As usual, inquiries to the folks at Forest Laboratories -- a company that is notoriously unwilling to share information with media, patients and practitioners about the status of their thyroid drugs-- are fruitless. My request for an update about the status of their Armour Thyroid brand of natural desiccated thyroid medication resulted in the usual: a brush-off to "see the statement on the website." So, what does the website say? At the ArmourThyroid.com website, their latest update claims that "Forest has produced and shipped a limited supply of 1 grain, also known as 60 mg. We understand that this limited distribution will not meet the current anticipated demand for the product, and we continue to work diligently to meet demand. Although Forest is addressing the backlog of Armour Thyroid as quickly as possible, we are not prepared at this time to give a definitive date by which the product will be fully restocked..."
What Forest has not mentioned in their statement, or addressed anywhere, is the reformulation of Armour Thyroid, which occurred earlier in 2009. That reformulation increased the cellulose content of Armour, making it less effective -- and in some cases ineffective -- for a percentage of thyroid patients who had successfully used the old formulation of Armour. Why Armour reformulated, and why they refuse to acknowledge or address the reasons behind the reformulation, are questions Forest's customer, and the physicians and patients who belong to the Save Natural Thyroid Coalition, continue to ask, and that Forest continues to ignore.
For those patients who need natural desiccated thyroid, some have found that they are able to continue with the new, reformulated Armour with no change in dosage. Some patients require an increase in dosage, due to what seems to be impaired absorption (perhaps due to the cellulose.) Others find that the drug at any dose is simply ineffective for them, and have had better results switching to another brand like RLC's Nature-Throid, Canada's Erfa, or compounded natural desiccated thyroid.
Why is Forest on lockdown about sharing information about Armour Thyroid? Yes, some small amounts of 1 grain (60 mg) Armour has been dribbled out here and there to pharmacies, but Will the drug ever be fully back on the market, at all dosage sizes? Is Forest intending to stay in the business of producing natural thyroid?
We don't have answers, and I don't expect that we'll get them, as Forest doesn't respond to inquiries with anything except "read the website." Meanwhile, some pharmacists and physicians have told me that they've heard rumors that Armour will not be getting back into full production. This is unsubstantiated however. (Again, Forest refuses to answer questions.)
In the meantime, patients who require natural desiccated thyroid can get medication in several ways:
- Some patients have successfully been using Erfa's natural desiccated thyroid drug from Canada. Erfa Thyroid is available by prescription from many Canadian pharmacies, and also directly from the manufacturer. See the Erfa site for more information.
- Some patients have been using other brands of natural desiccated thyroid that they've found at pharmacies in the U.S. and abroad, including RLC's Nature-Throid, TimeCap Labs natural thyroid drug, and foreign brands of natural desiccated thyroid.
- Some thyroid patients are having their compounded natural desiccated thyroid medication prepared by a compounding pharmacy. More information on how to get compounded natural thyroid prescriptions written and filled is available in my article Compounded Natural Desiccated Thyroid: An Option for Thyroid Patients Who Can't Get Nature-Throid or Armour Thyroid
MORE INFORMATION:
- The Armour Thyroid and Nature-Throid Shortage Information Center
- Save Natural Thyroid Coalition Website
- Save Natural Thyroid Coalition Yahoo Listserv
Image: clipart.com
I could care less if they ever bring Armour back. Unless it’s the “old” Armour, it doesn’t work anymore. I stuck it out for 5 months on the new Armour, and increased my dosage 3 times, and the more i took, the sicker i got. They ruined a good thing, plus the fact that they could care less about their customers. My wish for them is that they all get Thyroid disease, and have to suffer with all the horrible symptoms that i got from taking their “reformulated ” junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today dated 4-28-2011, is old formular of Armour thyriod back?
I still am waiting for the old Amour thriod med. I tried many brands of pig thyriod, but none were good for me. They made me sick. I do not know how long it will be for the wait.
If they don’t want to be loyal to their customers then their customers should find another source. It isn’t the same medication any way. RCL’s Nature-Throid has been working for me. I have enough to get me through January. When I called them they said that they should be able to supply their customers in the next few weeks.
My pharmacy could only get Westhroid. I was on it for 2 months and then switched to a compounded NDT. The compounded formula is working much better for me than Westhroid, so even though it is more expensive I’m sticking with it. Even if Armour becomes available again, it’s not likely I’ll be using it.
I’m taking compounded natural thyroid right now because of the lack of Armour. I do have to say that the compounded drug is working better than the reformulated Armour. I’d like to try Westhroid or Nature-Throid when they’re back on the market because of the cost involved in the compounded drug.
Well I care about getting Armor back I tried Canada’s
Efra thyroid and also tried compounded thyroid ,the compound made my tongue swell and Canadians thyroid made me have something like hot flashes and gave me a rash on my arms and legs ,so I pray that Armor will get FDA approval even if they have to go up on their price I would gladly pay more if I could just get the old Armor formula back,I have no thyroid so this is a life and death issue with me,Synthroid is the drug that should be removed from the market not Armor,I was able to get a prescription for Armor filled 2 weeks ago ,armor is what I have to have but the new formula does not work as well as the old one.I filed a complaint with the FDA about synthroid ,everyone that has bad side effects from it should also file a report about it.Go to the FDA web site and ask for a form to fill out ,I sent mine in yesterday.
Can’t we go to the district attorney’s office where Armour is located and file a criminal complaint for failure to disclose new formulation leading to great bodily harm? I believe this is a criminal matter when people’s lives depend on credible information. They get away with what they do because they can.
Someone mentioned loyalty to customers…good grief..this is about money. I don’t think any drug manufacturer cares about being loyal. They care about profits. Armour may be criminally negligent…let’s call it what it is.
I agree with the previous poster, Replanet, because of
my experiences in 1982-83 when Synthroid changed
formula and didn’t tell anyone. I still suffer from this,
as none of the other drugs have helped me well like
Old Synthroid did.
Redplanet makes the point that this is all about money.
Well, it certainly was back when they changed my
Synthroid….even a University doctor told me they only
did it to be “cost-effective” for the manufacturer, and
that they shouldn’t have changed the drug, as the
changes harmed many people. So, I see it’s the same
thing today with this Armour fiasco….thyroid patients
STILL get treated with utter disrespect when it comes
to the safety and quality of their drugs. This needs to
change! I think it should be a criminal offense, too,
because when they change your drug and it really
doesn’t work for you anymore, the drug maker is pretty
much killing some of these patients–like they’ve done
to me in the past. I still don’t have a decent quality of
life because of Synthroid’s mess…..all efforts to make
them go back to the old formula have been fruitless.
It will probably be the same with Armour. I hope
someone out there will do something to make these
thyroid drug makers be accountable for their actions.
It really DOES need to happen!
When I refilled my prescription for Armour Thyroid in the spring, I immediately felt something wasn’t right.
I started gaining weight, I could barely function and was extremely tired, my hair was falling out. Shouldn’t Forest labs have disclosed the change? By the time I got on to Naturethroid I had gained 12 pounds.
Then that supply ran out in two months.
My local compounding Pharmacy is supplying me with Natural Thyroid, I feel the best on this, and it is less expensive that Armour, so why should I switch back?
I have Hashimoto’s disease and am Hypo.
I agree with Marion Dixon’s comment in regard to the synthetic version of Synthroid. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and began noticing differences after 3 days after being presciribed the levothyroxine, and because I wasn’t up on “thyroid” problems or medications… I believed what the doctor told me. “Give it a couple of weeks and you should begin to feel better!” As it neared the 3 weeks and time to refill prescription…the pharmacist is the one to tell me to quit taking it and call my doctor immediately. At that point I was having trouble walking and my legs so heavy that I had to sit down every time I tried to do the minimal housework. I was ‘chained to my chair’.
I convinced my doctor I would not try another synthetic version, and he did put me on Armour for a trial. After a month and the test results were in and they’d dropped considerably, the doctor was convinced to that was what my body needed. I’m up to 150mg daily, but I’m finally feeling like me again after 9 months. Because of the high dose, I was able to fill my prescriptions with the 5 grain and cut in half each day. I’m praying that Forest will get back with full production. My thyroid is reliant totally on the medication to keep me going.
Dear All,
I, too, think this whole thyroid prescription debacle is outrageous.
Part of the problem, I think, is that some anorexics discovered the “miracle” of slow suicide by over-using OUR meds irresponsibly. I used to joke with the pharmacist that it’s probably easier to get “Oxy” now, than our various thyroid meds, because of misuse…… Anyhow, after mourning the (deliberate (?)) demise of real Armour, I went from 2 diff. generics (hated em both) to Synthroid. Only reason I tried the generics is because the pharmacy swore up & down that it was the same stuff (sorry guys —- it’s decidedly NOT !!!).
After about 5 weeks, the Synthroid has made a good, positive difference in my brain (I’m 58, and had taken Armour for 56+ years!). BUT I did have a bit of a scare.
I was a major coffee/espresso drinker, due to working and attending college classes. I’d NEVER had a problem
with caffeine while on old Armour. One day, despite waiting the “approved” time, I had major rapid heartbeat
and tingling in my right arm and side after a large skim latte. I immediately had a 20-oz orange juice, plus about
another bottle’s worth of water in the next hour, and flushed out the caffeine, and was ok. I immediately SWORE off caffeine, went over to the doc’s office to get
my heart-rate and b.p. checked (it was ok — but my doctor seconded my decision to quit caffeine…). At any rate, it’s great to have a younger, better running brain (memory is sharp, & more focused, yet calm & not anxious, due to no caffeine- — it’s like having an Audi 8 cylinder engine instead of an old Ford four cyl. engine up there!!), so in that way the Synthroid is working MUCH better than the Armour did. However, it
REALLY bothers me that there was NO warning that the
Synthroid, after it’s in one’s system for a few weeks, kind of revvs everything up, and people should be cautious with ANY caffeinated stuff (Red Bull, espresso shots, diet
supplements, etc.). We American multi-taskers, millions of whom have 14+ hour days, should have been
warned on the label or insert. (there IS a Starbucks or DD every few miles in some areas ’cause we drink so much coffee, after all….) At any rate, hope this helps somebody!!
Anniepanda51
The reformulated Armour didn’t have negative effect on me and works, but I managed to get Nature-throid when the pharmacies were out of Armour and like that just as well.
Same story. I was Armour for seven years. I tried the Compound Thyroid and it made me very ill. I ended up in the E.R. It took almost two weeks to feel better. My doctor told me that the compound was the same as Armour Thyroid. But something is very wrong. I am afriad to try anything at this point but I have too because of the Thyroid problem…Keep Praying!
To All: There’s getting to be a CRITICAL need for a few humanitarian-endocrinologists (particularly ones who specialize in emergency diagnoses and/or have an extensive understanding of biochemistry) who will “step into the ring” and take on the pharmaceutical industry. There must be doctors out there who are willing to (1) say that NOT all thyroid replacement meds are “equally good”; (2) Read the various forums and share significant cases with paramedics, nurses and E.R. doctors, etc. There are any number of interactions and reactions, and there are NO warnings anywhere!!!
(I’ve checked doctors’ drug guides, med. texts, the FULL
info online for Synthroid: they ONLY warn about a
decrease in med’s effectiveness, NOT that it could combine with caffeine and cause an alarming speeded-up
pulse and rapid heart-beat!)
Everyone in the US desperately needs a group
of specialists (maybe retired doctors who have the time
and energy to go through the pharmacological issues)
who are willing to work with the media and start
keeping ‘em honest—-the pharmaceutical industry, that
is. We all know people on multiple meds for various
problems. If the companies get it into their minds to
reformulate one of them (stronger/weaker/cheaper……)
(sorry, Olympics, for re-tooling your motto) the person
may end up in the E.R. —-and not even know why!!!
Hey, AMA, we know all of your members can’t be
up to speed on thousands of meds (and changes to
many of them), but there needs to be some kind of
website where ordinary citizens can post the details of any prescribed-drug-related emergency situation, so that the doctors can start tracking and compiling this info!
Anniepanda51
I HAVE BEEN TAKING SYNTHROID FOR OVER 3 YEARS AND NOW THE DOCTORS HAVE ME ON ARMOUR THYROID. I AM GETTING THE SAME EFFECTS AS I HAD WITH THE SYNTHROID MEDICATION. I AM GAINING WEIGHT, TIRED ALL THE TIME, NO ENERGY, ABSENTMINDEDNESS, GLOOM FEELINGS, DRY AND ROUGH SKIN, CONSTIPATION, MUSCLE CRAMPS, CHRONIC FATIGUE, COLD, DEPRESSION. I AM A HEART PATIENT WENT THROUGH OPEN HEART SURGERY, STENTS, AND NOW WHEN I TAKE THE ARMOUR THYROID AS SYNTROID, MY HEART BEATS FASTER FOR AROUND TEN MINUTES. BUT NO ONE LISTENS. WHERE DO I GET SOME HELP. NO DOCTORS LISTEN AND I HAVE ALLERGIES TO MEDICATIONS, 2 PAGES, AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE. ALL THE DOCTORS CARE ABOUT IS MONEY.
UPDATE THIS INFORMATION!!!! Its almost a yr. old. Thank you
PLEASE UPDATE SITE. It has been almost a yr. Thank you