Urgent supply of Armour Thyroid needed

[Surreybear]

I have obtained and forwarded a hard copy of my private prescription to my usual pharmacy but they are playing silly games. I am due to travel to USA (family emergency) in less than 2 weeks and will be gone for c 6 weeks so asked them to expedite my order. They say we won't order the tablets until we get the hard copy prescription (I have sent scan and I'm an existing customer) and then it will take 10-15 business days to get to you! I have appealed but they are being downright sarcastic and rude.

Please where can I obtain Armour Thyroid 3 grains/180 mgs before the 13 July! I am really scared I will end up with nothing having been fairly stable for a long period. Can I buy with a scan of my prescription or without prescription?

[Anthea55]

Waiting for the hard copy is normal. Delaying sending to you by 10-15 days is not.

Are they implying that they don't have what you have ordered in stock, so they have to order from somewhere else before sending to you?

Can they provide the same amount in 1 grain pills instead?

Earlier this year I was ringing round suppliers on the ThyroidUK pharmacy list, first for Erfa and later for Armour. Most of them were helpful, but some were not - silly games as you say.

Can you ring and ask to speak to their manager? Worth a try.

Good luck!

[Surreybear in reply to Anthea55]

They have said that they only order it in when they receive the hard copy prescription. They don't appear to hold any stocks. I will try to ring them but their responses don't fill me with any hope....

[Anthea55 in reply to Surreybear]

Yes, I have dealt with a supplier like that - never again. Can the place they order from send directly to you?

[Surreybear in reply to Anthea55]

I asked if it could be sent directly to me. They said no, that they have to fulfil it and send it to me. The best they could suggest was get someone else to send it on to me in the States after it arrives at my home in the UK after I have left! There will be nobody here to do that plus it will take weeks. ☹️

[Anthea55 in reply to Surreybear]

Alternately can you get another prescription? Will pm you details of a supplier I've found helpful. ThyroidUK list is here. thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-hy...

[Surreybear in reply to Anthea55]

The pharmacy that is causing my problems is on that list (I think that's where I got their details from originally) and I have emailed 2 others from the list to explain the problem and ask how quickly they can supply. I have written to my Endo and explained the problem and asked him to write another prescription for me - that will cost more money! Hopefully I can either get him to send it directly to a pharmacy, or physically pick it up from him tomorrow or pay for a courier pick up.

[Anthea55 in reply to Surreybear]

Could it be that pharmacies don't keep the 3 grain size in stock, but that they have plenty of orders for the 1 grain size. Some places are fairly flexible in how they interpret prescriptions. I've pm'd you the place I found helpful.

[Anthea55 in reply to Surreybear]

Further thoughts - a phone call usually gets a faster response than emails.

Prices, make sure you ask. They don't reflect the strength of pill, for example from one site, current prices online for Armour per bottle of 100 pills -

quarter grain £175,

half grain £150,

1 grain at £125,

2 grain at £235,

3 grain at £190,

4 grain at £192,

So a pill cutter is worth having for splitting 1 grain pills into halves or quarters. If you buy 200 half grain pills (equivalent to 100 1 grain pills) you will be paying £300 instead of £125!

But anyway, if they have to order in these prices may be different.

The first Armour prescription I had was for 1.5 grains per day, so I was being quoted silly prices for 1.5 grain pills - no use to me as I divide my dose into two. Now I get the prescription as x bottles of 100grain pills.

It's a bit of a minefield!

[Surreybear in reply to Anthea55]

Thanks. I'd noticed the huge and nonsensical discrepancies in costs. I need 3 grains so cutting tablets isn't a problem but having to buy 3 X 1 grain or 1 of 1 grain and 1 of 2 grains to get the same dose would cost much more!! It's a minefield as you say and we are so disadvantaged....

[Anthea55 in reply to Surreybear]

and prices will be different from different suppliers....

[2607trix in reply to Anthea55]

Hi anthea55 I’m going through this at the moment private doctor prescribed me 1 grain of armour on my 1st prescription £180 second prescription for two grains £210 I’ve just received an invoice for my next script for 100 1grain tablets and 100 2 grain tablet £395 I can’t afford that and now I’m panicking because I feel so much better on armour I’ve emailed the doctor and told him I’m not financially able to pay that amount and can I have just a prescription for the 1 grain tablets can I ask him to send my just the prescription so I can find it cheaper elsewhere? Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated

[Anthea55 in reply to 2607trix]

I have pm'd you the supplier I've found helpful. May be worth ringing other pharmacies on the ThyroidUK list.

[Muffy]

I know that this won’t help you for your prescription now, but my daughter usually sends away for her Armour prescription. With her last request, the surgery sent it directly to Boots and they had it ready for her the next day! So no more paying for registered post. I hope you get your supply ok.

[Surreybear in reply to Muffy]

Thank you. I’m surprised. I didn’t think any GPs were still prescribing Armour. I have to pay a private endocrinologist to do mine. My GP wouldn’t even prescribe T3 as soon as that report came out. I was paying for Thyrogold until their supplies ran dry. I will try Boots next time. I had no idea they could source it. Do you know what they charge?

[Muffy]

So far we are incredibly lucky with our local GP. The same GP also prescribes liothyronine for me. Fingers crossed that it carries on!