Questioning New Armour Thyroid by Jeffrey Dach MD

[Guest guest]

Questioning New Armour Thyroid by Jeffrey Dach MDPosted by Jeffrey Dach MD at 07-21-2009 Categories: healthhttp://jeffreydach.com/2009/07/21/questioning-the-new-armour-thyroid-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspxTags: Armour Thyroid Naturethroid Hypothyroid synthroid t3 t4 tsh jeffrey dach reverse Forest RLCPatients Switching from Armour (Forest Labs) to Nature-Thyroid (RLC Labs)A few months ago, Forest Labs reformulated theirArmour Thyroid medication. Since then, a number of thyroid patients have raised questions and concerns about the new formulation posted on thyroid message boards and blogs. The comments fall into two categories:Left image: thyroid gland courtesy of wikimedia commons1) Many thyroid users notice a return of hypothyroid symptoms on the new Armour formulation, such as fatigue, hair loss and depression.2) Many thyroid users notice elevation of TSH on the new Armour after the TSH was low and stable on the previous medication. Here is what Janie Bowthorpe of the Stop the Thyroid Madness Blog says: (below quoted from STTM) I Am Done with Armour, say a growing body of individuals:Once again, (another) comment of someone who has had it with Armour, and is switching. On the new Armour, she states she has a return of her former hypo symptoms: hair loss, joint pain, fatigue, heart palpitations, low body temps are back, etc.And you see it happening all over thyroid patient groups on the net. Many folks are done with Armour.It’s too chalky. It tastes terrible. It doesn't break into smaller pieces well anymore. It’s lost the ability to be done sub lingually. And even worse, it has caused a return of symptoms.In case you are wondering what this is all about, read the 40 current comments attached to the June 2nd post Trying the Newly Formulated Armour? Before that, you can read my May 7th post Why the party is over with Forest Pharmaceuticals and the current 37 comments. And especially powerful is the April 28th post Patients say PHOOEY to new Armour formulation and Forest Pharmaceuticals with a current 57 posts.So what’s their next step?Right now, doctors of patients on Armour on being asked for a prescription for Naturethroid. Many report it working wonderfully; some state they need a little more to be as optimal as Armour. A small minority aren’t sure about it yet. But overall, the majority are happy. (endquote Janie Bowthorpe).Here are a few comments posted on the Stop Your Thyroid Madness Blog (quoted courtesy of Janie Bowthorpe). Anon said: "my hypothyroid symptoms have escalated. Now Forest Labs changed the formulation and for the past 2 months, my hypo symptoms have come back, worse than I have ever had them in my life. It is back to square 1, if I can get out of bed or off the couch long enough to attempt this whole mess again, as I found out the civilian doctor I saw last summer moved away."Left Image: a Pig, courtesy of wikimedia commons. Both NAturethroid and Armour are made from a pig thyroid gland and are called dessicated thyroid. Debbie said:I loved Armour. I’d been on it for a year and was just starting to feel myself again after 4-5 years of incompetent doctors. Then Forest switched Armour’s formula. At first, I didnt’t realize what was happening. I didn't’t know if it was a problem with my adrenals (another problem I’ve been treating) or vitamin/mineral deficiencies (also being treated for them). I couldn't’t figure out why any of that would be happening because I had been feeling so well. My hair fell out. I became incredibly depressed. I was constipated for weeks and in serious pain from it. My hair and skin became very, very dry. My fingernails got ridges. Pain from inflamed joints returned. I gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks after having just lost 10. The worst was losing my hair, I think, and the heart palpitations and tachycardia and high blood sugars. I’m a Type 1 diabetic and have been so for more than 50 years (with no complications). My glucose became out of control. I questioned the strength of the insulin. I bought new insulin. I started eating much, much less carbohydrates. Nothing worked. I had to increase my insulin a tremendous amount and it still didn't’t help. Then I read about the change in Armour’s formula. Suddenly, it all made sense. I switched to Nature-thyroid. My blood sugars returned to normal within a day or two !!! My hair stopped falling out and the depression disappeared. Forest put cellulose in Armour. I couldn't’t take it sub lingually anymore. People with thyroid problems often have digestion problems, too, so why would Forest put something into their medication which would require us to swallow it, thereby forcing us to try to digest it? And then that substance they put into Armour is cellulose, WHICH HUMANS CANNOT DIGEST !!!Buy Nature-thyroid. I’m so glad that I read of other people’s success here taking that medication. I just hope it doesn't’t become scarce due to so many people switching to it now.Gail said: I can’t find when Armour was actually reformulated. Every site I find says “spring 09″. My bottle was filled in March – wondering if I have the old stuff – it smells pretty bad still – and I don’t take it sub lingually so I don’t know (but may try it that way tomorrow just to see!)I do know that I have gone from .05 to 8.0 TSH and Ft3 way low. Guess I’m changing meds…Above Image: Thyroid Hormone, T3, T4, Reverse T3 courtesy of wikimedia commons.Liza said:I started Naturethroid about two weeks ago (after being on Armour for 3 years) and I feel great already. Since the reformulation I was noticing very odd symptoms, including erratic body temps.And the Naturethroid seems to work better than the old Armour (and I was an Armour advocate because of STTM). On Naturethroid my symptoms and body temps are already much more stable! And the terrible mood swings I always get on Day 19 of my cycle didn't’t happen, which was an absolute miracle. I am not sure if this is entirely related to Naturethroid but it seems significant. Overall I feel more stable.But I am having to coordinate with the Pharmacy & Supplier to get my next refill for Naturethroid. But I gave the pharmacist the phone for RLC labs and sat there while they called to coordinate. Stay on top of it (like everyone here says) and you will succeed.Lisa said:I honestly think that if a thorough investigation was done, we would find that there is NO thyroid at all in the reformulation…I think we’ve all been duped and are taking empty fillers. I have felt so awful for the last couple months….have had arthritic carpal tunnel symptoms return, horrible anxiety and panic attacks, heart palpitations, and a much lower body temperature…AGAIN…after having all that stuff relatively under control. I started taking Naturethroid a week ago and already feel so much better…my energy is returning and I’m feeling some relief. No more Armour for me!(endquote)An Endorsement for Naturethroid from RLC LabsThanks to our long standing relationship with RLC Labs, Daryl Turner, and Thyroflex, we started using Naturethroid many years ago noting excellent results and high patient satisfaction over many years of experience with the medication. Why worry about possible problems with Armour when Naturethroid is available?My office provides free samples of Nature-Throid tablets to our patients. Prescriptions for Nature-throid can be filled at any compounding pharmacy. Dessicated Porcine Thyroid manufactured by RLC Labs is preferred over Synthroid manufactured by Abbott Labs because of superior clinical results. Financial Disclosures: I do not accept money, gifts, perks or financial incentives from RLC labs, or any drug companies for that matter. I have NO financial relationship with RLC Labs, Abbott Labs, nor any other drug manufacturer. Nature Throid from RLC labs is provided as free samples to my patients. These free samples are purchased at retail prices from RLC labs by my office. I do not sell on the internet supplements or nutritional products to the general public. I do provide selected supplements at my office to my own patients with a small markup to cover my costs. My book Natural Medicine 101 is available on Amazon, and accordingly, I receive an absurdly miniscule commission for each Amazon sale. My book is also available for free on my blog (see link on upper left sidebar) Links to Articles With Related Content:The Unreliable TSH Lab Test by Jeffrey Dach MDStop the Thyroid Madness by Janie Bowthorpe - Book Review by Jeffrey Dach MDHunt Study Shows Thyroid Prevents Heart Attacks by Jeffrey Dach MDReasons Why Thyroid Testing Can Be Unreliable by Jeffrey Dach MDHypothyroidism Type Two and Thyroflex by Jeffrey Dach MDLinks to Related Content About New Armour Formulation:http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroiddrugstreatments/a/armour-reformulation.htmArmour Thyroid's Spring 2009 Reformulation Causing Problems - Some Patients Switching to Nature-Throid and Westhroid By Mary Shomon, About.comUpdated: July 24, 2009--------------------------My Thyroid Meds - Armour Changed Their Formulation Without Telling Patientshttp://www.hospitalsoup.com/health-conditions/thyroid/my-thyroid-meds-armour-changed-their-formulation-without-telling-patientshttp://www.hospitalsoup.com/health-conditions/thyroid/Armour%20Thyroid%20Medication%20Reformulation%20Part%20IIhttp://www.hospitalsoup.com/health-conditions/thyroid/thyroid-medication-nature-throid-vs-armour-thyroid---------------------------http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20090410/msgs/906983.html Reformulation of armour thyroidhttp://drbobsager.typepad.com/yhm/2009/07/new-armor-thyroid-formulation.htmlNew Armour Thyroid Formulation - Problems?http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/business/26drug.html?_r=3Drug Maker Is Accused of Fraud - NY Times - The Justice Department charged the drug maker Forest Laboratories on Wednesday with defrauding the government of millions of dollars by illegally marketing the popular antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro for unapproved uses in children and teenagers.http://www.consumeraffairs.com/rx/armour.htmlConsumer complaints about Armour ThyroidJeffrey Dach MD4700 Sheridan Suite T Hollywood Fl 33021954-983-1443http://www.jeffreydach.com/ http://www.drdach.com/ http://www.naturalmedicine101.com/ http://www.truemedmd.com/ Disclaimer http://www.drdach.com/wst_page20.html The reader is advised to discuss the comments on these pages with his/her personal physicians and to only act upon the advice of his/her personal physician. Also note that concerning an answer which appears as an electronically posted question, I am NOT creating a physician -- patient relationship. Although identities will remain confidential as much as possible, as I can not control the media, I can not take responsibility for any breaches of confidentiality that may occur. Link to this article:http://jeffreydach.com/2009/07/21/questioning-the-new-armour-thyroid-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx (c) copyright 2009 Jeffrey Dach MD This article may be reproduced on the internet without permission, provided there is a link to this page and proper credit is given. FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of significance. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.