Comments on: Survey on patient experience on the NEW Armour–not a pretty picture

By: marie

marie — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:24:22 +0000

My doctor says I have Hashimotos (tpo whacky). He gave me a script for Synthroid I said no way so he gave me a script for Armour. I went and picked it up tonight but now I don’t know if I should start it after reading this site. Is it working for people at all?

(From Janie: it works far better if you chew it up before swallowing.)

By: Aileen

Aileen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:52:29 +0000

Just came across this site for the first time last week, read some of the comments about the need to chew the armour thyroid tablets for better digestion and began chewing them. However, I just called Forest Labs and spoke to someone in the medical dept., who said that they do not recommend chewing the tablets or grinding them. They continue to recommend swallowing them whole. According to the person i spoke with, the reformulation consisted of decreasing the dextrose and increasing the cellulose to help to digest them. I’m going with that.

(From Janie: FYI: whatever Forest says hasn’t taken away from patient experience with chewing them up. Many report far better results after they chew them up to release the desiccated thyroid from the excess cellulose and decreased sucrose.)

By: Cathy

Cathy — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:08:10 +0000

Those of you who recommend crushing the new Armour, do you think that chewing the tablets and then swallowing them with water might be equally effective? My doctor (who is on Armour herself) told me that she has always chewed the tablets and she notices no difference whatsoever.

(From Janie: Yes! That’s what is meant–chewing it up to break down excess cellulose.)

By: Angie Reis

Angie Reis — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:46:10 +0000

Hi Janie, I only crushed it for 3 days so far. No one has mentioned how long they were crushing it before feeling better. Do I need to give it more time? I saw my doctor in January and just made another appointment to discuss everything and will ask him about Erfa also. Thanks.

(From Janie: Crushing is the first step. Raising is the second. Third is making sure the problem isn’t making too much RT3: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/reverse-t3 )

By: Angie Reis

Angie Reis — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:05:09 +0000

Well I see from the date, most of these comments are from a year ago. I have been hypothyroid since Hurricane Katrina but wasn’t diagnosed till about a year later. I was put on Synthroid and felt no relief at all. After several changes in dose I decided to see an endo. well I decided to ask her about trying Armour and she just refused. I actually went in there on my 2nd visit loaded with questions like, “how do you treat your patients, do you listen to their complaints or go strictly by the blood test”. She said if the test are normal then that’s how she treats a patient. She left the office and came back with a 2 page info on why Synthroid is better than Armour. Then she left and so did I!

I found a doctor that wrote for Armour and 3 days on it I felt better than I had in 3 years. About 8 months later is when the reformulation of Armour took place. I have been back to the pains in feet and legs again for a long time. My doctor said it wasn’t that big of a change but I can tell it is. I’m beside myself on what to do now. My flexability is awful, I’m so stiff and have problem with sciatic nerve on top of everything. I really have lost faith in doctors. I constantly read any and all info to figure out what to do. For the post above by Johann Mitchell, I crushed my Armour and have not had any changes in the way I feel. Question for anyone else who may read this. Has anyone tried Erfa? Does it work for you? Thinking about talking to my doc about it.

(From Janie: if you are crushing Armour and still not feeling better, you may just not be on enough. Otherwise, many of us are on Erfa and love it. )

By: Liz

Liz — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:30:33 +0000

I felt sick the FIRST pill I took of the “new” Armour.
After a few months, the RT3 was VERY high.
The initial feeling was the same as when I took Synthroid–a “T4″ feeling. I had to lie down right away because my BP became very low within a half hour.
I believe more has been changed than just fillers.

By: Lisa Ostendorf

Lisa Ostendorf — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:21:52 +0000

First, I want to thank Janie sooo much for such an incredible website and book. I was so ignorant, (though searching), and at the mercy of my ignorant Drs. for 9 and 1/2 years, (of formal Hashi’s diagnosis, although I’m sure I was hypo since childhood). I am soo right there with DeAnna and wonder daily how I might be able to make a difference with the thyroid insanity. I am also truly invested in this crusade as both of my kids, ages 16 and 11 are also hypothyroid, although In the “normal range” (what a JOKE!) on their labs. My daughter also has Hashimoto’s! I’ve never heard of a 16 year-old having this! So our saving grace is education via this website, etc., since we cannot get proper treatment from any one doctor in my town. One of the only helpful things my doctor ever said was to chew Armour and Naturethroid and this has made the medication work for me. Although I never have gotten to try the new Armour since we never have gotten it here. The Naturethroid seems to work fine and I also use a compounded dessicated thyroid that is made with the same raw ingredients as Armour. I do not know yet if it also contains cellulose which sounds like a really stupid thing to add to any prescription drug that is supposed to be absorbed by the blood. But again, maybe Forest secretely
“wants Armour to fail”, so they can focus on more profitable and PATENTABLE drugs. I also think from reading this and also from a friend’s experience that the higher doses of the old Armour were not very strong and that’s why people are needing less of the new version. If you would like to order the dessicated thyroid I use which is really good and made with Armour’s porcine source you can contact: San Ysidro Pharmacy in M ontecito, Ca 93108 1-800-796-2452 1-805-969-2284 They also will ship anywhere in the US and possibly further, and they also have a website.
Again, I can’t thank you enough for the incredible work you are doing Janie, and also thanks to all the others who bravely fight for the right treatment and share their stories that we may all learn from.
Very sincerely,
Lisa

By: Y. Miranthis

Y. Miranthis — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:17:38 +0000

For people who have a problem with the new Armour and can’t get an alternative natural dessicated thyroid:

I have an idea how you might get the new Armour to work for you. I am not on Armour thyroid and have no way to test this idea.

What if you:
Crush the tablet using a mortar and pestle (as Johan suggested earlier).
Finely mince a small slice of apple and combine (stir) it into the Armour powder.
Let the apple enzymes work on the powder for a few minutes.
Place the mass on a soup spoon and take it sublingually.
The sugar in the apple may (?) help carry the hormone into your system through the sublingual tissues.
After the hormone is absorbed, the applesauce can be swallowed.

I think part of the problem may be that the Armour tablet no longer has the simple sugar. And if you use a bit of fruit pulp to replace that sugar, maybe you can absorb and utilize the hormone more fully? Try it if you like, and see.

By: Diana Fendley

Diana Fendley — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:09:16 +0000

I recently received your e-mail/letter about cellulose in thyroid medications and the effect it was having. THANK YOU SO MUCH for publishing this. I have been on the thyroid medication merry-go-round for a long time now. I have a doctor who is very willing to work with me, but was still having horrible problems with my thyroid medications. I was beginning to think that there was no answer, and that I would just feel horrible the rest of my life. I have tried the “new” Armour and it made me feel horrible, but I was able to have my doctor write a prescription for “compounded” natural thyroid. It was somewhat of an improvement, but I still was having so many problems. I knew from my own reading and research on the Internet that most problems with medications are the binders and fillers that they use. After reading this article I called the compounding pharmacy and asked them what filler they used. Sure enough, cellulose!! I told the pharmacist that I talked to that I was having real problems with side effects and wanted to try a different filler. She at first recommended “lactose,” but after doing some research of her own called me back and said that lactose can impair absorption of the thyroid. So we agreed to try “corn starch.” Since I have no allergies to corn starch that I am aware of, we tried it. I have been on the newly compounded thyroid for only two days and can tell a world of difference. I mean I feel like a different person. My eyes aren’t red and irritated, my sinuses aren’t driving me crazy (which I thought was pollen allergies). My stomach isn’t gassy and hurting all the time. It is a MIRACLE!!! I feel ALIVE again!!!!!!!!

So for everyone out there who is having problems with your thyroid, if you are able, run don’t walk to a compounding pharmacy and get the cellulose out. I also, for years, have been taking a number of vitamins that I finally had to quit taking because I felt bad after taking them. Well, I did some research on them too. Sure enough, one of the main ingredients is, you guessed it, CELLULOSE!!

The only sad part about all of this is that the compounded thyroid medication is costing $75.00 a month, which insurance won’t pay for of course because it’s “compounded.” How wrong is that?? But, I would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to be able to afford this stuff to give me my quality of life back. Fortunately, I can afford this, but I know a lot of people can’t. If anyone is interested, the pharmacy that I use is:

Prescription Compounds
5302 O’Donovan Drive
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808

(225) 766-9577
(888) 876-8778

They will ship anywhere in the United States

Keep up the great work you are doing, you are truly changing lives.

Sincerely,

Diana Fendley

By: Elailne Claudio

Elailne Claudio — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:20:38 +0000

I have been taking Armour’s for about 3 yrs. My doctor started me on 30 mg. After two or three weeks he asked me if I noticed any difference and I said no. He then upped me to 60 mg. That was the magic number. I started losing weight quickly w/o changing my diet. It was wonderful. Then perhaps about 6 months ago, maybe more, I started gaining weight quickly. My doctor had me take 60 mg. one day and then 90 mg the next. There wasn’t any difference.
So then he had me take 90 mg every day. No difference. So about a month ago I just started taking 120mg, 2 60 mg. pills each day. The first week I lost 4 lbs. but seem to be at a standstill. I am going to try crushing the pills and will start with the 90 mg per day to see if that will help. My nails tear easily and I have lost lots of hair in my eyebrows. I have gotten the last 2 or 3 30 day prescriptions at a compounding pharmacy. I am going to ask them what formula they are using, the old or the new?
The last time I picked up my pres. they said I could now get 3 months at a time instead of just 1 month. When I first started I used to get 6 months at a time. The price has gone up since then. I paid about $27 for the 6 months.
Now a month was costing about $12 and change. I will keep reading to see what is what. Has anyone gotten in touch with the Forest co. to see why the formula was changed and what is going on? Thanks.

(From Janie: I suspect it’s because in late 2007 and 2008, patients discovered that the 3 grain tablet was like taking nothing at all. So several have guessed that they reformulated all the strengths to “improve” it.)