NP or Armour?

[Tweetypie28]

Sorry for posting so much this week! I'm going to order some different medication as I'm currently on the new batch of nature thyroid, not feeling well and can't afford to sit back and let my health decline so having to order something else. Not happy at having wasted over £200 on NT but what can I do? So to prevent anymore wasted expense, what are people's thoughts on NP or Armour? I have had armour before and been fine on it but changed because Nature Thyroid was cheaper

[MaisieGray]

Have you tried simply increasing your dose - others have done that to good effect.

[Tweetypie28 in reply to MaisieGray]

No I haven't Maisie, didn't think of that! I'm struggling because I was slightly hyper on the old batch so reduced my dosage by 1/2gr at the same time I started taking the new batch. Felt awful within a week so raised it slightly by 1/4gr but still feel awful. I'm holding at this dose as only raised it two days ago. I'm currently only taking 1/4gr less than I was and cannot believe that I should feel this lousy considering I was slightly overmedicated before so am assuming that the tablets aren't as effective. Rather than mess about trying to get it right I'm thinking of buying something else as I cannot afford to be ill.

[phoenix23002]

Yes... some using the 'new' Naturethroid have sadly reported not doing well. I haven't used the 'new' Armour but have taken NP by Acella. I love it and love the original WP by RLC Labs. I had stockpiled my WP but will be getting short pretty soon. I will go with the NP when my supply of WP runs out. The only complaints I have heard about NP from users is that some report gaining a little weight but otherwise, no hypo symptoms.

Supposedly, WP is back in production and the 1 grain (60 mgs) is being shipped. Way too soon to know if there will be a problem with it. I fear the new WP and the new Naturethroid may have the same problems that the 'new' Erfa experienced because I read or heard somewhere that Canada is where RLC Labs is sourcing their USP grade thyroid extract. This is so discouraging.

[Tweetypie28 in reply to phoenix23002]

It really is Phoenix. I was doing so well. I'm shocked at how rubbish I feel. I took my health for granted because every single symptom is back and it's a reminder of how debilitating hypothyroidism is. I think I'm going to order armour, despite its cost. I've had armour before and been very well on it. It's better to go with what you know rather than risk something else

[phoenix23002 in reply to Tweetypie28]

Totally agree, Debsy and you are lucky that you did well on the Armour. So many didn't but the complaints about it have diminished substantially over the last few years. Do you get a prescription for it?

[Tweetypie28 in reply to phoenix23002]

No I self medicate. I did manage to get a description from a private endo 4 years ago but she never prescribed enough so I ordered my own and eventually stopped seeing the endo

[Framboise in reply to phoenix23002]

Oh thank you for this phoenix! I wondered what the common factor was because I did very badly on the "new" ERFA too. I thought possibly a filler or some new machinery that didn't mix properly, but if it's the thyroid extract that's much more basic and a real concern. I wonder how it's being processed.

[phoenix23002 in reply to Framboise]

Erfa was wonderful after Armour was first.... unavailable and then.... reformulated. Erfa was a life-saver for so many of us and was just like the old Armour. Then Canada changed manufacturing facilities from Belgium to Spain and boy..... the complaints started rolling in. Canada has yet to admit that anything has changed.

The 'new' Erfa made me dizzy and light-headed after only a few days so had to go beat the bushes and find another NDT. WP was terrific as well as NP. WP was just easier for my local pharmacy to source so that is the one I stuck with.

My heart sank when I read/heard that RLC was sourcing their extract from Canada. It might explain why some are doing poorly on Naturethroid and I expect the same reaction to WP users. I guess we will have to wait and see. Hopefully they won't have the same result with WP as Canada had with Erfa.

ps... on the STTM website, a 'new' Erfa user found that when he ground up the Erfa to a fine powder and took it, it worked for him. Might have to try the same thing with the 'new' Naturethroid and WP?

[Framboise in reply to phoenix23002]

Wow phoenix you sound like me, I changed to ERFA when Armour reformulated too. I thought it wonderful until that switch from Belgium to Spain, I only took one dose and got palpitations, dizziness, light-headedness. I didn't ever take any more, but it didn't make sense to me, so I emailed Dr Knafo at the ERFA company for months and, although he was concerned and kept replying to me, he couldn't understand what was wrong either.

I always chew the tablets in the hope of making them easier to absorb, but it hasn't helped much with the latest Nature-Throid. First my blood levels went down earlier this year, then when I increased they went back up, but I gradually just didn't feel right, until the latest batch and now I know something is wrong. The annoying thing is that I was doing well self-treating on Thyroid-S although I wasn't keen on all the fillers. I finally found a lovely endocrinologist who's willing to prescribe for me but he favours Nature-Throid, which why I've been taking it.

[phoenix23002 in reply to Framboise]

lol... you are right. We seem to have the same history with our use of NDT and our trials and tribulations.

You are fortunate to have a cooperating doctor. Maybe he will agree to prescribe NP by Acella for you? It seems to be a pretty good NDT. It isn't the cheapest but... it isn't outrageously priced like Armour either.

[Framboise in reply to phoenix23002]

I emailed him yesterday to tell him I was stopping the Nature-Throid and suggest a trial of NP, but not heard back yet. Fingers crossed!

[phoenix23002 in reply to Framboise]

Yes... fingers crossed, my friend.

[waveylines in reply to Framboise]

I have a simular history to you two. I did well on Armour until they reformulated it so moved onto Erfa which was fantastic until they moved facilities so then moved onto WP Which I loved until they stopped making it so have been on Acella NP for the last year which I also found to be excellent . One of the factors thats been consistantly said about all these changed new edition tablets is that they are much harder and won't dissolve under tongue. I still wonder if this is the reason for the poor uptake.....as a uk pharmacist once told me that the degree of compression a tablet has can affect uptake. If a tablet is compressed too hard it can lock the ingredients in. All the manufacturers have maintained the active ingredients have remained the same in their new editions tablets. I do wish there was an investigation as something is going badly wrong in the ndt world.

Happy New Year by the way to all......

[wellness1 in reply to phoenix23002]

Sorry for this really basic question - did the Erfa user on the STTM website put the ground powder in water or take it sublingually or buccally?

[phoenix23002 in reply to wellness1]

Hi... he took it sublingually, placed under his tongue. It seems the microcrystalline stuff can create a problem with absorption for some. Maybe the crushing helps relieve that problem? Just don't know.

[wellness1]

After crashing on the new Nature-throid, I switched to Erfa. It was ok, but not brilliant, so I tried NP Thyoid. I didn't get on with it at all. In fact, I felt like I had on Levo, so I switched back to Erfa. Still trying to sort my dose and then I'll assess. It's funny -- and maddening -- how we can all have different experiences of the various brands. When you were on Armour and felt fine, was that the 'old' Armour or the more recent reformulation? I hope you are soon feeling much better.

[Tweetypie28 in reply to wellness1]

Hi I had Armour 2 years ago so I don't know if it's the old one or the new one? When you say you crashed on NT, do you mean you just nosedived into hypo symptoms? Did you have a blood test or did you just go by symptoms? I'm really sorry you're having a horrible time. I found some old NT tablets and I'm taking those again and remarkably I've felt better these last couple of days. I must be so sensitive to the tablets

[wellness1 in reply to Tweetypie28]

Thanks, Debsy. I defintely developed hypo symptoms that were reflected in a blood test. My FT3 went from reasonably high in range to just below range. A proper crash. I hope you have enough of your old stash to buy you some time to sort this. If you decide to order Armour, I hope that it works for you as it once did.

[Tweetypie28 in reply to wellness1]

Wow! That's ridiculous! I've ordered armour and I do have enough of my old nature throid which I hope kicks in soon as my stomach has swollen to the size of my 9 month pregnant daughter in law, my ankles are puffy as are my eyes, I'm biting everyone's head off, the ringing in my ears is driving me nuts and I'm fed up of waking at 3am!!!

[wellness1 in reply to Tweetypie28]

That sounds miserable. I hope you feel better when you switch to Armour. Exciting that you have a grandchild on the way!

[waveylines in reply to wellness1]

I felt great on the old Armour. I could dissolve it under my tongue easily. But when they changed it I crashed -felt awful.

Erfa was also great but when they changed factories the tablets from the new factory were very hard and could no longer be dissolved under the tongue. I crashed again on the new Erfa.

Ive never got on with Naturthroid - the old version made me ill.

Its funny how we all vary in what works for us. I do wish Doctors were more aware of how intricate it really is finding the right med, brand then dose for you!!!! Definately not easy!!!

[wellness1 in reply to waveylines]

All the variation is crazy. I'm glad NP is working well for you. May that continue. I've only ever swallowed NDT. Perhaps I'll have a go with dissolving.

[Tweetypie28 in reply to waveylines]

When did the armour change? I've ordered armour as I've previously done well on it but now I'm worried that will be a waste of time too!

[waveylines]

And if the pharmacist is right maybe the way to go is to crush the tablets and swallow the powder with a glass of water. Be interested to know if anyones tried this.

[Tweetypie28 in reply to waveylines]

I'm crushing my new naturethroid until my armour arrives so we shall see!!