I visited my Naturopathic doctor on February , 2006. We discussed why there seemed to be so much negative feedback from the endocrinologists regarding Armour and neither of us could come up with any reasons- even through our research. My ND decided to speak with a biochemist friend of his. The response was not what I wanted to hear. He stated that this man had determined that if a patient was suffering from an autoimmune disease then they should not ingest any form of glandular products as this may initiate an immune attack thus forming another cancer – usually in the colon. After some talking he and I decided that I would try the Synthroid / Cytomel combination that my endocrinologist had suggested and see if I felt any better. I was not excited to do this because I had begun to feel better than I had in years while taking the Armour but the thought of another form of cancer concerned me too. So I started the next day on .150 mgs Synthroid and 50 mgs of Cytomel.
My trip back into synthetic hormones was nothing short of a nightmare. I went off Armour for 1 1/2 weeks and on the Synthetics. I FELT AWFUL!!! Within 3 days my body ached as did my joints. I could hardly go up and down the stairs in my house without extreme pain. I felt so bad that I stood in my kitchen (3 days after starting on it) and cried wondering how I could live like this. I had to have my children go up and down the stairs to get things for me. I continued to stay on it for 10 days and then one morning I had just completed my workout and realized I needed to go downstairs to the freezer. I started down the stairs and I got so dizzy that I lost my balance and fell 3/4 of the way down and hurt my back. I sat on the stairs and cried, asking God to show me what I should do. An incredible peace came over me and I just felt like I needed to go back on the Armour despite my ND’s concerns (and mine for that matter) - which no one could validate scientifically and I was tired of “guessing” about what was the right thing to do. On that very day, I saw my ND who is also a chiropractor and he checked my ears to discover they had filled up with fluid.
After being back on Armour for 1 week my brain fog cleared up and I was starting to be a happier person. My joints still ached a bit but not nearly as bad as they had on the synthetic combo. After 1 week back on Armour I saw my ND and one of my ears was clear again and the other was much better. I was pleased with my progress in just 1 week. I looked forward to what was to come for the first time in years.
