L of UK thought long and hard about using desiccated thyroid as a vegetarian of many years. Here’s her story.

I was vegetarian for many years – starting as a preteen for ethical reasons. I do now eat some meat but only if it’s organic/humanely reared. Therefore, I did not take the decision to start using Armour lightly. However I reasoned that since it is a by-product of the meat industry, and would otherwise be a waste product, it was not actually contributing to that industry, i.e. no pigs are actually slaughtered in order to produce Armour.

From the start I have felt the difference between Armour and T4 – I have A LOT more energy and concentration, and the difference is so marked (greater than I was expecting) that I don’t believe it’s just a placebo effect. In an ideal world, I would rather not have had to make this choice – if there was an equally effective synthetic alternative I would take that – but there isn’t. I really wonder why, as the pharmaceutical industry is so sold on pushing synthetic treatments, they can’t just produce a synthetic thyroid hormone replacement exactly equivalent to Armour, containing T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin, that would actually work? I’m no chemist but surely it’s possible – and the rewards would be huge…

L, London UK

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