On my August 26th blog post below, I reported good information about US patients being able to use their doctor’s prescription to order the Canadian version of natural desiccated thyroid called simply “Thyroid” by Erfa.
And here’s more:
In each Erfa 30 mg tablet embossed “ECI 30”, there is 18 mcg. of T4 and 4 mcg. of T3;
In each Erfa 60 mg tablet embossed “ECI 60”, there is 35 mcg. of T4 and 8 mcg. of T3;
In each Erfa 125 mg tablet embossed “ECI 125”, there is 73 mcg. of T4 and 17 mcg. of T3.
Erfa’s very friendly and helpful Medical Director, Henri Knafo, MD, states that they follow the USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) specifications. But I do see some slight differences. The USP specifications ratio for one grain that we are used to in the US is 38 mcg. T4 and 9 mcg T3, i.e 38/9. The above ratio is 35/8.
Likewise, US patients are used to 2 grains of 120 mgs having 76 mcg of T4 and 18 mcg of T3, i.e. 76/18. In Erfa’s medication of 125 mg, you will get a ratio of 73/17. I don’t know if this will make much of a difference but want you to be aware as you work to adjust Erfa’s desiccated thyroid to the treatment you were used to.
Knapo happily states that most all “Thyroid” is making it across the border to the states without issue. You will need your doctor’s prescription. And by the way, Erfa’s Thyroid is manufactured in Belgium, plus they have a huge supply of desiccated powder.
Erfa is also working with IDIS to get Thyroid to others. You can read about them here.
Need a doctor to work with who will provide a prescription for your needed desiccated thyroid? There are a growing body of good doctors out there. We also have a good list of Canadian pharmacies you can consider using during the current shortages.
I have also received word from a gal that the FDA document 1572, a federal form that FDA requires for over-the-border movement, has not always been used, and Erfa’s medication is arriving fine. i.e. the FDA may be tolerating it.
Jay said:
Sep 02, 09 at 6:29 pm“they have a huge supply of desiccated powder.”
I don’t agree with this statement at all.
The ERFA website has a forum, and Dr. Knafo stated that they had a 1 year supply because they anticipated the shortage in the USA.
A 1 year supply could easily run out prematurely and cause a shortage if the demand gets too great………..just like the RUN on the supply of Naturethroid in the last couple of months.
I have spoken to Dr. Knafo also. He told me that the Canadian Patients are the first priority. If supplies did run out, then Canadians would be helped first.
(From Janie: quote comes from Knafo. I can understand the last comment he made on your post about Canadians. Understandable. )
tina budde said:
Sep 05, 09 at 5:26 pmAlot of my members/patients have hypothyroidism, we are located at various places in the world, we are lymphedema patients and hypothyroidism goes hand in hand. I have many who currently take Armour thyroid, and now that is going to be reformatted and not available to us. I take 60mg of Armour, would this be a good choice as a substitute?
Tina
Hashi's Paul said:
Sep 08, 09 at 12:18 pmI had the Dr. office FAX a script for #500, 125mcg ERFA Thyroid on monday Aug 31st and it arrived in south Florida Sept 8th. I used CROSSBORDERPHARMACY.COM. Canada still has ERFA available, as of a week ago.
Janie…. I have looked, but cannot find any source that states “How many NDT patients or scripts are there in the USA or world???” “Does anyone have any idea how many of us there are??”
Strenght in numbers!!!!!
(From Janie: there have been estimates made, but they are just that. So the real number is unknown, I’m thinking, until we have something solidly factual)
Rose H. said:
Sep 14, 09 at 8:26 pmIs it safe to assume that if I’m taking 90 mg. of armour at this time~~ if I switch to Thyroid by Efra I take the exact same amount? Please– an answer from someone!! I plan to order from Canada this week… whole thing makes me nervous.
(From Janie: some have stated they need more; some less. You’ll have to figure it out by symptoms, I figure.)
Jen said:
Sep 24, 09 at 7:40 amI just ordered ERFA’s Thyroid from Canada. The pharmacy I went through was only able to send me 100 tablets because they are starting to experience shortages.
This is making me more than a little nervous. If we can’t get it from Canada, are there any other options?
(From Janie: go here: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/options-for-thyroid-treatment)
Sandy said:
Sep 25, 09 at 5:46 amDo I need an RX to order from a Canadian pharmacy?? Also, I now take .125 mcg of Synthroid, what would my dose be with Erfa? Thanks!
(From Janie: yes, you need a prescription. And there’s no definitive equivalent. You figure that out as you raise it bit by bit. Read this page: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/things-we-have-learned or Chapter 3 in the book with more detail which you can also share with your doc. Here are patient groups so you can get more feedback: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others )
Monika said:
Sep 27, 09 at 6:38 pmIn July, I had started taking 90 mg of Armour for about 1 month when the shortage occurred. I have been able to get 100 pills of the 60 mg & 30 mg of Erfa Thyroid. I don’t know if my body needs a higher dose or if Erfa is not as potent as Armour, either case my hypo symptoms have returned with a vengeance. Has anyone experienced this being on Erfa? Janie I know you have posted there is a slight variance in the T4/T3 ratio……not sure if that might be playing a roll. Either case, asking Dr. to do some bloodwork this week.
Steve said:
Oct 31, 09 at 5:32 pmI recently received and started taking the 30mg ERFA Thyroid tablets as a substitute for Armour 30 mg. It doesn’t have the same effect on me either. First, a single 30 left me feeling extremely hypo. So I increased it by 25% with slightly better results. Second, for some reason, it wears off by mid-afternoon. A pharmacist at CanadaMeds.com assured me that it was the equivalent, but doesn’t seem to be having the same effect as the old Armour.
Steve said:
Nov 02, 09 at 11:13 pmI spoke too soon (see my comment on 10/31/09). I didn’t realize/know that there might be a “ramp up” period when switching from the reformulated Armour tablets that weren’t working at all to the Erfa tablets. Although I was still feeling extremely hypo yesterday (after about 8-10 days on Erfa), I feel pretty decent today. Thus, unless my hypothyroidism magically cured itself in the last 24 hours, I assume that the Erfa is doing its job.
Stac said:
Nov 03, 09 at 5:20 pmMonika,
I have experienced the same thing. I was on Armour, then Natur-thyroid. After the shortage hit, I ordered Thyroid (Erfa) from Canada. My hypo symptoms have also returned. MOstly hair falling out, stubborn weight, dry skin bumps on legs, rump, arms. I’m now attempting to increase the dosage by 1 grain (from 3 that worked well on Nature thyroid. Hopefully symptoms will improve (will also check with the Dr. in about 1 month).
How did your test come out?
Sonja said:
Nov 09, 09 at 2:09 pmTo Monika – I thought I got Armour about 6 weeks ago with no problem at canadadrug.com. It says Armour on the bottle, but the pill was different, so I knew it was a substitution. But it seemed to work the same or better, so I didn’t worry about it. However last week, my symptoms have returned too – fatigue, brain fog, weight gain – so I called them and they said it was a straight across deal with the Erfa dosing. Obviously not, so I started to increase my dose today. I hope you can get yours figured out. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one with problems and hopefully this is an easy fix!