Armour Thyroid

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Harshi Dhingra, M.D.

Last Reviewed: Mar 29, 2023

Warnings

Armour Thyroid Risks, Warnings, and Complications

Armour Thyroid can cause rare but serious effects in some people. Check with your doctor or pharmacist about other treatment options for underactive thyroid gland if you are at increased risk of these unlikely but serious effects from Armour Thyroid. Some of the risks of taking this medicine include:

NOT FOR WEIGHT LOSS: Armour Thyroid should not be used to speed up weight loss. This medication does not promote weight loss in people with a normal thyroid status. In fact, it can cause serious side effects if you have a normally functioning thyroid gland, especially if you are taking other medications for weight loss.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Thyroid hormone preparations are contraindicated in people with certain concomitant endocrine diseases such as uncorrected adrenal insufficiency (decreased adrenal gland function), untreated thyrotoxicosis, as well as hypersensitivity (allergic reactions). In people who have uncorrected adrenal insufficiency (decreased adrenal gland function), receiving thyroid replacement therapy can lead to a further decrease in adrenal hormone levels. Your healthcare provider will check adrenal hormone levels before starting you on Armour Thyroid. Tell your doctor if you develop tiredness, muscle weakness, stomach pain, loss of appetite, or dizziness while on thyroid replacement.
INCREASED RISK OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: Taking high doses of Armour Thyroid or prolonged thyroid therapy can lead to heart problems, especially in older individuals and those with pre-existing angina (chest pain), coronary artery disease, and other heart conditions. Call your doctor without delay or get immediate medical care if you develop chest pain, irregular or rapid heartbeat, or shortness of breath while on Armour Thyroid. Your doctor may need to lower your dose.
WORSENING BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL: Thyroid treated patients with diabetes can develop worsening blood sugar control. Your doctor may ask you to check your blood sugar levels more frequently and they may adjust the doses of your diabetes medications. Tell your provider if you notice higher blood sugar readings than usual.

Precautions Before Starting Armour Thyroid

Tell your doctor if you have ever had an allergic reaction to thyroid medication, any of the active or inactive ingredients in Armour Thyroid tablets, pork, or any other medications. Your pharmacy can give you a list of ingredients.

Give your doctor and pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, non-prescription medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbal products. This can help avoid possible drug interactions between Armour Thyroid and your other medications.

Give your doctor a complete medical history. Armour Thyroid may not be right for people with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, angina (chest pain), heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, pituitary gland or adrenal gland conditions, osteoporosis, malabsorptive disease (conditions that lead to poor intestinal absorption), kidney disease, or liver disease.

If you are an older adult over the age of 65 years, talk to your doctor about the benefits versus risks of taking Armour Thyroid.

Very little thyroid hormone passes the placental barrier or into human milk. Therefore, Armour Thyroid is generally safe to take by pregnant women and nursing mothers. However, tell your doctor if you are pregnant, could be pregnant, planning a pregnancy, or breast feeding before starting this medicine.

Precautions During Use of Armour Thyroid

Keep all your medical and lab appointments while on Armour Thyroid. Your doctor may want to order certain lab tests and monitor you for adverse reactions such as thyroid hormone toxicity.

If you are on cholesterol-lowering medications such as colestipol (Colestid) or cholestyramine (Questran), make sure you take them at least 4 hours before your Armour Thyroid dose. If you are on iron supplements, iron-containing drugs, antacids, sucralfate (Carafate), or simethicone, take these at least 4 hours away from your thyroid medication.

Tell your health care professional if you become pregnant while on Armour Thyroid.

Armour Thyroid Drug Interactions

It may not be safe to administer thyroid hormones with certain other medicines. Possible drug interactions between Armour Thyroid and other medicines can increase your risk of serious adverse reactions. Your doctor may change the dose of your medications and/or monitor you carefully for side effects if there are known interactions between Armour Thyroid and your other medicines. The following medications may have interactions with thyroid hormone therapy

Amphetamines such as benzphetamine (Didrex), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine, in Adderall), and methamphetamine (Desoxyn)
Oral anticoagulant therapy with warfarin (Jantoven, Coumadin)
Hormones like danazol or testosterone
Human growth hormone (Genotropin)
Antidepressants
Antiemetic agents like aprepitant (Emend)
Anticonvulsants like carbamazepine (Tegretol, Epitol, Carbatrol), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), phenytoin (Dilantin, Phenytek)
Insulin and oral diabetes medications
Heart medications like digoxin (Lanoxin)
HIV medications such as efavirenz (Sustiva), nevirapine (Viramune), and ritonavir (Norvir, in Kaletra)
Estrogen containing oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy
Antifungals like griseofulvin (Grifulvin, Fulvicin, Gris-PEG)
Cholesterol-lowering drugs like lovastatin (Mevacor, Altocor)
Oral steroids such as prednisone (Deltasone), methylprednisolone (Medrol), and dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexone, Dexpak)
Antimycobacterials like rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, in Rifamate) and rifabutin (Mycobutin)
Asthma medications such as theophylline (Elixophyllin, Theo-24, Theolair, Quibron, others)
Pain relievers such as aspirin and aspirin-containing products, choline salicylate (Arthropan), choline magnesium trisalicylate, magnesium salicylate (Doan's, others), salsalate (Salgesic, Argesic, Disalcid) and diflunisal (Dolobid)
Potassium iodide (in Elixophyllin-Kl, KIE, Pediacof)
Strong iodine solution (Lugol's Solution)

Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, non-prescription medicines, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies. Also, tell your healthcare provider if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs because some of these substances can cause serious health complications when used with prescription medicines.

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