Frequently Asked Questions to Dr. Ridha Arem

Read through Dr. Arem's frequently asked questions to see if they can help you. You can also read through Dr. Arem's health articles or ask us a question using the form on the contact page and we will try our best to answer.

Question: I HAVE BEEN TREATED WITH ARMOUR THYROID FOR MY HYPOTHYROIDISM AND WAS TOLD TO INCREASE THE DOSE OF ARMOUR THYROID ON MY OWN UNTIL I REACH A LEVEL WHERE I HAVE PALPITATIONS. IS THIS A GOOD FORM OF TREATMENT?

Answer: 

No. Armour Thyroid in high doses will give you excessive amounts of T3 in relationship to T4. Your T3 levels will certainly be high for several hours during the day. T3 has a short half-life in the body and when you take a high dose of Armour Thyroid, T3 levels increase significantly above normal then decrease slowly. Too much T3 in your body causes you to have bone loss, irritability, rapid heartbeat, anxiety and many other adverse effects that you want to avoid. Also, when your body is flooded with too much T3, it may react against you and instead of losing weight, you may gain weight. Armour Thyroid can be a good treatment when you take moderate amounts and if needed combined with L-Thyroxine (T4) for a good T4/T3 balance throughout the day.