How does Armour 120 compare to Levothyroxine 175? My TSH was 7.6 (USA) after being on Armour 90 for eight weeks.. I've been on Armour 120 for almost four weeks, and am still zapped of energy. I still have to wait another month before being tested for my TSH levels again.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Elizabetha3
Elizabetha3,
120mg Armour is equivalent to 130mcg Levothyroxine. 175mcg Levothyroxine is equivalent to 160mg Armour.
Thank you so much! I've had a thyroid condition for 19 yrs. I had to beg my other insurance to put me back on levothyroxine 175, although my 'numbers' stated I should have been on 150 levo..I did the 150 levotyroxine thing for 1 solid year in mid 2012-2013..I was a lethargic mess! Now, I have new Insurance. Never heard of an Endo as being a specialist for thyroid function, or lack thereof till May. He started me on 90 mcg. It took 2 months to really feel the fog and haze. Not much info in the US. I am grateful for this site. Can't believe the Enco started me on 90, and according to your information, I am not even close to my right dosage. I am afraid to even drive at this point. Any suggestions?
I changed my name by accident . Site will not let e change back to Elizabetha3. Please advise
It also takes time for a new dose to fully get into the system, that's why we wait 6 weeks to retest. So you are not comparing the same things, one after 8 weeks and the other after 4.
"Clutter", mentioned above yr answer, the conversion chart. I feel the Doc was being extremely prudent. My TSH was 7.6. T3 and T4 in normal range. So in essence, my TSH levels are almost twice what they should be. I wonder why he would start me at such a VERY low dose of Armour
It depends on your medical history. It we all start low to get our body used to the medication and then after resting may have to increase and then wait another 6 weeks as that's a time for a new dose to fully get into the system, retest and in the early may have to increase again and repeat this procedure until you are on the correct m medication for you. You shouldn't try to rush this as it can go horribly wrong and you would have to start again.
Just seen you have been on thyroid meds for a while but he may just want to start lower and work up rather than risk getting it wrong or a change of fillers upsetting you
Still, the dose was so very low. I am now a foggy mess. I am following Dr orders, but am not liking it. My energy level and thought processing are so outta control, that I am keeping a very low profile. Don't want to be a whiner to my well intended friends, however, one friend, said "eat a good meal" for energy. Huh?? Another offered me one of her pills for ADHD ! My reply to her was, 'that is like me giving you a thyroid pill for your ADHD'..I am ever so grateful for this site, and everyone on it !
Forgot to say that when you change to simething withvT3 in it then you also start low incase the T3 upsets you in anyway so it lessons the effect so your body can get used to a small amount first then increasing your dose shouldn't. E a problem.
I think I need to read up on what the cons are of increasing T3 too rapidly. The only symptoms I am noticing are the same ones I did when first finding out I had hypothyroid in 1998, and again mid 2012-mid 2013, when my levo was decreased from 175 to 150. I am now having split sec 'black outs' if you will. Those occur every other day or so. Scares me!
Just reread your thread. Please try to be patient. Symptoms often lag behind meds so take things steady and also be kind to yourself. Don't do too much exercise yet because you want to. Gentle things like walking or swimming but trying to do too much too soon can quickly deplete the T3 you are taking. T4 is stored in your body so you are probably making up some of the difference by using some of that. I was in a similar position S you in that I went from Levo to NDT but I was told to start low and that the already stored T4 helps the transition so as my old meds decrease then my new starts to take over. I 'missed' my best dose and slightly over medicated and so got hyper symptoms and trust me that is not pleasant. Endo cut my dose for a few days the. Told me to take 1.75 grains and I had worked up to 3! So well passed where I should have been and he was right!
You may also have other issues that need addressing. Do you know whether you are converting properly? Impossible to tell now you are taking T3 and now only the FT3 reading will be accurate. You can only tell when you were taking T4 only xo if you post results from then I can hopefully comment on that. But don't forget your ranges they differ from lab to lab here and I presume yours do and well
Are you taking any other meds and vitamins so that we can look at the wider picture?
Silverfox7 ~ Thank you for your wealth of info, and kind words, as in 'be patient' & 'be kind to yourself'.. I am taking lots of vitamins, and haven't added anything in the past year except Selenium 200 mcg, a few months ago (same time I was switched from levo 175 to Armour 90, & now 120). I read that this vitamin is good for the thyroid. Also, a spoonful of royal jelly (honey) per day. My thoughts are so fuzzy that my typing is 'off' too. I'm in the USA, so some of the terminology, I am not too familiar with..ie..grains as related to meds and NDT. Someone on this site explained grains (conversion) and the acronym NDT, but I can't remember. I have had a lot of various tests, pulmonary, heart, diabetes etc. because I have new Ins. Everything so far, points to the thyroid, and change of thyroid med. I have not missed any doses, however, I've changed from taking med from early morning until after I've eaten. I was feeling too nauseous. I take all the vitamins after dinner. My prob, I'm quite sure, is that I am still on way too low of a dose of Armour. I have to just 'wait this out' and retest in 2 weeks. All tests are from the same lab as of Jan 2017.
How long after eating are you taking your meds? Usual advice is to take on an empty stomach i.e. Either on waking in the day and not eating for an hour or if later in the day 2-3 hours after food and then nothing for an hour. Sadly so much affects taking the thyroid meds. Often people with thyroid meds has low in stomach acid so it's harder for things to. E broken down in the stomach and we need that breakdown to be able to absorb things, not only our medication but our food as well so we have to be careful and eat nurious food and keep food away from our thyroid. If we take them close together then we might not get enough out of both of them.
I got a thyroid problem after I had my family but I was very sick when I was pregnant to such an extent that some weeks I couldn't get out of bed so I ate little but often when I could. May be that might help then still take meds as far away from food as you can. May. E cut then up before you swallow but make sure a full glass of water to make such it gets down quickly though.
Do you think you may have an allergy to the fillers in the medication? It's not unusual and easy to test. Take an antihistamine one hour before your meds and see if that improves things. If it does then you may have to change to a different brand as in the UK there have a few different combinations and I expect yours could be like that as well. Only change one thing at a time though or otherwise it's difficult to work out what works and what doesn't.
Silverfox7 ~ Just wrote on general site for hypothyroid. You seem to know a lot about this stuff.. As you know, I'm seeing a new Endo (Had Never Seen an Endo before, in my 19 yrs of HYPOthyroidism). In addition to the haze and foggy feeling, I am now starting to get depressed, and Very Grouchy! I guess this is all part of my thyroid med change, and being outta whack ~ Any suggestions, as I'm sure this will go on for another few months, til we find the right dose of Armour?
Thanks again,
Elizabetha3
Armour vs Metavive 
Armour/Erfa confusion
