LA Falls Through a Crack in Our Health Care System and Finds Armour Shortage Crisis
LA lives in rural America and has no health insurance. After 30 years of effective therapy with Armour Thyroid she is unable to obtain this medication any longer. Her story is a sad reminder of just how far we need to go to provide meaningful health care to the citizens of this country.
LA tells her story like it is:
I knew nothing about this problem of non-availability of Armour Thyroid. I have been on Armour since 1978 and it has worked just fine. I had my annual prescription renewal in June and because I do not have insurance, I was able to get 200 pills at a time for a price break. I take 3 60 mg tablets a day and have been on this dosage for about 6 years, up from a previous dosage of 2 60 mg tablets. Today, 4 Nov 09, I went to pick up a refill that I called in a week ago. I was informed at the pharmacy that Armour Thyroid is no longer being made. Period. I took my last pills on 2 November so I have no medication at all. I have a call in to my doctor but he has not yet returned that call. We contemplated a switch to Synthroid a couple of years ago (for a variety of reasons, none of which are relevant here) but the doctor said it could be a very slow process of finding out exactly what dosage of synthetic hormone would adequately replace the natural Armour. At that time I had insurance that would have covered the lab tests required to determine the proper dosage. I am now without insurance due to the death of my spouse, and because of the hypothyroidism I am unable to obtain health insurance that is even remotely affordable. Therefore I can’t afford all the tests, all the doctor visits, all the rest of the hoopla that woudl go with switching medication. I’ve been fortunate so far that I’ve been able to keep my same doctor, and that he gives me a bit of a break paying cash for my once-a-year-visit, but he’s 60 miles away and I can’t even afford the trips back and forth if I have to start “nudging” a new medication. It’s bad enough to be without the medication for a while, but to think that it will never be available again? I honestly don’t know what to do.
I knew nothing about this problem of non-availability of Armour Thyroid. I have been on Armour since 1978 and it has worked just fine. I had my annual prescription renewal in June and because I do not have insurance, I was able to get 200 pills at a time for a price break. I take 3 60 mg tablets a day and have been on this dosage for about 6 years, up from a previous dosage of 2 60 mg tablets. Today, 4 Nov 09, I went to pick up a refill that I called in a week ago. I was informed at the pharmacy that Armour Thyroid is no longer being made. Period. I took my last pills on 2 November so I have no medication at all. I have a call in to my doctor but he has not yet returned that call. We contemplated a switch to Synthroid a couple of years ago (for a variety of reasons, none of which are relevant here) but the doctor said it could be a very slow process of finding out exactly what dosage of synthetic hormone would adequately replace the natural Armour. At that time I had insurance that would have covered the lab tests required to determine the proper dosage. I am now without insurance due to the death of my spouse, and because of the hypothyroidism I am unable to obtain health insurance that is even remotely affordable. Therefore I can’t afford all the tests, all the doctor visits, all the rest of the hoopla that woudl go with switching medication. I’ve been fortunate so far that I’ve been able to keep my same doctor, and that he gives me a bit of a break paying cash for my once-a-year-visit, but he’s 60 miles away and I can’t even afford the trips back and forth if I have to start “nudging” a new medication. It’s bad enough to be without the medication for a while, but to think that it will never be available again? I honestly don’t know what to do.
LAWHilton@yahoo.com
LA
1
Why don’t you ask your doctor to call in a Rx to Clark’s Pharmacy for Nature-Throid, which is natural dessicated thyroid, the same as Armour (and some say it works better for them than the original Armour). I just had my doctor do that for me yesterday, and the pharmacy has plenty in stock and it’s on it’s way to me. There is also Erfa Armour Thyroid from Canada that your doctor can call or fax a Rx to and they can send you Armour thyroid from their supplier, which is the same as the Armour here in the US before it was reformulated. I know how awful it is to be without sufficient thyroid med. Contact info: http://www.canadiandrugs.com for the Erfa thyroid and the phone # for Clark’s Pharmacy is (480) 488-5440. Hope this helps!
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