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Good Thyroid Books!
Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What your doctor doesn't tell you..that you need to know Mary J. Shomon wrote this excellent book on hypothyroidism that does a good job of cutting through the myths and misinformation about thyroid diagnosis and treatment.
Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness Although this book was written sometime ago, it is still an excellent source of information about the benefits of natural thyroid and the importance of body temperature.
Solved: The Riddle of Illness This book contains valuable information about the link between hypothyroidism and obesity, depression, diabetes, heart disease, etc. |
Synthroid contains T4;
however, Armour Thyroid contains T3 and T4. Thus, when a person switches to Armour, the
fact that T3 is approximately four times as potent as T4 must be taken into account.
Although this is a simple calculation, it can get confusing when they start talking about
"grains" and "milligrams" and "micrograms." I surfed around
quite a bit and I was surprised at how hard it is to find information on how to switch
from Synthroid to Armour Thyroid. Well, it's really quite easy, so lets cut to the chase.
(Actually, if you don't want to bother with the chase, I've got a conversion table at the
bottom of the page.) If you have been taking Synthroid, you probably hear the dosage referred to as micrograms (mcg). A common replacement dose is 150 mcg. This means that your Synthroid tablet contains 150 mcg of T4. Sometimes this is written as 0.15 mg, which equals 150 mcg. (1 mg equals 1000 mcg.) This is easier than it sounds -- just move the decimal point three places to the right. For example, 0.075 mg equals 75 mcg. However, when you ask about Armour, they are going to start talking about either "grains" or "milligrams" (mg), but that's no problem: 1 grain equals 60 mg (milligrams). Pretty simple, right? But how much thyroid hormone is in it? 1 grain (60 mg) of Armour thyroid contains 9 mcg of T3 and 38 mcg of T4. Notice how we are already talking in terms of micrograms (mcg), just like with Synthroid. We are almost ready to compare apples with apples. OK, remember how T3 is approximately four times as potent as T4? Good! Multiply the 9 mcg of T3 times 4 and add that to the 38 mcg of T4: 36 mcg (9 mcg of T3 times 4) 1 grain (60 mg) of Armour equals approximately 74 mcg of T4 (Synthroid) Why do you say approximately?Because there are so many variables involved in switching from Synthroid (T4) to Armour Thyroid (T4 and T3). In reality, we're still comparing apples and oranges because there are important differences between T4 and T3:
Thus, when switching from Synthroid to Armour, doctors will generally start you out at a low dosage and increase it gradually. Remember, the numbers are just a rough guide -- finding the right dose for YOU requires a doctor that will listen to how you feel as well as analyze blood tests and body temperature. For more information on the importance of body temperature, check out "Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness" (This book is listed in the green column). As you can see there are no easy answers, but hopefully this has taken some of the mystery out of switching to Armour. Below is a list of Armour strengths and the approximate equivalent dose of Synthroid: |
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The Thyroid Solution: A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression and Regaining Your Emotional and Physical Health I haven't read this book (yet!), but I decided to put a link to it because I am impressed by the number of people who have taken the time to tell me it's a dynamite book.
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Did you know that people with low incomes can get Armour Thyroid free! Many drug companies have these programs – learn more at Needy Meds.
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