What Causes Insomnia And Depression Inspite Of Having Armour Thyroid For Hypothyroidism?

Posted on Sat, 7 Jun 2014

Question: Hello, I am a 56 yr old female. Great health in general--walker,hiker, eat pretty healthy most of the time. I was diagnosed with low thyroid function and have been taking Armour Thyroid for 7 years maybe, not sure. Some time after that I had a hysterectomy due to large fibroids causing extreme bleeding and pain 2 weeks a month. I started using Estradiol Patches for hormone therapy and am currently on .75 estradiol patches. I was on 60 mg Armour, but about 6 mos ago I tested low again, wasn't feeling great either, so my dose was upped to 90 mg Armour and I felt much better for awhile, but in the last few months I've suspected it's low again--cold hands, insomnia,depression. Finally, here is my concern. I do not want to get tested again, have my dose raised again so soon, because if I keep having to go to higher & higher doses of Armour, won't it just eventually stop working? Then what will I do? I do have a high stress job the last year and a half, which I am working on trying to change. Maybe my adrenal glands are fatigued from the stress. Anyway, I can't afford good medical coverage so here I am...

Answered by Dr. Shehzad Topiwala (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Thyroid

Detailed Answer:
Sorry to hear about your symptoms.

Armour thyroid is not recommended at all for the treatment of hypothyroidism. Expert guidelines have time and again reinforced this fact. It is deemed unsafe and unnecessary. Levothyroxine alone suffices for the treatment of hypothyroidism.

The symptoms you are experiencing could very well be due to armor, and it's frequent dose changes.

Once a steady dose requirement of levothyroxine is determined, then it often remains stable for a long time. And so frequent testing and dose adjustments are not necessary. Checking once a year is enough.

The next question is whether you truly have hypothyroidism or not. Do you have a neck/thyroid swelling, or a family history or positive thyroid antibodies? Or do you recall your baseline TSH before treatment was begun?
It would be worth reconsidering this diagnosis unless you are sure the diagnosis was made correctly. Sometimes the thyroid labs look off temporarily in the blood in a condition called 'thyroiditis', and recover back to normal in a couple months. I have seen many individuals incorrectly diagnosed with permanent hypothyroidism in such circumstances by non-experts, and placed on treatment for life, and then I have withdrawn medication successfully.
If you do not have hypothyroidism, then you do not need treatment with thyroid medication.

Note: For more information on hormonal imbalance symptoms or unmanaged diabetes with other comorbid conditions, get back to us & Consult with an Endocrinologist. Click here to book an appointment.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar