Question about armour dosing

[cao2321]

I have hypothyroidism and hashimotos and was able to switch to Armour thyroid.Previous to that i was taking 100mcg levrothroxine for it.(TSH was around 1.40 a few months ago)I was prescribed 1.5grain/90mg Armour and was wondering what that converts to what i was taking with the other medicine?

I have heard mixed reviews about Armour being reformulated and what not so i really hope these work for me.If not i believe the generic was NP thyroid which i heard was just as good.Has anyone had good experiences with the new Armour?If this works,when should i start to notice a difference?Also,Do most people break the tablet and take it twice a day since it has T3 in it?thanks for the help.

[cao2321]

Its good to know that i should just stick with Armour.I have read over and over to not get it,but sounds like it works good for most people now.Definitlely look forward too see how it will effect me.thanks for the help!

[Jackie419]

Right now, NP Thyroid is a losing proposition. I have been on it for the past year+ but it has been out of production for some months. Last month I had to go to a neighboring city to find some and I think it was old and I went hypo.

I had been on Armour before the reformulation and was a bit worried about taking it now but it IS available and I have been back on it for 10 days now- I am also chewing it AND taking just a bit more than my usual dose of NP for good measure--it's too bad because I was just getting my levels right when NP went missing.

Just trying to say, since it's your first run with NDT you should be fine with Armour and don't worry about NP as it has been out of production several times now and a major hassle for our health to have to switch meds when a company decides to go out of production! You should notice a difference pretty quickly if you were experiencing hypo symptoms. Good luck!

[cao2321]

Thanks for the replys.I took my first dose,chewed it up and swallowed it.Not the best tasting stuff but i hope to start feeling the benefits from it.I kind of have it in my head that it would be a quick fix that i would feel better,but know its gonna take some time.

[gimel]

When it comes to conversion factors, it seems that the one used most often is one grain of Armour for each 100 mcg of T4.  It all depends on what the assumption is for the effect of T3, compared to T4.  There s another conversion factor I have seen that used 75 mcg of t4 for each grain of Armour.  

In either case, your 1 1/2 grains of Armour is slightly higher than just a straight substitution.  So, it appears your doctor also increased your dosage.  

I also take Armour in the same way as with the old formulation, and can't say I notice any difference with the new version. Since T3 acts so much faster than T4, the effect on your blood levels should be noticeable in a week.  Symptoms . however, do tend to lag somewhat behind changes in serum levels of thyroid hormone.  

I also split my dosage in half and take in the morning and early afternoon.

[dgmootry]

Hi, I've been on Armour for I think about 5months, and I'm really happy with it, I was on Levothyroxin, then levoxyl and both of them I had a terrible time. I'm on 45 right now, and I divide it up, I take first dose 7am and second around 3pm. I do a quick chew on them and then swallow with a big glas of water. I usually wait an 1/2 hour to 1 hr. before I eat anything, But so far so good, I feel alot better. I don't recall having any problems, the only problems I would have, is not having enough, and when I was increased the symptom went away, I'm there now, I feel I need and increase, i still have some lagging syptoms, I;m very happy with Armour, hope you will be too. deb