FDA Attacks Natural Thyroid Millions Depend On

[SHRED]

This is outrageous.
My wife and I are desperately looking for other sources.
The synthetic version (Synthroid) does not work for her or millions of others.

This smells of big pharma and it's control over the FDA.
Translated : $$$$$.


----

FDA Attacks Natural Thyroid Millions Depend On

We have learned that Time-Cap Labs, producer of a generic version of the brand name drug Armour, a natural and bioidentical thyroid replacement, has been ordered by the FDA to stop production. The FDA has decided to classify the company’s product, available for over a century, as an unapproved new drug. Since the new drug approval process is prohibitively expensive for a non-patentable substance, the FDA is in effect banning the natural product. The purpose? Presumably to protect the profits of other, inferior drugs that have been FDA approved.

According to statistics by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and other medical organizations, approximately twenty-seven million Americans have a thyroid disorder. Thyroid consumer advocate Mary Shomon projects that 2 million of these patients take either Armour Thyroid or a generic equivalent.

Armour and other "whole" natural thyroid preparations (including Westhroid and Nathroid as well as Time-Cap Lab’s Thyroid) are bio-identical, complete hormone preparations, containing "T4" "T3" "T2" and "T1" in the same proportions made by the human thyroid.

The FDA approved preparations Synthroid (T4), Cytomel (T3), and Levethyroxine (T4) include bio-identical molecules, but are not complete or totally bio-identical as they do not contain "T2" or "T1". It’s no wonder so many people feel much better with the balanced natural products that have been available for generations.

http://www.healthfreedom.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=878

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MORE RESOURCES:

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/options-for-thyroid-treatment/
http://thyroid.about.com/b/2009/08/28/fda-future-natural-thyroid.htm
http://www.metabolism.com/2009/09/02/armour-thyroid-disappeared/
http://thyroid.about.com/b/2009/07/09/rlc-nature-throid-westhroid-thyroid-2.htm

SAVE NATURAL THYROID


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[kdmorris]

1. I had to go to a compounding pharmacy

But it's not working quite like my Nature-throid did. I'm starting to have symptoms again, and may need to increase the dose, I think. Medco said they couldn't get any Nature-throid until the beginning of next year.

Getting a prescription for dessicated thyroid was a lifesaver to me. I was not getting any better while on Synthroid (for 5 years!!), so was switched to Armour by my (then) new doctor. I eventually moved to Nature-throid because it was covered as "generic" and cost less. I finally had my life back. Now, this happens. I've written letters to the FDA, but all I got back was:

We understand your concerns regarding the availability of natural
desiccated thyroid products. The FDA drug approval process provides a
review of product-specific information that is critical to ensuring the
safety and efficacy of a finished drug product. For instance, the
applicant must demonstrate that its manufacturing processes can reliably
produce drug products of expected identity, strength, quality, and
purity. Furthermore, FDA's review of the applicant's labeling ensures
that health care professionals and patients have the information
necessary to understand a drug product's risks and its safe and
effective use.

The lack of evidence demonstrating that these unapproved drugs are safe
and effective is a significant public health concern.

Dessicated thyroid products have been around since 1898 and were grandfathered in when the FDA started regulating stuff. They were assigned "Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective", until Abbot Labs (the makers of Synthroid) started a bad publicity campaign. Now, the new FDA "drug safety czar" (appointed by Bush), wrote this little gem about thyroid products:

http://www.worstpills.org/results.cfm?drug_id=624&x=39&y=10

I love how he mentions the recall on Armour's "new" recipe, but says nothing of all the times that T4 only products have been recalled.

Keep up the fight, SHRED. That's all I can say. Try a compounding pharmacy to see if we can all make it over the hump until RLC labs can keep up with the demand for their thyroid product (Nature-throid). Send emails to the FDA to let them know we will not take this lying down. If you have a sympathetic congresperson, send them emails, too.

To me, winning this one is a matter of life and death. I cannot go back to being what I was before I got this medication. I've already lost so much of my youth to sleeping 12 hours a day and having no energy (the worst times were when I was between 25 and 35).

[MorningGlow]

6. Just like the Republicans' habit of projecting their faults on other people

Big pharma says Armour and other natural thyroid meds are "unstable", "inconsistent", and have a short shelf life, when that is NOT true about the natural meds, but IS true about Synthroid.

I am truly frightened about what's going to happen when my supply runs out in a month and a half. I can't imagine going back to feeling half-to-mostly dead, like I was before I started taking Armour. :cry:

[kdmorris]

12. I CAN'T go back to that.

Those were the worst years of my life. I just can't imagine having to live the next 40 years of my life feeling stupid, cold, fat and tired, with my hair falling out. A more horrible fate, I cannot imagine.

[Why Syzygy]

15. Well don't worry.

Low thyroid is fatal! Seriously. TPTB are dealing death. Grim reapers, the lot of them.

[rucognizant]

44. Yup!

K & R
The Death Panel!
Many of us have NO THYROID, because of that "experimental medicine" in the 40's, that tried to zap our tonsils away with radiation, causing thyroid cancer 40 years later!
I lost 6 years in my mid-50's after the kids were out of the nest and I was energetic enough to earn extra money for retirement,
and the AMA had all the wrong ideas about thyroid disease. I had to research it myself to find Armour Thyroid.....not easy when you are a zombie!
Now at age 70 ( on Armour) I am sprinting around like a teenager, putting in 8-10 hours a day, ( at least for the next 2 months!)Then my Armour runs out.
Fortunately my Dr., clever Woman, has a Canadian Medical lisence, and can prescribe to a Pharmacy in St Stevens NB. Hopefully they ship because my SS income is so small I have been trying for 4 months to squeeze out $45. to get a passcard to get back into the country from CA.
Even if you DON"T have a thyroid problem ......advocate for this because the lack of T1 T2, makes people STUPID! ( I KNOW I A HAVE BEEN THERE, A VERY BRIGHT PERSON,...RENDERED STUPID BY THE LACK OF PROPER MEDS!) DO YOU WANT THEM/US TO VOTE?

[Celebration]

26. MorningGlow

You may be able to combine T4 and T3 medication for the same effect--either using separate pills, or in Thyrolar or something.

I am just guessing that most people on Armour would do fine on that combo.

But this is complete bullshit. I haven't ever been able to stand that Wolfe guy. What a complete control freak!

[Why Syzygy]

28. Meanwhile

your friendly swine/avian/human flu shot is fast tracked straight into your body!
Regulations? PSHAW!

[truedelphi]

32. Now,now , is anything to be gained by trying

To connect all the loose ends? You'll end up sleepless and maybe worse.

It's the FDA. Surely they know what is good for us. :sarcasm:

[medeak]

63. my armour just arrived from Canada Meds

you can get a year supply....meanwhile it took several weeks and I went through hell going off cold turkey thanks to fda bastards

[MorningGlow]

2. Thanks for posting, Shred

This is a very, VERY serious issue. I couldn't get my Armour thyroid prescription filled during the summer--out of the blue, after being on Armour for eight years. My holistic m.d. got her hands on a limited supply of Naturthroid and Westhroid, so now I have about a month and a half's worth of those to tide me over. After that, we all may be forced to go on synthetic thyroid, and that turns my stomach. It is NOT the same, and I resent being forced into taking meds that will not help me.

Mary Shomon has been posting updates at http://thyroid.about.com and through Facebook. But lately she's been stonewalled. The companies have been telling her there's a shortage of the natural thyroid materials, but that isn't true, as the companies in Canada and overseas are not experiencing the same shortages. They have been lying repeatedly for months. This is all about profit, pure and simple.

And some idiots want to keep our health system as is. Oh no, there's nothing wrong with it at all--! :eyes:

[newfie11]

7. So can we order this out of country? n/t

[MorningGlow]

9. It's possible but I haven't tried it yet

Here's one link I had bookmarked last week:
http://www.overseas-foreign-pharmacy.com/product_category.php?cat=37

And here's a directory of compounding pharmacies--there may be one in your area:
http://www.iacprx.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home_page

[SPedigrees]

18. I have ordered a generic version of Armour thyroid from Tailand

from offshore pharmacies in the past for my dog, who is hypothyroid. (The med is for human use, but it works similarly in animals.)

However, there is currently a nationwide (and I suspect worldwide) shortage of dessicated thyroid for reasons that are unclear from the writeup I received. This is affecting supplies both for compounding pharmacies as well as for Armour brand thyroid product.

All the off shore pharmacies (that I am familiar with) that normally stock "Armour" or its generic equivilent, "Thyroid-S" (Tai brand of dessicated thyroid) are not currently listing these products, or are listing them with a "currently out of stock" notation.

Forunately I have enough bottles on hand to treat my dog for the next two years or so. He is now eleven years old and my supply may be enough enough to treat him for the remainder of his life. Because he would respond ok to one of the veterinary or human versions of synthesized thyroxine, my collie is not in the dire position of those who depend on dessicated thyroid extract for their health.

I have a theory that it is patients whose thyroid glands have been removed or chemically killed for whom synthetic thyroxine does not work, while patients who are merely suffering from a thyroid insufficiency respond to synthetic T-4 (thyroxine hormone.) I think this is because when one's thyroid gland is still somewhat functional, it can convert T-4 to all the other various (and necessary) thyroid hormones, unlike those who are absent a throid gland.

Good luck. Sorry I can't help.

[Aragorn]

27. good theory

and while I agree this change is crazy, it is possibly placebo effect frankly. Also with the world-wide shortage it does not appear to be entirely a move to protect profit.

FDA has made some dumb decisions either way. Remember when you could buy serotonin? How about when Felbatol got approved too fast?

[rucognizant]

45. Aragorn.............

"it is possibly placebo effect frankly." *B---S--T*!
I have been there it is horrible....a nightmare world eh where you JUST can't collect your CRITICAL THINKING FACULTIES.
AS an extra smart creative free lancer it was like dragging a BIG ANCHOR with you everywhere. I spent $13,000. for a year of college, to learn Graphic Design/computers...........I didn't do as well as I should have/ wanted to....because of it.
This drug has been in use for over 100 years.................

[medeak]

64. yes....just got mine from Canada Meds

THANK GAWD worried about pharma deal in HCR that no more meds from Canada

[Trillo]

73. At least until code section 804 is changed

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8674849&mesg_id=8675566

I'm not sure if this is part of "health Insurance Reform" or not, but my guess is, it is. Dorgan's replacement section is quite a bit different with regards to pharmaceutical importation for personal use, specifically, it must come from a "registered exporter" if it's for personal use.

[Celebration]

3. Pathetic!

Mary Shomon's article explains it all

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2009/08/19/fda-desiccated-thyroid-armour-nature-throid.htm

"Making the situation even more concerning is the fact that Dr. Sidney Wolfe, editor of the WorstPills.org website, and co-founder -- along with Ralph Nader -- of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, was appointed earlier this year to a four-year term on the FDA's Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee. The committee's role is to counsel the FDA regarding the safety of certain drugs. Wolfe is a major opponent of natural desiccated thyroid, and while remaining woefully uninformed about the drug -- at one point Wolfe even publicly stated that desiccated thyroid on the market today is from bovine (cow) rather than porcine (pig) thyroid -- he has campaigned against desiccated thyroid. Now he's in a position to help get it taken off the market."

Here's what I think of Sidney Wolfe :puke:

[SPedigrees]

19. Sidney Wolfe sounds like an idiot and an asshole. nt

[Hugin]

4. Off to the Greatest.

For now... The Big-pharma contingent on DU works regular lobbyist hours. Mon-Fri 8-5 Eastern.

[newfie11]

5. You are kidding!!!!!!!!!

Damn FDA! I use to take Armour and loved it. When I moved and had to use the VA for meds I had to go back to synthroid. I was just getting ready to switch to a private doctor so I could get back on Armour!

GRRRR!!!!!!:grr:

[Why Syzygy]

8. Two words.

Canada.
Mexico.

Screw the FDA and BigPharma. :nuke:

[lurky]

10. The FDA has been captured by industry.

Along with most of our other regulatory bodies. :(

[Why Syzygy]

13. We don't need to defeat the TEABAGGERS.

We MUST find a way to defeat the global corporations. Stop buying stuff! Gah I hate them.

[sam sarrha]

16. Capitalism will only end with our heel on th back of their necks end Corporate Campaign Bribes

the Supreme Court has been hearing debates on ending Corporate Campaign Contributions.. anybody know that.. looks like a Black Out of damning information to the public.

[Why Syzygy]

17. I've been following the SCOTUS case.

I'm willing to use my heel. We really need a consumer boycott. That IS our money, after all.

I am hoping with all my heart that the Supreme Court does the right thing on this. They are asking the right questions so far. The Corporations have many foreign investors. Why should THEY be granted access to our citizenry guaranteed rights? It's madness.

[Tansy_Gold]

11. I've been on Armour thyroid for over 30 years

When I started having some difficulty getting it several years ago and asked my doctor about switching to Synthroid, he recommended against it because it's not as good and because I would have to go through a fairly long adjustment period to regulate the dosage.

I don't need that, or the doctor and lab bills for which I have no insurance coverage.


One of the great things about Armour thyroid is that it's cheap. I get a 90 day supply for about $20. For the past 15 or 20 years, even at $12/month it was less than the co-pay for many prescriptions.

Obviously, there's no money to be made from it and health is far less important than profits.


Tansy Gold

[rucognizant]

46. Amen Tansey Gold!

[sam sarrha]

14. thyroid medication is the most prescribed medication in the country.

i find the Absence of research on environmental sources are indicative of the 'Blind Eye of Science Phonomona'... simply put, in this case, corporate influence of manufacturing industry's that poison people and cause health problems and the Pharmaceutical Industry that profits from the resulting suffering.. who make campaign contributions that influence who gets the grants to do research. the people doing the research are aware of the hand that feeds them, and will feed them again. usually the lower level lab techs actual lying feeding the mice and rats and collecting the data usually have no idea whats going on, they are just happy to have a job that may continue and get better if they do a really good job, been there done that at Shell Research Development Corporation.

when i went to my boss and drew his attention to a spike on a very nice bell curve, i was told was told to measure the base of the spike, do the math to raise the resolution of the graph and it would go away.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=The+Bromide+Dominance+Theory&fr=yfp-t-154&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

the most frequent cause of cat death is related to a fire retardant, compounded by laying on carpets, that the producers have been legislated to put on their products , then licking it off their fur while grooming daily.

[uppityperson]

20. fuck no. That will kill me. Seriously. I can't absorb the synthetics well

Worst time I had was the month on Synthroid brand where I got seriously hypothyrodic to the point of needing to be hospitalized.

fuck fuck fuck. Off to research and thanks for the heads up

[Joe Chi Minh]

21. You've got a lot of killers in America, and the trouble is that the most vicious

ones are not on the streets or in the prisons; they're the serial killers in the boardrooms and the courts.

[bertman]

22. Big Pharma has President O by the nads. First the healthcare "reform". Now this.

[loudsue]

23. Many of us are allergic to the synthetic thyroid medicines, and

they don't address our symptoms. This is a huge mess for so many of us.

I am SO FUCKING SICK AND TIRED of having to fight one corporate battle after another. Health care, my medicine, VOTING MACHINES, schools, media, utilities, oil companies, banks, insurance companies.

GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!!! We need to change the whole system!!!!!

This "republic" shit doesn't work. We have no representation!!!

[Why Syzygy]

25. Join

Asked the type of government established at the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin famously quipped:
"a republic, if you can keep it."


We all should join this organization and the others who are fighting the FDA.

http://aahf.nonprofitsoapbox.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=48

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/

http://www.forhealthfreedom.org/

Petition:
https://secure3.convio.net/aahf/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=283

[truedelphi]

33. Thanks for all the links there. n/t

[flamingdem]

36. Good links. Thanks nt

[laughingliberal]

24. Big Pharma has been after Armour for years

This has been a constant battle to keep from having to use the ineffective synthetic T4's. So glad we live in a "free" country where our choices can't be taken away. :sarcasm:

[rucognizant]

47. And before I switched..............

I was taking Synthroid during the right ( correct ) time period.so I got in on the class action suit and was reimbursed $150. for over paying on Synthroid.
I sent some to Howard Dean's campaign! Justice served ......well if not for Wolfe BLitzer!

Actually I CALLED FOREST LABS maker of Armour, and American Laboratories, supplier of the pig thyroid, whenI found out my supply was cut off. They both shilly shallied, lied and said the demand had increased and they were stepping up production,.
My Doctor said NO they have stopped making it."
I then called the Sen committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. ( on the premise that Forest had said American wasn't supplying them fast enough, and I DEMANDED TO KNOW......If we have NAFTA WHY can't they order from a Canadian Supplier.)
Basically he told me the FDA had stopped it, and suggested taking a class action suit against the Government.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.
ALL CITIZENS WHO WILL SUFFER FROM THIS WITHHOLDING OF PROPER MEDS MUST SUE THE GOVT! SPREAD THE WORD! SO IT!
QUICK BEFORE YOU ARE TOO TIRED AND ZOMBIED OUT!

[Jackpine Radical]

29. "Evidence-based medicine" is code for "patented drugs."

There is this big push, supposedly to only use therapies that have been shown to be effective by controlled research. Many, many unpatentable drugs would be thrown out under these rules. Research is expensive, and the drug companies have such control over the process that they can jigger the findings so as to make any drug they want appear to be effective. There are a myriad of technmiques, ranging from placebo washout trials to simply suppressing negative findings to biasing the way in which side effects are reported, that they routinely use to maintain their death grip on the health care system.

[kimmerspixelated]

42. And not only that they are taking over vit supplements too,

such as ,claiming certain vits. do nothing, when in fact the clinical test was at such a low dose, that no improvement could be recorded. They are sneaky and will stop at nothing to make sure everyone is only allowed to consume their dangerous drugs. There are several movements and org. at war with them as we speak. Sign any petition you see. Big numbers will bring about change.

[truedelphi]

51. The Federal Government had no funds to offer Calif.

To help it out now that we are bankrupt.

But the Dept of Agriculture has KINDLY developped an entire TV commercial campaign to show those of us in California how many agricultural pests, fungi etc there are out there, and how we can spray some things at these pests, and then all will be well.

I kid you not. The Department of Ag has maybe as many as eight commercials an hour (during prime time TV) letting us know that we can NOW kill insects.

I guess this is for those who don't know about RAID, DEET or Checkmate.

So see, the Federal Government is not all bad. Don't you feel much better now?

[gogo69]

30. Doctors seem more like sales agents for big pharma....

I've been struggling with a thyroid problem for years... It was a miserable and long drawn out process trying to find a treatment that came reasonably close to allowing me to feel like who I was.

First off, most doctors will simply not prescribe dessicated thyroid. You essentially have to "doctor shop" if you want dessicated thyroid like Armour, Nature-thyroid, or Westhroid. Most doctors I've gone to, when told that I'm still feeling symptomatic even though my blood levels were on target with current medications, would prefer to prescribe additional medications such as antidepressants and cholesterol lowering meds. I found it amazing that doctors would rather gave me drugs with ugly side effects that were likely unnecessary than to switch my medication or increase my dosage. Meanwhile, you go through this as a shell of your former self. Since low thyroid conditions rob you of your energy, there's not much left in the tank after taking care of life's daily obligations. Additionally, as a husband and a father, any energy left over is first spent on my family. There's never much left for dealing with the doctor BS. For some reason, the people close to me don't seem to be able to help. Most just can't see this as a real medical condition. It's totally frustrating being told to try different types of diets when it's rather obvious I don't have adequate medical treatment.

Luckily, after 5 years I was able to find a doctor that prescribed Armour. I finally felt like I was at least 90% of how I used to feel, and I believe the last 10% is really up to me. However, after a while there were problems getting Armour. Every time I refilled my prescription it was back-ordered and I would wait a few days for my prescription. The problem got worse and worse, and a few months ago I simply could not get a refill. I switched to Westhroid that seems to have been working just as well as Armour. Unfortunately, my pharmacy told me that it was discontinued the last time I tried to refill. So now I'm screwed again, and my energy is draining while I've been off of medications. My doctor told me to find a compounding pharmacy, so I'm hoping that works out well.

I don't post much here, but I've been lurking since the voting irregularities in 2003. DU truly is a great community.

-SJG

[MorningGlow]

40. Too right, gogo

I went through SEVEN doctors (including endocrinologists), ob/gyns, and even a nutritionist before I could get properly diagnosed as hypo. (My TSH was in the "normal" range, so the doctors all told me to get lost. It turns out I need my TSH to be slightly below the bottom of the normal range for my body to function properly.) My parents, who were raised in the "doctors are god" era, were horrified at my behavior--how could I dare to dump a doctor, as of COURSE s/he knows better than I do and--horrors--even get into arguments with some of them? Well, the one who tried to prescribe me antidepressants instead of thyroid meds deserved that and more!

This whole situation (people with thyroid problems and their issues getting treated and obtaining the proper meds) is such a massive cockup I can't even believe it. I was hoping it was getting better; I was wrong.

The question is, WHY do thyroid patients have big targets on their backs? Wait, I know the answer, and it was posted elsewhere in this thread--Armour's patent has expired, which means no major $$$ in Big Pharma's pockets. And during the attempt at a money grab, we suffer. This sucks.

Anyway, can't officially say "Welcome to DU" but I can say glad you're posting! :hi:

[rucognizant]

48. Yeh lots of Drs.!

A 42 year old FEMALE head of a free clinic was quite nasty with me telling me tyroif d meds were not a diet pill. ( I had a VERY active bar tending job involving running to the 2nd floor for wine & the basement for beers........and I gained 2 dress sizes. I had to keep going to Good WIll for clothes to wear to work!
Google Dr. Broda BNArnes,...I paid $10.00 for his publication. He a was on the outs with the AMA at the time...& he was ROGHT!
There was an excellent & CORRECT post WWII, Russian study of Thyroid treatment, that WE THREW out because they were commie pinkos!
Any Dr. TRAINED BEFORE WWII had the right answers all those after were IGNORANT OF THE PROPER TREATMENT! Until recently and younger Drs. are getting it right. Armour is a pre WWI medicine w that still works!
Uh MY Mother wasn't in the Dr. is God column, she was an RN and knew better!
MAke a list of all Pharma products and boycott, talk all your friends into not using them!

[debbierlus]

31. They are such fuckers.

[Liberty Belle]

34. If you're close to Mexico or Canada, you may be able to buy it there.

In Mexico many items are available over the counter that would require prescriptions in this country.

[girl_interrupted]

35. SHRED Has your wife tried LEVOXYL?

My husband uses it, and it not only controlled his thyroid symptoms but lowered his cholesterol to a normal range. The doctors aren't quite sure why, but it has. I don't know if your wife is a candidate for it, but it can't hurt to ask her doctor. Good Luck!

[kdmorris]

38. One of the chief symptoms of low thyroid function

is REALLY high LDL cholesterol. At one point, my LDL was 179 (my total cholesterol is now 169).

Levoxyl does work for some people, but it never worked for me. It is a T4 only medication and, like Synthroid, it brought my labs into range, but didn't make me feel any better. Armour, Nature-throid and Westhroid contain both T4 and T3, as well as the other thyroid components (T1, T2, for example). The use of T4 only meds has become the norm because doctors feel like everyone can convert T4 to T3 (which is used by your cells for energy)just fine. Without testing for Free T3 and Free T4, the TSH goes down and the doctor pronounces you "cured".

Except it doesn't always work like that. Once I found a doctor who would listen to me, he tested my Free T4 (bottom of the range) and my Free T3 (below the bottom of the range) and put me on Armour. Only then did I start feeling like a human being again. I've been on it for years now and have regained my life.

I'm glad Levoxyl is working for your husband. It's always nice to hear success stories like that, but it just didn't work for me and I can't go back to being partially human like I was 3 years ago.

[SHRED]

39. She does much better on "dessicated" thyroid replacement

http://www.altsupportthyroid.org/dt.php

[onlyadream]

37. I have hypothyroidism

and it is now normally functioning after I started taking iodine supplements (Ioderal). I think it's worth a try, unless the thyroid was removed.

[kimmerspixelated]

43. Yes, I've heard about that. It's always good to fix the

deficiency first.

[pberq]

41. Kick and nominated nt

[rucognizant]

49. THIS..............

fellow Americans..IS OUR LEXINGTON! OUR BOSTON TEA PARTY!
I Am ready to ride with a lantern!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

62. This will no doubt help lower healthcare costs in America. n/t

[marions ghost]

50. kick

in solidarity. My dad this year went on a life-saving chemo pill which costs $4K per month. Insurance & medicare doesn't cover it because it is not technically defined as chemo by some loophole (only Oregon outlaws this practice). Anyway in January, we will have to figure out how to pay for this drug without bankrupting the entire family. It costs about 2K to get the generic from India. Nobody can afford that figure either. So anyway although we are being controlled by costs rather than availability, the effect is similar. And it's all about money.

So I can well understand the distressing state of being tethered to a drug that is in the hands of Big Pharma and the FDA. We have got to fight this stuff but I sympathize also with being so tired of fighting for everything...and that's how they keep us down.

[MichellesBFF]

52. Would this help anybody?

http://www.iherb.com/Allergy-Research-Group-Nutricology-Thymus-Organic-Glandular-75-Veggie-Caps/3487?at=0

From the web site, this organic glandular material is processed by lyophilization of glands derived from government-inspected, range-fed animals, raised in New Zealand without hormones or antibiotics. The material is frozen, then subjected to a high vacuum that vaporizes moisture directly from the solid state, thereby maintaining biological activity of the material.

[Why Syzygy]

54. That's for the thymus gland.

They need thyroid. iherb is a great place to shop, though.

[SHRED]

53. Good News

We found it plentiful in Canada.
She got a prescription from her Doc and 1000 pills are on the way!!

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/options-for-thyroid-treatment/

---

[errorbells]

55. Naturethroid to ERFA

I take 60 mg a day ( for just 1 1/2 months now )and don't know how many ERFA to take...I was in the process of upping my dose
months ago on Armour when I found out about this.....btw, I gained 12 lbs in less than a month, plus 2 more in a manner of weeks
on the new reformulated Armour.

Have other health problems, perhaps causing the Hypothyroid....don't know.

The pharmacy sent me ERFA from Vanuatu by way of Canada with my prescription for #300 30 mg...they are in an opened bottle with
expiration of a year. Hope they are alright.... I can't trust the US at all, but wonder about the other countries.
So many are raising prices.
I am so sad. Let me know if you can, how many to take ....sigh


I almost gave up this time....

[Eurobabe]

56. Wow, my friend told me about this

but this is the first time I've seen it in print. She is absolutely freaking out, and I don't blame her. Synthetics don't work for her, I took Nature-throid for a year, but I had problems with it because I am lucky that I convert T4 well (my T3 levels went too high). I just wish the thyroid med market had more choices here, like Euthyrox by Merck, best synthetic I've ever been on.

This whole thing is absolutely terrible for people who depend on the natural medications. Whoever is behind this has been gunning to shut out Armour, etc., for years. :mad:

[mopinko]

57. did anybody read the fda complaint?

the new drug thing is one line in a long complaint that has way more to do with the manufacturing process and quality controls. which is my big problem with "natural healing"- they are not subjected to the same kind of quality control that drugs are. they could be putting anything in those capsules, and you would have no way to know.
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm136661.htm

[Why Syzygy]

58. If reading that FDA report doesn't make you want to weep

http://www.timecaplabs.com/

we live in different worlds. They have been manufacturing the product since BEFORE the FDA wrote their rules. If it didn't work, these people would be looking for something that does.

You have really overstated the case for FDA approved quality controls. These products are not considered "food supplements". They require a prescription. Your little "natural healing" jab doesn't apply in this case.

I hope the posters in this thread get back to you about their opinions on your little theory about efficacy.

[SHRED]

59. LATEST NEWS

Big bummer.

My wife's shipment of dessicated Thyroid from Canada (FedEx) was confiscated by the FDA.
We got a phone message to call the FDA.

She is going to call the place that shipped it (ERFA) and go from there.
Hopefully they will release it.

fingers crossed

[errorbells]

66. Sorry to hear that!

Your wife and I are in the same boat. Mine is stuck in a warehouse for a week or two.
Hope it gets here someday.

I started the other and it can be taken sublingually like the old Armour.

I am still on to low a dose and must raise soon....

Have read some Thyroid getting stopped by customs and FDA. < Rats!
They actually call you?! ugh

Good luck, to all of us.

[gkhouston]

68. In the meantime...

Synthroid alone (or any type of T4 alone) doesn't work for me, either, but I do well on levoxyl plus slow-release cytomel. Perhaps her doctor will prescribe that. I get the cytomel at a compounding pharmacy. The advantage of getting it compounded is you don't fall over at about 5pm from tiredness. If you don't have a compounding pharmacy where you are, I've used these people (http://www.villagecompounding.com/) and they do mail order and are accredited. Good luck.

on edit: Yes, there is an energy difference between taking a five 5mcg tablets spaced throughout the day and one 25 mcg slow-release tablet once per day. At least there is for me. YMMV.

[tonekat]

60. Nooooooo!

I take Levoxyl, and it does not do a damn thing for my symptoms of hypothyroidism. But it makes the labs look "in the range" as my endo tells me whenever I complain to her that I feel like crap.

When I tried to get her to give me T3, she said it would give me heart palpitations. WTF? So give me a small does, because life like this is not all that great.

I will be checking out another endo in the near future, someone who actually listens to me and takes note of my clinical presentation.

Hope there will still be something to prescribe by then.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

61. Two words:Overseas pharmacies.

[ki83760]

65. fucking assholes they are

[ohheckyeah]

67. I don't have a thyroid problem but have a friend

who was taking Armour. She is now using atomidine until she can get more Armour.

This is an overseas pharmacy that I know a few people have had luck with. It takes a while to get your scripts but might be worth a try.

http://www.edrugnet.com/showprice.asp?name=armour&bysearch=ok&Go.x=0&Go.y=0

[Manifestor_of_Light]

69. That is probably a good link.

That is the cheapest price I have found for Armour online. I have to take 4 grains per day, which adds up quickly.

[laughingliberal]

70. The doctor who originally prescribed Armour thyroid for me

was trained in South Africa. I spent 20 years trying to get some US doctor to acknowledge my low thyroid. I had hair falling out, brittle nails, tough skin, no energy. All I could get was, "your labs are fine." The doctor who finally listened to me said, "How many more symptoms do you need to have before they decide you might have a problem?" Then he said, "No one can diagnose clinically any more. They just doctor those lab reports."

The doctor who first diagnosed me with fibromyalgia was from the UK. He said, "Well, it's a little known condition. We know what the symptoms are but do not know, yet, what causes it or what we can do about it. Most of the doctors in this country have not heard of it or do not believe it exists." That was 18 years ago.

I am so sick of hearing how we have the best health care in the world. Then we qualify it with, "if you can afford it." Even that is not true. If you don't have a condition that someone is getting wealthy off you can hang for all they care.

BTW, thought I would mention 2 products in common use that are thought to suppress thyroid function. One is soy products. The other is flouride. If you are having issues with hypothyroid you might consider limiting your exposure to these.

[uppityperson]

71. posters in the yahoo group are reporting Armour is back in pharmacies

hoping it was a brief shortage.

[SHRED]

72. GOOD NEWS UPDATE!!!

Here is my wife's account from another site:

I orde­red 2 bott­les of 500 30mg ERFA Thy­roid directly from ERFA Canada in late Sep­tem­ber. Within a cou­ple of days I got a phone call and let­ter from the FDA that they had detai­ned my pac­kage. After calling the FDA and telling them that I can­not get des­si­ca­ted thy­roid in U.S. they relea­sed the pac­kage after chec­king with head­quar­ters. After severe hypothy­roid symp­toms while on Armour Thy­roid for the past few months inc­lu­ding memory loss, hair loss, dry skin, low body tem­pe­ra­ture, low heart rate, and extreme fati­gue I was happy to be relie­ved of many of those symp­toms within only a few days of being on ERFA Thy­roid. For me, ERFA Thy­roid works bet­ter than Armour ever wor­ked, my mor­ning tem­pe­ra­ture went up from 97 to 98 within one day, my energy came back within a cou­ple of days, my extre­mely rough, dry skin became smoother within a week, I am no lon­ger get­ting sleepy in the middle of the day, my hands are no lon­ger cold and dry but are warm and moist, my heart rate is nor­mal ins­tead of going into the low 50’s and my mens­trual cycle was regu­lar for the first time in over a year. For those of you who became hypothy­roid while on the refor­mu­la­ted Armour I highly recom­mend that you try ERFA Thy­roid and see if it works for you. If it does get con­fis­ca­ted by the FDA you just need to call them and explain that you can­not get “des­si­ca­ted thy­roid” in the U.S. and they will agree to release your medication.

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2009/08/26/more-good-info-on-erfa/#comment-44200

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