so i’ve been on Armour Thyroid for about 8 weeks now, and while my TSH is finally in range, i’m still experiencing these weird crashes in the afternoon. my doc says it’s not related to my thyroid meds, but i’m not so sure.
i’ve been tracking my symptoms and labs in a free-text journal tied to my medication schedule, and i’ve noticed that my cortisol levels seem to be all over the place. has anyone else experienced this on Armour Thyroid?
i’m starting to think it’s not just the thyroid, but maybe some kinda metabolic thing. anyone have any insights?
Crashing in the afternoons is rough, I can imagine how that’d be frustrating. You said your doc thinks it’s not related to your thyroid meds, but you’re not so sure, and I’m with you on that, it’s always worth exploring. I’ve had my own share of misattributed symptoms, like I mentioned before, my first aura and I thought it was a stroke, so I get the confusion. imo Your observation about cortisol levels being all over the place is interesting, maybe there’s a connection there worth looking into
Crashing in the afternoons is tough, especially when your TSH is finally in range. You mentioned your cortisol levels seem to be “all over the place”, which makes me wonder if that’s contributing to these crashes, as you said “my doc says it’s not related to my thyroid meds, but i’m not so sure”.
cortisol levels all over the place sounds like my migraine days when photophobia is bad enough to make me skip work, what’s your typical trigger log look like during these crashes ngozio
it’s interesting you’re flagging the cortisol, bc “all over the place” can mean a few things depending on how you’re measuring it - are we talking about within-day variability (like morning vs. afternoon readings) or day-to-day fluctuations?
the timing of cortisol measurement is pretty critical for interpretation. a lot of the tracking apps now have correlation views that can help make sense of those kinds of patterns, like with cortisol and your energy dips, which can be useful when you’re trying to separate signal from noise in free-text notes.
your doc’s point that it’s “not related to your thyroid meds” might be technically true if your TSH is fine, but the overall metabolic context around NDT and T3/T4 conversion is a different question than just TSH, and your body’s response to the active T3 component can definitely influence energy and other endocrine axes in ways that aren’t always captured by a single TSH number.
ymmv. the “cortisol all over the place” part is the one that caught my eye. are you getting those levels checked at the same time of day? bc my C3/C4 can look fine
your doc saying it’s not related, is that based on a single cortisol reading or a series over time? bc for fluctuating stuff like that, the timing of the draw matters way more than just the number itself.
that afternoon crash hitting you even w/ TSH in range is a classic ‘invisible illness’ frustration, i get that. i’ve had similar energy drops, not thyroid related for me, but the timing of it is always the key
Cortisol swings are normal, but “all over the place” needs a lot more detail on when you’re drawing it relative to waking and your perceived crashes. Armour Thyroid has a T3 component, which has a half-life measured in hours, not days.
It clears fast. Your afternoon crash could be the T3 fading out before the next dose, which your doc might dismiss as “not related” if they’re only thinking TSH and not kinetics.
afternoon crashes and cortisol being all over the place sounds familiar, even if it’s not a thyroid thing directly. sometimes those “weird crashes in the afternoon” aren’t just about thyroid or cortisol in isolation. i’ve noticed with my own mast cell stuff that a bad flare can feel a lot like hitting a wall, and it messes with my whole system, including how