Armour Thyroid Dropped by Medicare
After hearing the rumors, I was waiting for official notice that Armour Thyroid was being dropped from the Medicare formulary. The confirmation came by way of a form letter telling me that one of my patient’s prescriptions for Armour would no longer be covered by Medicare and asked if I want to switch them to levothyroxine. With that letter I understood that the only viable alternative to traditional t4 therapy for hypothyroidism is now officially shoved to the outer fringes of medical care in the United States.
Not to be naive about the role of Armour in this country, I already know that the use of this medication is considered “off beat” if not worse, by many of my colleagues. For years I also was skeptical of its viability as a treatment for low thyroid (hypothyroidism) conditions. What changed my mind was the realization that so little is truly understood about what constitues ideal thyroid hormone replacement. The endocrinologists who taught me that Synthroid (t4) was the gold standard of thyroid hormone replacement were speaking more from the unexamined prejudices of their generation, than from true understanding of the needs of their patients.
I have treated many patients with traditional t4 therapy who are doing fine. There is no reason for them to think about another type of thyroid hormone replacement. But for the portion of older hypothyroid individuals who fail to return to feeling normal on t4 alone and who have happily switched to Armour, there is now financial disadvantage if they want to continue using this medicine. Is this fair? Is it proper medical care to switch them back to what appears to be an inferior treatment? These are questions the community of thyroid patients and their doctors must now begin to address.
Comments welcome.
I take Armour Thyroid, have for 6 years now and am dismayed ALL prescription insurance policies of Medicare don’t even know about it…….United Healthcare dropped it Nov 2007…..since that time I have to buy it myself + keep a prescription policy paid monthly???!!!
I’m hoping Armour Thyroid will be added back and would call someone if I knew who to present this to…..
Thankyou,
Margo
Margo you can find Armour online on Canada pharmacies, is known by Thyroid in there, wich is Armour Thyroid here, is not that expensive and it is worth it. You still need prescription for this medication, open an account with them and scan your prescription and e-mail it to them. I did it before when there was a shortage on Armour Thyroid.
I cannot take synthetics thyroid after being switched to synthetic I developed a rash and abdominal swelling digesting food slowed down so bad I could not eat meat. Mayo said it was rare to have an allergy to synthetic but put me back on armour. I returned to normal gerd gone ibs gone etc. Now I am having trouble again and want to know if armour added a different filler. And What is it. Because Mayo said was allergic to fillers in the synthetic drugs.Mouth chalky and thirsty all the time figuring out what filler it is could help me recognized others meds I cannt take before I buy them
I have a few months of armour but pain is almost intolerable. If armour changed their RX what do I do? Here piggy piggy? (I also have hoshimotos)
As a health care professional AND a hypthyroidism survivor, I am infuriated with this development. Many of my geriatric patients are misdiagnosed and/or undertreated leaving these people in a perpetual state of misery!
What I will do is write my Senators and Representatives and educate my patients’ families as this is where health care reform will either be revolutionized oreventually annihilate them, and truthfully, the rest of us.
One of my goals in the coming year is to find a sympathetic Medical Director willing to test some of the nursing home patients that have been on Synthroid (at .50 or .88 mcg usually) by switching them to Armour. What a change we could witness, I am sure, but if Medicare shuts this door, so will many of our elderly’s lives and minds.
I am so frustrated that we the people of this supposedly great nation are left out in left field on this Armour Thyroid deal…I wonder if anyone out there, perhaps a lawyer, can suggest something we can do to make it public…so the nation KNOWS what the FDA and pharmaceutical monoply is doing to us the U.S. citizens of this country? I really think IF we could get our voices, lettters and phone calls OUT THERE..and if the politicians feared they would lose their comfy positions AND free health care..just MAYBE they would DO something to protect US the citizens instead of their banks accounts and freebies from the Drug companies. I read with interest where Pfizer is now having to pay billions of dollars for some unethical and dangerous things they did which resulted in real problems for the people..WHEN is enough going to be enough?. WE complain but someone out there GIVE US THE ADVICE the proper legal advice on what we can DO to right this wrong ful situation.I shall wait impatiently for someone’s helpful input. Thanks in advance..Marilyn Hirsch
People in this country better wake up. It is not just this product that is under the gun,but many others including something people take for granted: “FREEDOM”. I, like many others are in a situation where medicaid will not pay, our gap insurance will not pay for perscriptions either.
the re-formulated Armour was gradually killing me, but I didnt’ realize it till my mail order pharmacy told me they could no longer get it.
In seeking a way to obtain it, I discovered the website: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
and THAT is when I discovered WHY I was getting so ill …that I was on the verge of death, and having all kinds of severe hypo-thyroid symptoms, even though I was still religiously taking all my meds including the Armour thyroid.
That’s when I found out that the re-formmulated Armour was also having an adverse effect on MANY other hypothyroid patients…and that I was NOT ALONE. ……………..Since I was not even informed of the re-formulation, and gradually became sick with severe hypothyroid…it could be perceived as “blind”…as I had NO IDEA about others also having the same symptoms ………….for about at least nine months that I was suffering and gradually getting worse and worse. At that time, I had NO IDEA whAT was the cause.
Gradually, ever since I was again getting the original recipie of dessicated natural thyroid from out-of-country, ……….and taking it ….I have slowly been improving….. and although I’m not yet as well as I used to be before the Armour re-formulation…If I keep on improving..I have hopes of regaining my old health status.
I had switched to Westhroid (heard good reports on its purity and they also are the makers of Naturthyroid) when I could not get Armour (this past Oct.) but was only able to get Westhroid for one month before it was impossible to find it in any pharmacy in my area. In searching around for it and/or Armour, I learned that Armour had changed the filler in their thyroid supplement, using maybe cellulous?? not really sure on that….. and also heard that it wasn’t as effective as it had been. Before October I thought I’d try Synthroid since it was getting so hard to get the natural and my insurance also covered it….but after 3 weeks, I started itching and got rashes so I quit it, saw my Dr. for a perscription for natural. That was when I did the month of Westhroid.
I just now found a pharmacy that had stocked up on Armour and am getting mine from them, but I have had to up my dose. And my Dr. just said I needed an additional 1/2 grain due to my most recent blood test. Carolyn Hunter’s entry scairs me! I wish you continuing improvement of health, Carolyn.
This issue is very frustrating. Many people in the area have gone on Synthroid due to the unavailibility of the natural thyroid. I am amazed at all the people who need supplementation and HAVE to have it.
Thankyou, Lida for your suggestion of Canadian Armour…..I just now have looked back on this site and saw all the comments! I will keep in touch often now.
Dr. Gary Pepper, what are you thinking about all this?
Thankyou everyone and thankyou Dr. Pepper for starting this site.