Has Armour gone downhill?: There is a lot of... - Thyroid UK

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Has Armour gone downhill?

Xheila profile image
11 Replies

There is a lot of discussion on other websites stating that Armour was reformulated in April/May this year and that it is not working as well for many patients.

I will confirm that the pills are different in their firmness, as I have one pill left in a bottle from February and can compare them side by side. They used to crumble when I'd split them and now they are much more compacted and firm. That could just be a pill compression issue; it doesn't necessarily raise a red flag for me.

I am asking because I was stable on 150mg Armour earlier this year. I then increased to 180mg in June, and felt better. But for the past 2 weeks, I am feeling quite hypo again. I just got blood tests 4 weeks ago, so I will need to wait it out a few weeks before I test again.

Meanwhile, I am interested to hear from others who take Armour. What is your experience, good or bad, from this year? The fact that all of the other NDTs available in the US were recalled last year makes me nervous.

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Xheila profile image
Xheila
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radd profile image
radd

Xheila,

I had an enforced switch from WPThyroid to Armour in April of this year. I found them T3 potent, so reduced NDT dose & introduced a little T4 for a better balance. They were crumbly & impossible to cut accurate halves so I have since bought half grains which look, taste & perform the same as previous.

Xheila profile image
Xheila in reply to radd

Maybe my low free T4 ( highest was 30% through range) is making me symptomatic. Can you tell me how you knew you needed to balance them? And in what ways your more balanced hormones have helped? My old armor pills were impossible to accurately cut like you mentioned, but the new ones cut nicely into 1/4s.

radd profile image
radd in reply to Xheila

Xheila.

I knew T3 levels had gone high because I felt over medicated even though I had done a direct switch.

I reduced Armour but after several weeks felt under medicated and TFT's evidenced FT4 levels had dropped as well as FT3 levels. Therefore, I initially added 25mcg Levo and then after another six weeks raised it to 50mcg.

I now medicate 50mcg Levo + 1 grain Armour split am & pm, and feel much better. My need for T3 is quite small.

Xheila profile image
Xheila in reply to radd

Thank you. I also had done a direct switch from WPThyroid last year. I also had more balanced T3/T4 levels on WP, though they were both too low, lol. I will try to get some levo added to my treatment. It's so helpful to have such knowledgeable people like you just a post away. x

I have been taking Armour since last year and no difference for me, if anything, my ft3 is continuosly too high on it :)

Xheila profile image
Xheila in reply to

Thanks, can you tell me how your FfT4 is? My FT3 was also just above range last time.

in reply to Xheila

My ft3 right now is hovering around 70% (24 hours after taking Armour), ft4 is below mid-range, but I combine Armour with a bit of Levo, otherwise my ft4 is lower.

I used to be able to take only Armour for several years and both ft3 ft4 were high in range, and then my ft3 went over range and was feeling awful. When I dropped Armour, ft4 dropped a lot.

What is your ft4 like?

Xheila profile image
Xheila in reply to

After my last increase, my FT4 was 30%, the highest it's ever been, while my FT3 was at 110%. It seems like from what you all are saying here, I should try to add T4 to my treatment. Fingers crossed that my endo agrees!

in reply to Xheila

May I ask how you're feeling on higher ft3 lower ft4? Some people feel good.

Xheila profile image
Xheila in reply to

I had been fairly stable with my treatment for nearly a year. But now I'm just not feeling right: sleeping way too much, though still fatigued, and I am constantly losing my train of thought and struggling to remember words. The hypersomnia is something I have never experienced before, it was always the opposite for me. I've been on this roller coaster for so long that whenever I start to feel bad, I think thyroid. So far, I've always been correct. I now take 12x as much NDT as when I was first prescribed them 4 years back, getting dosage increased after each crash. It's been a lot of ups and downs!

in reply to Xheila

Yeah you sound hypo, sometimes also ft3 that is too high causes these symptoms, weirdly enough. But if your ft4 dropped significantly, then it could be that.My journey has been very rocky. Hope we can get there. I get a lot of symptoms when adjusting doses unfortunately, when my dose is too high I feel too hot, hungry, can't sleep and sometimes anxious

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