Just to add two cents here because I'm in the middle of a similar dillema....
It is a FACT that if adrenals go unsupported, it can be very difficult to take thryoid hormone. Armour can be wonderful, but under the circumstance of weak adrenals its a blunt instrument. You just feel really beat up. I know...I'm on Armour.
On good adrenals...Armour if you ask me, is the clear choice of thryoid replacement because it has so many properties that a pure t4 doesn't offer. The t3 in Armour, as Doc. Blanchard says can OUT pace the t4 over time, so its best to add in a synthetic "t4 kick stand." Those are my words...but a version of his theory.
I took Isocort..but it hasn't done anything for me. Doc says perhpas its to weak for someone in my condition. I had blood drawn for cortisol to see what the results are. Not in yet.
The whole sex hormone thing has its own intereseting factors. I'm just learning about those. It turns out that birth control pills are not a good choice for those on thryoid replacement. Here's why: The receptor sites get plugged up with the FAKE esrtogen making it impossible for the thryoid hormone to get in there and do its thing. This will leave you hypo...even though tests come back "normal." I've been to ten docs...NOT one ever mentioned this to me...and partly explains why I'm still in such bad shape.
As Doc Blanchard...points out this is an issue to be noted.
The last doc I went to took a test called SEX HORMONE BINDING GLOBULIN. Mine was off the charts...four times what it should be. It hangs up your androgens (testoterone) and even throid hormone. I was on birth contol pills....so....obviously I needed to kick those birth control pills to the curb right quick.
Hypothyroidism...can deplete a lot of the other hormones...and that is why doctors should be checking all the rest to make sure you aren't losing them. You need them to feel good. Its that simple.
My progesterone and estrogen levels are low...a few weeks after stopping the B.C pills. It will likely take a few cycles to clear the system for a recheck. So..we shall see.
In the meantime....my DHEA (also turnes into estrogen and testoterone) was low too. So...without testosterone and DHEA its no wonder I'm still half dead. Those are your AGRESSIVE fighting hormones. You need those to feel like you can take on the world. Here I sit all vulnerable...running away from the slightest shadow. No wonder.
I take melatonin at night to get to sleep. Too bad I'm wide awake by 3AM. That is likely the cortisol freaking out so early. I found some great melatonin at GNC that is sublingual and it tasts like cherry candies. I've heard that other brands can cause tummy irritation.
Pregnenolone is generated from chloresterol. Its sold on over the internet and you can find it at your local health food store or vitamin store. It can help balance the rest of the hormones.
No matter what I read....the adrenals are the place to start. Then everything else can be built on top of them.
This all just so interesting. Isn't it?
I have just picked up three books on the subect and they all basically say the same thing....and talk about how important these other factors are in a woman regaining her capacities.
I hope this helps.
~S
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