Armour Thyroid

[Eclara]

I switched from levothyroxine to Armour a few days ago. We called the pharmacy before I started taking it and they said the pill itself was gluten free, but it was processed with other non-gluten free pills. I was desperate to try something new and went for it despite feeling iffy about it. I got symptoms of anxiety and dizziness on the first day I took it, and now I'm starting to get weak, aching muscles and worsening brain fog that feel similar to what I had during my gluten trial. Unfortunately, my symptoms are also typical of thyroid problems so I can't decide if it's a side effect, or if the pills really are cross contaminated and a bad idea to keep taking.

 

Any advice would be appreciated!

[cyclinglady]

I've been taking Armour Thyroid for almost 20 years and have done well on it.  It is gluten free and I don't think there's a cross contamination issue. Your dosing might not be the same or comparable to levothyroxine.  It sounds like your symptoms are hyper (I get muscle weakness and anxiety).  I've been both hyper and hypo for the past year.  What dosage are you on?  

 

Make sure sure you take it on an empty stomach.  Don't take any iron supplements for several hours as it will affect absorption.  I usually dissolve the tablet under my tongue to speed up the absorption so that I can drink my morning coffee!  

 

I definitely don't get "glutened" symptoms from my Armour, if that helps.

[Eclara]

I've been taking Armour Thyroid for almost 20 years and have done well on it.  It is gluten free and I don't think there's a cross contamination issue. Your dosing might not be the same or comparable to levothyroxine.  It sounds like your symptoms are hyper (I get muscle weakness and anxiety).  I've been both hyper and hypo for the past year.  What dosage are you on?  

 

Make sure sure you take it on an empty stomach.  Don't take any iron supplements for several hours as it will affect absorption.  I usually dissolve the tablet under my tongue to speed up the absorption so that I can drink my morning coffee!  

 

I definitely don't get "glutened" symptoms from my Armour, if that helps.

 

Thank you for your reply!

 

I was on 50mcg of levo for 3 years, and I'm on 30mg of Armour now. Do you think I could be having hyper symptoms this fast? I think it's only been five days and I had symptoms after I took it the first day.

[Gemini]

Armour and other natural thyroid hormones are meant to be chewed a bit before swallowing or dissolved under the tongue. They use cellulose, I believe, as a binder and that will not dissolve easily if swallowed whole.  Coffee will not affect absorption and I actually take my Nature-throid in the morning with my coffee to swallow, after chewing it up a bit.  I have read you should wait 6 hours before taking certain supplements like calcium, so as not to interfere with absorption but I really don't know exactly how true that number is.   I wait about 4, just to be on the safe side.

 

Taking Armour is different than taking a T4 supplement only.  As it contains both hormones, you may have to play around to get the correct dose. I use Nature-throid and it works very well....much better than T4 only.  50 mcg is not a very large dose at all for thyroid hormone so you may want to start with an even lower dose of the Armour and work your way up.  Anxiety and dizziness are definitely symptoms of hyperthyroid.

[cyclinglady]

Thank you for your reply!

 

I was on 50mcg of levo for 3 years, and I'm on 30mg of Armour now. Do you think I could be having hyper symptoms this fast? I think it's only been five days and I had symptoms after I took it the first day.

Yes, you can have hyper symptoms that fast as stated on the drug insert page.  Like Gemini said, you'll have to play around with the dosage.  

 

During a hypo period my doctor wanted to slowly increase my dosage to avoid becoming hyper.  He even increased my dosage just on the weekends, and it helped!  (At least I haven't become hyper in 6 months!)   I had to take different dosages (e.g. taking a 15 mg  and a 60 mg) to get to 75.  Luckily Armour is cheap! I'm up to 90 mg but I need to add another 15 mg. as I'm still hypo.  I was hoping gong gluten-free would steady my thyroid but that hasn't happened yet.

 

Good luck! 

[cyclinglady]

Armour and other natural thyroid hormones are meant to be chewed a bit before swallowing or dissolved under the tongue. They use cellulose, I believe, as a binder and that will not dissolve easily if swallowed whole.  Coffee will not affect absorption and I actually take my Nature-throid in the morning with my coffee to swallow, after chewing it up a bit.  I have read you should wait 6 hours before taking certain supplements like calcium, so as not to interfere with absorption but I really don't know exactly how true that number is.   I wait about 4, just to be on the safe side.

 

Taking Armour is different than taking a T4 supplement only.  As it contains both hormones, you may have to play around to get the correct dose. I use Nature-throid and it works very well....much better than T4 only.  50 mcg is not a very large dose at all for thyroid hormone so you may want to start with an even lower dose of the Armour and work your way up.  Anxiety and dizziness are definitely symptoms of hyperthyroid.

Ah, it's not the coffee, but I use soymilk as a creamer.  

[Gemini]

Ah, it's not the coffee, but I use soymilk as a creamer.  

Why would soymilk be a problem with thyroid hormone?  I use soy products every day and it has never affected my absorption of thyroid hormone.  Has it affected yours?