NDT total confusion

Ok, so I admit to being completely confused here.

Some say Armour does not work the way it used too prior to reformulation (early 2009?), and that they need Erfa or Nature-Throid to feel the same...however, Nature-Throid, too, was supposedly reformulated...and many seem unhappy with Erfa nowadays. The company says the production facility changed (from Belgium to Spain???), but that the formula itself did not change...however, many patients do not seem to agree with this statement?!?!

Some say all NDT drugs need to be chewed in order to release the hormones from the coating, others say that NDT drugs not containing cellulose (such as Erfa or the Thai brands) can be taken sublingually.

Some continue to do well on reformulated brands such as Armour and Nature-Throid/Westhroid, others seem to do better on brands not containing cellulose...

Some say Armour/NT/WT were reformulated because the FDA required it; however, NP Thyroid is also a US brand, it is still being manufactured, and it does not contain cellulose...?!

I'd really like to know what works for you, especially if you have tried more than one brand of NDT before settling on one that actually works?!

[Clutter]

theCat, you will drive yourself mad trying to figure out the wheres and whyfores of why brands were reformulated and whether subsequent reformulations suit everyone as well as the previous. If cellulose is a problem for you you should obviously avoid it and take meds which don't contain it.

You can only obtain current formulations and the only way to know whether they work for you is to try them. Chewing the tablet to break the coating before swallowing or swallowing whole is a matter of personal preference. If one method works better for you then go with it.

[Hidden in reply to Clutter]

Clutter, does that mean that most patients are happy with reformulated NDT such as Armour and Nature-Throid if chewing them up, or not....? Sorry, but I need to understand this myself in order to know how to treat myself...!

[Clutter in reply to Hidden]

theCat, I would guess that most patients are swallowing Armour without chewing unless they've read the STTM blogs about the 2009 reformulation. Armour was reformulated again after 2009 to address the hard coating issue from the 2009 reformulation. NatureThroid and Erfa never had the hard coating issue so have never needed to be chewed before swallowing. The chewing advice from Armour's 2009 reformulation has been extrapolated to include all forms of NDT even though they were not affected. It's become a thyroid/NDT myth.

If you prefer to bite or crunch a tablet prior to swallowing it's fine to do so but not necessary.