Missing thyroid mystery

As a person on desiccated thyroid, the shortages make sense. There have been a lot of us switching to it and I think it finally overcame the supply that manufacturers were used to! So there really hasn't been a need to "save" it. It's still there. I'm in groups where patients are seeing it coming back to the pharmacies.(I'm on Canadian thyroid, which is a lot better than the reformulated Armour) Oh and that "controversy" you mention. That's only from doctors who are pretty clueless. If they would check out the Stop the Thyroid Madness website, they might open their eyes. Thanks. Joan.

How ironic that endocrinologists feel that it varies too much from one batch to the next, when the synthetic meds seem to have had more recalls!

Since I can't fill my Armour Rx, my family dr sent me to an endo to figure out what I should do. She says that it's not natural to take all this T3 just because it makes me feel good, that there will be bad effects in the long run. The only one she names is loss of bone density. Is this true, and it so how much of a risk is it? Anyone know?

Thanks so much for bringing attention to what is a shocking turn of events for hypothyroid patients that have been successfully and without incident taking Armour Thyroid for years. First Armour was reformulated causing many to have alarming side effects and/or the initial symptoms of their hypothyroidism to reappear. Then, suddenly and without any prior notice to doctors, pharmacists or patients, there is no natural thyroid medication available. Now these patients are scrambling for bioequivalent medications with the help of compounding pharmacists and the very few doctors that understand that synthetic thyroid is NOT an option for many. Why would the FDA force a trusted, safe and effective medication that has been used since 1890 off the market?

I've had endocrinologists tell me that T3 causes bone loss, too. But, the clinical studies showing some bone loss are on synthetic T4 drugs. The desiccated thyroid bone loss studies show nothing more than what occurs naturally. Also, I find it ironic that many people with thyroid disease are told to take huge amounts of vitamin d, which can and does pull calcium from the bones. It always seems to fall back on taking amounts you need and not too much or too little. The synthetic drugs made my entire life worse to the point of being disabled with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. At least with natural thyroid I can work again.

Sheryl wrote:

Since I can't fill my Armour Rx, my family dr sent me to an endo to figure out what I should do. She says that it's not natural to take all this T3 just because it makes me feel good, that there will be bad effects in the long run. The only one she names is loss of bone density. Is this true, and it so how much of a risk is it? Anyone know?

Osteoporosis is much more of a concern with synthetic levothyroxine! If you were to take really excessive amounts of T3 - well above what you would ever get in a prescription product - you might get thinned bones as you would, say, if you drank a whole lot of coffee. This is all explained at thyroid.about.com - one of the best sites for comprehensive thyroid disease information (the other you should know well is stopthethyroidmadness.com ). Another site that discusses maintaining bone health in a smart way is women-to-women (can't remember the exact site name), owned by two LPN nurses. They don't have expertise on thyroid matters, but generally I've been impressed with their health information.

I get so frustrated and disappointed when I hear of ANOTHER endocrinologist with BAD INFORMATION! Oh, sigh.

When I told the endo that the Synthroid I tried initial helped somewhat but not to the point where I could live normally or work , she said that if all you had to work with was a hammer & nail, then you have to find a way to work with the hammer & nail. When I said that I felt so good on the Armour, she said I might feel good on morphine,too, but that didn't mean I should take it. She said she'd never had a patient who didn't respond to Synthroid (but not doesn't speak to their quality of life) and that if I still had the fatigue problem after I switched over to Synthroid, she was sure my family doctor could help me look into other causes. Maybe I had sleep apnea, she said, or Epstein-Barr, or needed to eat better. She said that I'd get more energy if I excercised. That's when I realized that she had to clue what it's like not to be able to lift your arms, that holding yourself up in a chair can be exhausting. Thanks for the responses. You've helped me chart my course. Canada, here I come.

I mean she had NO clue.

Wow! I'm so happy to be finding out why I've been feeling so miserable!!! I have been having hair loss, arm muscle pain, bad headaches, palpitations, insomnia and fatigue. I have been taking Armour thyroid which now I find out has been reformulated and this explains everything. I am so disgusted with our government and specifcally the FDA. This is an utter outrage! Forest Labs didn't even announce to patients OR pharmacies about the change in formulation. My question is: What in hell was in those tablets we have all been taking? I have a few left and I'm going to take them to a lab to get tested and I will sue the pants off of this lab. I hope others do the same!