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FDA is not requiring form when you order Erfa’s Thyroid

CloudSilverLiningSometimes there is a silver lining with the storm cloud of backordered US desiccated thyroid.

Erfa, the makers of the Canadian version of natural desiccated thyroid, simply called “Thyroid”, has recently announced that the FDA is not requiring the extensive FDA Form 1572 from US citizens and their doctors when they fill their prescriptions from Erfa directly. i.e. it’s now a lot easier to get your prescription filled directly from them.

http://www.erfa-sa.com/thyroid_usa.htm

And those who have started to use Erfa’s Thyroid report being quite pleased. A cherry on top is that Thyroid has that old sweet taste we used to all like with the old Armour, and it can be done sublingually as well! You can see the ingredients here.

Also, I am continuing to get emails from patients that both Armour and Naturethroid is starting to appear on pharmacy shelves, even if in small quantities.  I’m personally not too excited about Armour reappearing if Forest continues to make the reformulated version. Just too many patients reporting a return of hypo symptoms, even when they raise it, plus new symptoms of undertreatment and/or challenged adrenals thanks to the reformulated version. Sad. Oh how we will all miss the old Armour.

In the meantime, here are options for thyroid treatment we all have until we see a good return of desiccated thyroid, including Naturethroid and Westhroid. They are all far, far better than being on T4 alone like Synthroid, Levoxyl, levothyroxine, et al. You’ll also note compounded thyroid, which can be a good option, and you can read about on a recent blog post.  Australians happily use compounded in their own country. Any option you and your doctor choose may mean a readjustment by your body, by the way.

Want to talk to other patients on how they are dealing with the shortages? Join the Coalition for Desiccated Thyroid.  Or if you simply need patient feedback about your hypothyroidism, go to the Talk to Others page.  Remember that no patient group is meant to be a substitute for your relationship with your doctor.

**The next Thyroid Patient Community Call will be held Thursday Oct. 8th on TalkShoe, and our topic will be iodine and your thyroid with patient expert Stephanie Buist. Come join us and listen right on your computer, or you can also talk live to Stephanie or Janie with your questions.

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Little clues we might be seeing a return of desiccated thyroid??

raindropsSurely most anyone who has been outside has felt a little drop here…then a little drop there…and you wondered:  am I getting ready to be rained on?

Now I’m making no guarantees nor saying this is absolute fact…but because of emails I’m getting and other information, I’m seeing little drops of potential evidence that we may be seeing the beginning of a return of natural desiccated thyroid in our pharmacies. Are we?

For one, a patient called the Forest Hotline today (866) 927-3260, and it said that the 4 and 5 grain is available. Is that an old recording, or could that be a possibility at some pharmacy here or there? Granted, Forest states that the problem of backorders has been found in the “complicated steps in the supply line”, and “one factor is the supplier”.  But if the 4 or 5 grain tablet is available, is something getting through here or there?

Then comes an email from a gal stating she was told by her large national pharmacy that Armour would be in stock by the middle of October.  That is similar to a comment on another blog post below.

Also, American Laboratories, the producer and supplier of desiccated powder, has always stated that they continue to make it–just not enough to meet the demands of larger pharmaceuticals all at once. i.e. perhaps some is getting through.

Little positive rain drops of clues? Maybe. I’m not sure what the near future holds. And there are unanswered questions, such as will Armour still be ineffective for so many in its reformulated state?  In what way, and when, will the FDA follow through on the 1960’s Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) to prove that desiccated thyroid is safe and effective (which still makes most of us want to ask  “Aren’t 110 years enough evidence?”)

In the meantime, there are options you can use for good thyroid treatment here. Just work with a good doctor if you use any of these options. But a caveat–a few Canadian pharmacies have doubled their prices!! Ouch. I find that very nasty and unethical. So check their prices on the website as compared to what was listed on this page. And GOOD NEWS: a German pharmacy will ship out its own brand of desiccated thyroid.  See it on the Options page.

There continues to be good feedback from patients that most compounding pharmacies have plenty of desiccated thyroid powder in stock.  The above link gives information on how to find a compounding pharmacy. I have used one before that mailed my order to me after my doc faxed the prescription.

Join the Thyroid Patient Community Call on Talk Shoe this Friday.

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Good news! You can get good desiccated thyroid from Canada.

erfathyroid

NOTE: when this blog post was written in 2009, it was good news to mention the Canadian brand of NDT, made by the company called Erfa. But sadly beginning in 2014, it seemed to change in a negative way, as reported by numerous patients, even if some still used it. Complaints about symptoms returning fell on deaf ears. There have also been shortages. 

Unfortunately, patients who want to switch to desiccated thyroid from T4-only meds like Synthroid et al, or those already on desiccated thyroid who want to fill their next prescription, are going to find it difficult. There are widespread shortages in desiccated thyroid like Armour, Naturethroid and Westhroid. (see my posts below).

But there’s good news, and it comes in the form of “Thyroid”  by Erfa.

Erfa’s “Thyroid”  is an excellent natural desiccated thyroid product according to the experience of patients who use it. It contains:

  • Dried Thyroid
  • Mag­ne­sium Stearate
  • Corns­tarch
  • Talc
  • Sugar

**Note the “sugar”. Patients also report they are able to do this brand of medication sublingually! That is good news.

The Erfa website states you can obtain their desiccated thyroid medication outside of Canada via a special access program and follow their steps:

For patients outside Canada and the US:

1. Get a prescription from your local doctor (mention hypothyroidism on it).
2. Your doctor should fill in this simple document (not required for the UK)
3. Fax or e-mail us the documents at 1-514-931-7330 or info@ERFA.net

For patients in the US:

1. get a valid prescription of Thyroid from your local doctor
2. your doctor has to fill FDA form 1572 (e-mail us a request at info@ERFA.net
3. Fax or e-mail us the documents at 1-514-931-7330 or info@ERFA.net

Thank you Erfa from Stop the Thyroid Madness and thyroid patients all over the world who KNOW what a superior treatment desiccated thyroid really is!

*Want to be informed of this informative posts? Curious what’s on Janie’s mind? Use the Notifications on the left at the bottom of the links.


*Need feedback from other patients? Go to the STTM Talk to Others page.

 

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Thyroid Tidbit: Did ya notice that various Armour sizes are back??

armour-tabletsI can remember a few people the past year who proclaimed fervently that Armour was being discontinued because of the shortage.  And I chuckle about it.  Hopefully, my previous posts helped calm that fear.

But in case you haven’t heard, those larger sizes are back!  And you can keep track of what’s going via the Forest Pharmaceuticals customer product availability hotline: 1-866-927-3260  As of today, April 19, they state that the one grain tabs (60 mg) and 1 1/2 grains tabs (90 mg) are on backorder, and will catch up with production on April 20th, tomorrow as I am writing this.  We’ll see.

Unfortunately, the new formulation has made Armour lacking in sweetness, and it’s almost impossible to do it sublingually.  Sad. Maybe another pharmaceutical will get the hint. In the meantime, if you swallow your desiccated thyroid, make sure to avoid calcium, iron and estrogen at the same time. And if you’ve been doing it sublingually, and have to switch to swallowing, you may need a tad more.

Remember: if you have any issues with natural Armour desiccated thyroid in the treatment of your hypothyroidism, you can always ask your doctor for a prescription switch to Naturethroid or Westthroid, both fine FDA-approved, US Pharmacopeia standard prescription desiccated thyroid.

Janie

Want to be informed of my posts? Curious what I am raving about as a Thyroid Patient Activist? You can sign up for a Notification at the bottom of the links to your left.

P.S. If you haven’t bought the Stop the Thyroid Madness book yet, wanted to tell you that numerous patients are emailing me, stating they find the book even easier to refer to than this vast website (plus it has more details and information).  So if you want the ease of referral, the book may be the way to go.

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7 reasons you’re gonna love Forest Pharmaceuticals (told ya so)

Now being announced on the Forest Pharm hotline at 866-927-3260, the following strengths of Armour are now completely available again:

1) 15 mg. (1/4 grain)
2) 30 mg. (1/2 grain)
3) 60 mg. (one grain)
4) 120 mg. (2 grains)
5) 180 mg. (3 grains)
6) 240 mg. (4 grains)
7) 300 mg. (5 grains)

Yessiree, the above represent the different size and strength tablets of natural desiccated thyroid via the Armour brand, most of which had been unavailable for quite awhile. The 90 mgs is still on backorder.

Rejoice!

P.S. And we thank RLC Labs for their continued availability of Naturethroid and Westhroid, plus Sriprasit Pharma Co., Ltd. in Thailand for their Thyroid-S.   Because no matter how hard any pharmaceutical company, Endocrinologist, certain hospitals,  or group of physicians (see below) tries to sing the praises of T4 treatment with Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, Eltroxin, Norton for thyroid disorders or hypothyroid….WE KNOW BETTER.

(Want to be notified of my blog posts? Curious what’s on my mind? Use the Notification method to be informed. Look on the bottom left of the links where you can sign up. )

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