levothyroxine to armour

[authrjenn]

Three days ago, my new doc placed me on Armour due to hyper-sensitivity issues with other brands of Thyroid medications. She suggested taking one 30mg tablet once a day. I was used to taking 100-112mcgs of Levothyroxine daily and seemed ok at that dose. Should I be taking 60 mg instead of 30mgs? I am starting to feel the symptoms of being hypo-t in the last three days and I don't want to regress. What would you sugges as a starter dose when switching between the two? thank you.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

60mg is about 80-100mcg of synthroid - Would usually start with 30mg 2x/day when making the switch from 100-112 stable T4 dose.

[val1198]

30 mg of Armour is roughly equivalent to 37 mcg of T4.  If you are tolerating Armour okay, then I would increase by 15 mg every two or three weeks until you are to about 90 mg.  Then, hold there for six weeks and get testing.

[klassylady25]

Do doctors recommend that you self dose!?  Mine had a fit when I did that.  

Curious in Oklahoma

[authrjenn]

Normally no. But in my case, my doc did not know how to treat the condition after my surgery. He was giving me 100 mcgs right after surgery and almost killed me twice. I read everything I could get my hands on, and asked for help in this forum.I doctored myself for the last three months until three days ago. My new doc gave me the option of 30mg or 60 of Armour because she trusts that I will not harm myself..... She believes in working with her patients, not against them. I absolutely love this doctor. And the Armour got rid of all the nasty side effects I was experiencing with Levothyroxine. I begged my last doc to switch me and he said no. Even the endo and surgeon who operated said no.I was so sick every day from that other drug. Now I am doing great! I recommend Armour

[authrjenn]

Thanks for your input. I was wondering why I would go to 90 mg? My max dose of levothyrixine was 112mcgs, based on body weight. So if 60 mg= 80-112 mcgs of Levothyroxine, than I should only increase by another 15mgs to get to my regular dose. Armour has 4x the amt of T3,compared to Levothyroxine, which has nothing more than T4. I suspect that it will only take another 15 mg of Armour to give me the additional 20-33 mcgs I would need. Thanks....

[MrsG1032]

I am on Armour Thyroid.  Have been on it for five years.  I have Hashimoto's.  I'm on 4 grains (240 mg) which I understand is a high dosage yet I still feel tired and have no energy, dry skin, dry hair, cold, bowel problems, weight problems, short term memory problems, depression, etc.  I used to be on Synthroid.  Believe it or not, I felt even worse on Synthroid, I was so bad off, I couldn't function and pretty much stayed in bed all the time.  My questions are:  Do you think I might do better if I take my Armour spread out throughout the day instead of in the mornings?  Since none of the pharmacies in my area can get Armour in the higher doses, I have to take four of the 1 grain pills which I could spread out throughout the day if you think that would be better than taking them all at once in the mornings before breakfast.  I also take Cozaar and Norvasc in the mornings before breakfast for my blood pressure and I take Lovastatin for high cholesterol and Prilosec for acid reflux in the evenings.  Would any of these medications interfere with the absorption of my Armour and if so, how then should I be taking all of these?  How soon can I eat after taking Armour?  When is the best time to take a multi-vitamin that has iron and calcium in it?  I've read that iron and calcium can block the absorption of Armour Thyroid.  When is the best time to take a 600 mg calcium supplement, as I take that too?

Thank you for your time.

[Ga7]

Take the Armour under your tongue,it absorbs fast and quickly that way, my doctor even suggested this,, though  im not on it,,since its to much T3 for me, recomended this method,,,,,

[Ga7]

The reason people take Armour under the tongue
(sunlingually) is that when it melts, the blood
vessels inside the mouth(capillaries) take the
medication directly into the bloodstream, where
it can bypass the stomach and you don't have to
wait to eat or take meds, and it won't bind to
stomach acids so that you lose part of the meds.

[stella5349]

Can this post be opened on the community side? - I believe this is a great discussion that many there would like to take part in.

I am a supporter of taking Armour sublingually and have been doing it for over a month. I also no longer needs acid meds after 4 years.

[Giggles18]

Just wanted to know if you took the advice of Dr. Lupo? If so, is it working? I switched from Levothyroxine to Armour about 2 weeks ago and am beginning to feel the effects of hypo-t again, too. I am very tired, anxious, hair thinning/breaking (hair was doing this even before I was dx), etc. My doc just told me to take a tablet a day. Thanks!

[authrjenn]

Hi1 Actually I treated myself by symptoms and increased my dose by 1/2 tab every 2 weeks. I stopped at (3 &1/2)  30 mg tabs. I take 2 in the morning and one and 1/2 in the afternoon. My labs are just a tad under where they should be.I hope this helps.