Why Are So Many Thyroid Drugs Suddenly "Unavailable?" -- Something Fishy, Perhaps?

Something fishy is going on in the thyroid drug world, as lately, pharmacists all around the country are declaring definitively to their clients that the following drugs are "no longer available" or "not being made anymore" or are "going out of business:"

• Unithroid
• Levoxyl
• Cytomel
• Armour Thyroid

I've talked with the manufacturers of ALL of these products, and guess what? NOT TRUE!! Not a word of it!! ALL of these products ARE available, and are NOT being discontinued. If your pharmacists are telling you otherwise, then I would be suspicious that they are either (1) utterly uninformed, or (2) participating in some sort of drug company kickback or incentive program that is designed to push you into taking another thyroid drug -- gee, if you wonder which one, just figure out which drug is NOT on the list...

It seems more than coincidental that all of a sudden, while you have thyroid-ignorant groups like Public Citizen callously and unjustifiably calling for the end of Armour Thyroid, while from all over the country, I'm hearing from people who say their pharmacists will no longer fill prescriptions for these drugs. Makes you wonder what is going on behind the scenes, and who is running the campaign, doesn't it?

So, if your pharmacist gives you a hard time about Unithroid, have him or her 1) call Lannett, the distributor, at 1-800-325-9994, extension 4, for a dose of fact, not fiction. and/or (2) print out a copy of the August 2003 letter to pharmacists regarding Unithroid, available in PDF at the Lannett website.

And if your pharmacist gives you a hard time about Levoxyl or Cytomel, have him or her call King Pharmaceuticals at (800) 776-3637 / (423) 989-8000.

And if they haven't figured out that Armour is still being made, have them call Forest at 800-678-1605, ext.7301

And if your pharmacist refuses, tell him or her that you're going to find a customer-oriented pharmacy -- not a pharmaceutical manufacturer-oriented pharmacy -- and that their refusal to obtain an available drug will ensure that you take your business elsewhere!