Is that FT4 range correct? That's an unusual one.
I totally agree with your friend...hypo is miserable, but it's nothing compared to hyper (overmedicated). Just keep moving in the same direction...a little more, a little more. You'll get there faster than having to back off and recover from too much.
Your FT4 is at 30% of range, which most of us would consider low. The target for FT4 is 50% of range. Your FT3 is just off the floor of the range, and the target here is 50+%.
Your ferritin is better, but for proper thyroid health, it could still be higher.
I think you're under medicated. If I were you, I'd try to get your FT4 closer to 50% of range. Once there, see what your FT3 is doing. It can sometimes take a while for FT3 to catch up once FT4 is where it should be. Armour has a lot of T3 in it compared to what our thyroids produce. If your FT3 continues to lag and your symptoms don't resolve, you might try adding a little synthetic T3 to your meds (once FT4 has been about 50% for a while). That can be easier to control since T3 and T4 can be manipulated separately. Sometimes a very small amount of T3 can make a huge difference.
Yes, definitely, keep your increases small. I had a really tough time with increases, but I've learned that if I do them very slowly, they're seamless. I typically increase about 3 mcg per day by splitting pills. For example, I have 88 mcg tablets now, and if I want to increase, I'll take an extra quarter a week, which is just about 3 mcg per day. If that goes well for a couple of weeks, I'll add another quarter a week. Slow and steady is the way to go. You could split your 25 mcg pills into quarters and take one every other day, which would be pretty close to 3 mcg per day.
Hmmm I clearly mid pasted the Ft4 range is .08-1.8 my/dl