Is Your Pharmacy Out of Armour Thyroid? Here's a Solution
Some sizes of Armour Thyroid are currently on backorder, and pharmacies in some areas of the country will continue to have difficulty filling prescriptions until new Armour shipments reach distributors and drugstores later this month. If you are trying to get Armour Thyroid, in the short-term, I've confirmed that the online Drugstore.com does have a large supply on hand of Armour Thyroid in the 30 mg (1/2 grain) size. If you are unable to get your prescription filled at a local pharmacy, you can have the local pharmacy transfer the prescription to Drugstore.com to be filled. Start by setting up an account at Drugstore.com for yourself. Then have the pharmacy call Drugstore.com's special transfer line at 1-800-373-2133 to process a prescription for you.
Important Note: if your prescription is not for the 30mg size that is available, you may need your doctor's office to convert/change the prescription specifications, i.e., if you are taking 1 60 mg Armour pill a day (1 grain per day), you'll need two 30mg pills per day, so a one-month supply would be a total quantity of 60 (not 30).
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Comments
Quick Note:
protocol for transferring a prescription:
The drug store that is filling the medication (I.e. The one taking the business) is responsible for initiating the phone call to transfer the RX.
You should contact Drugstore.com and have THEM initiate the phone call to your local pharmacy.
Don’t ask your pharmacist to call another pharmacy and give away their business. Have the other pharmacy call them.
I just went through this. I actually called Forest Pharm to make sure that the pharmacy wasn’t making it up.
I had my doctor fax in a new prescription for 1.5 grain x 2 rather than the 3 grain I usually take. I was sweating it because I’ll be out soon.
I recently experienced this problem with my mail order supplier but they were able to get my dosage. Perhaps the problem has been remedied.
the problem with getting prescriptions through the mail is……….the weather. A person never wants to get prescriptions mailed during hot weather because it can destroy its ingredients. i.e. postal trucks are hot…….while it waits for the Postal Carrier to get to your block……and mailboxes located outside a house are hot. It is not responsible to advise mailing of prescriptions without addressing this FACT.
I spoke with Forrest Pharm awhile back about breaking a 60 mg. tablet of Armour in half to get a 30 mg dose. They said it is not advisable as they can’t be sure that the distribution of the active ingredient in the tabs will be exactly 30 mg. in each 1/2 tab.
My concern is: Can I be ABSOLUTELY SURE that the thyroid from Drugstore.com is, in fact, ARMOUR THYROID and not some generic substitute. I have tried a generic by “Westhroid” and I had miserable results.
Westhroid is NOT a generic…but like all medications, everyone may have a different experience. Westhroid and Naturethroid are hormonally identical (source: Stopthethyroidmadness.com). Personally, I take Naturethroid and it works fine.
I take 240mg (4gr) and wasn’t able to refill last month. This month I wasn’t able to get 120mg.
I called Forest Pharmaceuticals two days ago. I spoke with a man in Customer Service for Armour. He said that batches had not passed quality control measures and that accounted for the back order of various strengths.
He assured me that all strenghts would soon be available again.
Just picked up my new presciption today. Instead of one pill a day, I’m now taking four (60mg each). It was reassuring to know that Armour is and will still be available.
Kathy B…
You are the first post I’ve seen here regarding a high dose of Armour.
I have been on it nearly 6 weeks, and gradually, I’ve gotten up to my max dose of six 30mg tabs a day. I see my new holistic doc for followup on Wednesday of this coming week, and I wish I knew what to tell her as to how I feel…
I cannot tell a bit of difference, so far, in Armour and the 175mcg daily of Leothroid I took prior to 6 weeks ago.
I have had a total thyroidectomy and I am wondering if my dose is comparable to the Levothroid I was taking. I have no idea if my doc will increase or decrease my dose. I have NO IDEA how 180mg of Armour compares to 175mcg of Levothroid. I hope someone here can answer that for me.
Thanks!
Armour Thyroid’s FAQ answers several questions brought up here.
The page at — http://www.armourthyroid.com/con_faqs.aspx includes a dosage conversion chart I looked at when I switched from Synthroid 6 weeks ago.
the one thing i haven’t seen ANYONE mention is thyroid injections. i’ve been on thyroid injections for 3 years now because i don’t absorb the pills anymore because i’ve been on them since i was 10 yrs old and i’m 43 yrs old now. does anyone have any suggestions to a specialist to see or a medicine to try?
Just an update. I tried to get Armour thyroid 120 MG threw my mail order pharmacy and was told it was discontinued. Called a local pharmacy and they also were unable to obtain the 120 mg. Finally called Forest Pharmeceuticls this morning and was told that the 120 mg were still on back order and would probably be for another TWO OR THREE MONTHS. So now I have to get a prescription for 2 - 60 mgs.
My Pharmacist Rocks! It took him a few days but he was able to get a bottle of the 120mg Armour for me. He’s being told the 120mg may not be available in the future but that the 60mg will be and I could double that, but hopefully Forest has it all squared away before I’m due for another script. I hope everyone else can get their scripts filled. Good luck.
The comment about innocent pigs being killed for Armour users prompts me to ask if you all think the FDA is correct that cloned meats are safe. I’m having second thoughts about Armour when I think of the possibility of Armour Thyroid from clones pigs.
Camille - Armour Thyroid 90 mg or 1 1/2 grain is equal to 150 mcg (.15 mg) Levothroid.
Armour Thyroid 30 mg or 1/2 grain is equal to 50 mcg (.05 mg) Levothroid.
I take 180mg a day of armour and my pharmacist gave me 90mg(60tabs) this late february. They don’t have any tast compared to the 180mg I’ve taken. I was told by my doctor to chew them. Has anyone else noticed the change in smell or tast and does that mean they been on the shelf longer and have expired.
I take 240 mg of armour per day for 30 years. I received 60 mg or 120 tabs March 10. Last month I received 120 mg tabs or 60 mg tabs, but they ran out.
I haven’t noticed any change in smell or odor with the 4 gr, 2 gr or 1 gr I have taken.
Cheryl,I have never chewed them and am wondering why your physician recommended that route?
Cheryl, I have taken 240 mg for 30 years. The last 2 months Bi Mart has given me 120 mg instead and for March 60 mg as that is the highest dose they have.
So I have taken 1 (240 mg), 2 (120 mg) and 4 (60 mg) per day over the last three months.
I notice no difference in taste or smell, but I do not chew them. I am wondering why your physican recommends chewing your Armour??
I spoke with a Forest Pharmaceuticals rep today.
She told me that the higher-potency formulas (120 milligram and above) may not be back on the market until June. The smaller-potency tablets should still be available.
Thanks Dave and others for your updates. I am a 30 year post cancer and take 4 grains of Armour.
To all concerned:
Drugstore.com does NOT deliver to Europe!
Good idea for US-citizens,..but where do non-US Thyroidpatients go for Armour?
Sincerely,
Ira
Hi Ira,
Yes, I have the same problem as you. Its very difficult to get it here in Europe. No Internet firm delivers here………
Gale
I take 90mg per day. I bite the tablet in half and let it dissolve under my tongue. In the afternoon I take the other half under my tongue. Sublingual is said to get into the bloodstream faster and bypasses the stomach where certain foods (and I imagine stomach acid) can interrupt absorption. They’re sweet and don’t taste bad anyway.
I have been on Armour Thyroid for five years. I am now up to 4 grains (240 mg) a day and I still don’t think that’s enough because I’m still having symptoms of low thyroid such as fatigue, falling asleep during the day, insomina at night, difficulting concentrating, memory problems, dry skin, body aches, etc.
I wonder how many people are on five grains (300 mg)?
In February I had difficulty refilling my prescription because the pharmacy said there was a manufacturing problem. I called around and found only one pharmacy in my area that had the 1 grain dosage. I got it and am taking four of these pills a day.
I’m wondering if I’m taking them at the correct time of day and if the other medications I’m on or the food I eat is preventing me from absorbing my Armour Thyroid and that’s why I’m at such a high dosage and still feel terrible. I take two blood pressure medications (Norvasc and Cozaar) in the mornings and I take a choleterol lowering medication (Lovastatin) and medication for acid reflux (Prilosec) in the evenings right before bed (usually around midnight).
I try not to eat any foods with containing calcium or take any vitamins with calcium four hours before or four hours after taking my Armour Thyroid.
Since I have insomina, I usually wake up at about 4:00 a.m. every morning no matter what time I go to bed. I then take my Armour Thyroid on an empty stomach at 4:00 a.m. I wait until about 6:00 a.m. before I take my blood pressure medications and eat breakfast.
I have asked my doctor about all this and all he says is to take Armour Thyroid when you wake up in the morning and wait about an hour before eating breakfast. He didn’t seem to know anything about my medications or vitamins effecting the absorbtion of Armour Thyroid.
Does anyone else take other medications with Armour Thyroid? Is anyone here on four grains (240 mg) or five grains (300 mg)? Does anyone here still have low thyroid symptoms after being on Armour Thyroid for a number of years? Does anyone know where I can get answer to my questions about Armour Thyroid?
For those posts about ordering Armour Thyroid in Europe, I think this link might be what you are looking for:
http://www.internationalpharmacy.com/en/home
Medco, my mail order pharmacy, contacted my Dr. and told them that Armour had been discontinued so my doctor gave an ok to substitute Thyroid Tabs - 3 Gr manufactured by Time-Cap. Needless to say I was on the phone with Medco when these arrived. Medco told me that 3 GR were backordered and ALL other strengths had been discontinued. I asked them for the phone number of their contact at Forest Labs and when I contacted them they confirmed that 120 MG doses and above are BACKORDERED with an estimate of June before they ship but that 15 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg (1GR) and 90 mg are all availalble. Then I contacted my doctor and requested two new Rx’s, one for 90 days supply from Medco for 60mg/3 per day or 90 mg/2 per day and a second Rx for a 30 day supply from a local pharmacy that I had called before to verify they had 60 mg in stock.
You can also get it at CanadaDrugs.com. And if they have it, other Canadian online pharmacies will. I have had very good success ordering drugs from Canada.
Interesting to see I was not the only one with the problem. Due to my husband’s insurance, I need to order it in the mail. I got a call advising me that the 15mg pill was not being made anymore . I contacted the company and was told that it was still being made. So I called the mail order company and asked them to allow me to get it locally. They did and surprise ….the local Target pharmacy was able to get it for me. Sad to see this happening.
Try Nature-Throid–It is the hyperallegenic version of Armour Thyroid. It is more consistent nand I feel a lot better on it (I’ver been on Armour for 20 years). You will need a prescription for it as it comes in 129.6 mg instead of 120 mg as Armour Thyroid. It is easy and cheap through CVS Pharmacy. Go to the Nature-Throid website and read for yourself. http://www.nature-throid.com/default.asp