This page was originally written in 2009, and can be read for historical value as to what happened. But once again, Armour appears to have once again changed in 2015, which you can read about here.
*********
Once again, I just approved one more comment of someone who has had it with Armour, and is switching. On the new Armour, she states she has a return of her former hypo symptoms: hair loss, joint pain, fatigue, heart palpitations, low body temps are back, etc.
And you see it happening all over thyroid patient groups on the net. Many folks are done with Armour.
It’s too chalky. It tastes terrible. It doesn’t break into smaller pieces well anymore. It’s lost the ability to be done sublingually. And even worse, it has caused a return of symptoms.
In case you are wondering what this is all about, read the 40 current comments attached to the June 2nd post Trying the Newly Formulated Armour? Before that, you can read my May 7th post Why the party is over with Forest Pharmaceuticals and the current 37 comments. And especially powerful is the April 28th post Patients say PHOOEY to new Armour formulation and Forest Pharmaceuticals with a current 57 posts.
So what’s their next step?
Right now, doctors of patients on Armour on being asked for a prescription for Naturethroid. Many report it working wonderfully; some state they need a little more to be as optimal as Armour. A small minority aren’t sure about it yet. But overall, the majority are happy.
So let’s get an update of those who have switched: what product did you move to? Is the same amount giving you the same results? Did you have to more to a slightlyl higher amount, or lower amount? Was your pharmacy cooperative for a different brand? Did you have to explain to your pharmacy that Naturethroid can be drop-shipped directly to them?
P.S. Thyroid patient Cheryl emailed me and said she is sending the above posts about Armour’s problems to practically everyone on her email list, hoping they in turn will send it to their friends, and the word will get out. If you want to do the same, this post is the most updated, and includes the links to the former posts.
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Important notes: All the information on this website is copyrighted. STTM is an information-only site based on what many patients worldwide have reported in their treatment and wisdom over the years. This is not to be taken as personal medical advice, nor to replace a relationship with your doctor. By reading this information-only website, you take full responsibility for what you choose to do with this website's information or outcomes. See the Disclaimer and Terms of Use.
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121 Responses to “I am done with Armour, say a growing body of individuals”
Susana Mora
what is everyone on now? I’m still on Armour
Allison
I had the same experience on synthroid so I switched to armour. I split the pill in half and take it 12 hours apart. I’m also on 2 grains. It took some weeks for palpating to stop for me. I think my body was so lacking in t3 so it went a little crazy at first. I hope you found something to help you.
Janie Bowthorpe
Hi Allison. Just an FYI: going 12 hours between doses can mean a return of hypo before the second dose due to the short halflife of T3. Thus, we tend to do morning and early afternoon (or midafternoon at the latest). And though a small minority can be optimal on only 2 grains, most cannot. See what optimal is: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/optimal
ItsATeaPaaahty
I switched to Amour after years of instability in Levothyroxine. I am not up to 2 grain after years of begging many doctors for this medication but only recently did I find one that was willing to prescribe. I am feeling much better! I couldn’t get up in the morning and was checke for sleep apnea. This resolved on Armour. I also was exhausted and vey fatigued. The only problem is I am now in good range and have searing pain in legs and joints. I also get breathless, heat intolerance, and have palpitations. Also noticed I get agitated quickly. I don’t know what to do because I’ve had tremendous improvement but also have some bad reactions to the Armour. I would hate to stop the Armour but I don’t know what to do. I guess I will speak to my doctor about possible one and a half grain or alternating days of 2 grain and then one and a half. I’m open to suggestions and thank you in advance.
Janie Bowthorpe
It’s very rare for 2 grains to be optimal for anyone. Yes, we will feel better at too-low doses, but it will backfire. Optimal puts the free T3 at the top part of the range and the free T4 midrange. Both. But it’s important that you find out why you may be having those bad reactions. Read it all. Don’t skim. https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me
ItsATeaPaaahty
So do you mean I may need a higher dose? Even though I am having palpitations, heat intolerance, and irritable?
Janie Bowthorpe
Read the link I sent you. Especially #2.
DIMI MURRAY
Hi janie,
was diagnosed with hashimotos a few years back and was on levo. for the longest but never felt it made a difference to my hair loss, dry skin, weight gain, tiredness… recently switched to armour, and feel more refreshed in the morning (too soon to see if itll help the other stuff yet) but i googled to see if it was why i was peeing more lately and came across this site…. sounds now like maybe armour was a bad idea to switch to? can you help all so new to this but want to feel better. tired of losing hair! 🙁
Janie Bowthorpe
You can decide, but I wouldn’t touch any of the American made NDTs by themselves with a ten foot pole right now. They are simply not the quality, consistent NDT’s they used to be. On the other hand, you could add T3 to that Armour and get optimal, and see how you do. One gal did. https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/optimal
dimi
are there any alternatives to armour you suggest taking instead? (after consulting with my DR of course)
Janie Bowthorpe
None of the NDT’s are recommended anymore. You can look at Thyroid-S from Thailand–it still appears to work well. Or compounded NDT powder or the two synthetics. Just remember to get optimal: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/optimal
elsa martin
I seem to b allergic to all thyroid meds. I get rapid heart rate, red itchy eyes, constipation, tremours, nervousness, stomach problems, restlessness, fainting spells, swollen throat n belly, i rather deal with the symptoms when i dont take anything. As far as im concerned thyroid meds r dangerous n can kill u.
Janie Bowthorpe
Elsa, if it’s an allergy to pig, you would have the same symptoms if you eat bacon or ham, we think. If so, there are OTC bovine versions. And someone can be on both synthetic T4 and synthetic T3.
Cat
I’ve been taking Armour Thyroid for five years. My most recent labs are as follows:
TSH 0.04 (range .26-2.66)
FT3 0.9 (range .8-1.8)
FT4 4.0 (range 2.3-4.2)
My iron, vitamin D and sodium levels are in the lower end of the the acceptable range although much higher than my last labs when I had fallen off the chart. After those last labs my physician had me increase my armour to (4) .5 grain pills per day and had me add sodium, D and iron into my diet.
Here’s my problem though, I’ve felt like crap since well before my previous labs and after the last increase in Armour and my vitamins and minerals, I’ve felt even worse. Deep bone pain in my legs and feet with burning in my heels. I’m a 48 yr old woman who hobbles around like I’m ninety.
Is it the Armour causing the pain or is it something else? It’s hard to find any info regarding this. All the searches I’ve done either sound like reps from other drug companies trying to jade people’s opinion of Armour or it’s Armour advocates vehemently insisting that it can’t possibly be the Armour causing the problem. Has Armour changed again with the newest drug company? All I know, is that I want desperately to feel better.
Janie Bowthorpe
Cat, see the more recent post about the Armour issue: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/2015/09/19/armour-and-unhappy-thyroid-patients/
Ian Francis
I am struggling right now because I went off what I thought was a low dose of Armour thryoid, i.e. 30 mg. It was a situation of not realizing I was on my last refill and so I ran out. I phoned the doctor’s office on a Thursday and the office didn’t call in the script till the next Tuesday,30 pills with no refills this time (because I hadn’t seen the doctor in about a year, even though I made an appointment and couldn’t get in to see him they said till next April!).
So I was off it about a week and decided to reinstate and after a few days back on it boy do I have a terrible headache, and I can’t sleep. I also suffer from heimcrania continua (a migraine-like headache) as it is, but this made the headache so much worse. At least I think that’s what is making it worse. Also I can’t sleep which is the reason I am on this site at 4:54 AM. It’s terrible. I am hoping these exacerbated symptoms will subside in a few days, otherwise I am thinking of cutting the 30 mg. in half and re-introducing more gradually.
Has anyone here had a similar experience with Armour after being off it a week or so and reinstating it? Also I am interested in this adrenal exhaustion thing, because even though my body is exhausted, my mind cannot turn off and I cannot sleep since I reinstated the Armour a few days ago.
Thanks for any tips anyone can give.
Janie Bowthorpe
Ian, sorry you’ve having such frustrating issues after being off. Do know that 30 mg is half a starting dose, the latter from which we raise. Read the section about what we’ve learned here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101 But….if you have problems raising, reasons are here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me
Janet
My former doctor had me on Armour 120 mg daily. I developed palpitations, so my new PCP sent me to an endocrinologist. According to the endocrinologist, the “high dose” I was taking killed my thyroid. She based that on my tsh being less than 0.01. IS this possible? She severely lowered my dose and I thought I was going to die. I felt horrible. So she raised it to 105 mg/day.
Some symptoms have left, but I am so fatigued and depressed. I have recently started an iodine supplement and now have palpitations. My latest labs: tsh 0.55, T4 free 0.70. I cannot lose weight, my skin is dry and wrinkly, and I am wondering if I need to change brands? Could an iodine and coconut oil supplement be all that was needed? Did I really kill my thyroid?
Please help!
Janie Bowthorpe
No, our thyroid is not killed from having that low TSH. Typical stupid comment from an Endo. If you had palps on two grains, this could be your answer, i.e. low iron or cortisol: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me
Janet
Thank you. I called the endo today and asked about switching to Naturthroid. She told me she has no experience with that drug and that I may need to seek another endo. I live in the Kansas City area. Any advice?
Janie Bowthorpe
Use this: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/how-to-find-a-good-doc 🙂
Michelle
I started out on Synthroid and finally settled my dose to 100mg. My left ankle was swollen, felt bloated all the time, after a run it would take a lot longer than usual to “cool down” and could hardly hold my eyes open after dinner every night. Read a lot about this and switched to 60mg of Armour Thyroid. Felt great for about 2 weeks, ankle swelling went down but now at the end of week 3 my ankle is swollen again and I can feel the tiredness coming back. I am soon to have a blood test but wondered if there is anyway to get rid of the ankle swelling and tiredness that is creeping back up. Any help is appreciative!! This site has been so helpful!!
Janie Bowthorpe
Hi Michelle. The problem is that you aren’t supposed to stay on a starting dose like that without raising. Read this page and the section on dosing: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101
By the way, you are commenting on a blog post from 2009 when they had reformulated Armour and patients were now hating it. Armour did improve after that for a few years, but in 2015, some patients are reporting problems again: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/2015/09/19/armour-and-unhappy-thyroid-patients/
dmil144
hi Janie,
i have been reading some of the comment on the armour thyroid, had a thyroid ectomey march 2016, i was put on euthroxsig for 12 months, wasn’t feeling great mainly tied and angry, but seen my gp she put me on the armour thyroid, i was feeling great, for the first 11 months of taking it, now i am experiencing hot flushes, joint pain in my hips fingers and toes, and hypothyroid systems, brain fog, tiredness, headaches, cannot concentrate not sure if it the armour thyroid, i am on 70 mg, my doctor has prescribed eltroxin 50 mg which is a t4, my t3 was high 11.4 now its 6.04 still bit high, my doctor thinks i am going through peri menopause, now I have been reading about the armour thyroid, its a side effect, just wondering if i change and go back on the t4 only medication will this help me, as i want my life back
Janie Bowthorpe
Hi. It’s very rare that 70 mg of NDT is going to be optimal, thus the return of those symptoms. No, this is definitely not about going back to an inadequate treatment with T4-only. It’s about being optimal on NDT. See the green graphic on the following page to see what optimal is: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101 You probably never were!
Also, because you’ve been underdosing yourself for so long, you may now have an iron or cortisol issue that needs correcting. After you have looked at the green graphic on the above page, study this one: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/iron-and-cortisol
TL
I had to stop taking Armour because my body could not tolerate it anymore. Even at a dose of 60 mg for total thyroid hormone replacement, I had very bad hyper symptoms. Tremor, anxiety, weight loss, depression, shortness of breath, feeling faint, brain fog, episodes of high bp, and fast pulse. Back on Levoxyl and symptoms disappearing, and feeling a lot better!
Janie Bowthorpe
TL, that wasn’t because you couldn’t tolerate Armour, per se. It was about what the Armour was revealing i.e. you have either a cortisol problem and/or low iron! And being on Levoxyl is only going to make your iron and cortisol worse. Read this: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me
Doug
Thyroid NP by Acella is the best NDT out there right now in my opinion. Walgreens carries it.
Kristie H
I have been on Armour for 13 months. I am using 120mg. I am having a humming throughout my body kind of like I swallowed a neon light. I am trembling, tingling in my hands and feet, am hoarse in the mornings, itching on calves, neck stomach and tops of arms, times when I am hot and sweating and times when I’m cold. Pulse is in 80’s even laying in bed. I used to be in my 60’s. Basal is around 97.4-97.5.
I’m confused because some of my sx are hyper and some are hypo. Thyroid labs from two days ago are: TSH <0.01 T3 Free 4.45 (I had only held Armour for 8hrs when this blood was drawn) Free T4 1.0 I have Hashi's and am gluten free. I don't understand why I am feeling the way I do. Please help.
Janie Bowthorpe
Kristie, your answer is probably here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me i.e. sounds like you are pooling the T3 (you didn’t give ranges, but looks like it) plus have an adrenal problem which NDT reveals. Read that page. Then, join the FTPO Adrenals group listed under #2 here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others
Alyse
I have been tyrating Armour for about 2 months and I want to switch to Naturethyroid. Do I take the same amount I’m on with Armour? I am having severe stomach issues as I am increasing my dose.
Janie Bowthorpe
Alyse, patients have before found the two to be pretty close in effect. Not sure about your stomach issues….hopefully you have food in your stomach when you take NDT?
K smith
Hi I’ve been on 45 mg of Armor throyd for 2 years now. It seams like all of my at symptions are back. I’m sick of being on it. I really need to know how to taper off of it. Two days ago I went down to 30 mg, how long do I continue that for to eventually be off????
Janie Bowthorpe
K Smith, your problem is that you’ve been SEVERELY underdosing yourself for two years!! For most of us 60 mg is a starting dose (and you are less than that), and we go up by 1/2 every two weeks..and start slowing down the raises in the 2-3 grain area. It appears that most become optimal in the mid-to-upper two grains and higher fro some. I, Janie, am optimal on 4 grains right now. But it’s individual. Read this: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101
Carol
I started taking new prescription of 60mg. Of armor thyroid medication, after a week on it I had a feeling the skin on my legs and arms had been seriously sunburned, also my feet felt hot. Has anyone else had these symptoms.
Janie Bowthorpe
Carol, a few possibilities: 1) allergy to pig, i.e. you might have similar issues eating pork or bacon 2) allergy to one of the fillers. You can see them here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/armour-vs-other-brands If that’s the case, you can work with your doctor to get a different brand. 3) your metabolism was kicking in and showing itself in an odd way. https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101
Christine
It seems Forest did not go back to the original Armour formula, although there have been rumors about it here and in other forums. But I tried Armour recently, it tasted awful, was gritty and ineffective, so I guess all the rumors about a possible second reformulation (return to the original formula) were just wishful thinking?
Cindy
I have been on Armour Thyroid for about 12 years. About four years ago I went thru chemo and radiation for Hodgkins Lymphoma. They were also giving fairly high doses of Prednisone. After going through chemo I was 30 pounds heavier and had early onset of menopause! I have been fighting for the last 2 years or so with both my oncologist and primary care doctor telling them that my thyroid medication was not working. It wasn’t until I read your book and another call Hypothyroidism Type 2 that I realized that the suggested method by both doctors for dealing with (weight gain, fatigue, achiness, itchy eyes, dry skin, loss of interest in everything, etc.) my symptoms (“calories in calories out”) was bogus. No matter how little I ate over the following year or how much I exercised I couldn’t lose any weight in fact I gained weight! I am still I am fighting them. The oncologist is a lost cause the man could care less about anything but the Gold Standard.
I have energy in the morning from about 8 am to around 1pm and then I completely fizzle. I have to constantly self talk though to get interested in anything. I almost always take an afternoon nap. I usually do not sleep through the night and often wake up at 3 am because of a gnawing hunger-like stomach pain. Test upon test was done only to discover there is nothing wrong with my stomach or bowels.
My primary care physician is starting to listen. I went to the lab for a blood test this last Saturday morning. I did not take my Armour Thyroid (90 mg) med before going. The results were:
TSH 1.764 lab uses a range of (.400 – 5.00)
Free T3 2.5 (2.3 – 3.9)
Free T4 0.6 (0.6 – 1.2)
According to what I have found here on your site these results show TSH is towards the top of the scale recommended by the AACE which is 0.300 – 2.00, T3 is not towards the top of the range, and free T4 is at the bottom of the range. I have been telling her that I thought my thyroid med should be increased to 120 mg for about a year now. I was started at 90 mg Synthyroid when first diagnosed but had a terrible reaction to it. (hives, painful swellings in my mouth and throat). I was switched immediately to Armour at 90 mg and have been at 90 mg for 11 1/2 years. I was wondering if you can recommend to me how I convince the doctor to increase my Thyroid to 120 mg. and to change from Armour to the generic NP-Thyroid (which is available through the Fred Meyer pharmacy and at Walgreens in my area). My Thyroid condition is hereditary 3 of my mom’s sister take thyroid medication and my sister takes Levothyroxine my sister consistently test at .75 TSH. I don’t know if they test her free T3 or T4 or what those numbers are but the range her lab uses is in line with the AACE.
peggy rickard
I would like to know if I can have a sample of nature throid. I am tired of being tired. I want to help myself. No doctors I have had will consider seeking other treatment. I need to feel good as I have a sick child to care for.
shel
From Janie: the problem can easily be from being underdosed. One grain is a good starting dose but not to stay on without raising, causing a return of hypo, which for you can be that pain. Read this: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make And you will need to chew the newly reformulated Armour to break down the cellulose. Use patient groups for further feedback: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others)
I was recently diagnosed hypothyroid about 3 months ago and put on armour thyroid by my naturalpathetic doctor at 60mg/day. I was never on the old formula so do not have anything to compare the new formula to. After about 3 weeks of the armour, I started experiencing SEVERE neuropathy pain in both forearms and hands. I have NEVER had trouble with this before. I am a hand therapist so I know what irritated nerve sypmtoms are in the upper extremities. My pain has been excruciating for 8 weeks – to the point that I can barely care for myself and my children, my house, and work 3-4 days per week. I have had to completely stop working out, playing tennis and can barely handle going for a walk as it hurts to even gently extend and swing my arms- although I make myself go. I have to limit my driving and housework as it is most painful. I have been to the doctor several times and had bloodwork done to rule out arthritis/lupus/gout/lyme’s disease, etc… The only thing getting me thru this painful time is prednisone, hydrocodone, and 800mg IB profin 3x/day when not on prednisone. I also am getting therapy and using heat to help and praying alot. My pain has been up to a 10/10. I am so sick of having to take all of these meds.
The only thing I could think of that I changed was going off my estrodial patch after one year (per doctor request)and starting the armour at the same time. I asked my doctor and called several pharmacies who said it was not listed as a side effect of armour, so I kept taking it, but decided to go back on my estrodial patch for hormone replacement from my full hysterectomy (which may help reduce inflammation in the body). That did not reduce my pain (after 4weeks) so I decided to go back to the way things were before my severe arm pain started and that included stopping the armour. I have been off of it for 1 1/2 weeks and am still having alot of pain but slightly less. In my desperate state, I googled pain with armour thyroid use and came across many awesome articles and websites such as this and was ALARMED to read about all of the problems women are having since it was reformulated. As I read this, I realize that my extreme fatigue, fogginess (feeling like I could not remember anything and that I was losing it), dry skin and hair, moodiness, mild depression, and weight gain, etc… could be attributed to this drug. I chalked it all up to menopause, but now I realize that my symptoms did really worsen with this med. and I NEVER had neurpoathy pain before!!! I am SO FRUSTRATED that I have lost the ability to have a quality life when I am hurting 24/7 and trying to go day by day, get out of bed and function. I am praying that once the med. is out of my system (hopefully another few weeks), I will feel like new again. I pray that I do not have some permanent nerve damage. I actually have more energy since stopping armour than I did while on it.
Has anyone else experienced neuropathy pain out of the blue with the reform. version and if so, has it gotten any better and how long did it take before you got better? I need some hope!
I am going to try to stay off of any thyroid stuff for awhile and have my panel rechecked and discuss with my naturalpathetic doctor how to procede with some other natural choice. The info. on here has been very helpful as to some possible other choices.
Sorry for the long comment, but this is my first post and it feels good to get this off my chest as not many people understand what it is like to go thru this like many on this site more than likely do -due to their struggle. I wish you all the best on your journey to feeling well!
Shel
CJR
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2000. Hashimoto disease. Allergic to synthroid, than put on Levoxyl. Terrible symptoms: wt. gain, anxiety, depression, tremors, insomnia to say the least. Changed Dr.’s. started Armour 30 mg. this past June,2013. Felt good at 1st. Had bloodwork done, Dr. raised to 60 mg. Armour. Still felt ok. Than more bloodwork….. Raised me to 75mg. Armour. OMG…. Left foot/ joint pain started limping. Terrible headaches. Wt. gain weekly off the charts. Depressed. Ended up in ER….. They did spinal tap. Came back viral meningitis. Never been so sick before Armour. Despite my levels being what they consider ” normal” I was not. All other tests for the unexplained edema of feet/ ankles/ abdomen came back normal. I stopped the 75 mg. Armour, and started taking only 60 mg. I have excessive urination; body excreting build up of fluid retention. Dr. Wants me to stay on the 60 mg. and re-test levels in 6 weeks. My hair is thinning; falling out. Still have joint pain. Just feel sick. Armour is not the answer, and the other drugs have terrible side effects too. I am at the end of my wits. If I don’t get “fixed” ASAP I will loose my career as a Nurse, for I have been so ill since starting Armour, and off work. Researched all, and don’t know what I will be able to take. I am allergic to so many meds. Thank you for reading….. CR
Janie Bowthorpe
CR, so sorry to read what you have been through!! It must feel very frustrating. I’m betting your answer is here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me
Kim
I need help. I recently went on thyroid med. for the first time. My dr. prescribed 30 mg. Nature-throid. I feel like a zombie. I’m tired and having difficulty concentrating and driving, etc. I have a burning scalp and facial skin, irritated & dry eyes. Skin very dry. I don’t know if I should continue this dose and hope the zombie side effect subsides, decrease the dose, or try something else. Anyone had this experience with Nature-throid?
(From Janie: You are on this page: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make You will need to educate your doc that you need to be raising and raising again.)
willie b
I was sick for years until given armour in 08 was finaly healthy until about 6 months ago. I started having all my old symptoms again and life sucks. In the past 4 months i have had terrible pain under left ribs and bloated w loose stools had colonoscopy and stool samlpe both normal i feel as if i am poisened. I also have had chills every day for 4 months i dont know what else it could be.
Kay
My friend’s doctor just told her that Armour has reversed its reformulation and is going back to the way it used to be. The doctor is ready to write her a prescription for the new (old formulation) Armour. (She has been using Erfa Thyroid from Canada.)
Is this true? I can’t find a word about this development anywhere on the internet yet. The Forrest Pharmaceuticals website just addresses the shortage/dosages issue.
Brenda F. Fleming
After Armour was reformulated I starting gaining weight and my symptoms came back. I had to stop working out because my joints started hurting. I contacted the FDA and they responded that Synthetic T4 was identical to Armour (they listed several brands of Synthetic T4). They stated that they are protecting consumers and that the Doctor needs to test TSH and T4 to properly dose the patient to the defined ranges. Well I’ve been dealing with Endos for 10 years now and have 1/2 a thyroid a know a thing or two. It is unbelieveable how uneducated the FDA is. They are clearly big PHARMA. It’s obvious that they do not communicate to the patient population nor do they care to.
Karen
I want the original Armour back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Naturethroid is not working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is all a big scam and funny that it should reformulate when we have a change in government that is TRYING to look out for us nobody’s!!!
Diana
I had problems with the new Armour as well. I now take a generic version of Armour called Thiroyd. I have to say its fantastic. For the first time, I am no longer irritable. Believe me, with small children, its very helpful not being irritable. I purchased it online (you can google it)- its so much cheaper than Armour as well.
Barb
I noticed that there were hairs on my bathroom floor one day, which seemed very strange, as I have always had a good head of hair. Coincidentally, I was having trouble getting my Armour thyroid prescription filled. When I went online to find out what was causing the problem, I saw an article with a list of symptoms being caused by the reformulation of Armour and suddenly realized how many of them I had, including heart palpitations, weight gain and extreme tiredness, and hair loss. I also read about Nature-throid. I called my pharmacy to ask if they had Nature-throid and they said no. I called the local compounding pharmacy and they did have it, so I asked my doctor to change my prescription and was able to make the switch. I immediately regained energy. And the heart palpitations went away. My hair is still recovering.
I’m just glad there has been so much communication between hypothyroid sufferers, or else I wouldn’t have known what was happening.
Did Armour even test their reformulation first?
Nell
Hi all,
As with the majority of comments here I am outraged at the contempt Forest has shown it’s previously loyal customers.
I was bumbling along reasonably efficiently on an armour/T3 mix when the sky fell in. It only took 2 days on the new armour for all my symptoms to return so I opened the cupboard and found a discarded pack of thyroid-s. It hadn’t been as effective as armour so I’d bunged it away. It turned out to be a Godsend short term. I eventually decided I was still going downhill, albeit more slowly than with armour so I’m now on Westhroid. I have everything crossed that I will also find it to be even better than the old armour as lately I’ve spent quite a lot of my days sleeping and the rest of the time moaning and feeling mildly paranoid.
Jane
(From Janie: the below is not a problem with Naturethroid. You have either low ferritin http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ferritin and/or low cortisol http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info)
I want to put my two cents in regarding naturethroid. I first started on generic levothyroxine .05 mg or 50 mcg and within 3 days noticed I felt better and was not dragging and my brain fog went away. I stayed on this a month until my lab TSH showed 1.55 from previous of high of 3.8 when I felt bad. Since I prefer natural products over synthetic I switched to naturethroid 1/2 grain. Stayed on this for about 3 months and felt pretty good. I started sweating more than usual and had a few heart flutters/palpitations so decided I must be getting too high of a dosage. Started then on 1/4 grain. Still too much and was trying 1/4 every other day, still too much. Stopped completely because of the heart flutters because I didn’t want to hurt my body. I really wish naturethroid worked long term for me. I do think it is a medication very beneficial to some people with hypothyroidism. A patient does not lie. My son is on naturethroid 1.5 grains for the past few months with no symptoms. I just think we are all so individual and we have to try what works best for us. Since stopping naturethroid, for about a month I felt pretty good until after the month, symptoms of exhaustion returned. I am now trying Levoxyl and slowly feeling good again but do not know all the long term effects of the fillers/binders. That is a problem with all meds. I am not especially thrilled yet about any thyroid med so far but I know I need it to function. I think that perhaps naturethroid was too potent for me even at the lowest dose, maybe the active T3 in it. That said, my son is doing fine on it. There were benefits to naturethroid if I could tolerate it and that is increased sex drive and just overall feeling normal again. If it wasn’t for the heart flutters I would still take it, perhaps it made my body a bit hyperthyroid. For those of you who are confused, try different meds until something works for you. I was so confused about all the conflicting comments that I have come to believe that what works for one does not work for another. No one is lying, it is just their personal experience. Do what works for you!
jj
how long did it take the heart flutters to go away when you went off naturethroid…..same thing happened to me on it
Janie Bowthorpe
Heart flutters on NDT are often caused by what this article explains, patients report: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me
joan compton
My doc said to go to drugstore.com to order Nature-throid. They will fax the doc to get the prescription and send the stuff directly to you. I haven’t done it yet, so I don’t know about back order. Good luck, hang in there! J
Bethlee
First of all THANK YOU for the cotisol tip. I had cortisone at home and tried 10 mg’s and it helped me immensely. And I tried my Armour under my tongue which helped with getting such severe headaches. My problem is I can’t take very much of it or I get immense headaches, fast heartbeat, tremors and much more. I went to the doctor today 8-20-09… and got him to switch to Nature-throid and went to the pharmacy and was told ALL natural thyroid is backordered and no pharmacy had any. So checking the web RCL labs says maybe Nov. What do we do till Nov?? I am going to try Cananda next.
It is soooo hard to feel like crap and have tremors, plus these headaches plus trying to find a dr who thinks you don’t need a cortisol level or natural hormones. I have been hospitalized, seen 23 doctors and thought of suicide..which is saying something since I beat cancer. At 90 pounds I just didn’t think I could take much more pain. This site has given me back hope. You all are talking about what is happening to me. I am not alone. And that we can’t get proper treatment or medication is a CRIME!
Ian Francis
Bethee, I am so sorry for your situation. Do not give up. I am struggling right now because I went off what I thought was a low dose of armour thryoid, i.e. 30 mg. It was a situation of not realizing I was on my last refill and so I ran out. I phoned the doctor’s office on a Thursday and the office didn’t call in the script till the next Tuesday,30 pills with no refills this time (because I hadn’t seen the doctor in about a year, even though I made an appointment and couldn’t get in to see him they said till next April!).
So I was off it about a week and decided to reinstate and after a few days back on it boy do I have a terrible headache, and I can’t sleep. I also suffer from heimcrania continua (a migraine-like headache) as it is, but this made the headache so much worse. At least I think that’s what is making it worse. Also I can’t sleep which is the reason I am on this site at 4:54 AM. It’s terrible. I am hoping these exacerbated symptoms will subside in a few days, otherwise I am thinking of cutting the 30 mg. in half and re-introduce my gradually.
Has anyone here had a similar experience with armour after being off it a week or so and reinstating it? Also I am interested in this adrenal exhaustion thing, because even though my body is exhausted, my mind cannot turn off and I cannot sleep since I reinstated the armour a few days ago.
Thanks for any tips anyone can give.
joan compton
To Bethlee – Are you sure your cortisol is normal? Have you done the saliva test? A regular blood test or 24 hr. urine test won’t give you the correct result. J
joan compton
PS for Jodi – You can get 30mg tabs. and 15mg tabs. So you won’t have to cut them. I know this stuff is really hard to deal with. Sometimes I think I will never recover all of my energy, but I count every little bit of progress.
joan compton
My doc says his patients are still having success with the reformulated Armour, but it is important to take it 60 min. before eating, as opposed to the 30 min. that I was waiting. This info might be helpful to some. I was on 150mg of the Armour for a couple of years with no problem. Then my adrenals began to be fatigued though I didn’t know it at the time. That created a whole bunch of problems because my body could no longer handle the thyroid. I became hyperthyriod, had great anxiety, high blood pressure and pulse, shaking, couldn’t eat though I was hungry all the time, couldn’t sleep. Took awhile to realize that it was the weakened adrenals causing this.
jodi
I am at a loss. I had my thyroid taken out in January of this year, ’09 due to thyroid cancer. I was put on Levothyroxine, but have felt horrible, with all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. I was also diagnosed with Hashimotos disease. My endo. wouldn’t put my on Armour, so i went and found a doctor who would put me on the Armour. Well, I went to the pharmacy to get it, and of course like so many others are finding out, it is on back order. I am also worried about the reformulation that everybody is talking about. Is it even going to work for me. I don’t know what to do now. Should I just stay on the levothyroxine and add a T3 medication, or go ahead and take the Armour in which I have to cut one of my 60 pills in half to get my 90 that I was perscribed, which is hard to do because the pills just turn to dust. I need help. Thanks to anyone who has any answeres for me.
I just want to cry, I want to feel like myself again. I am also sure my husband and 5 kids would like the mood swings to go away.
From Janie: go to Naturethroid. Read blog posts below. Then join a patient group for support: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others
Bethlee
I am so grateful to find this site! I am also so confused! I was told my thyroid was on the low side so I was put on synthroid. I felt awful immediately. The doctors put me on then took me off. Then I lost all my hair. I bounced from dr to dr . I found out I had low ferratin, severe osteoporosis, low wbc, and I started having severe pain in my right side. Long story short they found bleeding ulcers, no measurable amount of B-6, empty sella, antibody to paretial cell and told me I had pernicious anemia. Once I started b-12 shots I felt better and my mind came back. I also went on Armour thyroid. Only I can’t take more than a tiny bit of it as immediately I get headaches, and my heart races to 100 resting. Cortisol is normal, T-4 is .7, t-3 is 2.8, tsh is 4.97. Can anyone tell me why I get sick when I try taking thyroid meds? I just got the doc to order Canadian thyroid but I’m afraid to take it . My heart will race and the headache is unbearable. But so is the aching joints, the itching, the no sleep, the constipation, the weight loss, the hair loss. If anyone can help me I’d appreciate it! Thanks so much!I am at the end of my rope, I feel so awful.
(From Janie: Read this page: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info because I doubt your cortisol is “normal”. You are experiencing classic symptoms of adrenal stress, whether too high or some getting too low. Then use this page to get feedback from patients: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others)
joan compton
Thanks for a wonderful website. I noticed the difference in the Armour after the last refill; the consistency and the taste. I feel like I am going downhill again. Always tired. But I’m not sure if I need more thyroid support or if it will take longer for the adrenal supplement to kick in. It is eye-opening to read about the formula change.I will talk to my Dr. about this.I am on Adaptacin, which has 300mg of bovine adrenal cortex, which seems like a lot. Anyone else taking that?
Jill T
I really appreciate this website!
I started feeling bad on Armour but since I didn’t know about the re-formulation I didn’t suspect it. My heart rate was through the roof plus other symptoms. I thought maybe I needed to reduce again as when I lose weight that often happens and I recently lost weight because I am on more of a raw food diet now. I was feeling the best ever a few weeks ago. I called the Drs office and while waiting for a return call I returned to this site and found the reason for my problems. Thank you so much!
Thanks to my wonderfully supportive Dr and staff my pharmacy has Naturethroid on order. The only thing I wonder about is she prescribed 16.25mg’s – 6/day and I was on 120mg of Armour. I had told her that I dropped to 90mg just that day hoping my heart rate would drop as it seemed dangerously high. I can try more per day but the more pills I take for more filler I take. I guess once I get stable on Naturethroid I can then ask for a different prescription. She did it this way so I can be flexible with the dose until I find the amount that works.
chris
I have had two good experiences with thyroid products in my life. The first was in 2002 when Dr. Jorge Flechas gave me compounded T3 – after a few days my mind was so clear I could not believe it. I also felt some remorse in realizing that that was how I was supposed to feel – but never did. I got some weird reaction from the DHEA – and doc told me to stop everything. And for many reason I didn’t speak to him – mostly being busy at work and he’s 6oo miles away. This March I started on Armor- and on only 1/4 grain I got the same feeling- I was amazed- but then it faded. I’ve never gotten it again. But those great experiences are what keep me going- because I now know what I can feel like. I just don’t understand why the feeling left. On the recent Armor I have felt nothing good – my Tsh was at 4 but is now 3.10, my free T3 is 298 and reverse t3 is 20. i live in NYC if you know a good doc. (From Janie: you need to read this http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make)
Vicki
I was just diaginosed with Hashimotos Friday. My TSH was 1.24 in February and the last two months has been 84-86 (yes, that high) My peroxidase test was over 1000, so the doctor says that indicates Hashi’s. My kidney function has also been off. I am normally very healthy but there is a family history of thyroid cancer in my family. My thyroid has been fluctuating for at least 20 years, was not treated, now I have a disease. I have gone through terrible stressors in my life the last 10 years, in part which includes a suicide in the family, the loss of my Mom and a divorce. I asked the doc to check my adrenals and she said they were “normal” but I have not actually seen the test results. I am losing faith in modern medicine and I am very frustrated with all the discrepancies of how to treat this disease and now the meds themselves.
Lisa
If you can stand to take the new Armour sublingually, is it still as effective? Thanks, Lisa
Ada
Reading everyones stories has been very helpful but I’m afraid I’m even more confused now :/…so I’m just gonna tell some of my tale and maybe it’ll get some feed back. I’m 28 and have been “ill” for over a year now. Prior to some diagnosis I was in perfect health, livin and lovin life, couldn’t have been happer, looked great, felt great etc. It all started with the itchy swollen eyes and lids. Like allergies. Then it snowballed from there. Oi! it’s been awful!. Digestive troubles which led me to believe I contracted a parasite and Candida. Started months of cleansing type stuff. Then the hairloss, brain fog, memory problems, skin problems, cold cold cold (it was winter). Got blood work done and all my hormones across the board were low. No real weight changes then or major fatigue but now that’s changed. I was then advised to start pregnenelone, progesterone cream, vit d, Candida diet, and armour thyroid 1/2 a pill. This was in april. Took only the armour and felt a little better. So I took it for a month n stopped. To make this long tale short, I started to have extreme fatigue and hairloss so I started armour again and I SWEAR that my fatigue, weakness, bloating, and the worse thing the weight gain (literally fat, cellulite gain) has gotten so much worse on this medication!!…I eat extremely well and excersise often. I’ve never been this fat or tired in my life..at 28?..it doesn’t make sense if I’m hypothyroid and on armour and getting worse?.!. I also take a adrenal glandular to support theadrenals. I’m so sad and confused. Do I ask to try thus naturethyroid?…(First read this: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info, the read this: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make because you are on there, then join a patient group for further discussion: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others)
Tiffany
I was put on Armour in 1979, 10 days after i was born. Had no problems with it, but due to a doctor’s insistence was switched in 1994 to Synthroid. immediately had problems, and tried Levoxyl and Cytomel for a few years as well, before going back to Armour. said i would stay on Armour for the rest of my life. well, today i started Naturethroid. Last month I got a refill and it was new Armour and had symptoms within 2 weeks. thank God i have a good doctor, when i went in last week he already knew about the re-formulation and recommended Naturethroid as an alternative. I am very nervous but hopeful that Naturethroid will work for me. I am very disappointed in Forest Lab. and plan to send them a letter letting them know of my switch. changing it after 30 years is ridiculous and they deserve to lose me to another medicine.
Sue Taylor
I agree with you Janet, that our bodies are our temples.
I was raised with that teaching.
Sue Taylor
P.S. I have bad adrenals too and it does complicate
the issue. But it’s definitely the Armor.
Sue Taylor
Michelle,
you’re not paranoid. They are.
They are afraid people will get well and they will have to find a new way to swindle.
It is a conspiracy. There. I said it.
You’re not alone or crazy. I support your belief
100%. Hope that helps.
Onward then.
Janet Smith
Love this site….thanks to friends for that! Talked to my Naturopathic doctor as soon as I heard about the Armour flak. I just started taking “BioThyro” made in New Zealand from cows. I take it first thing in the AM(capsule form) and again around 2PM. It contains: iodine,zinc, copper, manganese,selenium. Thyroid, n-Acetyl-Tyrosine, pituitary Anterior, Hypothalamus and Bioperin.Other ingred: Rice Flour, Silica, Gelatin.
I also take “Cortisol Manager” at bedtime. When I am having a very stressful time(ie taxes, etc) I often support with licorice tincture(helps support the adrenals).
My doctor is always researching my “subject”. But he had not heard of the Armour reformulation….again, THANKS so much to this site!
I am feeling more energized already on this new medication. I will keep you all posted on improvements! I have had a lousy Spring into summer with a swollen knee, extreme dry, itchy lower scalp and what I would term low-grade depression(ask my hubby!)
Anyhoo, I look forward to getting a “handle” on all this. Our bodies are our temples!
Good Health to all!
michelle schrieber
I have been having some difficult times. not knowing if it’s from my adrenal or possibly the new armour formula. while doing some research was on the armour websit and I found it interesting that forest labs also produces: armour, thyrlar(synthetic t3,t4.and evothiad(synthetic t4) could this possibly be a conflict of interest? could they be making these changes to negatively affect the armour product, so we all give up on it?then they can sell their other products.and to be reallly bizarre – this adverse reaction people are having just helps the drs. who don’t advocate for natural dessicrated thyroid to say” see it ‘s not stable,it doesn’t work,etc.” and force people back to synthitic thyroid replacement.this may sound absurd to some ,but i believe it is a conspiracy-especially after finding out forest manufactures synthetic thyyroid hormones.I know i sound paranoid,but just seems very weird to me.just some food for thought?
SherleyC.
Hello!!! I am so happy to find you and this website! I am 31, had my first child in 2007. Last year had tingling on my shin/leg and got some blood tests done. No one from the doctor’s office called me back so I figured there was nothing to worry about. I have been feeling extremely tired lately, bed ridden. My whole family thinks I am lazy but I know I have migranes and dizzy as If I am hung over from partying. I sleep 10-12hrs per day, can only fall asleep late at night and when I wake up my face is swollen, my eyelids. I have to nap all the time. My period is a week early every time and only lasts 2-3 days. I feel bloated. So I went back to the doctor. He read my last year’s blood results and my TSH was (exactly 1 hr ago) 12.5 which is very high. He ordered more blood tests and will put me on meds on Tues, he said Synthroid. Thanks so finding your website I will as for Nature-throid. I initally found outabout Armor but not I see it;s been reformulated, thanks so much for this info. I will be here a while
Cheers
Judy
I have been on NatureThroid for a week now. It is very much like the “new” Armour, as far as trying to dissolve sublingually (it doesn’t), so I just swallow them (not thrilled about that, though…don’t really want to have to process through my liver and be concerned about what and when I eat). I am taking the same number of pills, although each NatureThroid pill is a (slightly) higher dose. My doctor said to start with 3 and 1/2 pills, then raise to 4. I am figuring that I will “lose” some of the “extra” dosage in the digestive process… I really haven’t noticed any changes in my basal temps or hair loss yet, but I think it’s too early to tell. I’ll keep you posted!
Judy
Karen
I have been on Naturethroid for exactly 2 weeks now. I am still really tired and needing a nap everyday. Those of you who are now taking Naturethroid and used to be on the Armour before the reformulation – are you on a larger dose of Naturethroid than you were on the original Armour?
I have felt a little better, but overall, not a lot when comparing to how I felt on the reformulated Armour, which was really awful. Before the reformulation, I felt great, had lots of energy, and was getting lots of things done.
Now I drag myself through the day.
Sara
Hey everyone. . . question. . . since I just started taking Armour last month. . . I’m not sure if I’m taking the old or the new. I’m assuming it’s the new. It is a really small beige round pill that you swallow. Is this the new version? (Each pill is 30 mg.) I’m feeling quite a lot better and am not having any bad side effects. But. . . I didn’t “switch” to notice any side effects.
Thanks!
Sara
kendra
Oh I forgot! surprise surprise
CAN YOU TAKE NATURE THROID SUBLINGUALLY?
ARE PEOPLE HAVING ADVERSE EFFECTS FROM ARMOUR
HAD THEY BEEN TAKING IT SUBLINGUALLY?
kendra
Yup, same ole same ole here, hair loss, scalp rash, weight gain despite very healthy diet and excersize, fatigue, and in the last 2 days, headached, bad muscle aches, intolerance to cold, chest pain. irritable,
got a blood test today and thought Id try swallowing it instead to see if it helped it dissovle, now I think Ill just switch, feels like my body is working so hard and loseing! I cant believe the FDA and Forest, what kind of tests did they do before they released this new formulation? I did talk to a woman at Forest Labs today and had a good expereince. so call them
Best
K
Amy
Just an update on my partner’s experience with Erfa’s thyroid (from Canada). She was doing really well on 3 grains of the old armour, then went majorly downhill on the new formulation. She’s been on ‘thyroid’ by Erfa for nearly two weeks now, and things are improving again. It can be taken sublingually just like the old Armour and her symptoms are starting to go away again.
Erfa might be worth considering for people in Australia, as it wasn’t too hard to get directly through the company (your doctor needs to fax their form and a prescription to them, then you just pay and they post it). Much cheaper than Armour and naturethroid in Australia too.
Lisa Robinette
I honestly think that if a thorough investigation was done, we would find that there is NO thyroid at all in the reformulation…I think we’ve all been duped and are taking empty fillers. I have felt so awful for the last couple months….have had arthritic carpal tunnel symptoms return, horrible anxiety and panic attacks, heart palpitations, and a much lower body temperature…AGAIN…after having all that stuff relatively under control. I started taking Naturethroid a week ago and already feel so much better…my energy is returning and I’m feeling some relief. No more Armour for me!
Ingrid
I LOVE this site! I was looking around trying to figure out why I am losing unbelievable amounts of hair. I thought I would try Iodoral and a ferritin supplement again to see if it could help. Then I found all this info on the new Armour (thought it was me who might be confused about it being different but had noticed). Will use my back stock of old Armour until I can get to the endo again for a scrip for Naturethroid or Thyroid. Thank you. This site has been invaluable on the path towards taking my health back and getting better.
Liza C.
I started Naturethroid about two weeks ago (after being on Armour for 3 years) and I feel great already. Since the reformulation I was noticing very odd symptoms, including erratic body temps.
And the Naturethroid seems to work better than the old Armour (and I was an Armour advocate because of STTM). On Naturethroid my symptoms and body temps are already much more stable! And the terrible mood swings I always get on Day 19 of my cycle didn’t happen, which was an absolute miracle. I am not sure if this is entirely related to Naturethroid but it seems significant. Overall I feel more stable.
But I am having to coordinate with the Pharmacy & Supplier to get my next refill for Naturethroid. But I gave the pharmacist the phone for RLC labs and sat there while they called to coordinate. Stay on top of it (like everyone here says) and you will succeed.
Marty G
I am still using the Armour, but having more digestive problems, which began before I was orginaly put on the Armour in ’99. I have Hashi’s and have just begun using LDN to see if that will help with the autoimmune (I also have celiac).
I have tried compounded T-4 and Cytomel (which I cannot seem to tolerate) and also Thyrolar (lactose gave me frequent, loose bowels).
It seems that Naturethroid has some lactose in it and I am concerned to try it. Does it seem to make any difference if the Armour is swallowed? Can the Naturethroid be taken sublingually or does that need to be swallowed.
Thanks for your help.
Marty
Aim
Hi! Love the website, have been an avid reader for a few years now. I’m having the same problem with Armour. I’m seeing my doctor tomorrow who has already suggested switching me to Naturethroid. I just have a few questions for those of you who have already switched…
1.) Are you able to take it sublingually?
2.) If so, are there any “tricks” to taking it sublingually?
3.) If not, is it still effective taking it via stomach?
Like other readers have suggested, I feel the same about Naturethroid and the FDA. As more and more people switch to Naturethroid, the FDA will probably pressure them to “reformulate” as well!!! It’s really sad that the people running things care more about their bottomline than the actual health of patients!
Gail
Well, does not hit me as “sweet” at all. Did the old stuff dissolve quickly – this didn’t seem to want to dissolve, just sitting on my tonque – not even getting sort of mushy. (New Armour_)
Janie = which site can I post test results to get some feedback? (www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others)
Gail
I can’t find when Armour was actually reformulated. Every site I find says “spring 09”. My bottle was filled in March – wondering if I have the old stuff – it smells pretty bad still 🙂 – and I don’t take it sublingually so I don’t know (but may try it that way tomorrow just to see!)
I do know that I have gone from .05 to 8.0 TSH and Ft3 way low. Guess I’m changing meds…
(from Janie: taste it. If it has a sweet taste, it’s the old Armour. If not, I’d switch, too.)
Debbie
I loved Armour. I’d been on it for a year and was just starting to feel myself again after 4-5 years of incompetent doctors. Then Forest switched Armour’s formula. At first, I didn’t realize what was happening. I didn’t know if it was a problem with my adrenals (another problem I’ve been treating) or vitamin/mineral deficiencies (also being treated for them). I couldn’t figure out why any of that would be happening because I had been feeling so well. My hair fell out. I became incredibly depressed. I was constipated for weeks and in serious pain from it. My hair and skin became very, very dry. My fingernails got ridges. Pain from inflamed joints returned. I gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks after having just lost 10. The worst was losing my hair, I think, and the heart palpitations and tachycardia and high blood sugars. I’m a Type 1 diabetic and have been so for more than 50 years (with no complications). My glucose became out of control. I questioned the strength of the insulin. I bought new insulin. I started eating much, much less carbohydrates. Nothing worked. I had to increse my insulin a tremendous amount and it still didn’t help. Then I read about the change in Armour’s formula. Suddently, it all made sense. I switched to Nature-throid. My blood sugars returned to normal within a day or two !!! My hair stopped falling out and the depression disappeared. Forest put cellulose in Armour. I couldn’t take it sublingually anymore. People with thyroid problems often have digestion problems, too, so why would Forest put something into their medication which would require us to swallow it, thereby forcing us to try to digest it? And then that substance they put into Armour is cellulose, WHICH HUMANS CANNOT DIGEST !!!
Buy Nature-throid. I’m so glad that I read of other people’s success here taking that medication. I just hope it doesn’t become scarce due to so many people switching to it now.
Teresa
I have been playing the merry-go-round game of thyroid treatment and medicine with doctors for over a decade. I even tried armour several years ago but I believe now I wasn’t given enough. I had been thinking about trying it again and I saw these notes on the change of formular. I am soooo angry about how the pharm. companies and FDA control the drugs! I am so sick of the emotional abuse we have to take from the MD’s. If we treated our children like the MDs treat us emotionally, we would be arrested for child abuse. Even when I have insurance coverage for a naturapathic doctor the ones in the HMO programs are jokes. One of mine just helped you only on female hormones and did very little to help you otherwise. The other turned out to be a chiropractor that had a small, cramped room (you could barely walk around in) with shelves packed with intestinal and liver cleansing powder and they called him a naturopathic doctor! He would talk to you inbetween (while running back and forth) seeing his chiropathic patients. Also they and other HMOs have been known to refuse to pay for lab testing. We do not have a choice in which we may choose alternative healthcare when they won’t pay for the testing! What can we really do to make a change and especially when we can barely function to raise our families and work to put food on the table. Then if we want a test done by a naturopathic, we have to pay for it along with having to pay for our horribly expensive HMO fees. If George Washington was alive on this sad day, he would shrivel up and vomit if he saw what our county has come to after he literally sacrificed his life so we wouldn’t be controlled by tyrants. After retiring from the military, and presidency (which he never wanted to do in the first place!) he had a total of two years of retirement and then died.
Sara
I just started taking Armour in June. . .first at 30 mg and noticed no difference. My doctor, who is a mixture of holistic and “real” medicine, increased my dose to 60 mg. I have had a terrific boost of energy on this, although my heart has been racing a bit. Does anyone out there know if this is something that I will get used to . . or indicates that I’m on too high of a dose? After about 8 years of having issues with depression and terrible fatigue, I finally found a doctor who recognized that low “normal” Throid lab results are often not “normal” for people and can require thyroid therapy. I am hopeful that this will help, but I’m a bit freaked out by all of the discussion of people moving away from Armour . . since I just started it!
Judy
I have been on Armour for almost two years. After using the newly formulated Armour since the beginning of June, I noticed hair falling out (like it had years ago when I was on Synthoid). Thought the hair loss was strange, since I had found my optimal dose of Armour May this year and had felt great. I HAD noticed the weird texture of the new pills when taken subligually, but didn’t think much of it. It finally dawned on me to check my basal temp, and, sure enough, I was an entire degree on the low side!
Thank you, Janie, for bringing this to my attention through your Facebook page! I immediately called my (real!) doctor. His office was shocked when I told them that cornstarch had been added to Armour as a filler. This doctor is continually educating himself, and I have no doubt he researched what I had said. He then changed my prescription to NatureThroid. I just picked it up today, and am looking forward to some improvement! I will post again if/when I notice a difference.
Thanks again! We ALL need to stick together to get the medical care we deserve!
Judy
Theresa
Hi Sandra,
It is a drug with a DIN number, available only by prescription. It is relatively inexpensive (my latest refill of 500 tablets cost $39.47, and my co-pay is $10.00). I’m sure Ontario and New Brunswick have similar prices and coverages. Good luck,
Theresa
Karen
I just filed a complaint at: http://www.consumeraffairs.com. Those of us who have been so negatively impacted by Forest Labs and the change they made to Armour thyroid need to let it be known. Go to that website. There is a red button on the top right side that says “Complaint Button”.
Sandra
Hey Theresa,
Thanks for your taking the time to reply. I will do as you suggested el pronto and I am very hopeful. I still have to read all the info on this site but I am currently in a bit of a state of anger and shock over what has happened to me.
Just wondering if it is expensive and is it covered as a regular medical drug or is it a natural therapy. I don’t have coverage for natural therapy products.
Have a glorious day!!
Sandra
Gayle
After much debate I finally talked my Dr. into switching me to Armour today- just to find out about the new formulation. Someone said in another post that the FDA got on Forest. I don’t know why that would happen since Big Pharma owns the FDA, anyway. But I did read up a little bit on Forest Pharmaceuticals and it’s CEO, and (surprise!)they are the owners of Paxil, Prozac,Celexa, and Lexipro to name a few.Prozac (Fluoxetine), in fact, is largely composed of Fluoride, which is known to b extremely injurious to the thyroid as well as being almost as effective as a placebo in dealing with depression. How could Prozac help depression when fluoride helps create it by destroying the thyroid.I don’t know why this company would choose to “reformulate”a product as effective and in demand as Armour, unless they’re looking to bolster the old bottom line yet a little more. It’s – well, it’s depressing!
Theresa
To Sandra,
In Canada we are fortunate to have access to dessicated thyroid (simply called “Thyroid”) from Erfa Pharmacueticals. Check around your area pharmacies, you may have to try several before you find one which carries it. They should be able to tell you who prescribes it. Google “Erfa” for more information. I have been taking it for almost three years, and even though I started with a very low dose, within days I felt a zing of energy from the T3. Of course, when my T4 levels fell, I crashed and burned. But since increasing gradually over about a 2 year period, I now feel fairly optimized on 240 mg’s per day, divided into 3 separate doses (I take them 1/2 to 1 hour before breakfast, lunch and supper).
Good luck,
Theresa
Sandra
Holy Smokes,
I have been directed to this site from a lovely friend as we are members of a thyroid cancer group. I have no thyroid since ’94 and have experienced severe symptoms the last couple of years but good ol doc says everything’s fine on my .15 level of levothyroxine !! I used to be a natural bodybuider, 6 days a week, 2 hours at a time, hey I could bicep curl 80lbs and I weighed 115lbs, run 5 miles every day and today, well I’m lucky if I walk 4 times a week for 30 minutes on a flat surface, plagued with food sensitivities,adrenal fatigue..
Thanks for the words of such strong and incredible woman. I will now maybe get my life back once I can locate someone to help me. Anyone know a good doc in the GTA of Toronto Ontario who will get me some Naturethroid??
Sandra
Karen
Boy, I am so glad I found this site! I have been on Armour for a few years now. Someone had told me that I should take the pills sl – one in the morning, one around noon, which I have been faithfully doing. I got the 60mg strength and cut it in 1/2, because it was more economical like that.
I just re-filled my prescription, and at first thought I had gotten a wrong one – my pills did not split easily anymore, the pill fragments themselves tasted like chalk and did not really dissolve, and the characteristic pig-smell was not there.
So, I just got off the phone with Forest Pharmaceuticals (if you go to google and type in Armour Thyroid, their site comes up, and there is a contact button, where you can either call or email them).
Well, their complaint dept. ‘lady’ was more of a b*tch than a lady – she basically told me to shove it.
She said the pills are not scored, so they are not supposed to be cut, and also that it says to swallow the pills whole, not to take them sl. Then she slammed the phone on me.
At least now I know there are alternatives available out there, and I will see what I can do to get hold of either one of those!
Thanks for a great site – I will have to start reading up! 😉
dawn
This is addressing Paul and his ridiculous comment. While you want to call us foolish for seeking the best possible treatment, you are showing your COMPLETE IGNORANCE regarding thyroid disease.
This disease is NOT brought on or cured by lifestyle and it’s regard to exercise, diet, elimination, stress or one’s spiritual state. Had you done your homework, you would know this. You should be completely embarrassed for opening your mouth on this forum and posting such a STUPID comment!
I’ll use my own situation as an example for you, listen up you might learn something. My thyroid disease is autoimmune and hereditary. SEVERAL generations in my family have suffered with this disease and presently I have more than a dozen female first and second cousins suffering with thyroid disease. My particular struggle began in the early 1980’s and no amount of proper diet, trips to see the homeopath, exercise, stress reducing regimes or spiritual pursuit has made any difference. Oh and by the way, the 20+ years of spiritual pursuit did lead me to become an ordained minister, but even then the thyroid issue did not disappear.
In fact it got worse. I ended up with a baseball size goiter that was intra-thoracic. In case you don’t know what that means, this huge diseased thyroid was IN my chest, up against my aorta, in the process of collapsing my trachea. The other half, smaller ONLY the size of a lemon was still in my neck and it was collapsing my esophagus and just made it so I couldn’t swallow, not a big deal, right?
Now you tell me how your “methods” are going to cure something like this? EVERYTHING you mentioned I had been doing for MANY years! It didn’t work and it’s not going to work for people with thyroid disease. If you have had any education at all, you should know this.
You and your kind are doing a HUGE disservice to others by negating and minimizing their work to find the right treatment. No one I’ve ever know with thyroid disease is looking for a “magic bullet”! What a supremely stupid thing for you to say. What we are looking for, are good treatment options, that will help us survive and live as close to a normal life as can be. Key on the right words here Paul…”survive” and “close to”. No one is looking for magic!
In my case I HAD to have a total thyroidectomy, if I didn’t the goiter would have eventually compromised so many vital structures I may not have survived. And…it was a complicated surgery, requiring a vertical break and a horizontal break to my sternum, just to get it out. Don’t you dare try to tell me this was brought on or could be cured by lifestyle, pleeeassseee… you can’t be that much of an idiot!
I completely and totally resent you coming into this forum spouting your nonsense about “lifestyle”. It’s people like you that give a bad name to your profession. Until you’ve walked in my shoes, done your research and learned some manners, don’t try to speak to me about my disease, you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. You are only making yourself look like a pathetic, ridiculous, ignorant, self-serving, self-righteous fool! I’m in agreement with “S”, sit down and SHUT UP!
Maria
I am really pleased I started reading up about Armour. I was about to go and beg, cajole, hold doctor’s children for ransom to get some. Here in Australia it is next to impossible to get it in the first place. Doctor’s poo-pooh ‘that American rubbish!’ So, I am now leaning toward Naturethroid. I finally convinced my doctor to do a Reverse T3 test. (He had no idea what it was or did, he is a nice guy but a little uneducated, like most here!) All my symptoms have been getting hypo-er each day (is that a word!?) But of course, it’s always take more T4, excersise more, rah rah rah…But I know my body the best and I am kicking some butts here (nicely of course!)
So, thank you guys for filling me in on the now changed Armour and how it affects you. If I did get it, and stayed hypo I would have looked like a right twit in front of the doctors, after all my carrying on. about needing T3 supplement. No doubt I would have been branded ‘Hyperchondriac!’
Also makes no sense to me why we who have had TT’s are given only T4 meds in the first place…
Keep up the good work Janie!
Laurie
When I got sick last summer, I had completed a marathon & was training for a second one. Since then, I have gained at least twenty pounds, I have been asked if I am pregnant and I am sleeping my life away. I don’t eat gluten, dairy or soy, I push myself to run when I can muster up the energy and I was about to switch from Synthroid to Armour. Now I see that I may have to find another option. I am so happy I found this site.
So Paul, pre-disease I would have had the energy to kick your behind myself, now I’d have to rely on a magic bullet…..
Yvonne
I am so sick and I have been going in for all kinds of tests lately. If Forest Pharmaceuticals would have told all of us Armour Thyroid patients they reformulated Armour, perhaps we would have looked to side effects of the reformulation rather than my regular doctor having me see a bunch of specialists. My endocrinologist told me months ago I was just stressed when I felt absolutely horrible and was so groggy. I fell asleep in the exam room waiting for him and he saw nothing wrong with that. I am soooo exhausted and my hair will not grow. Hmmmm….who is the scoundrel??? I’ll bet it’s that Armour thyroid. I could just scream. I have been so groggy and have been having tons of headaches and have missed so much work because I am too groggy to drive 30 miles into work. I think we all should start looking into a class action lawsuit for the quality of our lives going down the toilet when most of us were probably regulated pre-reformulation. I just left a message on their drug safety line saying how disgusted I am with them. I would not have known about the reformulation if it were not for a co-worker who is also hypothyroid telling me yesterday what was going on. I thought they were my angels when I couldn’t tolerate Synthroid but now they are the devil.
Deborah
Started out on Synthroid around 1993, switched to Armour around 2003. My levels have been all over the charts–TSH from .066 – 3.60. I don’t feel good if it’s too low or too high–I want balance. Since the reformulation I’ve been VERY fatigued, had some heart palpitations, and some other issues. My doctor is open to Nature-throid but wants me to try Synthroid again “because there is more research to back up that medicine.” [Been reading Dr. Diana Schwarzbein’s book that says although Armour is a natural hormone it is the wrong composition for humans.] If my numbers don’t show improvement she’s willing to switch it up. Am I nuts to consider Synthroid? I have a friend who got totally messed up using Armour and now feels great on Synthroid. I am so confused–and scared.
(from Janie: patients whose lives have completely changed thanks to desiccated thyroid would strongly disagree with Schwarzbein. And desiccated thyroid does not mess anyone up. Other unrecognized and untreated issues mess people up. Naturethroid is being chosen by many now. Read this page: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make)
Amy
My partner was on the old Armour, and finally after years of feeling horrible had started to feel better on 3 grains. Not perfect, but getting there. They changed the formula, and like many others she started going downhill with all symptoms returning. She tried compounded dessicated thyroid (in Australia), but because they’re only in capsule form, they didn’t work (she was taking Armour sublingually). Also tried crushing the new armour and taking it sublingually with a little bit of sugar. Nothing seemed to be working. We decided to order a Canadian dessicated product called Thyroid by Erfa. It’s only been a day, but so far it dissolves perfectly sublingually (like the old Armour). Fingers crossed. Will post results when it’s been a bit longer. If this doesn’t work we’ll probably try Nature-throid.
And to the guy who said that exercise, nutrition etc can cure hypothyroidism, he has no idea and obviously hasn’t lived through this, or been close to anybody who has. When my partner began to get sick, she’d been exercising at the gym 5 days a week, playing sport and eating healthily. If your thyroid isn’t working, no amount of healthy living will fix it, in my opinion.
Karen
I was on synthroid (or the T4 generics as far as I know)for 8 years (since July 2000). I am in the pathetic military medical system(government run medicine is NOT GOOD). My TSH was at 15.9 in July 2000 when they finally put me on thyroid replacement hormone. (It took 10 years from when my TSH had already been too high for them to start me on the meds). Since then, my TSH lab results ranged from 3.08 – 9.6 while on T4 and whichever provider I saw (it is almost impossible to see the same one more than 2 visits, as they move all the time) never showed any concern for me and all the symptoms and problems I was having, but they were happy to write prescriptions for anti-depressants (5 different ones in all) and then lectured me when I told them I wasn’t taking them, due to side effects. They were also on my case about my high LDL cholesterol,yet my diet and exercise program are actually good. Never did they test my T3. I started self -educating and last summer finally got a civilian (not military, yeah!) doctor to finally let me try Armour thyroid. I felt wonderful, and got my life back, for the first time in years. Now Forest Labs changed the formulation and for the past 2 months, my hypo symptoms have come back, worse than I have ever had them in my life. It is back to square 1, if I can get out of bed or off the couch long enough to attempt this whole mess again, as I found out the civilian doctor I saw last summer moved away.
Glee
I will tell you why Forest Pharm. had to change the formula. They were getting heat from the FDA. Armour was helping too many people at a lot cheaper cost for the consumer. Why…WHy….I just found something that was helping me. Now I am going to have to start over??? Please give me some guidance here folks. What a conspiracy….the drug companys of the world. This is so wrong and the docs and endo’s against the use of Armour are high fiveing each other because of it.
Theresa
This is in response to comment by Paul Blake, ND
Here we go again! One more expert telling us that it’s our own fault we’re sick! As someone who’s thyroid was DESTROYED by autoimmune thyroid disease (Grave’s Disease and Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Thyroiditis – I was first diagnosed in my 20’s!), I find it distasteful that someone would use a patient support website to berate those very patients whom, I assume, he’s trying to recruit for his practice! What is one to do when one has no functioning thyroid gland? Believe me, I have tried many, many alternative therapies, and not one will revive a dead thyroid, or replace those missing hormones! I suppose you would deny Type-1 diabetics their insulin! Stress reduction, nutrition, exercise (very difficult with no thyroid hormones, by the way), and spirituality are all beneficial adjuncts to any treatment protocol, but to suggest that they can replace life-giving thyroid hormones is just irresponsible! Nobody here claims to be cured from hypothyroidism by the use of natural desiccated thyroid hormones, but replacing those thyroid hormones is the only effective treatment for hypothyroidism! There is a difference. Porcine thyroid has been available and used effectively for around 100 years, with no side effects at the correct dosages. Please do not ridicule those of us who have found an alternative to the synthetics marketed by big pharma! My daughter is a pharmacist (winner of two national awards) and was not taught about natural thyroid hormones in pharmacy school. It is up to us, as patients, to find answers, hence the popularity of this website and others like it. It seems to me that some overzealous practitioners can see no farther than the noses on their faces, and credit themselves with omniscient powers to diagnose, and advise everyone on the planet. Please leave those of us who are doing the best we can to treat our verifiable illnesses with the best possible therapy, rather than spouting your self-serving ideology at us. We know why we suffer, we know how to treat it. Frankly, this is just one more stressor in our already difficult lives!
yvette
i am having a lot of problems on the new armour thyroid..i hate forest for changing the drug. this affects so many people. i am a pharmacist and i still have a hard time getting good treatment. i called forest to see what is going on with the new drug. they haven’t returned my call. my hypothyroid symptoms have escalated.
S
Mary, I’m pretty sick of people trying to derail us from being adequately treated, too. It is even more disconcerting when the people doing this are supposed to be on our “team”- people who are supposed to believe in natural treatments and supplementation. Just a few days ago, I called a compounding pharmacist and asked him if he knew any doctors who prescribe Naturethroid. Instead of giving me a name or two, the guy tried selling me on his OWN treatments- treatments which included the purchasing of OTC thyroid supplements with questionable potency. It was obvious that he’d get a chunk of the profits if he sold them. It was sickening. But I’m only writing this to say the following to anyone who might still be reading: no one is going to care about your health more than you do.
mary
I hate it when people say that I am one stress reduction program away from feeling well. I eat very well, pray, destress, take time for myself, eliminate fine, and still need natural thyroid medication to keep from feeling like a walking corpse. Armour or Nature thyroid aren’t pills dreamed up in some evil lab, they are just identical substances to the hormones most people’s bodies make naturally. I don’t know why Forest had to change the formula that was working for patients.
S
Paul, I think it is ironic (and hilarious) that you call all of us “foolish” for KNOWING that there is a porcine-based medication out there that can eliminate our symptoms. Why? Well, because you claim that it’s part of “money-making scheme.” Yet, here you are, touting your “credentials” and personal website in the comments section of a blog post dedicated to articulating patients’ dissatisfaction with a particular treatment. One that is, I might add, a major competitor to your own, “natural” treatment regimes. Clearly you are attempting to make money by attempting to garner more “clients.” Your presence here is exactly the type of “greedy ploy” that you supposedly rail against in your post. Now sit down and let the grown-ups talk.
Samantha
Our local Walmart pharmacy says they can only get the 1 grain size of the Naturethroid in, and it is not possible for them to get any of the other sizes because their supplier doesnt have it listed. The local Safeway pharmacy and one local compounding pharmacy are both saying the same thing. They are not acting like it is even worth it for them to take any steps to try at this point. Fortunately another local compounding pharmacy (Belmar pharmacy in CO) says that they can order it in without any trouble.
Beverly
I am going to try desecrated thyroid; I’ve been on synthroid for years, but my GP is open to let me try the other (I just discovered this site and didn’t realize there was another option). The GP mentioned Armour’s, but given all this, I see Naturethroid…. are there others?
Paul Blake ND
It is part of the foolish search for the magic bullet that will cure your disease. Why do I say it is foolish? Well look who has done the most research for magic bullets: modern medicine. Modern medicine has not discovered a cure for anything in more then 55 years. Like any drug, Armour is a treatment so the person can continue a poor lifestyle. Anyone in naturopathic and homeopathic medicine should take a lesson from this. The promise of a magic bullet has always been a greedy ploy to make money off the sick. To cure any disease takes hard work on the 5 major areas of the lifestyle of the person: diet, elimination, exercise, stress and spiritually. Depending on the person, one of them is the main trigger for their disease. To cure their disease all of them must be worked on simultaneously. Paul
Ruth
I absolutely agree.
Instead of thyroid meds I am taking selenium and calcium-zinc-magnesium combo; exercise, my spiritual groups and other support.
It has been a long road discovering what right for me, but I feel like a million dollars and am totally prescription medicine free.
we all need to see that there is no magic pill, because it will backfire on you like it did for me.
Deana
hi ruth. I have been on armour thyroid for only one month and I have lost so much hair. it is making me so emotional and irritable. I have decided to stop taking it and try natural methods. I’ve been reading dr. axe and he has a special diet and supplements. I can’t take all the crazy side effects that come from this. I would much rather be med free than have to be on something for the rest of my life.
what kind of side effects did you experience that made you look for natural alternatives?
Janie Bowthorpe
Deanna, if you hair is falling out plus you are irritable and emotional, it’s because you haven’t been raising to find your optimal dose!! Study this page ok? https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101 And by the way, NDT already is natural!
Helen
I am to see a REAL MD end of July who “gets it”. I assume I should ask for naturethroid?? I’m on nothing now having seen 2 endos who are useless. I have adrenal exhaustion and hypopit and hypogonadism, hypothyroidism. The last endo I saw over 2 months ago NEVER called me despite many requests. All I got were the labs in the mail that show a very low free T3 and an “impossible” FSH of 9 since I had a total hysterectomy 7 years ago and LOW ferritin. He refused to do a reverse T3, aldosterone or renin.
I intend to get him off of the “top thyroid doc site” asap.
He had MANY good responses but he is a loser.
Ok, do I ask for naturethroid?? I know I need cortef too.
dawn
I just made the switch and I’m on day 3 with Nature-throid. So far, so good…I’m taking the same dosage, 3 grains and it seems to be more effective than Armour. I’m noticing some of the hypo symptoms beginning to leave, like the bloating and the joint pain are subsiding. I’ve been sleeping better the last couple of nights and that’s great for me. When ever I’m hypo I have horrible insomnia. I slept all night through last night and that says a lot to me!
dawn
stella
It’s been nothing but a headache for me. I have stock piled Nature-throid …. just in case.
It’s a bit gritty – but I’ll deal with that compared to Armour.
I hope patients realize the Nature-throid has a grain value of 65mg – compared to the 60mgs Armour did.
Priscilla
I switched to Nature-Throid about 3 weeks ago. I would never go back to Armour now. I am on the same dose but the Nature-Throid is MUCH more effective than the Armour ever was, even before the reformulation.
THe only downside is that I just cannot get it to absorb sunlingually. It worked for me a few times when I first started taking it, but since then it has not worked. I’ve tried adding a little sugar under my tongue, and also tried rinsing my mouth, etc… I’ve even tried crushing the entire pill before putting it under my tongue. It just will not absorb. I end up with a mouth full of saliva and a pile of foul-tasting meaty paste under my tongue. When that happens I just wash the rest down with a glass of water and wait 10 or so minutes to eat or drink anything else. It is very annoying but a small inconvenience considering how great I feel.