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TWO NEW BOOKS: Hashimoto’s: Taming the Beast & Updated Revision STTM book.

One of the most important steps we have to do, as hypothyroid patients no matter the cause, is to be INFORMED, which the Stop the Thyroid Madness books aka STTM books, provide you.  

We have to look at the experiences and wisdom of patients before us who GOT WELL, which STTM gives you!

And we have to be prepared to guide our doctors with the information in the Stop the Thyroid Madness books…or fire them. 

Why? Because 1) the medical profession simply doesn’t get it 2) their training is awful  3) they accept the dark-ages bad information they are fed without questioning.

Thyroid treatment should have NEVER been about…

  1. putting us on only one of five thyroid hormones like T4-only (backfires sooner or later with growing problems)
  2. the insane use of the TSH lab test and range for diagnosis or treatment (keeps us hypothyroid)
  3. falling anywhere in those ridiculous “normal” ranges (keeps us hypothyroid)
  4. “doing nothing” and “letting it run its course” for those with autoimmune Hashimoto’s (which increases inflammation and the risk of other autoimmune diseases)

And all the while we have had continuing problems, we are told…

2019 updated revision of the classic Stop the Thyroid Madness

You are normal
It’s not your thyroid
You need to eat less
You need to exercise more
You need to see a therapist
You need to be on an anti-depressant, or this med, or that med

PRESENTING…..

1) The “updated revision” of the world-renowned STOP THE THYROID MADNESS BOOK (info below)

2) HASHIMOTO’S: TAMING THE BEAST (a companion book to the above updated revision) See below.

About the updated revision STOP THE THYROID MADNESS: A Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Thyroid Treatment, @2019

Same chapter titles. A continuation of former good info. Yet now, you have updates throughout the book. 

  1. This world-renowned “bible of patient experiences” which is now updated, continues to have the life-changing information that it always has had with the same chapter titles…no matter your cause of hypothyroidism…
  2. …but it now has numerous updates throughout where needed, and out-of-date information removed. 
  3. Both adrenals chapters 5 and 6 have been updated, and there’s now details about the use of Adrenal Cortex (ACE), while still having info about hydrocortisone (HC). Chapter 6 now mentions what information applies to either ACE or HC, or BOTH.
  4. The T4 chapter now mentions Tirosint, but continues to explain the problem of forcing the body to live for conversion alone. T4-only is T4-only.
  5. There are now light gray rectangular boxes throughout the book, meant to highlight certain important sentences. 
  6. Emphasis is now on serum iron. i.e. the former book would mention both iron/ferritin, but we now know that it’s far more about serum iron as far as what to make “optimal”. The emphasis about ferritin is more about its ability to reveal inflammation, but can reveal a methylation issue when low with good or high iron.
  7. There is updated information about
    1. different kinds of iron products
    2. better explanations in areas alongside those which were already good
    3. some new tidbits at the end of some chapters
    4. some updates to the list of thyroid meds, etc.
  8. Throughout the book are many more mentions about being “optimal”, not just “on” NDT or T4/T3. It’s also explained often what optimal means in those several places in the book.
  9. There are great additions to the list of supplements as well as certain foods. 
  10. The chapter on Natural Desiccated Thyroid now has a little photo of an antique bottle of NDT--that’s to show that having T3 in our treatment has been helping patients a long time and safely! This book also mentions the alternative treatment with synthetic T4/T3. Plus various updates throughout while keeping what was always IMPORTANT.
  11. And there is more.

About HASHIMOTO’S: TAMING THE BEAST…
A “companion book” to the updated revision Stop the Thyroid Madness above

  1. “Taming the Beast”, a companion book to the updated STTM book shown below, has purposely been put together as concise, yet comprehensive. That means it purposely gets to the point about key information related to Hashimoto’s, while avoiding chattiness or long pages of stories to help those of you with brain fog and concentration problems. 🙂
  2. Some of the information you may have read before, while some is very unique to this wonderful book! 
  3. FOUR chapters fully pertaining to reported patient experiences and wisdom which can help change your life and reveal that you are NOT alone as a Hashi’s patient!
    1. Why and how Hashimoto’s patients go years without help or awareness of what is going on
    2. Patient-reported foods which were and are problematic for some and all the symptoms
    3. 43 most frustrating aspects of having Hashi’s as expressed by patients (especially about doctors)
    4. 95 short testimonies on what patients are using or doing to successfully lower their antibodies!
  4. Like research? You will see a total of 241 footnotes throughout this book that will send you to research articles, or just good information for further reading. Additionally, one chapter simply summarizes 46 research articles pertaining to Hashi’s in one (or two) sentences. And as intended, YOU can choose what you want to further read…or not.
  5. You will be made aware of, or reminded about, a variety of environmental triggers that can either birth autoimmune Hashi’s in the first place, or make one’s current antibodies worse. (Chapter 4)
  6. There is a chapter totally focused on Hashimoto’s inflammation--what it can do to you, inflammation labs, what to do about inflammation, supplements and foods to consider to counter inflammation, and short summaries of three ways to eat to counter inflammation. (Plus of course, good footnotes, and added URL’s in the body if needed)
  7. Two excellent and informative chapters on different gut health problems to explore, or be reacquainted with, including symptoms, types under each category, ways to treat, and more.
  8. Other examples of patient experiences inserted throughout many chapters
  9. Different lists of patient-reported symptoms within different chapters to help identify your issues, for example:
    • a chapter with symptoms from the autoimmune attack
    • another chapter highlighting symptoms of adrenal problems
    • more about hypothyroid symptoms that appear while on T4-only or being underdosed due to a doctor’s reliance on the lousy TSH lab test,
    • inflammation symptom list…etc.
  10. Each chapter has a lighthearted small drawing, pertaining to the subject, to send a friendly message about a serious topic, all drawn by Janie A. Bowthorpe, who is an artist.
  11. There is a blank “NOTES” page at the end of each chapter where you can put page numbers to remember, or additional information you have gleaned in this book or others! That way, you don’t have to flip through all the pages to find what was important to you.

AND SO MUCH MORE!! This book encourages you to underline, highlight, dog-ear, paper clip, and use the NOTES page at the end of each chapter. This is YOUR book.

Laughing Grape Publishing (LGP) now has a brand new, high-end ordering system for the Stop the Thyroid Madness books!! 

ORDER: http://laughinggrapepublishing.com 

74 replies

Guest Post by Jacqueline about the availability, or not, of T3-only meds

The following is written by thyroid patient Jacqueline of the United States, and may be of interest to all of you who use T3 / T3-only, no matter where you live. Her mention of Cytomel is a major brand of T3, but there are other versions.

Let Jacqueline and others hear about your issues with finding T3.

Just spent the better part of two hours trying to locate some Cytomel after Walgreens and Safeway said they and all their distributors (which are used by all the other pharmacies) are out of the 25 mcg size tablets. I have tried to locate Cytomel at least two times in the last 6 months. Earlier, I had been able to locate some in the pipeline of pharmacies and distributors. But not anymore.

Keep in mind that I do not convert T4 to T3 very much ( I do take NP Thyroid for T4, T3, T2, T1). I have tried generic and compounded T3 meds and got nothing from them. So I switched back to Pfizer-branded Cytomel last year with now a  HUGE expense as the price is now so high that the formularies do not list it any more, meaning I only get 20% coverage.

Per day, I take two of the 25 mcg of Cytomel by Pfizer, plus 60 mcg (~1 grain) NP Thyroid.  I have taken Cytomel for 20 years. To try to save money after Pfizer hiked the price about six (?) years ago, I tried switching to the generics and to compounded T3. But they were very ineffective for me, and I have been dealing with health problems that the attempted switch caused for the last year and a half. I resigned myself to the high expense, but now Pfizer has disrupted the supply, and may now be making changes in how/where it is made. UGH

My experience in trying to reach Pfizer

1. When I tried to send an email to Pfizer via their website, the field keeps saying I have too many characters no matter how many are in the box, so that was a failure.
2. When I called Pfizer Customer Service 800-533-4535 five times today this happened: there is only voice option to respond to questions on the menu, so I said “Product Information”, then “Cytomel”. They cut me off every time. No idea if the call system is broken or the product name triggers the line to be cut.
3. When I called 800-438-1985, I took the section for “Professionals” because that was the only thing that made sense. A service rep took down all my personal information, then found me a customer rep.

What Pfizer’s customer rep stated to me i.e. these “company-lines”:

a. 50 mcg is not being made until March 2019, and is unavailable. (I could use this size of the pills by cutting them in half, would save me the most money, actually.)

b. 25 mcg is not being made until March 2019, and can be ordered by pharmacy drop ship to individual patients. Actually, the manager Safeway’s pharmacy refused to do this for me. My Walgreens pharmacy did it, by going though their distributor, which the customers service rep did not understand would be necessary. Pfizer gives only two bottles per call to the pharmacist, and I got one, another client got the other. I have no idea how long this will take – last time Walgreens ordered a drop ship of Cytomel, it took 3 weeks, acc’g to the gal at Walgreens. This will not last me until end of March, so I have to consider other options, as well. Meanwhile, the old Cytomel pills expire in February!! I have no problem taking them for a while post expiration, but this is all a mess.

c. 5 mcg are back on the shelves. I would have to take 10 pills a day plus maybe 1 or 2 more to compensate for the extra filler in so many pills- thus could cost me, after the piddling 20% insurance coverage, $800 or more per month. This is the most expensive option, but I may need a back-up.

Why the disruption in supply?

Pfizer Customer Rep said that there is some “change in ingredient(s) supplier.” The exact details are considered private “corporate information” LOL. Actually this is CRUCIAL info for docs and their patients. I will consider moving to a different company’s product since there are going to be changes and the timing is not certain or shared with patients.

i. If even one ingredient is being made in a new facility, the formula is different, and may not perform the same. For those of us who depend on something in its exact form, WE NEED TO KNOW THIS.

ii. Since we depend on this product for our health, we need to know the TIMING of this, and whether they DEFINITELY will resume producing this medication.

iii. Reasons for disruption are factors we and docs should know for deciding whether to change to a different version.

My theories about why this happened

1. Price hikes led to removal from formularies (official list giving details of prescribed medicines) led to limited insurance coverage, rather than co-pays, which then reduced demand (I tried to switch away for this very reason, but nothing worked, so I came back despite the insane expense). For example, the first approx. 14 years of taking Cytomel, it was covered by my co-pay. Then the list price went way up A LOT (why? KEY INFORMATION NEEDED BY US as patients who NEED T3). From that point on my insurance only gave me back 20%, so I was paying almost $500/month. When I gave upon on alternatives and went back to Cytomel, I was on T3-only to reduce RT3, so I was actually able to take fewer pills (2 x 25mcg vs. 4x 5mcg in the past), which reduced the cost a bit as it seems to be more based on # pills than #mcg. It is likely that many switched to generics or compounded versions to save money when the price was hiked. The reduced demand would make it less profitable, and harder on the production facility.

2. Cost of raw materials went up? Raw materials in short supply??? How they are looking for alternatives?? If this is the case, the company should be telling us this!!

3. Raw materials supposedly made in Puerto Rico facilities taken out by Hurricane Maria and now unavailable??? If so, Pfizer should be telling us this.

4. 5 mcg are likely the most popular as they are most common usage is to supplement a T4-only synthetic or a Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT)) with a little bit of T3. For example. I used to take 150 mg Tirosint (gel-based T4, also very expensive now, so I switched) plus 20 mcg Cytomel. However, when my RT3 went way up (after I was on generic and compounded T3!), I had to take A LARGE amount of Cytomel for T3-only therapy: my theory is that the numbers of people taking such high doses of T3 and/or doing (temporary) T3-only therapy are not that high or constant, so there is is not much demand for the 25 mcg or 50 mcg pills of Cytomel.

Sorry about this long saga, but I hope to help others.

If anyone has any further info about any of this,. or any suggestions, or any relevant experiences, I am very interested.
Please post!!!  ~Jacqueline

******************

From Janie: as we wait for more information as well as your comments on this important Guest Blog post, here are links to help you in your quest to feel better..

1) Want to order your OWN labwork because you like being self-directed? Go to this page and scroll down to see the icons for different lab facilities.

2) Have a high RT3? Check out this page.

3) Learn what patients have learned in the use of T3-only.

4) See the different brands of T3 in pink on the Armour vs Other Brands page.

5) Have what looks like a optimal free T3 (top part of range or even higher) but you still feel awful? You may be pooling due to a cortisol issue that needs discovery with a saliva test. Once you get your saliva results back, DO NOT go by their graph. Go by this page.

6) Here’s info on the different thyroid medications: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/hypothyroid-medications/

NOTE: if you are reading is via the email notification you signed up for, DO NOT REPLY TO THE EMAIL. It will not be received. If you want to comment, CLICK ON THE TITLE of this blog post, then scroll down to comments. 

58 replies

The Problem that Aging Hypothyroid Patients Face and How to Deal With it

Perhaps because millions of baby boomers are hitting their “senior citizen” ages, we are seeing an increase in statements by doctors, websites, and pharmaceutical reps implying that seniors should not have T3 in their treatment like NDT (Natural Desiccated Thyroid) or synthetic T3, calling it “dangerous”.

So I hope you are as impressed with the words below of this wonderful 72-year-old lady named Pat as I was…because her experience refutes the growing and ridiculous fallacy that T3 is globally and inherently “dangerous”.

I am 72 years old and up until four years ago, I was on Synthroid for over 30 years. Back then, I noticed my hypothyroid symptoms about six years after my second child. But if I’m honest and look back on my life, I now know that even as a teenager, I had brain fog….actually pretty serious brain fog. But I learned how to cover it up…

During all this time, I was diagnosed with multiple problems (which are typical for too many people on the poor treatment with T4-only or those undiagnosed): fibromyalgia, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis in my fingers, fatty liver syndrome and more. 

I also had the inflammatory disease called sarcoidosis in one nerve and in my lungs. I can’t actually connect sarcoidosis to my hypothyroidism and poor treatment with Synthroid, even if hypo people can report seeing increased inflammation. But it did happen when I was taking Synthroid. I had to take prednisone to beat it back and have been in remission for 15 years now.

But the bottom line is that for all those other issues mentioned above, I used to take multiple medications to treat all of them.

And guess what? Changing to Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) four years ago took away all the above issues I was having, meaning I was also able to get off most of my prescription meds. I have less fatigue. I now have the flexibility of a 40 year old. The arthritis I had in my fingers just went away. I don’t need cholesterol or blood pressure meds anymore.

I sometimes add in compounded T3 if my RT3 (reverse T3) inches up.

My latest doctor now takes Natural Desiccated Thyroid after she saw how well I was doing. She has hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s. We share a lot of ideas on how to conquer this disease.

My husband often goes to my appointments and says he does not understand a thing we discuss. I gave my doctor my copy of the “Stop The Thyroid Madness” book.  Interestingly enough, i knew when I went to my doctor that she used to recommend Synthroid, but also recommended herbs and other things to help with this disease. She was open to change, I think, because of her own experience.

So I think I blew their office up on my first appointment. I came in with all my labs and history. It was a 3-hour appointment with 2 people plugging in my info – my doctor and her assistant. It was later that I realized, when she asked me how I took my NDT, that she had switched to an NDT herself!

On our last appointment when we were talking about my slowly rising antibodies she told me that hers were in the thousands (my mouth dropped) and that she was taking 6 grains of her NDT. I’m thinking of recommending that she take LDN (low dose naltrexone) as I have heard it can reduce the antibodies.

Bottom line, it wasn’t staying on Synthroid that changed my life. It was moving over to Natural Desiccated Thyroid that has direct T3 in it. And in my opinion, my experience tells me the drug companies are lying! They want to keep people unhealthy so they will buy their drugs and then buy more drugs to take care of the damage the first drugs caused.   ~Pat

Here are some of the crazy issues seniors face (and there are more):

1) Medicare in the United States dropped all NDT’s from their Part D formulary—i.e. they won’t be paid for if you rely on Medicare. Armour on page 2, Naturethroid on page 16, NP Thyroid on page 17, Westhroid and WP Thyroid on page 29. See here.  Luckily, most prescription NDT brands are not that expensive anyway. Armour did go up, while the others stayed less expensive like NP Thyroid. Some use the prescription comparison called GOOD RX to find the best price in your city. 

2) Medicare in the US states “….the serum TSH test is reliable, valid, and acceptable to patients.”   To the contrary, patients of all ages have found it to be the most ridiculous test to either diagnose or treat by. It should always be about clear symptoms along with the free T3 and free T4, plus about where the latter fall in those so-called normal ranges. This is why you HAVE to be informed and be prepared to stand up for what is right and wrong. Read http://stopthethyroidmadness.com/tsh-why-its-useless There is also a complete chapter against the lousy TSH lab test in the STTM II book, and written by an MD! THAT is a chapter your doctor should read. 

Even worse, the ATA (American Thyroid Association) has stated that the target serum TSH should be 4-6 mIU/L in hypothyroid individuals age 70 or older.  That is in spite of the fact that so many of us at ANY age can have raging hypothyroid symptoms even with a TSH in the 2’s.

3) Or take the British Thyroid Association (BTA), which has stated that British thyroid patients shouldn’t be put on any thyroid meds whatsoever until their TSH is over 10, and that seniors should have a TSH around 4-10…in spite of the FACT that no matter what age, we can have raging hypothyroid symptoms even with a TSH in the 2’s–symptoms which UK doctors may blame on something else!!  Equally as bad, the UK National Health Service only endorses levothyroxine, and refuses to provide T3 to patients anymore.

4) The American Thyroid Association (ATA) states “As with the younger patient, pure synthetic thyroxine (L-T4), taken once daily by mouth, fully replaces the function of the thyroid gland and successfully treats the symptoms of hypothyroidism in most patients”  YET, we know that’s a joke. Time to inform whomever you can that a healthy thyroid does NOT make the human body solely depend on conversion of T4, a storage hormone, to T3. A healthy thyroid gives some direct T3 to counter any issues with conversion.  Read http://stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101

But you CAN bypass this craziness, say informed seniors, with these steps

  1. Finding the right doctor: As with any age, senior patients state they all-the-more need to DO THE WORK to find a smart doctor who WILL let you be on T3 or NDT, and will NOT go by the lousy TSH lab test. It can be work, but it’s possible to find one. http://stopthethyroidmadness.com/how-to-find-a-good-doc
  2. Understanding the iron and cortisol issue: Seniors who have either been undiagnosed or on T4 for years say it’s extremely important to check iron and cortisol levels, since they can be off from all the years of no treatment or a poor treatment with T4. If they are off, they can cause reactions to T3 or NDT, causing the misinformed doctor to proclaim “See, I told you so”, when in reality, reactions to NDT or T3 are revealing inadequate iron or a cortisol issue. They will need to be treated. See http://stopthethyroidmadness.com/iron-and-cortisol
  3. Commiserating with other seniors: If you are OVER 60…consider joining the Facebook FTPO 60-and-over discussion group and see where others have found a good doctor. (FTPO stands for For Thyroid Patients Only) https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPO60andover/ NOTE: you canNOT be approved if the admins can’t discern that your age fits this group, or we can’t see either your wall posts or friends list–the latter to know you aren’t a spammer.
  4. If you have to go in the hospital…have an informed family member or friend) who will advocate for you about your current NDT or T3 treatment. Too many patients have reported they were taken OFF their needed T3 or NDT and put on T4-only…and they regret not bringing their own meds or having an advocate.
  5. Keep a document stating what thyroid meds you are on, and why, that your advocate can have access to.

To read more: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/thyroid-patients-getting-older

To get the very important STTM Books: http://laughinggrapepublishing.com …. because YOU have be informed!! If we put all our apples in a doctor’s cart, the risk is high we’ll stay sick or poorly treated. We have to be prepared to guide our doctors!

 

 

 

 

42 replies

TV personality Dr. “Drew” Pinsky is SORELY misinformed about desiccated thyroid!

YOU GOT IT WRONG DR. DREW!Note: though this STTM blog post will be mentioning a US presidential candidate, we will NOT approve comments that make political comments in any form.  We DO invite you to comment about the problem of medical professionals like Dr. Drew Pinsky being completely ignorant about the efficacy of Natural Desiccated Thyroid! SPEAK YOUR MIND!!

Recently, Dr. David Andrew “Drew” Pinsky (also known in the media as Dr. Drew) while being interviewed on KABC’s “McIntyre in the Morning,” made a ridiculously misinformed comment about the fact that Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is on natural desiccated thyroid to treat her thyroid condition.1

The Washington Times stated that Dr. Drew and another doctor came to some “startling conclusions“ and were “gravely concerned“. The Times quoted Dr. Drew as saying

“Both of us concluded that if we were providing the care that she was receiving, we’d be ashamed to show up in a doctor’s lounge. We’d be laughed out,” he added. “She’s receiving sort-of 1950-level care by our evaluation.”

The article narrowed it down with this quote from Dr. Drew:

“She also has hypothyroidism, and she’d been treated for hypothyroidism with something called Armour Thyroid, which is very unconventional and something that we used to use back in the ‘60s,” Dr. Drew said. “And by the way, wow, Armour Thyroid sometimes has some weird side effects.”

Here are SIX REASONS Dr. Pinsky is exactly the kind of doctor that informed thyroid patients report avoiding like the plague

1) To the contrary to what Dr. Drew stated, this so-called “unnconventional” medication from “back in the 60’s” was being used on thyroid patients starting in the 1890s…and was clearly successful for six DECADES as the primary treatment for hypothyroidism, and as medical reports reveal.

2) This so-called “unconventional medication” was only substituted with Synthroid starting in the 1960’s (which is synthetic and only ONE of FIVE thyroid hormones) because money-eyed Knoll Pharmaceuticals promoted it as a way to make moola….and doctors stupidly fell for it. See Chapter 1 and 2 in the revised STTM book for verified history about the introduction of Synthroid followed by the successful use of NDT for decades.

3) The “conventional medication” of using only one of five thyroid hormones (aka Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, etc) has caused a multitude of problems for thyroid patients for over 50 years, as they have reported. The body does NOT force us to live for a storage hormone alone. Read //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/t4-only-meds-dont-work  i.e. the use of Synthroid, Levoxyl and Levothyroxine has been the treatment producing “grave concerns” for too many patients. 

4) Natural Desiccated Thyroid has changed lives ten-fold, report patients who started back on it around the turn of the 21st century! The results have been clearly superior to T4-only for all-too-many thyroid patients. Read //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101

5) Any “weird side effects” from Natural Desiccated Thyroid has explainable and correctible reasons for most of us, ranging from misinformed doctors using the lousy TSH lab test to dose by, to keeping patients on low doses far too long, to the fact that NDT will reveal either inadequate iron levels or cortisol issue (the latter two which by the way, Dr. Drew, are due to the lousy and inadequate treatment with T4-only for most). Study this: //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me

6) As far as Dr. Drew’s comment about being laughed out of the doctors lounge….that is exactly why informed patients are disgusted with, have so little respect for, feel immense frustration by, and run as fast as they can from doctors who would do that.  

All of YOU are the reason we are yelling “Stop the Thyroid Madness!”

Thyroid patients worldwide are sick and tired of the robotic way medical practitioners worship the TSH lab test, the complete and biased ignorance many have about Natural Desiccated Thyroid or even T3 in one’s treatment, the blindness to obvious clinical symptoms of a poor treatment with T4, and the failure to understand how a healthy thyroid works and why!

It’s NOT about a “conventional” storage hormone alone any more than it’s simply about a pituitary hormone!

To Doctors: LISTEN TO THYROID PATIENTS! OPEN YOUR MINDS!

We are not brainless little peons who walk into your offices: we do live in our own bodies and thus have some wisdom about what works and what does NOT; we DO know that our lives have changed thanks to Natural Desiccated Thyroid and going by the free T3 and free T4, NOT the TSH. //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/things-we-have-learned

To Thyroid Patients: WANT TO TELL DR. DREW HE’S WRONG ABOUT NDT??

Go here: https://www.facebook.com/drdrew/ Also share this link to this blog post: //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2016/08/18/tv-personality-dr-drew-pinsky-sorely-misinformed-desiccated-thyroid/

 JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

 

 

 

 

 

REMINDER: Note: though this STTM blog post mentions a US presidential candidate, we will NOT approve comments that make political comments in any form.  We DO invite you to comment about the problem of medical professionals like Dr. Pinsky being completely ignorant about the efficacy of Natural Desiccated Thyroid! Speak your mind!!

  1. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/18/dr-drew-pinsky-gravely-concerned-about-hillary-cli/

STTM graphic HEY DR. DREW....

85 replies

Armour and a lot of unhappy thyroid patients…all over again!

CORNER TAB

On July 1st, 2014, the pharmaceutical Actavis completed the acquisition of Forest Laboratories, the makers of Armour which is the oldest desiccated thyroid product on the market today. They then changed their name to Allergan.

And the poop hit the fan

By early 2015 and onward, more and more patients were reporting being quite unhappy with Armour. The price has risen substantially and often, and patients were also reporting a return of hypothyroid symptoms. It’s not all patients, but a substantial amount.

And this is not the first time we’ve been unhappy about Armour!

First, in 2007, patients were reporting that the two grain size tablet seemed to not be working at all. Then in 2008, patients had to endure seeing Armour disappear on the shelves. When they finally returned by 2009, all heck broke loose. Hypothyroid symptoms were returning with a vengeance. Turns out they “reformulated” it, increasing the cellulose and decreasing the sucrose. Not only could we not do it sublingually anymore–a method we preferred and which did in fact work—it also was causing a return of our hypothyroid symptoms in the worst way. We had to move to other brands. By 2012, the tablets were now softer, and complaints were down. But here we are in 2015 with a new pharmaceutical maker…and complaints have risen all over again.

The price has risen!

In September 2015, I sought out patient feedback in a few groups from those who had been on Armour before the July 1st, 2014 final acquisition, but were still on it in 2015. The first exasperation was about price. Here are some of the comments I got when I asked about a price change:

  • $20 before/$78 now. (forced to change insurance from my low copay to a high deductible plan)
  • Last year was paying £52 pounds x100 now paying £74.00
  • With co-pay, from $5 to $25-30 now
  • Over $20 increase for 90 mcg, 30 pills
  • With co-pay, $20 for 90 day supply in February 2015, $25 for 30 day supply in August 2015.
  • Last year cost $7-9, getting refill now-$33
  • $5 up to $24
  • Went up to $55 for a month’s dose of 120s (with insurance)
  • Went up about $15 dollars
  • Since last year, went from $5.80 to $10.80 to $12.80 and now $18.60.
  • For 180 tablets, from $22 to $160
  • I paid $47.30 before. When I ordered last week, its $71.91, same quantity and mcg.
  • $20 increase in cost.
  • $10 to $32
  • From 43.00 to 63.00
  • Tripled
  • From $25 to $60
  • My armour started off at $23/mo, in July 2014 and it just started climbing every month. In November 2014 it was $47/mo. Naturethroid is $39 for 90 days.
  • $29 to $44 for 30 of the 90mg.
  • Went from about $20/month to $92/month.
  • $6 in 2007/$30 now
  • From $15 to $55 per month (with insurance)
  • From 70.00 to 118.00
  • 3-month supply 57.00 a year ago to 85.00 now out of my own pocket at Costco!
  • Went up $20
  • Went up $30
  • Up $25

There were more answers, but you get the drift. Note that the differences in cost represent different insurance coverages and different amounts. But it’s clear: Activas/Allergan substantially raised the price! Patients are NOT pleased.

The change in the pill itself

Though a small minority felt the pill hadn’t changed, and a couple said it was softer, 80% said it was definitely harder–exactly what went on in 2008.

One gal stated: “Not as uniform. Some softer than others; some harder to dissolve ; some seem to contain more filler”. That makes one wonder if her bottle had a mix of the 2014 and 2015 pills. Another gal stated: “Harder, different taste, smell and texture. Breaks clean.”

Most who responded either tried an increase or moved to a different brand

The answers broke out like this:

  • A very small percentage have stayed with the same amount as 2014 and feel they are doing fine
  • Another very small percentage raised and are doing fine.
  • A larger percentage are still on the same amount as 2014, or have tried a raise, but state they are not doing well and/or their labs are now wonky.
  • A large percentage have or are moving over to a different brand.

Symptoms reported as returning

For those who noticed their symptoms of hypothyroidism have returned since Activas bought out Forest, some are described as follows:

  • I now get tireder
  • Feels like symptoms are slowly returning…fatigue and intolerance to heat/cold particularly
  • Severe itching on sides of bridge of nose, hair falling out has worsened, feet have severely dried out-tops and bottoms, more unexplained weight gain 80%
  • My hair has started falling out all over again. Very unhappy.
  • Feel worse, more tired, but could be because of new baby
  • Have felt worse. It seems less effective.
  • Felt worse. Free T3 and free T4 plummeted.
  • My TSH has climbed!
  • Fluctuations
  • Problems and raising didn’t help.
  • Labs changed quite a bit.
  • Eye sight problems, loss of energy sooner in day; dr will not increase dosage..
  • My weight has gone up since January. Not happy.
  • I now have depression that I didn’t have before.
  • My weight has been creeping up and I have no changed my diet.
  • I don’t feel as well.
  • More tired. Have to nap now.

Comments by patients

  • I started on it for the first time in my life Feb. 2014. By May I had lost 20#. By Jan. I gained my weight back and wondered what in the world is going on. 
  • Started on Armour in March of 2014 but was also being treated for breast cancer so my results were probably a little skewed. Now on a higher dose and feeling better but not happy about the tremendous price hike!
  • Just got back from Endo. My labs are awful. Have been on same dose of Armour for a year. Even increase it a tad. T3 and T4 dropped. TSH went from 0.53 to 2.9. No wonder I feel like crap. She switched me to Naturethroid.
  • I’ve been on Armour for 3 years after my thyroid was removed and have done well until April or May of 2015. My hair started falling out, my body ached, I’ve put on weight, I started feeling depression and I’m more fatigued. I have no doubt that changes in the negative have been made to Armour and I’m ticked. I am changing brands.  
  • I have felt fine all this time, but I’m not happy with the swift price increase.

Bottom line is up to you

It’s a fact that Armour has gone up substantially since 2014’s acquisition of Forest by Actavis/Allergan. And it’s a fact that many other brands are much cheaper. So that would be up to each individual as to what they want to pay–more for Armour, less for other brands. The Options page on STTM lists all your brands.

As far as problems on the current Armour, it does appear that for too many, hypothyroid symptoms have returned and/or labs are now off. So even though there are definitely some that still remain happy, you will have to decide.

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

** You can read how Janie felt about Armour in 2009 here.

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** Have you read the STTM II book? All chapters written by doctors from their unique perspectives. The patient-to-patient revised STTM book here.  Hashimoto’s: Taming the Beast is also available!

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