I have the exact symptoms on 180mg of Armor. TSH is low .005 and T3 is high 5.8. I do not sleep well now for couple of years. I wonder if the 180mg dose is too high?
Just wanted to mention that I don't stand behind my answer of 2021 - I have gotten a lot of bad information on thyroid that I regret heeding. I was on Armour for 11 years and never saw improvement in energy and well-being. I don't seem to do well with the extra T3 provided by Armour and did extremely poorly when I added even more T3 last year. I stopped taking Armour a few weeks ago and am on Euthyrox (levothyroxine) only. I feel better than I have in a long time. I will get lab work in a few weeks to see where I am, but am glad to be off the dessicated thyroid.
Well, I realize you posted this question in 2021 and it’s now 2022. Hope you & everyone else knows by now that Armour Thyroid Meds were RECALLED 2021 due to LOW POTENCY. Which explains why all of us taking Armour experienced sudden HYPOthyroid symptoms & ill health effects. I highly recommend people sign up for FDA Food & Drug Recall emails on their website, to be informed of such events. Do not rely on your pharmacy or Dr notifying you of any medication recalls! (Mine certainly did NOT notify me & I only found out after suffering terribly for over 6 months!) Best wishes!
Eleni I hope you have gotten some relief. Stress and its impact on adrenals can definitely mess up your Armour dosing. Although you say you have been doing well on 1 1/2 grains, that is a very low dose and is likely to lead to problems eventually, including lower tolerance for stress. Most people need 3-5 grains to be optimal, which means your free T4 will be mid-range and free T3 in the upper quarter of the range. It would be a good idea to get a 4-point saliva test for cortisol, such as the one offered by ZRT labs. Once you know what your cortisol is at different times of day you will know whether and how to treat it. You should also check your reverse T3 because if your adrenals are tanked you might be pooling so your cells won't be able to get enough T3. RT3 should be at the bottom of the range; if it's much higher, you'll want to lower your Armour dose to 1 grain and add some T3 to that, like 10 mcg/day split into 2 doses, and work your way gradually up to around 50 mcg/day.
My wife and daughter both tried Armour. Both had to add T4 medication in addition to Armour to get enough FT4. So having to take two medications anyway, Both my wife and daughter have since switched to dual synthetic and both feel much better after switching to dual synthetic (they take both T4 and T3 medications. One huge advantage of this allows for dosage and tweaking of both the FT4 and TF3 levels. (Be sure to ONLY change one at a time so you know what effect it has, if you change both at the same time you have no clue what caused the net result or impacted the net result more).
Taking the Armour a couple hours prior will almost 100% certainly cause a false high result in T3. T3 peaks after taking it in about 4 hours. So the test results showing the relatively higher level of FT3 is in my opinion likely much higher than what you body sees as the average level in your system.
One t hing you did not state is HOW you take your Armour. taking 1 to 1.5 grains a day you should certainly be splitting your dose and taking only half the dose in the morning and the other half in the early afternoon (1 to maybe 3PM). This will help even out the T3 level and could also alleviate the hyper symptoms you have. The insomnia could be either caused by Hypo or Hyper. Your concern for Hyper would suggest t hat you may want to take your 2nd half of the Armour no later than about 1 or 2 PM.
T3 seems to ramp up and peak in about 4 hours. and then takes about 8 or so hours to dissipate. Thus if you take your 1st half of the Armour at like 8AM. It will be peaked in your blood about noon. Taking the 2nd half around noon, then as the first dose is slowly dissipating, the 2nd dose is coming on line, peaking about 4PM and then slowly dissipating by bedtime.
BTW: My wife also split her T3 dose when on dual synthetic when her dose was over 10mcg a day. for exactly the same reason.
My wife also had a "good" Endo, who retired. His replacement was a horrible disaster and "crashed" my wife. Her PCP was better than the endo. My wife has currently switched her thyroid care over to the Dr. who is working with her on complete hormone replacement. This has also had to take strong self-advocation as the hormone clinic tended to OVER medicate, while traditional Dr's and it seems especially endo's tend to UNDER medicate.
NEVER be afraid to be your own best advocate and do not feel "guilty" to fire and find a new Dr if they are not listening to you or helping you feel better. YOU know your body the best and how you feel. It is easy to feel like you are uneducated and somehow inferior to a Dr who has a big fancy diploma and the letters MD behind their name. Just remember that it is YOU who is living in your body, not them. Also remember that while they did go to years of college, they are simply a human being just like you. And you can be trained and learn about thyroid every bit as well as the Dr. So do NOT let them feel that you are inferior or do not know what you are talking about or feeling. Dig in and do research. Go to appointments with credible articles and research papers to back up your positions. Some Dr's will put up a fight with this due to their arrogance. (that is an indication to find another Dr!) But some will be impressed and be willing to learn. That is a sign you may have found a very good dr!
Just some things to think about and consider.
I had exactly the same symptoms and have been on Armor for over 20 years. My primary Dr. did not have the knowledge in endocrinology, I decided to find one and a difference in how the Dr analyzed my symptoms was huge . I also had other problems which made my health even more difficult. Find a Endocrinologist that will prescribe an NDT and not Synthroid. I went through this problem and found another Dr.
I watched a video recently and I'm trying to remember the lady's name. She stated that Armor had changed their formulation in recent years.
Could you please post whatever, actual thyroid hormone test results you have. It takes, even Armour more than 24 hrs to leave the system and cause changes from hypo to hyper that quickly.
Sometimes, hyper and hypo symptoms can mimic each other. Many of us have had the sleep issues you mentioned when very hypo - I know I did.
If you'll post whatever results you have, along with their corresponding reference ranges, we'll have a much better what you're dealing with.