# Tirosint



## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

Has anyone tried Tirosint?


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## GOLGO13 (Jun 13, 2018)

Have not tried it yet, but I mostly hear good things about it. The only potential issue with it would be if someone had serious absorption issues with Levo and then started Tirosint and those absorption issues went away, they may be on way too high a dose.

I think that would be only the case if someone was on way too high a dose of Levo and it still wasn't really helping. Or they took their levo with coffee and food...supposedly Tirosint absorbs well even with coffee and food.

Anyways...I mostly hear good things and have considered it myself. I'm on Synthroid name brand and I like it more than Levo personally.


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

I have had anxiety issues from my Armour that I am so done with. Tried Levoxyl and went hyper on it at 175mcg. Went back down and just never felt ok. Went back to Armour and have had same anxiety issues. So I asked to try Tirosint and I'm gonna start at 125mcg and see.


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## GOLGO13 (Jun 13, 2018)

chickenpiggy said:


> I have had anxiety issues from my Armour that I am so done with. Tried Levoxyl and went hyper on it at 175mcg. Went back down and just never felt ok. Went back to Armour and have had same anxiety issues. So I asked to try Tirosint and I'm gonna start at 125mcg and see.


This could be from getting too much T3. If you try Tirosint and you still don't feel right, try adding a little T3 to it. Twice a day 5 Cytomel is a common amount. However, I'd try to give Tirosint by itself a bit of time. It's going to take many months for your body to adjust to being on T4 only after being on Armour. Or go strait to a combination but hopefully a much lower amount of T3 then you were on Armour.

Also worth considering nutrition and diet as a way to help with things. But over medication can be the cause of high anxiety...even too little medication can cause it. Or a nutrition deficiency like Iron, B12, etc. I think they body doesn't know what to do with the thyroid hormone when we have deficiencies.


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

Actually on 180mg of Armour my levels all indicate under medicated. Even the FT3. I did absorb Levo well but felt unwell and went hyper. When I try to increase Armour my bp goes up and anxiety. It all just makes no sense. I till try Tirosint and hope for the best. In the past I have taken Levo, Compounded and Armour. None have got me optimal. I have been doing this for 15 years and it's exhausting. I have no thyroid due to RAI from Graves.


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## GOLGO13 (Jun 13, 2018)

When you are on NDT like Armour, your Iron levels need to be very good. There are 4 Iron tests and Ferritin. Here is an example of my tests:

Ferritin Serum 84

Iron 73

Total Iron Binding Capacity 346 Iron (transferrin)

Saturation 21%

Transferrin 247

My numbers above are actually not very good. Luckily it's turned around and my new ones are much better. I'm not on NDT, but I think it affected me as well in the same way you talk about above.


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

I know I got a Ferritin test one time and they said it was fine, not sure about now. And I have had my iron tested. But something is causing me to have issues with meds. It's hard when you have to have thyroid hormone to live but everything gives you problems. Thank you for all advice!!


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## GOLGO13 (Jun 13, 2018)

With no thyroid I highly suggest being on some sort of combination therapy. If you try Tirosint you will want to add T3 to it.

However, your issue could be more related to Iron levels.

I believe what helped me fix my Iron levels was an overall focus on nutrition. Taking a multivitamin and trying to get good nutrition through food.

B12 and Vitamin D are key things also. Zinc, Selenium as well.

I'm a male, so I don't have as much challenges for Iron as a women may. But I still appeared to have a real problem with it and it caused me similar issues you describe.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

chickenpiggy said:


> Actually on 180mg of Armour my levels all indicate under medicated. Even the FT3. I did absorb Levo well but felt unwell and went hyper. When I try to increase Armour my bp goes up and anxiety. It all just makes no sense. I till try Tirosint and hope for the best. In the past I have taken Levo, Compounded and Armour. None have got me optimal. I have been doing this for 15 years and it's exhausting. I have no thyroid due to RAI from Graves.


I know of several people who had Graves and do much better on synthetic vs NDT


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

I went hyper on 175mcg of Levoxyl (brand) so ended up going back down to 137 mcg but never felt good. I started 125mcg of Tirosint since I understand it's absorbed better. Today is day two so I'm hoping it works out!!!


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## GOLGO13 (Jun 13, 2018)

Good luck! I've considered switching to Tirosint....currently doing pretty well on Synthroid name brand. You can always add some T3 (Cytomel) later if needed.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

chickenpiggy said:


> I know I got a Ferritin test one time and they said it was fine, not sure about now. And I have had my iron tested. But something is causing me to have issues with meds. It's hard when you have to have thyroid hormone to live but everything gives you problems. Thank you for all advice!!


If you are female - ferritin levels change during your monthly cycle, being lowest just after so testing 1x just tells you where you were at that moment. I struggled for years and eventually ablated.


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

I have not had a cycle in months, thats a whole other issue. I am 47 so it may just be what it is. The Tirosint did not work out. On day four I woke up feeling really off and almost had a panic attach. Same thing happened with Levoxyl. So now I'm back taking my Armour, I just lowered it a little. I go for a physical Friday, maybe I can find out something.


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## GOLGO13 (Jun 13, 2018)

Thyroid meds are hard to switch sometimes. It really takes time for things to settle. The biggest issue is going from a T3 heavy medication to a T4 only. That's a huge difference. If you ever have to try that again, I suggest doing a combination of Tirosint and Cytomel (T4 and T3). Otherwise it's a very different setup than you were on.

Make sure your Iron is OK and do some research on dosing NDT. It's not always easy.

Good luck!


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

chickenpiggy said:


> I have not had a cycle in months, thats a whole other issue. I am 47 so it may just be what it is. The Tirosint did not work out. On day four I woke up feeling really off and almost had a panic attach. Same thing happened with Levoxyl. So now I'm back taking my Armour, I just lowered it a little. I go for a physical Friday, maybe I can find out something.


Do the T4 doses they prescribe correlate with the manufacturer recommended 1.7mcg per kilogram weight?

When you feel hyper do you lab before changing or stopping medication?

Is your doctor testing both FT-4 and FT-3 and basing your medication adjustments off those labs?


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

I was tested today so we will see where I stand even though I have not been able to stay consistent on a med. My BP was really high when two months ago it was great. So waiting on blood test results now. She always checks TSH, FT3 and FT4


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

chickenpiggy said:


> I was tested today so we will see where I stand even though I have not been able to stay consistent on a med. My BP was really high when two months ago it was great. So waiting on blood test results now. She always checks TSH, FT3 and FT4


One thing you need to consider - anytime you change a manufacturer or dose the moving thyroid hormone may cause issues. Your history shows this. You may need to tough things out and stay on a dose and test prior to switching. Thyroid symptoms overlap so your anxiety may actually be because you are hypo.

Also, don't take your doctors "word" and rather insist they send you the actual lab result with ranges.


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

I always get actual lab results not what she tells me. So I got my results and I am floored. FT4 .65 (.82-1.77), FT3 2.3 (2.0-4.4). TSH 32 (.45-4.5). I can’t believe my tsh is that bad!!!!


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## GOLGO13 (Jun 13, 2018)

Not good numbers across the board there. It's difficult to say with the testing since you were on and off the medications and it was not much time given (at least for the TSH). However, I believe the free numbers are quicker to change and those look bad.

Thyroid hormone is tricky and it's not good to switch around a ton. I think going from NDT strait to T4 only is difficult especially with no thyroid.

Make sure your nutrition is solid and get those Iron levels checked.

Another possibility is Celiac could be causing absorption issues. Worth checking for that or trying going gluten free for a bit of time.

Be careful out there! it's no good to not have enough thyroid hormone. If you can find a good practitioner who understands dosing NDT that can help. Armour is supposed to be the best type of NDT going right now. The other formulations have had a tough year with a lot of recalls.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

chickenpiggy said:


> I always get actual lab results not what she tells me. So I got my results and I am floored. FT4 .65 (.82-1.77), FT3 2.3 (2.0-4.4). TSH 32 (.45-4.5). I can't believe my tsh is that bad!!!!


How do you feel with these labs?

You mention anxiety - have you considered taking any natural supplements to help? Anxiety and thyroid hormone replacement can be either from being hyper or hypo. Moving thyroid hormones cause anxiety as well as other symptoms.

As hard as it might be - you really need to pick a medication and dose and stick with it for at least 4 weeks before testing - 6 weeks is best but 4 will give you an idea of where you are headed. The only time I really had anxiety issues with meds was when I added T3 hormone with low Ferritin levels. It was so bad even adding 1/4 of a 5mcg pill 2 x a day. once I got my Ferritin levels to upper range adding the T3 hormone did not cause the anxiety issues.

I feel for you - my first 2 years post TT I was switching doses regularly trying to get to a good place. It will happen- hang in there,


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## chickenpiggy (Nov 8, 2011)

I felt horrible at those levels. I have been back on my Armour Thyroid 180mg, I am in my third week back on it. I am actually breaking the tablet with my teeth now instead of swallowing whole. I have digestive issues from Gerd and I think this was part of the problem. I feel better now actually. So I'm hoping in a couple of weeks when I retest I will know for sure. I will def repost labs when I get them  I have been at this for 15 years so it's been a LONG HAUL so far. And over those years Armour has changed ingredients so it has affected me each time also.


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## dromenon (Jun 7, 2021)

chickenpiggy said:


> Has anyone tried Tirosint?


i have used tirosint exclusively for a decade bc i am allergic to a filler in synthroid. i have struggled with maintaining a normal tsh level which has been a wild and unhappy ride. i don't blame that on the drug just poor medical management. i'm very thankful for the alternative.


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