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Tag: stop the thyroid madness

The only North American maker of desiccated porcine thyroid is working hard

Screen Shot 2015-09-21 at 11.27.57 AM(This page was originally written in 2009 but it has been updated to the present day and time.)

We always talk about pharmaceuticals which produce our desiccated thyroid medication pills like Forest Labs (Armour) and RLC Labs (Naturethroid and Westhroid).

These are also the pharmaceuticals who provide these pills to the local pharmacies we use.

But there is another important link in the chain that proceeds them–the laboratory that makes the actual porcine powder!

American Laboratories, Inc. (ALI)

ALI is a small and family-owned processing company located in Omaha, Nebraska which was established in 1967 by Mr. Jack Jackson and Mr. William Phalen. They have been making desiccated Porcine Thyroid Powder (which is an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient, API) for over 47 years, as well as 200 natural biologically derived products such as Pancreatin and Pepsin, both digestive enzymes. Their mantra is “Building trust through quality products and service.”

Pertaining to their raw porcine powder, they state:

American Laboratories staff has been dedicated to the manufacture of active Pharmaceutical products for over 47 years, and currently follow all FDA cGMP (21 CFR) requirements or the safe and effective manufacturing of drug products or human consumption. Our stringent raw material quality requirements and highly defined manufacturing process control have aided us in providing category leading status for the drug products that we manufacture.

ALI, as a leading manufacture and supplier of enzyme and natural dried products, is also probably the only North American company to make desiccated thyroid powder. And they will explain that it’s a long and difficult product to make, but they are committed to it. ALI sells product to over 50 countries around the world, as stated below from them!!

Their website underscores:

American Laboratories, Inc. is a family-owned business founded nearly 50 years ago based on our knowledge of providing enzymes, proteins and flavors to various industries. Today, American Laboratories is proud to offer an extensive listing of over 300 products to the Food Processing, Pharmaceutical, Veterinary Health, Nutritional and Diagnostic industries in the United States and over 50 countries around the world. Through our high quality products and customer service, American Laboratories has become an industry-recognized supplier for the products we manufacture.

In August of 2009, I spoke with Kenny Soejoto, the Chief Operating Officer. He explained that supply and demand has been a critical issue, and ALI will be doing everything they can to provide the quality desiccated thyroid powder to pharmaceuticals that they always have. You’ll also see a Press Release come out later today from Kenny and ALI about the issue. I’ll add it below.

The supply and demand issue is outright due to the current patient revolution, represented by STTM and other fine groups and websites, against the sole treatment of hypothyroidism with T4 meds like Synthroid by too many doctors….and in favor of desiccated thyroid as a far better treatment. Demand has grown, and perhaps it caught them by surprise. (That is my comment, by the way, NOT ALI’s.)

Even RLC Labs states that demand for Naturethroid (due to problems with the newly formulated Armour) has quadrupled in the past few weeks. And rightly so! Thyroid patients around the world KNOW FIRSTHAND how much better desiccated thyroid treatment is over T4-only. And word is spreading.

So as we, thyroid patients on desiccated thyroid, face a shortage in 2009, take heart that everyone is working hard to bring supply back to us. 🙂 Also see my post below concerning the bigger issue with Medco, and potential alternatives.

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Here’s the Press Release below, and it should calm any fears or panic:

August 19, 2009

To our knowledge, American Laboratories, Inc. is the only manufacturer in North America of Thyroid Products for use in Human Pharmaceuticals as an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient. We have manufactured our Thyroid products for over forty years, and we understand the importance they have to our customers and ultimately the consumer patients. Today, as well as in the future, our Thyroid products will continue to be a strategic part of our business.

Through the years, the world-wide demand for our Thyroid products, as well as our human nutritional enzyme products has increased dramatically. Through careful planning and strict adherence to regulations set forth by the FDA, USDA and other government agencies, we have implemented plans to increase our production capacities. In addition, American Laboratories’ is working closely with our suppliers to help ensure a consistent supply of quality raw materials. We hope that you understand that the process to manufacture the active ingredient takes several months to complete.

Please be assured that we have placed our Thyroid production as our number one priority so that we can meet the demands of our customers.

American Laboratories, Inc
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

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What the recent Medco scandal is actually telling us–i.e. there’s more to this story

medcoI have been watching with interest the past week about the justified ire of patients being expressed all over patient groups in the internet. And in case you’ve been too busy with school starting or end-of-summer activities, it involves one of the nation’s largest mail order pharmacies as well as the largest Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM): Medco.

In a statement you can read right on their website, they state:

1) there is a “nationwide shortage of porcine-derived desiccated thyroid”
2) they are “uncertain about continued availability.”
3) “ask your doctor if a synthetic thyroid medication, such as levothyroxine is right for you.”

In Medco’s direct message to doctors, they state;

1) desiccated thyroid does not have the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Federal Drug approval”
2) the FDA “may remove any remaining unapproved products from the market.”
3) the shortage is due to this “uncertainty”.
4) “the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologist recommends levothyroxine over desicccated thyroid, liotrix, combination of thyroid hormone, or triiodothyronine (T3) for the treatment of hypothyroidism.”

Clarification on their statements

If you are just now finding out about this, do note the following:

1) There is not a nationwide shortage of all desiccated thyroid. There is a shortage of Armour because of its 2009 reformulation. (See my blog posts below about problems with the newly formulated Armour.)
2) Naturethroid by RLC Labs continues to be available. They are working hard to keep up. See my post on Naturethroid.
3) Desiccated thyroid was around long before the establishment of the FDA, so they are grandfathered in and still work with the FDA guidelines.
4) There has been no statements by the FDA that they are removing desiccated thyroid.

An even more important revelation in this entire Medco scandal

There is actually an underlying message in the entire Medco fiasco that you should find even MORE disturbing: the continued promotion of T4, aka levothroxine, as an adequate treatment of hypothyroidism. And this is not just a faux pas of Medco, it continues to be the ignorant opinion of far too many doctors, medical schools and medical boards. All you have to do is look at what has happened in the UK with the Royal College of Physicians to see the idiocy abounding.

Over 100 years ago, desiccated thyroid was found to be an excellent treatment for hypothyroidism. I give precise details about the first use of desiccated thyroid in Chapter 2 in the Stop the Thyroid Madness book. It worked!

But in the early 1960’s, the tide turned thanks to a batch of desiccated thyroid that turned out not to be what it said it was. This is documented in the 1970 Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. And pharmaceuticals, especially Knoll Pharmaceuticals who first tableted levothyroxine aka Synthroid in 1955, jumped to promote T4-only as a “new and modern medication”. (See page 41 and 42 in the STTM book). And doctors and medical schools fell for it hook, line and sinker.

And to this day, levothyroxine continues to be purported as an acceptable and logical treatment choice for hypothyroidism. But patients all over the world beg to differ. T4 medications like Synthroid, Levoxyl, Eltroxin, Oroxine and others simply leave all patients with their own unique amount and degree of lingering hypothyroid symptoms, no matter how high you raise it.

I also find it hugely disturbing to refer to AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) as if they are the grand poopah of knowing what’s right for thyroid patients. They are NOT. Millions of thyroid patients who have switched to desiccated thyroid, T3, or a combo of T4 and T3 will tell them hands-down that they have gotten FAR better results, and most especially with desiccated thyroid like the “old” Armour, and now Naturethroid.

Visiting numerous thyroid patient groups will reveal how patients feel about Endocrinologists they have visited throughout the years. Their experiences are far from flattering. In other words, with a few exceptions, thyroid patients are NOT impressed with Endo’s.

Medco’s statements are definitely a concern for patients and range from presumptous to unfactual. But those statements only represent a far wider problem around the world in the medical community. Clinical presentation and wisdom has been thrown out the window by doctors. So patients have to continue spreading the word about the far superior treatment of desiccated thyroid, and their problematic experience with T4.

Want to be informed of these posts so YOU can be informed? Curious what’s on Janie’s mind? Use the Notifications on the left at the bottom of the links.

***50% off sale!! All STTM t-shirts are now on sale. I love sales. Not only do they help support this site, they are a great way to spread the word. Go here. Did you know that Laughing Grape Publishing will send a STTM book directly to your doctor?

13 replies

Thyroid tidbit: interesting comment from makers of Naturethroid

The following comment by RLC Labs, a pharmaceutical which has made desiccated thyroid like Naturethroid since the 1930’s, was sent in a letter to a pharmacy. You may find it interesting as compared to problems so many have reported with Forest Labs and the newly formulated Armour:

We have never had any mandatory or voluntary recall of any of our thyroid medications due to inconsistency in dosages. Our formulation and preparation is able to stabilize the T3 and T4 hormones through its entire expiry period (3 years from manufacturing) providing additional assurance to both physician and patient alike in quality and consistency of our strengths.

Kudos for RLC Labs and Naturethroid! Patients whose lives have changed ten-fold thanks to desiccated thyroid need a good product. (And we’re going to hope down the line that “someone” will create desiccated thyroid in a sublingual form.)

P.S. If you don’t know what has happened to Armour and patient experiences with it, scroll down.

*Want to be informed of these blog posts? Curious what’s on Janie’s mind? Just use the Notifications to the left and below the links.

*SALE! Stop the Thyroid Madness T-shirts are now 50% off just because I like sales. A great way to spread the word about our patient revolution for the superiority of desiccated thyroid over T4-only meds. You’ll also see funny bumper stickers. Also…when you order the STTM book and request it, you get a Calvin peeing on….(you’ll see) bumper sticker for FREE, and it’s a hoot.

38 replies

New addition to STTM: audio shorts

Because you requested it….now you can listen to me explaining certain subjects here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/audio-shorts/ For slower connections, it may take up to 3 minutes to download each short. For faster connections, it’s a breeze.

Know someone who you think has hypothyroidism but they have a “normal” diagnosis? Send them to the above page.

Know someone who’s on T4 who might listen to a new idea? Send them to the above link.

Know someone who has had problems with desiccated thyroid and threw in the towel? Send them to the above link.

*If you’re afraid of the newly formulated Armour, check out the post below about Naturethroid. Below that, read about the Royal College of Physicians in the UK, desiccated thyroid in Denmark, Germany and Italy, and why you may need Potassium.

*Want to be informed of my blog posts? Curious what’s on my mind? Use the Notifications on the bottom left of the links.

*Have you read the STTM book?? It can be much easier to refer to than this website!

2 replies

Thyroid Tidbit: Desiccated thyroid in Denmark, Germany & Italy!

dancingpeopleSTTM’s Armour-vs-other-brands page now has information on desiccated thyroid in Denmark, Germany and Italy: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/armour-vs-other-brands Thanks go to Julia Hendryx for alerting me about the brand in Denmark!

If I need to add more info or corrections, please use the Contact Me form at the bottom of any page on Stop the Thyroid Madness.

THIS PATIENT REVOLUTION for a better hypothyroid treatment is working! Desiccated thyroid brands which were almost extinct from low use are now seeing a comeback. Another comeback?? PATIENT HEALTH!! T4-only meds do NOT work, unless an elevator which only goes to the 5th floor of a 50 story building….works. My quote; my words.

p.s. See the post below about the importance of your potassium levels, and below that, how being hypothyroid can affect your liver, and my opinion of that fact with T4 meds vs. desiccated thyroid, which one comment disagrees with. For the May 7th post, comments are still coming in about the “New” Armour. Express yours, and let’s hope that just raising it will do the trick, in spite of the loss of being able to do it sublingually as easy as before–a sad loss.

*Want to be informed of my blog posts? Curious what’s on my mind? Use the Notifications on the bottom left of the links.

9 replies