<p>There was a thread that touched on the sudden unavailability of armour thyroid in North America some time ago. So many of us have been stuck using synthroid for thyroid replacement, which is not an ideal medication for everyone. Now my pharmacist has armour thyroid back. </p>
<p>My question is: Is there a steady supply available? I don’t want to switch back to armour thyroid only to have to make the transition back to synthroid again. </p>
<p>Are there any pharmacists or docs or endocrinologists out there who know if this medication is now flowing freely in the US? (Or who know why it dried up in the first place. This does not appear to have been an FDA or research driven issue; the company simply stopped providing the drug to suppliers.)</p>
<p>Wow, interesting. I never heard of it. Is it really different? Any controlled studies comparing the two in terms of actual physiology (e.g TSH levels) or self-reported effects? I’d love to try it.</p>
<p>Years ago, when I went onto armour thyroid from synthroid, my endocrinologist told me that there were convincing British studies. As I understand it, the medication was extremely unpopular in the U.S. until these controlled studies as to the its efficacy were accepted here. My subjective experience is that I feel more energetic and awake with armour thyroid, which combines a long acting substance like levothyroxine with a short acting substance like cytomel. It has been completely effective in keeping my TSH levels suppressed without having to consume so much that I’m jumpy. </p>
<p>Since I’m not a vegan, I don’t have a problem with using animal products in medications. It is difficult for me to understand why there is no problem selling these animals for beef and pork and leather, but there is a problem selling their thyroids for medication. Nova-10you clearly know more about this than I do, what am I missing?</p>
<p>It must be frustrating to have a drug that works well for you to become unavailable. I wonder if there is a synthetic that contains both the T4 and the T3? (I think that is what makes the Armour work so well, but I could be wrong)</p>
<p>I take Levothyroxine, but am thinking about switching to Synthroid. (of course I would have to pay full price cause good old Blue Cross won’t cover it) I am actually considering ordering it from Canada. Both my sisters and mom take Synthroid and each dropped about 15 lbs. Anyone else lose weight on Synthroid?</p>
<p>^I did but only after I was diagnosed at the outset. Synthroid works really well for me but I have nothing to compare it to (other than being hypothyroid!). Our insurance covers it, but the actual price is super cheap here in Canada (I thought because it’s such an older drug).</p>
<p>Get a compounding pharmacy to compound T4 and T3. They can replicate Armour Thyroid (which is no longer and Armour product). Synthroid is only T4. Or ask your endocrinologist about cytomel and synthroid to get T3 and T4. You need a prescription for all of the above.</p>
<p>The issue with Armour Thyroid and other desiccated thyroid products is that there is more variances in the product compared to Levothyroxine (Synthroid) and Liothyroxine (Cytomel). It is harder to dose. The standard recommendation for a newly diagnosed hypothyroid patient is Levothyroxine. No one denies Armour thyroid works, but it is not a clean drug. The smell can also be off putting.
For a branded product, Synthroid is not that expense. Without insurance, it should be no more than $30 a month, if I recall.
I’m a pharmacist, and that’s why I know all this. Availability of Armour thyroid has been sketchy for a while now. Some of the slaughterers just have stopped offering to sell the product. It is time consuming to remove the thyroids in their eyes.</p>
<p>I’ve been on Synthroid for thirty years but do not need the T3 so have never tried Armour or Cytomel. If you feel you need the T3, why not talk to your doc about Cytomel? He could run the tests on your T4 and T3 and figure out how much T3 your body needs. VeryHappy, I’m no expert but I believe that most people on Synthroid (or equivalent) have bodies that are able to convert the T4 and don’t need the T3 some people report feeling better with a small amount of T3 in addition to T4. The prescription equivalent for T3 is Cytomel. Armour dessicated has both T4 and T3.</p>
<p>Yes, Armour thyroid and cytomel are harder to dose, but as a physician, I have had a handful (or more) of patients in 26 years who did not do well on only T4, and needed a T4/T3 product. Patients who do well on synthetic T4 are easy to manage. But the patient who needs T4/T3 will not have their needs met with all T4. And that patient will usually put up with the smell, the more frequent need to monitor levels, the dosage adjustments. And for that patient compounding is also an option. The ratio of T4/T3 can be adjusted as well.</p>
<p>The debate about T4/T3 goes on. But some patients need both. They may be in the minority, but they exist and there are options.</p>
<p>^^Agree. I believe that managing thyroid requires a strong physician/patient relationship. I can generally “tell” my physician where my “numbers are” before he even looks at the lab report and I’m generally right on the money or darn close. I’m just that sensitive to what is happening in my body and because of the long time and the many appointments and the much feedback I give my doctor he pretty much listens to me regarding what my body needs to feel OK. I can give this anecdotal information. When I first started down this path I was dosed at the high end of the TSH range. Over a long time I’ve managed to stablize my weight and lose the weight I initially gained and while I’ve gone through many dose increases have stabilized where I feel the best and it happened accidentally after a dose increase…which caused my tests to come in at the lower end of the TSH range. I just raved to my physician how great I felt (and he knows me well enough he could tell) so he let me continue at that dosage. There were times in the early decades when I was feeling so badly that I wondered if I needed Cytomel, but lab tests showed my T3 in range. But…keeping my TSH down close to 1 makes me feel great, better than I ever did in my twenties and thirties and even into my forties when my TSH was kept more in the 3-4 range. If I drop much below one I get shakey and I can feel my heart beat so it’s a bit of a balancing act, but the bottom line is to develop a really open relationship with your physician and also get to know your body and mind (my major symptom of increasing TSH is an edge of depression and fatigue, then hair loss). I sometimes think the physicians are more willing to increase your dose slightly to bring down TSH a touch then to describe Cytomel which I’m told by him is harder to control. Diet and exercise are the ONLY ways to take care of the weight and it took me years to figure out exactly how many calories and how much exercise I need to maintain my ideal weight…and it isn’t very many calories unfortunately and I can put on weight at the drop of a hat if I’m not vigilent.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, there are apparently many mainstream, nationally known endocrinologists who will not prescribe Armour, Cytomel or any T3 ( or will only do so in rare cases) because they feel it increases the risk of adverse cardiac effects.</p>
<p>The cardiac effects are simply the result of a patient getting too much T3 OR T4 and being hyperthyroid. There is no inherent cardiac risk to cytomel or Armour. Any patient getting too much thyroid can become tachycardiac and have their heart work overtime. Improper dosing of Synthroid can do this as well.</p>
<p>The black box warning for T4 and T3 are IDENTICAL. The cardiac effects tend to stem from the MISUSE of T4 and T3 by patients who think they can run up their metabolism with thyroid supplements they don’t need in order to try to loose weight. Physicians often avoid their use as the patients who require t4 and T3 are more time intensive,will need more office visits and labs, etc. Everything is not protocol and NOT every patient falls into the 98% of the population.</p>
<p>This is a mighty helpful thread to me. Very Happy, I thought I’d been given the last dosage of porcine thyroid in the world 25 years ago. I wasn’t happy about ingesting piggie thyroid, but was reassured Talmudically if a pregnant woman craves pigfood the H MUST go fetch it for her, that’s the lengths we travel to insure health. All the more-so when not pregnant. </p>
<p>So I was started on pigs-in-blanket version. Porcine not Bovine. Just as I got used to it, they switched me to “the new synthetics” but I still wanted my pig medicine. I thought I did better with the porcine version than the synthetic, way back then. </p>
<p>Now I’ll go in and ask my dr. about whether he’s considered T-3 and T-4 compounding in my case. I always imagine myself to be the ideal patient :D</p>
<p>susnnyflorida - if a person switches from one thyroid med to another do they have to wean off of one before starting up the other? Also - some doctors recommend your TSH (?) level be between 3 & 4 while some suggest between 1 & 2 is better. Opinion?</p>
<p>Current research suggests that women tend to feel best when TSH is between 1 and 2.</p>
<p>I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that my doctors (past and current - different cities) are relatively speaking anti-T3 . Two of them wrote the current guidelines for treatment. Doesn’t mean that these won’t change in the future if enough studies suggest safety and efficacy. And as noted below, the guidelines don’t mean that T3 is always contraindicated.</p>
<p>I certainly do feel better close to 1 as I mentioned. I’ve been there about a year and a half and I just have so much energy and just mentally feel great. It just makes me upset that I spent decades just feeling “OK” at 3 or so.</p>