and suffered with constipation, very dry skin and puffy eyes. My elderly family doctor ran a blood test and found I had hypothyroidism. He prescribed Armour Thyroid and I soon felt like a winner.
When my doctor passed away, I found a new doctor. He changed the medication to Levoxyl and I am once again gaining a lot of weight despite working out an hour a day. My bowels don’t work and my skin is so cracked I look like an alligator. I told my doctor I’m so tired I fear I will fall asleep behind the wheel, but he doesn’t want to switch me back to the medicine that worked for me. He just says I’m getting older.
A. While many patients do well on synthetic thyroid hormone (levothyroxine, Levoxyl, Synthroid), you are not the only one who has found that Armour desiccated thyroid works better. One reader wrote,
“I wish I had demanded Armour thyroid sooner. I kept saying Synthroid didn’t work. Instead of letting me know about Armour, I was given antidepressants.”
To help you discuss this with your doctor, we are sending you our Guide to Thyroid Hormones. In it we discuss the diagnosis and treatment of common thyroid conditions, including the use of Armour Thyroid.
Another reader reported her experience:
“My doctor had me take my temperature before I got out of bed in the morning for several days. Even though the blood tests showed no problem, I did have one. He played around with various meds until we got the combination that brought my body temp up.
“I’m on NatureThyroid and Cytomel. Apparently some of us don’t convert from T4 to T3. He tests me periodically to make sure I’m still doing well. A few years ago the natural thyroids went off the market. I crashed and burned and couldn’t even get out of my Lazy-boy to cook dinner. Apparently there are a lot of people like me who do not respond to the other meds.”
