Doctor frustration

Thanks for the Armour suggestion. I'll see how I feel on Synthroid first. I've never discussed the concept of conversion of T4 to T3 with my doc and it sounds like Armour contains both, making it ideal for someone who has a conversion problem or who no longer has a thyroid gland. Synthroid only contains T4, which the body must then convert to T3. I guess we'll see where my numbers are in six weeks and how I feel. My symptoms are relatively minor as is so hopefully I just a little boost.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Isn't Synthroid just a brand name for Levothyroxine? I'm other words, seen 't they one and the same? I haven't looked at my pill container, but given how insurance works, they probably just gave me the generic formulation.

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I've always been advised by pharmacists to not change between the different "brands" of synthetic thyroid replacement very often. There are differences in the concentration between the different brands and some people do seem to respond a bit differently between the different "brands". About.com has a little blurb with a passing reference about it here. This site also advises against changing brands without consultation.

All of that being said, I don't have a thyroid at all so my body may be more sensitive to differences in concentration. The price is quite close between the two, something like $1 or so.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

I get up in the middle of the night every night--usually around 3 a.m. or so. While I'm generally pretty blurry-eyed, I'm arguably awake enough to take a pill. I guess I'll try that and see how it goes. I also have to rearrange when I take a couple other pills (a BCP with Iron in it and Allegra).

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That's what I do, I keep my Synthroid at my bedside with a glass of water and take it when I get up to pee.

I take a combination of Synthroid and Cytomel. I do not convert T4 to T3. It's a constant balancing act for me for my dosages.

Thank you for that link, Cartrin. Now I get it. I checked my script and it is for Synthroid.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

I'm fine with the not eating until later part. It's the coffee that I can't/don't want to wait on. Do you drink coffee and, if so, did you wait until well after you took your synthroid before drinking it?

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I don't wait -- coffee and newspaper, shower, pills. I didn't have breakfast/more coffee untill I got to work. Now I wait 30 - 45 minutes, then have breakfast.