Your FT4 certainly came up nicely. FT3 did as well. It's still low, but it took quite a jump (from below range to 10% of range). Many of us found that it took some time once FT4 levels were good for conversion to ramp up and FT3 to follow.
I am very sensitive to meds/supplements as well, and my philosophy is to increase very slowly. You could try increasing to 37.5 mcg. You could also alternate 25/37.5 for a slower increase if you feel you need that.
Armour does have both T3 and T4. However, the pig's thyroid produces a lot more T3 than human thyroids do. For some people, that's a bonus, for others, it's too much. T3 is also very fast acting and apt to take a little more getting used to than T4.
Since your FT4 has been where it is for such a short time (and will probably go down some after you've cut back to 25 mcg), I think the jury is still out on whether you convert well or not.
Thank you so much for the response. I really appreciate it.
In your experience, do you think it would be better for me to stick with the synthroid and wait it out a bit longer instead of switching over? I don't want to mess with synthroid if it might ultimately be the answer. I just don't have a sense of what the conversion numbers should look like. I am pretty pleased that my numbers went up so nicely. I wonder if people like us who are so sensitive would feel overwhelmed on the combination of T3 and T4.
I would love any more suggestions if you have a moment.
Thanks.
I tend to think that those of us who are very sensitive to meds should probably give T4-only therapy a fighting chance. If it works for you (and it does for me), the natural conversion process remains intact, and T3 to cells remains more "on demand".
The numbers: We're looking for an FT4 of about 50% of range. When FT4 is there, FT3 should be 50+% of range. Of course, we're all different, and those guidelines were meant to be broken by real humans. My FT3 tends to run very low, but I'm asymptomatic. If your FT4 is where it should be (and for a while, not just a blip on the screen), your FT3 is still lagging and you still have symptoms, then a conversion issue is suspected. In my experience, FT3 continued to go up for a while after my FT4 was stable.
My FT3 and FT4 run considerably lower than the guidelines. I often wonder if sensitivity to meds translates to sensitivity to all substances, including thyroid hormones.