synthroid to armour, problems

[twray]

I'm a 58 male, had RAI about thirty years ago. I have been on .175 synthroid for the last several years.
My labs about 6 weeks ago on synthroid were:
TSH .164
Free T4 direct 1.69
Free T3 3.1
Due to not feeling great my endo put me on 1 grain Armour, and 75 mcg Synthroid. Everything seemed fine for about 3 weeks, but lately have been feeling bad. The feeling is kinda like too much caffine, or a hypoglycemic episode, that eating doesn't help. Also some slight heart palpitations.
Is it possible to be hyper even though in coverting the dosage of 60 mcg of Armour and 75 mcg of Synthroid it should be a little lower than my previous dosage of 175 mcg of Synthroid?
Should I just go back to my original dose of 175 mcg Synthroid upon stoping Armour or wait a day or two to restart the Synthroid.
Also, do you think my dosage of 175 mcg of Synthroid was too high with the lab results shown?
I have an evaluation appointment with my doctor at the end of March, but would like you opinion.
Thanks in advance.

[stella5349]

Armour is a quick converter and you should feel some effects - as for true HYper counts - you will need a TSH panel to know for sure. I never heard of combining the two. I assumed either - or. I switched from Synthroid .112/.175 to Armour 120 mcg - then was dropped to 60mcg in the last 5 weeks.

Where are your numbers at when the combined med was Rx'd?

TSH
Free T3
Free T4

[twray]

The labs were what was posted in the first post when I was switched to Armour.

[AR-10]

Your TSH on your last test shows you as Hyper, so I think the dosage of .175 might have been a little too much at that time.

Your Free T4 is a little high, indicating the same conclusion.

The symptoms you describe sound like Hyper, too.

Did the doctor decide to try Armour and Synthroid because he thought you needed extra T3? It sounds like you are getting more T3 than you need. I don't know the lab reference range for the Free T3 you listed, so I can't say for sure.

But from the other two results, you look a little over-medicated.

Armour is better used by people who are having trouble converting T4 to T3. It has T3 and T4 in it, while Synthroid is strictly T4.

Unless you have that problem, you should probably talk to your doctor about going back to Synthroid at a slightly lower dosage.

Just my opinion, and I'm wrong half the time.
Hope you get it figured out.

[stella5349]

Don't let him fool you -- AR is pretty good at this.

As a patient on Armour myself - I totally agree with AR's thoughts :)