I was diagnosed as having Hashimoto Disease in 2010. I took Levothyroxine for four years and as a reault experienced water retention and other side effects. I asked the doctor if he would allow me to try Armour Thyroid which he did. I have taken them for four years, and felt great. He now can no longer prescribe them to me privately or under the NHS. Does anyone know someway or somewhere where I can purchase this medication so I can continue taking them. The doctor said that he'd allow me to take them, as long as I purchase them myself, and he'll continue to monitor me.
Yours sincerely
Marian
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MarianThomas
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I think it is ridiculous to stop prescribing thyrod hormones that the patient requires for good health. I would contact Louise - Lyn Mynott's P.A. and ask what the procedure is if doctor will no longer provide Private Prescriptions for NDT. email below
louise.roberts@thyroiduk.org
We have a Petition at present before The Lords about the withdrawal of T3,
NDTs have been given to patients, in various forms since 1892, without any dire effects and because it is made from pigs' thyroid glands it is more conducive to the human body for many sfferers.
Thank you very much for this information. I have just sent Louise an email. It really does seem unfair not to be allowed to prescribe a medication that helps me SO much. My doctor advised me to go back on Levothyroxine, which I really dont want to.
The reasoning is that Big Pharma had to use methods to sway (very gradually) the medical profession when introducing levothyroxine initially - was for them to pay (or in kind) for doctors and endocrinologists to start prescribing levothyroxine T4 alone. I believe they have also funded Conferences so I assume they wouldn't like the benefits of NDT to be told.
One of our deceased Advisers (in USA) stated this corruption (he is not the only doctor to do so) happened very, very gradually and over the years NDT became the 'cinderella' of thyroid hormone replacements and it was now 'withdrawn' in the UK due to False Information stated by our own British Thyroid Foundation and I suppose taken up by others who prescribed - just like your doctor amongst many others.
I wouldn't suspect an Official Document not to be true! The patients who are at the 'end of the line' and can only recover with the original NDT why allow them to suffer? Just because of an untruthful statement.
As the saying goes 'The Fruit of the Pudding is in the Eating' , so that the pudding many hypo patients need is NDT as they do not recover on levothyroxine (T4 alone).
Many on this forum have had to source their own - this is not what the NHS is supposed to do - to force people to get their own hormones in order to keep well. Many will be unable to do so but the authorities don't seem to care that people are driven to dire straits for want of a decent thyroid hormone in their bodies.
Dr Lowe - after their publication about NDT - wrote to the Associations and for three years before he died and he requested a response - which was ignored by them. This is what Dr Lowe wrote:-
It is not doctors or specialists who should dictate what hormones makes a patient well and who should be given options. For those whom levothyroxine removes all their clinical symptoms that's fine but for those struggling with ill-health by being forced to take hormones their body doesn't like or makes them far more unwell should be permitted options. Especially when they've had success with it.
It makes one wonder about the integrity of these Associations - as the same situation seems to have arisen worldwide now. Mind you - with all of the 'extra prescriptions' to control symptoms Big Pharma's profits must be increasing.
Give your doctor a copy of Dr Lowe's Rebuttal.
I would also contact your MP - a face to face might be best and complain to him/her that after years on NDT it has been withdrawn thus making you unwell again.
Hi. I have recently been prescribed Erfa NDT 60mg. I was on Levothyroxine for 11 years. For Hashimotos. I’ve had a number of problems over the years on Levothyroxine. I paid for private prescription and bought mine from Spire July 18. Are you saying that you can’t get it privately at all now please.
I telephoned Spire. Got an appointment the following day with an Endo who had been treating me in an NHS hospital also. He wrote out a prescription there and then privately at Spire. I collected the Erfa at Spire pharamacy the same day. It cost £100 for the short consultation and prescription. It cost £75 for x100 60mg Erfa. My Endo told me x1 grain/tablet Erfa = 75mcg Levothyroxoine. However, NHS and some other users say x1 grain/tablet Erfa = 100mcg Levothyroxine.
I take Nature Throid...wonder if he would prescribe that for you? It's identical to Armour I believe..I do very well on either of these, but Nature Throid (here in the US) is much less expensivie than Armour.
Yes, the doctor said he's not allowed to prescribe is privately or through the NHS any longer for me. I only have a few tablets left, and am feeling really low regarding the whole situation. I find it hard, knowing that Pharmacy2U has it there for me, but I cannot access it without a prescription.
She would have to call Spire or Nuffield to arrange to see a private Endocrinologist. They would then write her a private prescription. That’s what I did for a 3 month supply cost £75 for Erfa and £100 for prescription/short consultation.
Hello you could try <an online source> they do ask if you are medically supervised which you are so maybe enquire to see if they can help, the pharmacist there Afshin is v helpful I have ordered from them before (I had a prescription but they didn’t request it) good luck regards mcooper
When you signed up to this forum, you were asked to agree to the guidelines. Your response here breaks guideline 25 so has been edited to make it compliant.
25. Do not post advertisements, links or information of any sort whatsoever, on where or how to obtain UK prescription only medications without prescription. This includes online pharmacies who issue 'prescriptions' on the basis of the completion of a simple health questionnaire.
Is nature Throid available to buy from the drugstores over there, without prescription. I have already asked my husband's cousin regarding thyroid medication over there, since she is living at Seattle, hoping she could purchase and post it to me.
I have seen a few people from the UK saying their doctor is no longer able to give a private prescription for NDT even though they had been doing it for several years before.
Does anyone know why this has happened? Under the circumstances it can't be a funding issue if the prescription is private and the patient is paying for the NDT. There must have been a change in rules but I haven't seen this discussed anywhere.
helvella You keep up to date with such changes in the regulations. Have you heard anything about this?
I was passed on a letter from my Dr which was sent to him by an endocrinologist at the hospital. In the letter it mentions that approx 80% of a dose of T4 is absorbed and because the plasma half-life of T4 is long (seven days), when a steady state is reached, a once-daily T4 tablet results in nearly constant serum T4 and T3 concentrations. Since there may be subtle difference in bioavailability between T4 formulations, ideally it is preferable to persist with one formulation where possible.
I was initially purchasing Armour Thyroid via a private prescription. Then, a pharmacist from the practise mentioned that if I am an NHS patient, then I ought to have it free, which I did for about three years. Now my doctor is not allowed to prescribe it at all, and wants me back on Levothyroxine. I am very confused.
Thanks. The first paragraph is pretty normal - and I agree with not changing formulations unless there is a positive reason to do so.
Has your doctor explained exactly why he/she can no longer prescribe Armour Thyroid, even on a private prescription? Without being told, you cannot know. So no surprise you are confused!
He mentioned that my T4 blood test result wasn't normal, neither was my TSH. I explained they weren't normal becaise I hadn't been taking medication every day, due to the fear of running out and not being able to purchase more.
The letter mentioned that endocrinology service does not recognise the validity of T3 prescribing, and they are particularly sceptical about products like Armour. They say that the research literature does not suggest any convincing evidence that if offers any benefits over T4. I explained the side effects I had while taking Levothyroxine (water retention in particular) and he said there could have been other things going on in my body at the time that we weren't aware of. I explained how great I feel since taking Armour. It didn't make any difference sadly.
They also mentioned - the danger with taking T3 is that when taken orally, it creates peakes in levels as it is not long acting in the same way that T4 is. Therefore, many people who take it end up over-replaced without realising it, as blood test T3 readings do not necessarily coincide with peak T3 levels. As a consequence, there is a much higher risk of osteoporosis and heart rhythm problems. We have therefore been advised not to prescribe it at all.
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