So, I have an appointment with my hormone doctor in Belgium next week and I am going to get my prescriptions for NDT (Armour and Erfa) renewed, as I always do. I have been on Thyroid-S for the past couple of years, but have not told doc that. The reason I decided to go down that road was because there were so many negative reviews online, claiming that Armour had stopped working after it was reformulated. The fact that is has tripled in price in recent years also factored in. After all, Thai NDT costs me about 200 USD a year, whereas NDT from Belgium would cost five times that much.
However, based on some posts here (both recent and older), it seems Armour is working very well for quite a few users...although this information is never available on the STTM where they seem adamant Armour is no longer working because it contains more cellulose since it was reformulated. They claim cellulose binds to thyroid hormone and makes absorption by the body more difficult. If that is true, would taking more not solve that problem...?
The STTM claims Armour was rendered less effective when reformulated as it could no longer be taken sublingually. However, many claim that NDT contains molecules too large to be absorbed that way, and that it's supposed to be swallowed and digested by the gut. I have always taken NDT that way anyway, so that would not be a problem to me. I would, however, be willing to chew the pills up if that can help absorption.
I like Thyroid-S, but I am not too thrilled about all the fillers (I cannot for the life of me understand why they need 20 or so fillers in such a tiny pill...). Also, I constantly have to worry about customs confiscating it (there are no longer any suppliers in Europe).
I have tried Erfa and Thiroyd in the past but, for some reason, I seem to be digesting NDT without cellulose too fast, and this makes me feel somewhat "speeded" (I'd prefer not to multi dose it, but rather to be able to take it once daily, purely for the sake of convenience).
So, I have been considering lately giving Armour another try. However, before going down that road, I'd like to hear from people on it and happy with it:
How do you take it? Swallow it? Chew it up (some recommend this in order to break down the cellulose)? Sublingually?
If you took Armour before the 2009 reformulation, did you need to increase the dosage after the reformulation?
Do you notice any difference between the smaller sized pills (15, 30, 60, 90 mg) as opposed to the larger ones (180, 240, 300 mg)? The latter may be a more cost effective option (and can always be split), but I suppose they also contain more cellulose simply because they are bigger...?
Any input would be most welcome!
how is Armour Thyroid working these days...?
