Tex, I noticed on a posting today that you take Armour supplements. I am, and have for years been taking Levothyroxin. ( I had a partial throidectomy in my twenties due to hyperthyroidism--that's how they cured it back then!). Is there an advantage to taking Natural thyroid? And did you have a tough time convincing the doctor to prescribe them?
Thanks!
Jean
Thyroid supplements
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Hi Jean,
I switched because the synthetic version that I tried didn't seem to resolve my symptoms. I had no trouble making the switch, because I had an old country doctor, at the time, and back in those days, Forest Laboratories still had a searchable list on their website, of doctors who were willing to prescribe Armour, and he was even on the list. Sadly, they apparently didn't include that list when they created their new website a few years ago. Maybe one of the alternative thyroid websites has such a list — I didn't check any of them.
Please be aware that medicare and possibly other insurance companies do not cover Armour for any patient over 65 years of age. If I recall correctly, the reason for this ridiculous ruling is said to be due to a claim that under certain conditions, Armour can mask certain symptoms of cardiovascular disease, thus causing doctors to overlook certain health problems.
IOW, they're saying that it can cause patients to feel so much better that neither they nor their doctor will notice the symptoms of heart failure. Is that weird or what?
Tex
I switched because the synthetic version that I tried didn't seem to resolve my symptoms. I had no trouble making the switch, because I had an old country doctor, at the time, and back in those days, Forest Laboratories still had a searchable list on their website, of doctors who were willing to prescribe Armour, and he was even on the list. Sadly, they apparently didn't include that list when they created their new website a few years ago. Maybe one of the alternative thyroid websites has such a list — I didn't check any of them.
Please be aware that medicare and possibly other insurance companies do not cover Armour for any patient over 65 years of age. If I recall correctly, the reason for this ridiculous ruling is said to be due to a claim that under certain conditions, Armour can mask certain symptoms of cardiovascular disease, thus causing doctors to overlook certain health problems.
IOW, they're saying that it can cause patients to feel so much better that neither they nor their doctor will notice the symptoms of heart failure. Is that weird or what?Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I've taken Armour thyroid for 3 years now. They just couldn't get my levels right on Levothyroxine. I would go from Hypo to Hyper....was driving me crazy. Armour has worked great for me and don't get those kind of fluctuations. I've had no issues with Armour and my doctor didn't hesitate to prescribe it to me.
@Tex...interesting what you said about Armour and cardiovascular disease. Had no idea.
Terri
@Tex...interesting what you said about Armour and cardiovascular disease. Had no idea.
Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
Terri,
Rather than cardiovascular disease in general, the claims are mostly about heart problems. Some people claim that T3 makes the heart work harder, for example. Well doh! The body actually uses T3, which it produces from T4 (synthetic supplements are T4), so as long as T3 levels are in the normal range, that's a moot point.
Tex
Rather than cardiovascular disease in general, the claims are mostly about heart problems. Some people claim that T3 makes the heart work harder, for example. Well doh! The body actually uses T3, which it produces from T4 (synthetic supplements are T4), so as long as T3 levels are in the normal range, that's a moot point.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Armour is an old, old medication, and most folks in the medical profession, and especially in the pharmaceutical industry, don't like old medications, because from a medical viewpoint, they're not modern and so they're considered to be obsolete, and in the pharmaceutical industry, there's no money in old medications, because they're so cheap that it's difficult to mark them up with outrageous profit margins, without their greed being obvious.Jean wrote:I guess Armour was not as lucrative for the politicians.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Jean, there's a lot of information about natural desiccated thyroid at this site. www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
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Christine.
- Gentoo Penguin
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I take levothyroxin. I stay pretty level on the dose and my PCP felt that Armour was harder to regulate. With all my info from this site I pointed out Tex's thought that there may not be money to be made in the natural dessicated thyroid. He countered that one of the cheapest tried and true drugs on the market is levothyroxin. So...I didn't insist ona change. Did I make a mistake in not insisting?
Christine
Christine
If it resolves your symptoms, it's probably OK for you. I'll agree that levothyroxin is cheap, but I'm not so sure that it's true — it didn't work for me, nor does it work for thousands of others who don't happen to fit the standard mold for which synthetic thyroid supplements happen to work. Taking synthetic T4 amounts to taking a prodrug (or a prohormone). If someone's body can't convert it into the active form, then it does them little or no good.
Tex
Tex
Tex
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.