Armour Thyroid shortage?

Those of you in the UK (or elsewhere, including the US) on Armour Thyroid, have you had any problems getting it lately? In Belgium, it seems almost impossible to find, at least at the moment...several of the pharmacies usually carrying NDT only have a couple of bottles left, and seem unable to order more. I am trying to find out if this is merely temporary, for whatever reason, or if Armour is simply not being manufactured anymore...so, basically, on its way out...?

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

I've not heard anything but I'll ask a pharmacist.

[Hidden in reply to lynmynott]

Thanks!

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

I've had a chat with one of the pharmacists we suggest to people and he said that there is no problem with supply to the UK. Can you get your pharmacy to ask specific questions about whether there has been a ruling in Belgium to put a stop to it?

[Hidden in reply to lynmynott]

Thank you for your feedback!

Yes, I just spoke to a pharmacist who said they simply don't order Armour Thyroid anymore, the reason being that it has become so expensive in the past year or so that nobody wants it anymore, but practically all patients previously on Armour have switched to Erfa. So, it seems Armour is no longer available in Belgium; not because NDT as such is no longer available, but simply because of declining demand...it's true that Armour is expensive compared to other NDT drugs; I even remember reading somewhere that Armour is up to three times more expensive than other brands, such as WP or Erfa. The pharmacist I talked to (in Belgium) confirmed that Erfa is indeed much cheaper so a much more cost effective alternative for most, also because it's available in 500 ct bottles.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

Yes, Armour has become so expensive since Actavis bought it out. Erfa and Nutrithyroid and WPThyroid are much cheaper now. Can you get your prescription changed?

[Hidden in reply to lynmynott]

Actually, I have a prescription for both drugs as my doctor said that many of her patients have switched to Erfa after they could no longer afford Armour, so she prescribed both for me just in case I decided to ask for Erfa as well...I was just curious as there have been some rumours (largely unsubstantiated, true) about Armour working better now than it did right after the 2009 reformulation...so I thought "why not try it"? At least, that way, I would be able to decide for myself if I thought it was worth it or not. But it seems Erfa is a good substitute and it is readily available in Belgium (in all pharmacies carrying NDT, that is).

[QUE6T-33 in reply to lynmynott]

Hi Lyn, yes Armour on one site is

currently £126 per 100 half grain !

Crazy expensive. Currently on

Armour which seems to suit, but

have to find similar reliable alternative.

I'm pretty sensitive to fillers, can't

tolerate lactose & wondered which

Brand of NDT might be most suitable

to try ? Any advice grateful for.

[Clutter in reply to QUE6T-33]

QUE6T-33,

Ingredients of various brands NDT are listed in stopthethyroidmadness.com/a...

[QUE6T-33 in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter - will have a look

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to QUE6T-33]

WPThyroid has less inactive ingredients and might be worth trying

[QUE6T-33 in reply to lynmynott]

Thanks Lyn