Armour Thyroid Alternatives

[fern]

When I became so ill in 2001/2002, my thyroid stopped functioning...totally. While in the hospital, I was placed on Synthroid but over the course of the next two years, the doctor had me on a variety of prescription thyroid medications. None were working. When I found Dr. R in 2004, he immediately changed whatever I was on to Armour Thyroid. Over a span of a few days, all symptoms went away. I had weekly (yes weekly) blood work while he corrected the dosage. The results were amazing. My hair grew back, I lost 90 pounds in less than 3 months, my vision cleared, night time anxiety attacks stopped, restful nights of sleep returned, I wasn't exhausted and my mind and skin cleared. I was a FAITHFUL Armour client. About ten months ago, I refilled my prescription and continued to take it as usual but I became very tired again. I started napping several times a day for a couple of hours each time. My hair was falling out again. I simply had no energy to even face washing dishes or taking a shower. Those simple tasks seemed larger than life. That continued all summer until I started searching on line for Armour alternatives believing I had worn this option out. That is when I learned that our new administration had stopped the production of Armour until a new, safer, and faker formula was in place.

I spent the fall and winter searching for options. I purchased a year supply of Naturethroid (another desiccated thyroid product) from Germany and I found a pharmacy in the US that still had a few months of Westhroid (desiccated thyroid). I tried both products and did much better than the newly formulated Armour but still a far cry from life as I knew it. Two months ago, I switched to a compounded version of Armour and am doing a bit better but my dosage had to increase to 9 grains per day, which is a lot.

I am posting options for purchasing desiccated thyroid products that are still out there in case anyone else is suffering the loss of Armour as I am. These options seem to work well for some, yet not as well as Armour for others. They are still preferable to the pharma options that we are now limited to in the US.

The history...

Natural desiccated thyroid is a treatment that had its first medically documented use in 1891, and successfully. It rose in popularity and was determined quickly to be a great treatment for hypothyroidism. “Armour” was one of several brands.

In 1906 came the beginning of the FDA’s current regulations with the passage of the Pure Food and Drugs Act. This act was created to prevent the commerce of “adulterated and misbranded food and drugs”.

In 1938 came the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act which gave the FDA authority to oversee the safety of all three of the latter. Many medications already in use, like Armour and RLC’s Naturethroid, were “grandfathered in”.

In the early 1960’s came the Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) by the FDA which was meant to classify drugs introduced between 1938 and 1962 as either effective, ineffective, or needing further study. That study was completed in 1969.

Then came 2006 and a new Compliance Policy Guide (CPG), which targets the remaining unapproved drugs like natural desiccated thyroid and which ultimately requires the pharmaceuticals which make these drugs to “prove” their effectiveness and safety (i.e. 110 years of millions of safe and effective use of desiccated thyroid by patients is not enough for the FDA, it appears). The proof comes in an NDA (New Drug Application) and rigorous clinical trials, which are quite expensive.

An important sentence in the CPG is found in Section II A: We want to achieve these goals without adversely affecting public health, imposing undue burdens on consumers, or unnecessarily disrupting the market. In other words, all thyroid patients who know the superiority of desiccated thyroid will be taking the FDA to task for this.

All the above led to April 2009 and our new administration, where patients saw the FDA act upon the compliance by informing two generic makers to cease production, since they started long after. Time Caps Labs was warned in April. There is no FDA-listed warning for Major Pharmaceuticals, the other generic maker, but they ceased as well.

In early 2009, Forest Labs reformulated the long popular and effective Armour desiccated thyroid. Patients reported a return of hypothyroid symptoms and new strange ones. So most made a sad exodus from the use of Armour to other brands.

And in this remarkably sad year for desiccated thyroid, 2009, a shortage of US-made desiccated powder occurred, first coming from the only North American manufacturer of the powder: American Labs. The stated cause was demand being greater than supply–an actual possibility since websites and patients groups were espousing how well it works, so many patients were switching.

By Fall of 2009, The FDA approved US prescriptions to be used at Canadian Pharmacies for Erfa’s “Thyroid”. Compounding desiccated thyroid also found more business in the US.

January 2010 saw RLC Labs, the makers of Naturethroid, beginning to send out supplies of their brand. They are still scarce in most areas.

The options...

1) CANADIAN PHARMACIES: patients are finding luck ordering the Canadian “Thyroid” made by Erfa from website pharmacies. Certain locations will need your doctor’s prescription faxed to them. If one site is closed down, check others. Prices below may be different since they change often. They are in no particular order.

* 77canadapharmacy.com As of 9-09, $81 for 300 tabs of 60 mg, plus a flat $14 express shipping fee. Patient states these people were wonderful. As of 11-09, $119.97 plus 10.99 for shipping for 300 tabs. of 60 mg “Armour”
* http://www.canadamedicineshop.com Shipping to US 9.95.
* universaldrugstore.com 60 mg – 100 pills (used to be $11; now $18 as of 12-09). Sells 300 tabs of 60 mg Efra for $58.50 including shipping. Use Promotion code 945 to get $5 off first order.
* canadadrugsonline.com 60 mg – 100 pills $45
* pharmacy-online.ca 60mg – 100 pills $22.64
* northwestpharmacy.com -60mg 100 pills $34.99
* doctorsolve.com/ – 60mg 100 pills $
* candrugstore.com/ 60 mg 100 pills $47
* discountrxmart.com/ 60mg 300 pills $49 (this one doesn’t say Erfa) but it’s that by the description.
* crossborderpharmacy.com (same as canadameds.com) 60 mg – 500 pills $62 (as of 9-15-09, this has gone up to $119 on canadameds.com. Ludicrous)
* http://www.valuepharmaceuticals.com
* You can order directly from the makers of Erfa with a prescription: http://thyroid.erfa.net

2) COMPOUNDED DESICCATED THYROID: Any compounding pharmacy should have plenty of powder in stock, since their distributors do. Others will compound synthetic T3 and synthetic T4. Use this link to find a compounding pharmacy and you’ll need a prescription: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Compounding-Pharmacy BEWARE: Be sure to ask what you are actually getting in case it matters to you–some called the two synthetics “compounded Armour” when it isn’t. Also, many compounders are adding a slow release filler like methyl cellulose, and patients report bad results. A better alternative can be to ask for ascorbic acid powder (Vit. C) or acidolphilus.

3) A GERMAN PHARMACY will supposedly send the medication abroad, prescription required to be phoned in by your doctor and credit cards accepted. They source the thyroid from Europe and have no shortages. They will also compound any strength and combination you require. GERMANY’S THYREOGLAND from Munchen (Munich), Kloesterl Apoteke, Waltherstrasse, 80337 Muenchen. Phone: 089 54343211

4) NUTRI-MEDS: available for several years, Nutri-Meds is an OTC desiccated thyroid product in both bovine and porcine. It’s far weaker so you’ll have to take a lot more. Tell you doctor you are using it to maintain the relationship. http://www.nutri-meds.com/

5) THYROID-S or “THIROYD”: These are two different brands of desiccated thyroid made in Thailand that many patients swear by. Google “thyroid-s Sriprasit” or “thiroyd greater pharma” to find sources. Keep your doctor informed of your use.

6) SYNTHETIC T4 and SYNTHETIC T3: Yes, it will seem a bit nauseating for some to have to get a particular name brand of T4 that you can’t stand. But the combo will help you, and you’ll have to play with amounts to find the most optimal amount.

7) HEALTH FOOD STORE products: There are good over-the-counter products with raw thyroid you can check out. But as it true for Nutri-Meds, they are far weaker. Additionally, to raise these products high enough to get some relief of hypothyroid symptoms can result in you getting too much of added substances in these products. Check the labels.