Thank you for bringing this change to my attention!

1: It takes hours to dissolve, and it doesn’t really dissolve. It just leaves a chalky, pasty, gritty residue in your mouth, some of which is swallowed and therefore not absorbed properly for many people.

2: Many people split their Armour doses into 3 or 4 times a day. This means that you could spend the majority of your day with this disgusting residue in your mouth, waiting for it to dissolve, barely able to speak.

3: I have adrenal insufficiency (as do many other thyroid patients). One of the symptoms of this is morning nausea. I simply can not drink liquids in the morning, so this rules out swallowing the Armour(I can’t take pills without liquid). Also, those with Celiac disease can’t absorb medication well when swallowed. Celiac and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are both autoimmune conditions, and many thyroid patients also have Celiac disease.

4: Many people with hypothyroidism also have iron deficiency anemia and other nutritional deficiencies. Iron and calcium must be taken 4 hours apart from thyroid medication. If you dose your thyroid medication several times a day, how is it possible to fit in other supplements? When it was possible to take Armour sublingually, this was not an issue, since taking it sublingually does not interfere with absorption of other supplements.

5: Many people split their thyroid pills in order to dose them throughout the day. I have a pill splitter, but this new formulation of Armour basically crumbles when I try to split it. A portion of the pill just turns into powder, so people are not able to take their full doses.

And I have a few questions, ibeji: Who is this hormone specialist who states that even trace amounts of sugar are harmful to your health? And is this just a theory of his, or does he have scientific evidence to back it up? I have difficulty believing that the tiny amount of dextrose in the old formulation of Armour could possibly do any damage.

And I can see that you are very complimentary of Forest Pharmaceuticals. Are you connected to the company in any way?

I am still hoping that Forest Pharmaceuticals will realize that their new formulation simply isn’t serving thyroid patients as well as the old formulation. Many patients who struggled for years finally found something that worked, and now are struggling again. It’s so disappointing.

Anyhow, the sugar in Armour was harmful to health anyway (says one of the best hormone specialists in the world that even trace amounts of sugar like those found in e.g. ham are harmful), so I can only say: well done, Forest Pharmaceuticals! (No irony intended, in case you’re having doubts)

Janie, do you think calling Forest pharmaceuticals and complaining will have any effect? Maybe if they were aware of STTM, and listened to the fact that many people found success taking it sublingually, maybe they’d consider changing back to the old formula?

Thanks for a very informative and impressive site!
I found it only a couple of weeks ago, and started taking my Armour sublingually. I have been reluctant to up the dose since I’ve had bad experiences with overdosing synthetic T4 (and T3) in the past. (I’ve taken T4 since 95 and switched to Armour a year or so ago. My doctor knows little about Armour, but lets me have it.)
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I’ve felt much better lately, so thank you so much for the info!
I will up the dosage too – but I have a feeling that the sublingual bit made a big difference for me, not just the dosage! (Maybe because of my autoimmunity?)

I got a new prescription and bought 120mg in stead of 60mg, and was surprised at the different taste and the strange residue when I started them yesterday, so I actually compared the packaging on the 60mg and the 120mg, but saw no immediate difference. They sure took a long time to dissolve.
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Do you know what the new stuff is, and if it works as well sublingually if you get it to dissolve? (The taste doesn’t bother me at all.)