I’m hoping someone who has switched from Levo to armour can help me with this. I’m currently on 175 Levo at 7am each morning and have had 10 years on it, and my endocrinologist is switching me to try armour.
He has prescribed me 2.5 grains per day, one grain in the morning, one at lunch time and a half later in the day. He just said to switch and didn’t suggest I phase it in gradually or anything.
It’s just arrived in the post so I’m wondering, should I just start i tomorrow? I’ve seen people saying they phased it in, and I’ve seen people say they took the whole dose at bedtime and it’s fine for them.
Just interested in what people have found best for them? I also take a whole host of supplements for IVF (3x per day) which I currently manage around my Levo correctly (I think!) so once my armour decision is made I’ll need to work out how to do this if I’m splitting it into 3 smaller doses?!
Thanks!
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Orla9298
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It's usually recommended to start low and go slow when adding T3 to T4, be it NDT or synthetic T3. This is because T3 is three-four times more potent than T4, so to give the body time to adjust to the direct effect of T3.
2.5 grains of Armour contains 22.5 mcg of T3, and that could prove to be too much to add all at once, even though multi dosing would spread out the effects of T3 more evenly.
How much NDT you should start on is individual. When I was put on NDT, I decreased levo by 50 mcg and added 1 grain of NDT from day one. Some may feel better starting on half a grain or 3/4 grain, but I never had any problems starting with 1 grain.
After a week or so, you could add another half grain of Armour, while continuing to decrease levo by 25-50 mcg at a time, until you've weaned off levo and reached your full replacement dose of Armour.
I just switched from 100mcg Levo to 1 grain Naturethroid - (38mcg T4 /9mcg T3) and felt better - although I had tried 1/2 grain Armour before. However I was under-treated at 100mcg Levo anyway so an increase was fine for me. The Naturethroid site advises "due to a higher bioavailability of natural thyroid" physicians may choose a slightly lower dosage when converting from synthetic thyroid....
- as anna69 suggests you could lower Levo whilst gradually introducing Armour. J
Thank you, that’s helpful. I know, he didn’t even need any persuasion- I chose him because his bio said he believes in patient-led care. Mind you it’s going to cost me £65 a month. If I don’t feel lots better I’ll switch back to my nhs Levo. X
I’ll have a mess around with timings to see wat works x
That may be true for most brands of NDT...however, I have found that Thyroid-S can be taken once a day without problems. It seems to have a more smooth delivery of hormones throughout the day than other brands of NDT I've tried (Armour and Erfa). I wonder if it's because it contains a slow release substance (Eurdragit)...? Anyway, on Thyroid-S, I have no ups and downs.
I stopped my Levo and the next day I took 1/2 NDT and after 2 weeks increased again with another 1/2 until I reached the correct dose.
I took some at around 6am and the other dose after lunch around 2.30pm (i.e. in two doses only). I can't see the need for three doses.
I have no thyroid and it was quite safe to switch from Levo to NDT.
I'm having a thyroidectomy on 27January and reading all those posts about all medications and I'm really confused. this is I have overactive thyroid ..in time 4 years I gained 25kg which is nightmare for me. If I gain more after surgery I swear to God I will go into depression. what should I tell to my doctor before surgery that I want armour thyroid meds instead thyroxine( which doc told me I will be switch on)? please help
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