Itching on Armour

[elle]

Steve wrote:

I just started taking Armour and immediately started itching in the neck (thyroid) area. Will the itching go away when the medicine builds up in your system?

mine did not had to goon levoxyl

[irma nj]

I've been on Synthroid for about 1 1/2 yr but my skin was still extremely dry and the hair loss continued. My Dr gave me no arguement about switching to Armour. I noticed a big difference. I wasn't as tired and theres no brain fog . However its been about 3 months and theres no let up in my hair loss. In fact, i think its increased. I also notice that my ears get clogged up a few hours after taking it and my nose starts dripping like an allergic reaction. Thats what i think is happening. I would live with it if only my hair will stop falling out. But i'm going to ask about a different drug.

[Cherie]

My doctor just tripled my dose of Armour a week ago and I just started itching like crazy this evening. I've been on Armour for 2 1/2 months and before this itching I had what the doctor thought was an ongoing yeast infection for the last month, but the lab results didn't confirm it. Has anyone else had yeast infection like symptoms. I am allergic to many other medicines (that also make me itch) - all drugs with Sulfa and all NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Maybe Armour is another I can't take. Although it does make me feel much better.

[Hadley]

Has anyone experienced tooth sensitivity when taking Armour sublingually? I have been taking 2 grains for about 4 or 5 days and my teeth are feeling like I have been drinking very very cold water--highly irritated. Thanks

[Robin]

I've been on Armour for 3 plus years(it has saved me from being debilitated) and my experience with itching has been that when I was on a higher dose I had quite a bit itching on my upper legs but when my dose was lowered my itching went away. My T3 was on the high side and was over the range a little bit. It was also suggested to me that maybe the itching was due to low iron which also accompanies hypothyrodism.

[nulagh]

pchildress wrote:

<quoted text>
I too am on Armour Thyroid 90mg. I am itching like crazy. It has gotten worse over the last few weeks. I don't quite know what to do about it. I also sneeze after I take it in the morning.

I am itching with Armour or the equivalent in Canada - called Thyroid. I have to be careful with the dosage as it gives me chest pains. I take the slow release made up by compound pharmacist. Any advise is appreciated.

[Smilesatya]

Me too! Me too! Exactly like what happened to, Jenny and a little bit like everyone else.:) I am so glad I found this website, it was driving me crazy with itchiness and worry. I thought I had something contagious that I could give my family.
:(
It's the greatest thing in the world and like someone said I would rather not take anything if I had to not take it, but the ichiness is unbearable with the anxiety that accompanies it.

I took it for about a month and everything was great, then the itchiness and anxiety started and I freaked. First itchiness but later some crawly too, mostly on my scalp, ears, face, neck, back. Went off it, ichiness began to subside gradually after the first few days, moving down my body as it decreased, but the brain fog and fatigue kicked in.

Went back on, took it in divided dose throughout the day. Slight itchiness, not too bad unless I took more than 1/4 of it at once. Took it under my tongue this time instead of swallowing. After about three weeks, itchiness again and anxiety. Stopped it but itchiness is still felt strong in scalp and face, and throughout body. Got an unexpected surge yesterday, day 6 off it.:(

It's been a week, and I'm starting to get worried.:( There's a little bit of crawly, but it feels mostly like last time irritated eyes, scalp, ears, surges of itchiness throughout body. How long did your itching last after you stopped the Armour?

[Parmalat]

Same here - I was on Naturethroid (not too different from Armour) and after about a month (one dose increase) I started itching like mad. I tried Synthroid which made me bloated and hypo-symptomatic even on a larger dose than the equivalent for Naturethroid. Then on to 1/4 to 1/2 grain of Naturethroid and 5mcg Cytomel, with one increase to 10mcg Cytomel. A month after starting this, I'm itching again. I thought I accidentally triggered a reaction with too much Naturethroid, but I dropped it entirely and I'm still itching up a storm. The only obvious constant is T3 - maybe, as someone suggested early, I have too much in my system?

I'm not diagnosed with any autoimmune problems, but who knows, I suppose? Going to cut back on the Cytomel and see what happens.

Does Benadryl do anything for any of y'all? I'm a bit confused as to whether this can be an allergic reaction if Benadryl won't touch the problem (which it won't, for me at any rate). I wouldn't call my itching urticaria ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urticaria ), because I don't have the rash or marks. Are any of you guys getting colored hives like that?

Smilesatya: I seem to recall it only being four or five days for me, but I'm sure it can stay in your system for a little longer?

[Smilesatya]

Parmalat, thank you for your reply. I really do appreciate it as it makes me feel not so alone in this.:)
Gosh, four or five days?:( It's been a good two weeks since I stopped it completely and I'm still iching, though not as intensly or continuously.
I called Armour's drug manufacturor today and the Pharmacist there said that it can tak five weeks for the drug to leave the system of a healthy individual and seven weeks for an individual with hypothyroid... so maybe that plays a role expression of reactions/sensibilities in different indiviuduals.
I also know that for people who have been on a T4 for a very long time, the switch to a medicine with T3 can sometimes cause iching as the body gets used to the chemical, also adrenal fatigue may play some part in the reaction... there's alot of info about such here http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/
With regard to benadryl, its connection with thyroid medicine and allergy is mentioned here http://www.drlowe.com/QandA/askdrlowe/mostrec... . I took Benadryl when the symptoms were very intense and it did help some, but since I do not like taking a lot of medicine in general, I didn't continue with it.
Also, I have lupus and don't know if that may play a role. I'm planning to go see my doctor again soon as it is really beginning to worry me.:( Maybe have them do allergy testing or at least explain what's going on.

[Smilesatya]

One last thing, I'm getting ichies but also pricles everywhere and surges of warmth iches especially on scalp, ears, scalp line, eyebrows.

[Parmalat]

A lot of you guys seem to have autoimmune problems! I wonder if there's some connection with this itching and that high rate of autoimmune issues.

I started taking Claritin a couple of days ago, and wham, itching greatly reduced. I'm only on 10mcg/day of Cytomel, so I'm not really very high-dosage, but Claritin has helped a heck of a lot.(I previously tried Benadryl, but maybe its best work is done at night, which I slept through? I'm not entirely sure. It should have worked! I don't get it!) Smilesatya, you ought to give Claritin a try!(Or its generic version - totally works.)

Also, Smilesatya, sounds like your allergies are pretty touchy! I guess that since my itching responded to a histamine receptor antagonist (Claritin!), the itching must have been a histamine problem. Dunno if that's your problem too...

Oh, also: If any of y'all are on non-Cytomel thyroid drugs that are chiefly T4 (or have a large T4 component like Armour or Synthroid or whatever), you should try taking a couple of selenium tablets daily, as my doctor tells me that the body uses selenium to process T4 into T3 (I sure as heck don't get enough selenium just in my diet).

[chloe]

I have been taking armour for six months the itchy skin is unbearable but my hair is falling out and my scalp is mad itchy I have big patches and I am terrified so will have to stop armour

[nulagh]

I am taking the natural form of T4/T3 obtained in Canada and it is not the company that manufactures Armour - the itching is much better. I told the compound pharmacist I had allergies to wheat etc and he made sure there were no suspect ingredients added. I do talk the slow release version, I cannot take it otherwise, I do get reactions from the sudden release of T3 into my system. Itching is worse and I get chest pains.
Hope this is of some help

[opscorp26]

I have Hashimoto's disease and I have an adrenal problem. I was taking armour thyroid for 3 months and then when upped dosage and got severe itching on my shoulders and upper arms. I scratched in my sleep (calamine lotion and benadryl did nothing) and developed a rash practically everywhere (arm pits were the worst b/c sweating i assume). It oozed yellow and then my skin was so dry I couldn't lift my arms. After stopping the armour and taking 10 days of steroids it went away after 13 days of starting the steroid. My doc had me go back on armour (b/c "a rash isn't a side effect and it must be some allergic reation to something else") and the rash was back in a day and was bad quickly - no progression like 1st time. Again I went back on steroids.(Not to mention I gained like 15 lbs from the steroids) Now I take a generic for cytomel and I feel so tired, weak and dizzy/foggy. But I'd rather drag myself through the day than have that horrible rash again. So glad I found this site to know that I'm not the only one who went through such trouble.