I know for a fact some patients do better on Armour thyroid hormone medication, I've heard thier testimonies and these were folks who had nothing to gain by testifying to this fact, they were not members of particular Armour advocacy groups etc..., it just happened to be true in their case! I've also know patients who could not take any type of porcine product because they were highly allergic to it and these patients would be in trouble if Armour brand was the only type of thyroid hormone medication available.
I personally was originally placed on Synthroid (synthetic T4-only) then switched to Armour (natural combo T4/T3), when symptoms didn't improve after over a year on Synthroid. My Doctor thought I might be one of those who did not convert well the T-4 thyroid hormone into the also needed T-3, a process that usually occurs naturally in the body but that some patients have problems with rarely. In reality, I was under-dosed on the Synthroid and I realized this later down the road, once I began to research on the subject of thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
My Doctor never got my TSH below a 3.0 when he had me on the Synthroid brand. TSH is a pituitary (brain gland) hormone that reflects thyroid hormone levels when blood tested and is supposed to be suppressed down to a proper treatment level in hypothyroid patients taking replacement hormone. Once my doctor switched me to the Armour brand I convinced him that reputable Endocrinologists were using "1.0" as a target range for treatment-TSH, so he dosed me to that level and that's when I began to see much better improvement of my hypothyroid symptoms. I have since changed Doctors and the one I have now, was thorough enough to test my "free" levels and discovered that I'm one of those more rare patients who need a really suppressed TSH, below the normal range, to adequately correct my hypothyroidism.
I'm probably not the best person to testify for the Armour brand because I feel I may have done as well on Synthroid, at the correct dosage. My mother for example, has taken Synthroid for over 12 years and when her levels are checked, they are optimal at her current dose and she does not suffer hypothyroid symptoms. I will add that her low thyroid function is age-related and not from autoimmune thyroid, as mine is.
Here's where the real importance is; Optimal thyroid hormone levels, as monitored via blood retests. This sounds like an over-simplified way of looking at it but it's really not in my opinion. If a patient achieves optimal levels can it make that much difference through which brand or type of prescribed thyroid hormone it is accomplished?
For some patients however, a T-4 only medication simply doesn't get them there and this too, is evident by their blood retest results. Their T-4 to T-3 ratio is off too much (one is normal and the other is low) and they must have a thyroid hormone replacement medication that has both or they must add a T-3 medication. If this was not true, T-3 only medications would not be made available to treat these very type patient-scenarios and other conditions of low T-3.
Also if problems of T-4 to T-3 conversion did not occur in some patients, even though a small percent of them, you would not be able to read about it on medical resources or read the testimonies from the patients them selves.
So, the bottom line in my opinion, is that blood tests are the only true indicator as to whether a medication change is needed and not the testimonies-alone of people who claim one is better than the other, regardless of their passion for this belief. There are also people who by taking a T-4/T-3 combo thyroid hormone, elevate their Free T-3 level too high and have to be switched to a T-4 only medication. I have seen their posts and read their emails.
Even if indications are not that strongly indicated by blood tests, that a patient's hormone ratios are off while taking one type medication but they are having ongoing symptom-problems despite their current medication, a Doctor should be willing to give them a trial of the other type, otherwise, it could be a missed opportunity in my opinion.
While most patients do fine on T4-only medications and is also evident by their blood labs, others may need T-3 in their medication (combo or added) and this too can be evident by their blood lab results. The point being that patients are individuals and you cannot claim that one type treatment will always be best for all individuals because there are too many possible "specifics" that can be involved.
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