# Armour thyroid or Cytomel?



## Tiffany (Apr 14, 2012)

Hello all,

I am new hee, I have Hashimoto's, I was initially hyperthyroid about 1 yea ago, then my levels evened out a bit, my endocrinologist sugested thyroxin (I believe that's correct) a synthetic form of thyroid hormone, but I wanted to try armour thyroid first,bcause I has read a lot of promising threads on it helping weight loss and some mood disorders, I have felt okay since starting it, modd had definitely lfted, and I do have more energy.. This last visit, my endocrinologist suggested thyroxin again, plus the addion of 5mcg cytomel.

My big question is, does armour thyroid basically do what the combination of thyroxin and cytomel do, beside the fact of armour thyroid being a natural thyroid medication? if so, I think I will stick with armour thyroid, unless cytomel is better for weight loss, I dounderstand that armour thyroid has t3 in it, and a less and inconsistant amount, from what I have been told, an I undersand that cytomel is pure t3, but synthetic, has anyone tried both of these and had better results with one or theother?

So sory for the long drawn-out post, I am just very curious and also, I just filled the scrpit for cytomel and thyroxin, I am indecisive.  Thank you for your responses.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

Thyroid medications are not weight loss drugs. You mention that twice, people are often dissatisfied with their treatment if they fail to lose weight, but keep in mind you will only loose weight in the traditional way with diet and exercise once you have euthyroid labs.

If you have them, it would be helpful if you posted your results, with ranges.

Armour is only natural in the sense that it is from an animal source--it is then purified, processed and synthesized for human consumption. The active ingredients are chemically no different than the synthetic preparations.

Armour is provided in a specific T3/T4 ratio that is different from what is normally found in the body. Taking synthetic T4 and T3 allows you to alter that somewhat if the ratio in Armour is not working for you.


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## Tiffany (Apr 14, 2012)

Hey, thanks for the reply, yes, of course I mention weight loss in my post, due to the thyroid issues I have, me, along with many many others are over weight, I am insulin resistant, and have PCOS, so, weight loss is very important, I would hate to also develope full blown diabetes, and I am physically active and eat as healthy as possible, I just didn't mention all of that in my post, but I appreciate what you are trying to say on that, some people abuse these medications and harm themselves in the long-run.

My question though, since I have been diagnosed, I have only taken armour thyroid, my endo wanted to try cytomel 5mcg and thyroxine, ( I believe that is the correct meds name), I do not know much about the synthetic thyroid medications, so I wonder if this combination of synthetic meds is essentially like armour thyroid, meaning, t3 & t4 are in both, are they the same beside one being synthetic? and just wanted to see if any other members have done a switch like this, and what worked better for them, yes, I know that everyone is different and different meds have different effects on each individual, I am just very curious to hear your experiences, it's comforting to read about others that have had a similar experience. :hugs: Thank you


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

> I do not know much about the synthetic thyroid medications, so I wonder if this combination of synthetic meds is essentially like armour thyroid, meaning, t3 & t4 are in both,


Yes--T4 is in Synthroid/Levoxyl/Tirosint/Unithroid and T3 is in cytomel. Taking them in combination is chemically the same as T3/T4 in Armour. Two pills instead of one.


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## McKenna (Jun 23, 2010)

> I am insulin resistant,


What treatment are you doing for the insulin resistance? That will definitely impact your weight as well.

I am on Armour and I'm also insulin resistant/pre-diabetic. I have to watch my diet and exercise and I'm on Metformin. I was on a consistant dose of Armour 6 months ago when I was diagnosed insulin resistant, and since starting treatment for insulin resistance, I've lost weight.

I recently had to up my Armour a smidge due to being more active (enjoying the warmer weather!) and my FT3 level went down.

What are your latest labs?


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## Tiffany (Apr 14, 2012)

Hello McKenna,

I used to take metformin too, I took it for about 2 years, then, my new endocrinologist wanted to see how well I would do on a newer medication for type 2 diabetes, and insulin resistance, it is called, victoza, In the 2 years I took metformin, I lost about 30 pounds. Since startining armour thyroid and victoza, I have changed my diet, I have no dairy, soy, white breads or pasta, i even try to avoid 100% whole wheat breads and pasta as much as possible, I love pasta, but it does not love me  lol, I eat a lot of chicken, vegies, and rarely fruits, I drink water all of the time, unsweet tea occasionally, &, black coffee, I usually start my day off with one or two hard boiled eggs, with all of that, I have lost an additional 15 pounds, I was 220 pounds 2 years ago, and 5 ft 2 in. when I took metformin, I tried to change my diet, but, would fall back into old habits on and off, it is hard to change a lifetime of poor eating habits, especially when pcos, insulin resistance makes you crave carbs, it did for me at least.

I am actually supposed to go in on Friday to get new labs done, I will post them once they are in  I obviously decided to just stick with Armour thyroid instead of trying cytomel, I was just confused about what that med actually was or the difference between cytomel and armour, I am aware now, and would rather stick with armour. In the begining of all of this, I was actually hyper thyroid, then hypo, I did the iodine uptake scan, and no graves disease, my endocrinologist said perhaps Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Thank you for responding to my post, I look forward to hearing from you again


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Tiffany said:


> Hello McKenna,
> 
> I used to take metformin too, I took it for about 2 years, then, my new endocrinologist wanted to see how well I would do on a newer medication for type 2 diabetes, and insulin resistance, it is called, victoza, In the 2 years I took metformin, I lost about 30 pounds. Since startining armour thyroid and victoza, I have changed my diet, I have no dairy, soy, white breads or pasta, i even try to avoid 100% whole wheat breads and pasta as much as possible, I love pasta, but it does not love me  lol, I eat a lot of chicken, vegies, and rarely fruits, I drink water all of the time, unsweet tea occasionally, &, black coffee, I usually start my day off with one or two hard boiled eggs, with all of that, I have lost an additional 15 pounds, I was 220 pounds 2 years ago, and 5 ft 2 in. when I took metformin, I tried to change my diet, but, would fall back into old habits on and off, it is hard to change a lifetime of poor eating habits, especially when pcos, insulin resistance makes you crave carbs, it did for me at least.
> 
> ...


Treating multiple situations requires a real balancing act. I am glad you have made a decision and I am sure you will do well on Armour.

Please do let us see your lab results with the ranges when you get them.

How much Armour are you on right now?

We are here for you!


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Hi all, I'm new to the boards and making my way through the threads on Hashimoto's.

I was diagnosed this last week with Hashi's after 10 years of ups and downs with my thyroid and multiple doctors. I've decided this is the year I'm taking control of my thyroid instead of just passively following doctor's advice. I've never been able to get a handle on my thyroid, it's been a roller coaster of ups and downs, and I'm tired of just reacting to feeling bad instead of having it under control.

I've been on various levels of Synthroid for almost 9 years now and it obviously hasn't been working that well, especially for the last 5 years or so, since I've had symptoms of hypo for about that long now. Does anyone think adding Cytomel might help me in this situation? Any advice would be much appreciated!


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## TiredofThis (May 5, 2012)

Have you checked your hormones? as in estrogen and progesterone? I was having issues and it turned out to be that i had almost 0 progesterone and way too much estrogen. I went to a bioidentical dr and he checked my salivia and blood panel for everything and the symptoms were on point. since i started treatment things are a lot better and thats including weight loss, its hard for some people to follow traditional weight loss tips and lose sometimes its more than just your thyroid. As for your question, I think someone already covered that I just wanted to add the info about hormones. also its very common for women with hashi to have problems with progesterone/estrogen.. just saying..


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