Levo cf NDT

[BrendaSmith]

Is this right? Levothyroxine Armour is synthetic T4 whereas NDT (natural desiccated thyroid) get their T4 from porcine or bovine sources? Both require prescription?

Thanks

[greygoose]

There's no such thing as 'levothyroxine Armour'.

Armour is NDT, which is made from pig thyroid, and contains both T4 and T3.

Levo - many different brand names - is synthetic T4, with no T3.

They both require prescriptions, usually, but does depend on the country concerned. But, you can - in normal circumstances - find them without prescription on-line.

The bovine thyroid is usually used to make what we call 'glandulars, which are sold as nutritional supplements and have no declared hormone content. Maybe they do contains hormones, maybe they don't, but there's no way to know how much. And, for that reason, are sold OTC - without prescription.

[lidoplace]

Some while ago it was suggested that T4 was added to NDT to bring potency levels up to the amount stated on the label . The recent recall of NP Thyroid says “Acella Pharmaceuticals, LLC is voluntarily recalling a total of 13 lots of 30-mg, 60-mg and 90-mg NP Thyroid® (thyroid tablets, USP) to the consumer level. The products are being recalled because our testing has found these lots to be superpotent. The product may have up to 115.0% of the labeled amount of Liothyronine (T3). “

It does not say anything about added T4 contributing to this .