His and Her Health

I am cureently taking bio-identical hormones: biest and projesterone on a revolving basis. Estrodial every day and projesterone 14 days out of every month. I also take Synthroid and Armour. After starting HRT I needed about 1/2 the dose of thyroid medication, however I was recently tested and my thyroid is at 5.2 so the doctor told me to go back to taking the higher dose. This makes me dizzy, so I've cut them in half again. I'm thinking that the Armour disagrees with me. Has anyone experience this kind of problem? My resting pulse is 40 and of late I'm experiencing chest pains. I think all these problems are somehow connected.

Thanks for participating on our bulletin board. Estrogen and thyroid levels are connected. Estrogen has the ability to increase Thyroid Binding Globulin (TBG), a protein that lowers free thyroid, the form of the hormone that is biologically active. Most people who take estrogen need more thyroid, not less. It can take a while to see this effect but it should reach a steady state in a month or so. Talk to your doctor about the chest pains and dizziness. It is best that you continue to call your doctor to help you fine tune your dose of thyroid rather than you doing it yourself.

Hempton - I'm kind of surprised you're taking both Synthroid & Armour. Synthroid is a T4 only drug and Armour has all the T hormones in it. Therefore, you would be getting a much higher ratio of T4 to total thyroid hormone than your own thyroid would normally produce.

I have no idea if this would cause dizziness & chest pains (though dizziness is a sign of too much thyroid hormone) - but if I were you I would question my doctor about the double meds.

One more thing, if your TSH tested at 5.2, that might mean your body is not getting enough useable thyroid hormone (it can be bound up in other molecules) or not getting enough of the specific thyroid hormone it needs.

When I was on Synthroid my T4 was too high, but my TSH was also high indicating I needed even more thyroid hormone. It wasn't until I switched to Armour that my body started getting the T3 it needed and quit pushing my TSH up hoping for more.