why is armour thyroid unavailable

I have no idea how the FDA works, or why Forest made the change. All I can tell you is that I used Armour Thyroid both before the change and after. I can tell there is a difference if you try to take it sublingually, and perhaps that is the biggest reason patients don't like it as well. Other than that aspect I am very happy with it.

i live in the west indies where armour thyroid is unavailable. my doctor recently prescribed it for me but i was uanable to use my local prescription in CVS in Miami. Can anyone give me a suggestion as to how to go about getting armour thyroid?

There is no discontinue of desiccated thyroid meds on the chopping block at this time. I can't speak highly of Forest Pharms methods of the changing Armour. The motives behind this shortage really came off their end. There are plenty of options to remain in decissated thyroid if you want to.

Patient is on Armour thyroid, which contains T3 and typically when T3 med is taken TSH is low or suppressed, and when on a desiccated replacement, FT4 is often low, because of the high level of T3 in the desiccated replacement.

I seem to recall that Armour has too large of a molecule to absorb sublingually so the notion that it bypasses the gut is something that may not be occuring. I'll try to find that info again. I do think that having it completely dissolved before getting into the gut ensures better absorption. I started Armour a few months ago and though it is somewhat nasty it does dissolve quickly when broken up. A sip of water and down the hatch, no big deal.

if it is thyroid related, no over the counter meds. sorry, need to see endocrinologist, sounds like his is hyperthyroid. any heart palpatations? double vision could be thyroid eye disease, but he needs to see a doc. that specializes in thyroid disorders. he could have graves disease? i am suffering from graves with similar symptoms without the weight loss I am atypical of this symptom (of course) and have gained weight. they will start him on meds to help out his levels back to normal.

By the time the doc tried to increase my Armour, It was unavailable. So I found a few months of a generic that is now discontinued.

We retested my levels and they were still In middle of the range and the doctor decided to add 5 mcg more of the cytomel. Well now my blood work is showing a .5 tsh (lab normal is .350-4.500) but my t4 free is .64 (.80-1.80)and my free t3 is 2.9(2.3-4.2). So from last time my tsh has came down some more but my other levels have went lower too when they were higher. Any explanations of why my free t4 is now showing hypo when I'm on more medication and my free t3 has dropped as well?

when I asked that before, I was told that this condition is very rare. If it is so rare, why is it that so many people being treated with T4 (i.e. Synthroid) are not getting any relief in their symptoms and many are in fact getting worse? My theory is that the body is not effectively converting the T4 into T3. Then after a while the body slows its production of T4, since it is ineffective anyway.

I received RAI for hyperthyroid and after two years of trying different meds I finally take armour thyroid 120mg, my blood work is fine but I don't feel fine. I have started taking cytomel 12.5mcg thinking that may give me a little more energy and help with a little weight loss. I'm wondering if anyone has added extra t3 with the armour thyroid and had good results. My doctor doesn't know about this yet...

The doctor has to prescribe enough thyroid med to offset the loss of natural thyroid hormone, and prevent hypo symptoms. So that is why I say that a good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve hypo symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.

My doctor who is an endocrinologist says he only gives armour to those who do not produce T4. Armour is from pig thyroid and because pigs need more constant levels of adrenaline, they have more T4 in their thyroid. The resulting higher levels of adrenaline in people tend to make people feel a bit better but is hard on a person's heart. Do not use Armour unless you do not make your own T4.

t work as well for women as it does for men. That Armour or natural desiccated thyroid meds work better. But everyone is different. Both my wife and daughter for example seem to do better on dual synthetic(taking both a T3 and a T4 med) than either of them did with Armour thyroid. And even better than my wife with Armour plus a T4 med. The advantage of dual synthetic is that you can adjust both the T4 and T3 does independently.

I had a quick question. How is the dosage determined? Is it by body weight or what your labs reveal? I was on 60mg of Armour for a few weeks then was increased to 90mg because my labs hadn't changed nor my symptoms. While on the 90mg my labs showed I was in hyper mode and also had hypo symptoms as well as hyper symptoms. My doctor and I agreed that I'd be better off staying in the middle by going with 75mg instead.

No. Armour thyroid has T3 in it as well as T4. T3 is very fast-acting and soon neutralized by your body if not used promptly. So, many people find that multiple doses keep their FT3 levels more steady throughout the day. Other people don't seem to be as sensitive and find they can take it in one dose. You don't know the cause of your hypo? TPOab and TGab blood tests will tell you if the cause is Hashi's, which is the most prevalent cause of hypo in the developed world.

Why do you think it is the Armour? Please post your thyroid lab test results and reference ranges so that members can evaluate.

Many people want to take Armour because it is natural and the perception is that natural is better than synthetic. SOME people benefit from Armour because the T3 in it boosts the concentration of T3 in their system. Unless you have a problem converting T4 into T3, taking Armour can give you too much T3, so it is not suitable for many people to take it. Doctors don't like it, because most people do not need it, and there are consistancy issues from batch to batch.

Thanks Barb. That is really helpful advice since I take Armour Thyroid and need to take Vitamin D as well since my levels are low especially in the winter.

Please verify the T4... does it say Free T4 or Total T4? The range looks like one we, typically, see for Free T4. I'm sorry if I seem to be nit picking, but Total T4 and Free T4 aren't the same tests and they don't provide the same information. Here's a quick lesson in thyroid hormones... Total T4 is the total amount of T4 circulating in your blood, but most of that is bound by protein and is unavailable for use.

When I could not get Armour anymore I had to switch to a generic that is running out now, so its time to switch back to the newly formulated Armour while my local stores have the one grain. Who knows, Maybe the new formulation just requires a heftier dose for some people to get the hypo symptoms to go away? On some other website I read peoples comments on how sick and hypo the new Armour was making them. People had furious, almost raging comments on other web sites at the time.

Why is armour thyroid unavailable

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