Short answer: The Armour Thyroid label usually starts at 30 mg by mouth, increasing by 15 mg every 2 to 3 weeks. People with long-standing myxedema, especially with possible heart problems, start at 15 mg a day. Most patients need 60 to 120 mg a day, and failure to respond to 180 mg suggests missed doses or poor absorption. The label has no missed-dose rule.
This is what the label says. Follow your prescriber. Your prescriber may use a different dose or pace than the label's standard schedule.
What the Armour Thyroid label says it is for: Armour Thyroid is a dried thyroid extract from pig thyroid glands, giving 38 mcg of T4 and 9 mcg of T3 per grain. Its label lists use as replacement therapy for hypothyroidism of any cause except short-term hypothyroidism while recovering from subacute thyroiditis, and to suppress TSH in certain goiters, nodules, thyroiditis and thyroid cancer (Description; Indications and Usage). The label states it has not been approved by FDA as a new drug (How Supplied).
Source
ARMOUR THYROID (thyroid tablets, USP), prescribing information. AbbVie (Allergan). DailyMed, label revised March 2024. DailyMed setid 56b41079-60db-4256-9695-202b3a65d13d
Armour Thyroid is taken by mouth. The dose is set for each person by response and lab tests (Dosage and Administration).
Tablets come in eight strengths: 15 mg (1/4 grain), 30 mg (1/2 grain), 60 mg (1 grain), 90 mg (1 1/2 grain), 120 mg (2 grain), 180 mg (3 grain), 240 mg (4 grain) and 300 mg (5 grain) (How Supplied).
The table below is the label's schedule, from the Dosage and Administration section. Numbers are copied exactly; the section is in brackets.
| Topic | What the label says |
|---|---|
| Usual starting dose | 30 mg |
| Increases | 15 mg every 2 to 3 weeks |
| Long-standing myxedema, especially with possible heart impairment | 15 mg/day, with extreme caution |
| Usual need | 60 to 120 mg/day |
| No response at 180 mg | Suggests lack of compliance or malabsorption |
| Angina | A reason to reduce the dose |
| Age | Dose per day | Daily dose per kg of body weight |
|---|---|---|
| 0-6 months | 15-30 mg | 4.8-6 mg |
| 6-12 months | 30-45 mg | 3.6-4.8 mg |
| 1-5 years | 45-60 mg | 3-3.6 mg |
| 6-12 years | 60-90 mg | 2.4-3 mg |
| Over 12 years | Over 90 mg | 1.2-1.8 mg |
Dose readjustment is made within the first four weeks, after clinical and lab checks of T4 (bound and free) and TSH. Adequate therapy usually gives normal TSH and T4 after 2 to 3 weeks.
People with angina or older people, who may have hidden heart disease, start low at 15 to 30 mg.
In infants with congenital hypothyroidism, full doses start as soon as the diagnosis is made.
Biotin is stopped at least 2 days before TSH or T4 testing.
Four to five hours are left between cholestyramine or colestipol and thyroid hormone.
Stored in a tight container protected from light and moisture, at 59 to 86 F.
The Armour Thyroid label gives no missed-dose instruction. It says replacement therapy is generally taken for life.
More on this: missed a dose of Armour Thyroid.
In Dose Track you set up Armour Thyroid as a protocol with the dose and schedule your prescriber gave you. A protocol can hold dose steps, each with its own dose and length in days or weeks, so a step-up plan like the one on the label can be entered once and the app moves to the next step on its own. Reminders follow the schedule, and every dose is logged with the date and time, so you can see which step you are on and when your last dose was. The app follows what you enter; it does not choose or change a dose.
This page is what the FDA label says, in plain words. It is not medical advice. Follow your prescriber, and ask them or your pharmacist about anything here.