Armour Thyroid

Why should Armour Thyroid not be prescribed?

You should not take Armour Thyroid if you have ever had an allergic reaction to this drug; your thyroid gland is overactive; or your adrenal glands are not making enough corticosteroid hormone.

Special warnings about Armour Thyroid

If you are elderly, particularly if you suffer from angina (chest pain due to a heart condition), you should take Armour Thyroid at a lower dosage, and your doctor should schedule frequent checkups.

Armour Thyroid tends to aggravate symptoms of diabetes and underactive adrenal glands. If you take medication to treat one of these disorders, your dosage of that medication will probably need to be adjusted once you start taking Armour Thyroid.

Possible food and drug interactions when taking Armour Thyroid

If you take Armour Thyroid with certain other drugs, the effect of either drug could be increased, decreased, or altered. It is especially important to check with your doctor before combining Armour Thyroid with the following:

Asthma medications such as Theo-Dur
Blood thinners such as Coumadin
Cholestyramine (Questran)
Colestipol (Colestid)
Estrogen preparations (including some birth control pills such as Ortho-Novum and Premarin)
Insulin
Oral diabetes drugs such as Diabinese and Glucotrol)

Special information if you are pregnant or breastfeeding

If you need to take Armour Thyroid because of a thyroid hormone deficiency, you may continue using the medication during pregnancy, but your doctor will test you regularly and may change your dosage. Once your baby is born, you may breastfeed while continuing treatment with Armour Thyroid.

Recommended dosage

ADULTS

Your doctor will tailor the dosage of Armour Thyroid to meet your individual requirements, taking into consideration the status of your thyroid gland and any other medical conditions you may have.

Overdosage

An overdose of Armour Thyroid will speed up all of the body's vital processes, causing physical and mental hyperactivity, increased appetite, excessive sweating, chest pain, increased pulse rate, palpitations, nervousness, intolerance to heat, and possibly tremors or a rapid heartbeat.