Is Anyone Else Having Problems With Armour Thyroid?

[plumpot]

Hello, I did very badly on Levothyroxine only, in fact it made me worse (Huge Understatement). After a story too long to go into here I eventually discovered Armour Thyroid and for a while I actually thought I might get back to normal. Anyway, after the changes to Armour about ten years ago it didn’t work for me and I've tried loads of different brands of NDT since (not from choice but because of all the changes to them) As soon as I started to see improvement on a particular brand it was either unavailable or it was reformulated so it no longer worked for me and I had to try a different brand. The last change I had to make was from NP Thyroid to Armour with a tiny amount of T3 added. I’ve only been taking this since January and I just got a new bottle of Armour and it’s made me very ill. It feels as if there’s nothing much in it. Because of all the changes to NDTs I always start a new bottle when I still have some of the old one left so I’ve been able to compare the two bottles and it’s definitely not my imagination and I’m now quite scared as there are no more brands of NDT that I can try that haven’t been changed for the worse. Brands I’ve tried recently and are no good are NP Thyroid and Erfa which both have a really bad cat pee smell as well as not working; and I’ve also tried Naturethroid and WP Thyroid in the past and they don’t work for me either. I’m wondering if there may be some brand of NDT that I’ve overlooked that someone here may have heard of; however that unlikely that is, as I’m pretty scared now. Of course I do realise that just because I’m having problems with Armour doesn’t mean other people are. Hope someone can help, thanks.

[Jazzw]

Do you know what’s happening with your blood test results? What do your FT3 levels look like?

In addition, when you’ve struggled to find an optimum dosage for any length of time, levels of B12, Vit D, ferritin, folate etc tend to fall through the floor. You need everything to be optimal to get optimal benefit from your thyroid hormone replacement.

[plumpot in reply to Jazzw]

Thanks for the reply. Last test results:

TSH 0.01 Range – 0.35 – 4.94

FT3 6.2 Range - 2.63 – 570

FT4 12.6 Range – 9.01 – 19.05

These results were before I tried the new bottle.

The only nutritional level I still struggle with is ferritin I’m supplementing and it is going up (I need another test for this but it can sometimes be difficult to get one)

I know there is something different about the new bottle of Armour tablets as when I changed to the new bottle and it made me ill, I went back to the old bottle and I got better again. I’ve also tried taking some of the new bottle in the morning- which again made me ill, and some of the old bottle in the afternoon and I improved again. I also took my temperature during these experiments. With the new bottle tablets it went down with the old ones it went back up. I know there have been problems with several brands of NDT over the last couple or so years and I’m not the only one affected but until now Armour has been ok even if it isn’t exactly the same as it was when I first took it. It was still so much better than being bedridden on Levothyroxine. Not sure where to get a different brand of NDT I don't think there are any that still work for me. According to Stop The Thyroid Madness there have been several recalls of various brands because of either sub potency or too much T3, but as usual the companies concerned aren't saying anything.

[garri1 in reply to plumpot]

I wish you luck on this one. I am in the same situation as you. I tried Armour and it upset my stomach. Levo and I don't get along either, though that's what I am currently trying out again, only this time with T3 supplementation. NP then Naturethroid worked great for awhile but now both have been recalled. I can't give you any practical advice at this point but I sure can empathize with you. If I find anything that works I will let you know.

[plumpot in reply to garri1]

Thanks. I've managed to get a small amount of Armour that still works on (private) prescription, I don't know if this is an older lot or if the "bad" Armour is just a blip. Not sure what I'll do if the bad stuff turns out to be all they're producing now. I suppose it'll be Levo and T3 for me too.

[Shredder]

The same has happened to me. I was on Armour (two grains) from Forest two years ago and felt brilliant but my health board would no longer prescribe so left me to basically manage my illness myself. I bought it again recently and it is useless as if I am not taking anything. I even took three grains instead of two to see if thst helped but still the same result. I feel completely unmedicated. I have spent a lot on NDT over the last two years or should I say wasted a lot on now seemingly useless NDT over the last two years, everything from Naturethroid to W.P, ERFA and NP. I am going to try Thyreogland from Germany which is a compounded NDT made in house. I have heard good things about it.

[plumpot in reply to Shredder]

I'm now on 3 grains of Armour and half a 25mcg T3 tablet and doing a bit better now. I had hoped it would be possible to stop the T3 if I increased the Armour but I'm not sure it will. I tried to answer this before but the site wouldn't let me post it.

[Kitty1watson]

I had success with Thyrogold before covid, but I don't think it's working now. There was a global shortage and once it was restocked I was able to try it again but I didn't feel any different. I'm giving it one last go, starting today! Before, I felt better and lost weight with 3 weeks but it didn't seem to do anything when I tried a send time. I'm trying hard to create a regular, recorded and sensible regime with vitamins and everything else balanced correctly, to ensure the gps can't continue to tell me I'm just taking it incorrectly.

[plumpot]

I've tried a few glandular products over the years but none of them worked properly for me. I think the shortages of NDT products were caused by the only company in America that made the dessicated thyroid powder stopping making it. Nobody appears to know why. I didn't think it affected glandulars though as I thought they got their powder from other suppliers but I'm not sure about that.