Dangerous Alternatives for Desiccated (Armour) Thyroid
Yesterday a patient of mine asked if I was aware of a source of desiccated thyroid produced in Thailand. I was immediately skeptical for a few reasons. Many countries do not have an agency that provides quality control for medications. Whatever the drawbacks to the FDA, it is reassuring to know that for the most part, they have been able to protect citizens in the US from dangerous or defective medications. Many other countries provide similar protection to their population. Unfortunately there are places in the world where potentially dangerous medication is still available without a prescription. Quality control of medication production is also lacking.
My concern is that in some parts of the world, possibly Thailand for example, that a medication like Armour could be made but no qualified individual or agency is available to certify its ingredients or standardization.
Today a well meaning member forwarded their comments on a product called Thyroid S produced in Thailand, which is a supposed substitute for Armour thyroid and is available without a prescription. My reaction is that until we can be certain of the formulation of a medication that the best thing to do is to avoid using it. Perhaps in time someone will be able to provide the necessary information required to evaluate this product but as editor-in-chief of this website I will try to guard our readers against becoming victims of scams and exploitation.
I welcome any information others may have on solid information about Thyroid S or similar compounds being marketed as Armour Thyroid substitutes.
What we know is here (scroll down to find Thyroid-S): http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/armour-vs-other-brands
I suffered almost to the point of death …for about 9 or 10 months….under the re-formulated Armour….without my knowledge of “what the problem even was?”..
.until one day I got a letter from my regular mail-order pharmacy, telling me they could “no longer supply my Rx for Armour Thyroid”.
So I went online, to see if I could obtain it elsewhere.
THAT is when I eventually got on the webpage: “www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
There, I read a huge wealth of info on what was going on, and discovered to my dismay, that there were literally THOUSANDS of other folks, suffering with the same situation as me.
What made matters even worse was the re-formulation of Armour
which made it LOOSE ITS RIGHTS of being “grandfathered in” as GRAS.(generally recognized as safe).
Also the re-formulation was not helping to ameliorate the hypo-thyroid symptoms…something was wrong with it.
They used to say: “if it aint broke…dont fix it”…. but the suspicion is that significant money was exchanged “under the table’ to cause the thousands of hypo-thyroid sufferers to be forced to take the synthetic.
an obvious clue …was the Abbot Co.’s REPORTED record 157 MILLION dollar additional extreme profit …over ONLY the last fiscal quarter (3 months)…..which probably was for many prescriptions of the synthetic thyroid ….to replace the “no-longer-available Armour natural dessicated thyroid.
So I went online to seek my available alternatives to Armour.
since there were several, some folks had already tried it, and reported it was sufficient for them….and….Re: Thailand resource…all I can say is …even if it was found at some future date….to not be PERFECT according to USA standards…It is STLL more beneficial to some hypothyroid folks than the synthetic, since its got T 1, T 2,T 3, T4 and calcitonin in it …….from the thyroids of porcine(pig).
Therefore, even if a person wanted a steak dinner because they were hungry,…… even a bowl of oatmeal would suffice, in a pinch.
Likewise, if a person had a severely low thyroid condition, ….even a “relatively” strong medicinal amount ……..would be better than nothing….or even the synthetic,….for those who genetically were either unable, or deficient in the conversion, ….and also needed the T 3 as well as the t 4.
I’ve been using Thyroid S for the last six months with more success than I ever had with Armour thyroid.
Why is there an assumption that the product from Thailand is not as good as the product made by the makers of Armour?
Why would the quality control of a foreign owned company be less than it is here? Are we to assume that people in other countries settle for less than pure drugs?
What would make a company in Thailand less able to make a pharmaeceutical quality drug?
Are we to assume that it’s only the vigilance of the FDA that keeps us from poisoning ourselves?
I listened to the medical establishment once and wound up swallowing 3 nuclear pills to kill of my thyroid. I’ll forego the great wisdom and make my own decisions from here on in.
Terry Alan Wade
All I know is I do horribly on synthetics, and the old Armour was wonderful.
The reformulated Armour was also horrible. My ears blocked up and I felt like I was in a tunnel. So I went wth Nature-Thyroid. Then when that was gone, I went to ERFA in Canada.
My primary care doctor would not give me a script for natural thyroid and put all of her patients ( according to her) all on synthetics. I was ready to order from Thailand myself.
The synthetic product I felt like I was going to die on. I had no clue what the problem was. As soon as I took even 1/2 grain of the old Armour, it was like a light bulb went on inside me… I was alive again..
So if the FDA takes away our natural thyroid product, people like myself will have no choice but to go to another Country that has a natural product. If the doctors here will not give us the needed prescription for it, then we will get the thyroid hormone where we can to ’survive’.
I have experienced the same symptoms from the loss of Armour to Nature-Throid. My gyneocologist’s assistant recommended I start taking a compounded thyroid medication from Madison Pharmacy in Madison, Wisconsin. I was resistant at first as I thought (so foolishly!) I could obtain a compounded med locally. After numerous dead-end phone calls and having to explain the Amour/Nature Throid “No More Inventory” dilemma to unknowing pharmacists and their assistants…….I contacted the pharmacy above. Not only do I feel and look better but I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. This med was compounded specifically for me based on numerous lab results. It works for me and I am so glad to have it….for now. I’m secretly waiting for the ‘other-dessicated-thyroid-powder’-shoe to fall.
Terry Allen Wade, where did you obtained the Thyroid S? I would like to look into that. I ,like alot of other people are going thru the same problem . My body temperture has fallen to 96.2, among other problems that I am experiencing. I feel like I am going to die if I don’t get my medication . I need to find someone or some place that will prescribe a natural product. I would appreciate any information. Thank you.
I did horribly on synthetics for years and years. Once I found out about natural thyroid hormone, I couldn’t find a doctor who would prescribe it! I was told over and over again that it was unreliable, junk, blah, blah, blah. I had to fire several physicians until I finally found a good integrative physician who hates synthetics. When NTH became unavailable I got my hands on some Thyroid-S; this was before I knew about Erfa, the Canadian alternative. I did fine on Thyroid-S until RT3 reared its ugly head again due to severe and prolonged illness (asthma & bronchitis). I am still on T3 only for the time being, but when I have my RT3 cleared up I will be going back to Thyroid-S until it is gone because I did much better on it than on reformulated Armour, which I will never take again. Once I run out of the Thyroid-S I will have my good doctor write a prescription for Erfa, which is similar to the old Armour formulation. If he won’t then I will get Thyroid-S again, because I will NEVER go back to T4 only treatment that I did horribly on for many years. I have done my homework and know how to titrate NTH to even my Hashi’s out – which means I must be totally suppressed, but not hyper. I have had thyroid issues my entire life; none of which were diagnosed as a child and my childhood was miserable – I had multiple (MULTIPLE!) thyroid symptoms, but I have no idea if I was ever tested. I’m sure if I was I was proclaimed normal because doctors, once they found their little magic TSH tests, and the previous tests, lost all powers of observation and became dummies to big Pharma. If you know nothing about a product, don’t slam it. Do YOUR homework. That’s what patients are doing, and quite successfully, I might add. If the medical establishment wishes to ignore an excellent treatment that has stood the test of time, as in NTH, patients WILL take matters into their own hands, as we wish to be well and have lives that are meaningful and not lived in the weariness and brain-fogged state of untreated or undertreated thyroid conditions, because their bloodwork is “normal” which is a setting on a dishwasher and should NEVER be applied to a patient who is in a deteriorating condition, but has “normal” bloodwork! Use your eyes, doctors. Use your ears. Stop putting us on AD’s and really start listening. We are leaving your offices in droves, looking for doctors who will really listen. If they won’t then we WILL educate ourselves, and believe me, some of us know much more than most idiot Endo’s, and until we can find a doctor who can actually think and observe, we will get our own selves well. Educate YOURSELF on Thyroid-S, as apparently you have NOT done so to date. The FDA, which is a total joke and has no real concern for anything save Big Pharmas profits, is NOT the last word on the safety of medications, especially if you look at their dismal track record. It is arrogance on the part of doctors like you who assume the USA has a corner on drug safety. Not so. I found your attitude ignorant.
I would like to add that the real scam is our current medical system that under treats patients and condescends to the sick; telling them there is nothing wrong with their thyroids when their symptoms are screaming textbook thyroid issues. Read a real medical textbook, one that was published before your darling gold standards, which have changed many times, by the way, and when doctors used their powers of observation and their ears and checked a patients cholesterol and temperature and perhaps even BP; all can be affected by a thyroid that is not performing up to par. It is a travesty that patients, instead of being put on NTH and having their adrenal function checked properly, as stated in the brochures of ALL thyroid meds, are undertreated or not treated and put on BP meds, AD’s, cholesterol drugs, the list goes on and on, when they could have their thyroid properly treated and not have to have ANY of that! And yes, you really got me going.
I bet my comments are moderated out. If so, then I will be unsubscribing from your newsletter, and consigning you as yet one more physican who only gets it partway.
Catherine Clark,
I see your point of view, clearly. I only do well on dessicated pigs thyroid and will stop at nothing to ensure a proper quality of life for myself.
However, I am a patient of Gary Pepper and your comments are a bit over the top. Gary worked with me in a proper and scientific manner to get my thyroid condition under control. It took time and the answer for my condition was not immediate. However, like many others, we discovered that an Armour/synthroid combo worked. My well being went from 100% prior to Hashi’s to 10%, then improved as dosing and drugs were tried. I am currently satisfied with my treatment and overall health. While I will never be 100% again due to other health problems, the thyroid issue was solved, due in part to Gary and his willingness to listen to me, my complaints, how I felt and my labs. The very thing you rail against.
I do not use Thyroid-S but have found the Canadian desiccated thyroid Erfa to be an excellent product. It does require a dr’s prescription to get though.
I think that many do use Thyroid-S because it’s available without a prescription and this is usually a course of last resort for those who cannot get their doctors to listen to them concerning their hypothyroidism and the failure of synthetic T4. It’s very sad that so many have to self-treat or go on being sick and only getting sicker with very serious health effects because of the incredible dysfunction of our endocrine treatment worldwide. The fact is that most endocrinologists and mainstream medical practitioners have been bought and paid for by BigPharma and will refuse to treat patients by any other method than the T4 and TSH-only scenario.
I’ve spent much time on many thyroid forums and have heard only good things about Thyroid-S so I think the worries are unfounded about its safety. There have been many, many recalls of synthetic T4 from many manufacturers so it’s hardly a case of T4 being an undeniably safe product.
Where do you get the Thyroid S or Thiroyd–can you order from the internet?
For those of you “sheep” out there…doctors and patients alike…who think the FDA (Food and Drug Association) is out for your benefit…..azand looking out for your safety in “all things”…………….just take a look at the Bisphenol fiasco !!!!
Bisphenol is what has been in ALL YOUR PRECIOUS BABIES’
BOTTLES !!!!
ALMOST ALL THE BABIES IN THE USA HAVE BEEN DRINKING POISZON ANS CANCER CAUSING SUBSTANCES FROM THE BABY BOTTLES THAT THE FDA FAILED TO BRING TO LIGHT…..UNTIL JUST THIS YEAr……
they knew about it for a very long time….follow the money !!!!
and look at the food safety recaLLS…….
HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF WHY they recalled meats that were months and even years old??????
could it be to give the time for the meat to be consumed so the manufacturers didn’t have to replace it??or ????
follow the money
have you ever asked yourself WHY so many congresmen and senators, when they reach their term limits and have to quit their “jobs” magically get hired by the big drug compnies, and the FDA, etc??????
FOLLOW THE MONEY !!!!!!!
I hope I never have to go back to synthetics. I tried them all and they were awful and the new formulation of Armour was just as bad. I had all kinds of wasted tests until I searched the internet and found the reformulation of Armour was the problem. I think they changed more than the fillers….that stuff is awful. If people can get thyroid-s I say go for it. The FDA is another useless government bureaucracy that just makes our lives miserable. Their purpose is to keep meds safe and that is all. When they start controlling instead and letting the Pharm Manufacturers lobby them, then that borders on corruption. I get Erfa Thyroid from Canada. I changed docs to get this prescription and it works fine. (had to up the dose slightly) I had no choice, I just can’t live on synthetics….among other things they raised by BP and then they were giving me meds for that….wow was I miserable….side effects all over the place.
The minute I stopped the synthetics….no blood pressure problem…doc swore up and down they didn’t cause it….now have a new doc. You just have to keep looking until you find one that will listen.
I am feeling horrible on levothyroxine for several years now. I am presently in thailand for dental work. Does anybody have a clue as to where to get this thyroid-s. soinds great but so ironic that I am in the counry of manufactur and nobobdy seems so have a clue as to whrer to get it. Thanks
Thailand has some of the best hospitals and medical care in the world . The hospitals there are like 5 star hotels and many Dr.s have studied in Europe and the US. Seems like they know what they are doing. Do we know what the FDA is doing? They have screwed up my life for the past year and almost killed me with their reformulation first of Armour and than of Nature Throid and Westthroid. So if people feel well on Thyroid -S, let them take it.
I was on L’throxine and felt terrible. I started on Thyroid-s from Tailand (under supervision of the great Dr Peatfield, Doctor and Author of The Great Thyroid Scandal and How to Survive it). I feel wonderful. It’s a shame that my GP (s)…. yes I had to change 3 times before I finally realized they are scared of the GMC and unwilling to help with anything other than L’throxine. After seeing Dr Peatfield privately, I was relieved that someone was willing to listen and help. You can find a supplier of Thyroid-s via the website Stop This Thyroid Madness. Mine arrived within 2 weeks or order. We need to be able to have a choice of reliable treatment here in the UK.
Hi, I use thyroid-S as getting private treatment is exspensive in the UK.
the NHS is a sham it only treats you if you are dieing. and uses cemicals that don`t apparantly belong in the human body.so i believe natural is best. i do very well on thyroid-S , so what i say is suck it and see. if you
like me have been given the run around by so called doctors.then treat your self and stay well.