Adding t4 to Armour

06-10-2006, 05:04 AM

When I was on 90 mg of Armour, my ft3 was up to 4.9 (2.3-4.2). I reduced my Armour myself then to 75 mg until I could see the doctor. I have been on 75 mg Armour for about 2 weeks. My doctor reduced the Armour to 60 mg and added 12.5 mcg Levothroid (my ft4 was not high while on 90 mg Armour; it was just about right). I can go up to 25 mcg Levothroid if I need to.

While I was on 75 mg Armour, I was feeling fairly well, although not perfect. I was hoping the addition of t4 with the reduction of t3 would do the trick to help me feel even better. However, I seem to be in for a disappointment. I started the 12.5 mcg Levothroid 2 days ago with 60 mg Armour. I feel worse now. My legs feel heavy and ache, and I am more tired (although my energy level has never been up to "normal" yet). Is this a normal reaction to the changes I have made, and will it get better? I am thinking I should go back to 75 mg Armour at least until next month when I won't need to be so busy. What do you all think?

06-10-2006, 09:50 AM

I started on armour just over 2 weeks ago but added approx 12mcg of levo as my t4 levels were a tad low.

any changes however small in my meds takes me about 2 weeks to get over. I think my system is just hypersensitive to changes thats all.
maybe you are the same.
do you split your armour or take it whole? it seems to work better if split as the t3 is more shortlived in the body than t4

best wishes

06-10-2006, 09:58 AM

Sometimes those tiny doses of T4 are a teaser ... your body just cuts back on its own production & leaves you NET LESS than before. This will take several weeks to stabilize. If your Armour was reduced at the same time as the T4 was introduced, your body is also in transition from the T3 reduction.

Best wishes.

06-11-2006, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by also2tired

When I was on 90 mg of Armour, my ft3 was up to 4.9 (2.3-4.2). I reduced my Armour myself then to 75 mg until I could see the doctor. I have been on 75 mg Armour for about 2 weeks. My doctor reduced the Armour to 60 mg and added 12.5 mcg Levothroid (my ft4 was not high while on 90 mg Armour; it was just about right). I can go up to 25 mcg Levothroid if I need to.

While I was on 75 mg Armour, I was feeling fairly well, although not perfect. I was hoping the addition of t4 with the reduction of t3 would do the trick to help me feel even better. However, I seem to be in for a disappointment. I started the 12.5 mcg Levothroid 2 days ago with 60 mg Armour. I feel worse now. My legs feel heavy and ache, and I am more tired (although my energy level has never been up to "normal" yet). Is this a normal reaction to the changes I have made, and will it get better? I am thinking I should go back to 75 mg Armour at least until next month when I won't need to be so busy. What do you all think?

-----------
You need to forget about the "mg" because that doesn't tell you how much t4 and t3 you are taking. Look at the "mcgs" of each. A 90mg tablet of armour I believe is 1 1/2 grain which has about 57mcgs of t4 and 14mcgs of t3. If you cut that back to a 60mg tablet you are now getting 38mcgs of t4 and 9mcgs of t3--a reduction of about 19mcgs of t4 and 5mcgs of t3. Following me?

So obviously you can't replace 19mcgs of t4 and 5mcgs of t3 with just 12.5mcgs of levothroid and expect to feel anywhere near the same. You just cut back these meds by about 3/4. Even 25mcgs of levothroid is only the equivelent of about 1/2 of what you cut out.

You could probably start with a 60mg tab of armour and 50mcgs of levothroid just to being approach the thyroid you were feeding your body on the 90mg tab of armour.

06-12-2006, 10:14 AM

Everyone, thanks for the replies. I went back to 75 mg Armour, at least temporarily, but I still feel drained, and my legs are heavy weights. I decided to split my dose now.

abigchocoholic,
Would I need 50 mcg Levothroid if my t3 was too high while on the 90 mg Armour? I don't want my ft3 to be all the way up to 4.9, so I don't want to give myself the exact equilavent of what I was taking. I do want my free t3 to be at the very top of the range, though, and I want my free t4 to stay where it was. How much of the t4 will be converted to t3 (if you are a good converter)?

06-12-2006, 11:14 AM

Yes. It's pretty straightforward. Your free t3 was too high so cut down on that--which means cut down on armour because that's the source of your t3. But you need the thyroid because your t4 is low, so replace the armour with levoxyl until you reach that proper balance for your body.

06-13-2006, 04:33 AM

I believe in what Dr. Blanchard has stated about after awhile taking only the Armour will cause an inbalance of the T4 and T3 and most likely will have to add some T4.

06-13-2006, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady50

I believe in what Dr. Blanchard has stated about after awhile taking only the Armour will cause an inbalance of the T4 and T3 and most likely will have to add some T4.

Shew you got that right for sure!!! When I was on Armour my t3 went well over the charts while my t4 was going under...

06-13-2006, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by also2tired

When I was on 90 mg of Armour, my ft3 was up to 4.9 (2.3-4.2). I reduced my Armour myself then to 75 mg until I could see the doctor. I have been on 75 mg Armour for about 2 weeks. My doctor reduced the Armour to 60 mg and added 12.5 mcg Levothroid (my ft4 was not high while on 90 mg Armour; it was just about right). I can go up to 25 mcg Levothroid if I need to.

While I was on 75 mg Armour, I was feeling fairly well, although not perfect. I was hoping the addition of t4 with the reduction of t3 would do the trick to help me feel even better. However, I seem to be in for a disappointment. I started the 12.5 mcg Levothroid 2 days ago with 60 mg Armour. I feel worse now. My legs feel heavy and ache, and I am more tired (although my energy level has never been up to "normal" yet). Is this a normal reaction to the changes I have made, and will it get better? I am thinking I should go back to 75 mg Armour at least until next month when I won't need to be so busy. What do you all think?

Here is a convertion chart for armour that I found...Hope its correct!!
Take Care

Drug → Thyroid Tablets, USP
(Armour® Thyroid)
Liotrix Tablets, USP
(Thyrolar™a)
Liothronine Tablets, USP
(Cytomel®b)
Levothyroxine Tablets, USP
(Unithroid® c, Levoxyl® d, Levothroid® e, Synthroid® f)

Approx. Dose Equivalent 1/4 grain
(15 mg) 1/4 25 mcg (.025 mg)

Approx. Dose Equivalent 1/2 grain
(30 mg) 1/2 12.5 mcg 50 mcg (.05 mg)

Approx. Dose Equivalent 1 grain
(60 mg) 1 25 mcg 100 mcg ( .1 mg)

Approx. Dose Equivalent 1 1/2 grains (90 mg) 1 1/2 37.5 mcg 150 mcg (.15 mg)

Approx. Dose Equivalent 2 grains
(120 mg) 2 50 mcg 200 mcg (.2 mg)

Approx. Dose Equivalent 3grains
(180 mg) 3 75 mcg 300 mcg (.3 mg)

Adding t4 to Armour

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