posted
I have been on Armour Thryroid for a couple years or so and been fine on it. Now all the pharmacies in my area don't have any in stock.
Anyone else have this problem? My "duck" internist of course wants to switch me over to Synthroid. I don't want to, but can't even find any Armour Thyroid to get.
troutscout
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3121
posted
No problem in Iowa
trout
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posted
Hmmm. My regular old CVS pharmacy has had every "obscure" drug I've taken. Have you tried asking your pharmacy if they could order some in for you? Most chain pharmacies will order special drugs in for you from other stores, and it won't cost you a cent.
Independent pharmacies are even more helpful sometimes.
Posts: 691 | From East coast, USA | Registered: Jun 2006
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
is it brand you are trying to find? what dose?
i just picked my armour thyroid up tonight from CVS.
Sometimes there is a shortage and it is more difficult to locate. Did the pharmacy give a reason that they dont have it in stock?
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pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Armour has been having some supply issues with certain size pills. You may have to switch to another dose and either take more pills or use a pill splitter to cut them in half. I would go the extra mile to stay on Armour, because no matter what comes down from the Ivory Tower of Endocrinology, synthroid does not work as effectively as Armour in real patients in real life.
Posts: 195 | From Manchester, CT | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
The following is from Dr. T's Vitality 101 Newsletter on the topic.
The Pharmacy Ran Out of Armour Thyroid. How can I get it?
Dear Readers,There is a mix of issues here. In the past, there have been cases where some pharmacists misinformed patients about Armour Thyroid (in part because of misinformation given by competing drug reps) to try to switch them to Synthroid.
In these cases, I have recommended the patient switch pharmacies.Fortunately, this problem with overt dishonesty does not seem the case lately. Recently there has been a temporary stop in production of higher strength Armour pills, till October 2008.
Lower strengths are sometimes available, so one could take, for example, three 60 mg tabs instead of a 180 mg tab. These lower strengths are also becoming unavailable, as people use them to make up for the back ordered higher strengths.
Your pharmacy can also use Westhroid or Nature-throid as substitutes, as these are acceptable equivalents. Nature-throid is less allergenic than Armour and may even be preferable.
Unfortunately, most pharmacies do not carry these and do not know how to order them. Do NOT let the pharmacist substitute Synthroid or other thyroid hormones that do not also contain the active T3 hormone.
An alternative is to combine Synthroid (T4) and Cytomel (T3) tablets to get the proper strength. Unfortunately, Cytomel only comes in 5 mcg and 25 mcg strengths, making this tricky.
A Simple Solution to the Problem. We have not had a problem, because we usually use a compounded T4/T3 combination in our F&F Center patients to avoid the small risk of allergic reactions to other components in the Ar mour thyroid glandular.
Each grain (one grain = 60 mg) of Armour is equivalent to a 38 mcg T4/9.5 mcg T3 mix, and they can be compounded in many strengths.
There has been a significant problem with potency issues with T3 that has been compounded.
Because of this, I recommend that the compounded thyroid be ordered from ITC Pharmacy (888-349-5453, sent by mail) as they go to great lengths to assure proper potency.
I had the pleasure of reviewing this pharmacy's procedures for preparing T3 hormone at length, and am very impressed with their pharmacists (Allan and Gary) and procedures. They create 1/4 grain, 1/2 grain, 1 grain, and each strength (by 1/2 grains) up to 5.5 grain.
You can ask your physician to call in your prescription and the pharmacy can mail it to you. For more information on this problem and solutions click here to read an excellent article by Mary Shomon, one of my favorite thyroid experts (she also has an awesome free thyroid newsletter. Click here to sign up to receive it).
L&BDr. T
edited to create a functional link above to the informative article by Mary Shomon.Posts: 487 | From USA | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Lonestar, excellent and informative post! Also, another poster wrote a very thoughtful and well-researched post on thyroid checking from a diagnostic perspective (4-5 weeks ago maybe). If anyone can find that link, pls post here...
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lightfoot
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2536
posted
Just for the record......we are having problems here in CO too. Luckily my husband and I can share at times.....
We have had to change the dose size of the tablet and make up the correct dose which requires the doctor to okay it. It's been a pain.
We have been given the explanation given in Lonestartick's post. We are dealing with Walgreens.
I am committed to staying with Armour too.
-------------------- Healing Smiles.....lightfoot Posts: 7228 | From CO | Registered: May 2002
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I couldn't get my Armour Thyroid prescription filled on Aug. 6th at my local Walgreens in KY.
One of the pharmacists there is supposed to be trying to get it for me from another store located in IN, then call me back to come get it.
It's been 3 days now and I haven't heard back from them, so based upon what many of you've said here, I'm a bit concerned they're not going to be able to do that for me.
I guess I'd better start calling around to other local pharmacies to see if I can locate some, because as far as I'm concerned, there's no substitute for Armour Thryoid, since I do so much better with it, than any other thyroid medicine I've ever taken.
[Edit to add] I just called Walgreens. They actually have my Armour Thyroid!!!
-------------------- My Lyme dx:11/05. My Mom's Lyme dx:5/16. ISO ASAP-Lyme Literate Dr & Neurologist-Prefer IL, IN, KY, MO, OH, TN. Can travel farther. Finances limited. Prefer Drs take Medicare or Payments. Need great list to find best fit. Tyvm. Posts: 701 | From Owensboro, KY | Registered: Sep 2005
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
I use a similar product call Nature-Throid from Western Research.
I'm not home where I have links, but it should be able to be searched through Google.
My ND gets it. I get it from her. About $30. for 100 tablets. Insurance will not cover this.
Your MD could also order it from the company if you don't have an ND. The pharmacy may be able to order it, but for just one order, I'm not sure.
posted
I think it might take a while for the thyroid to wear off, just as it can take several months for the correct dose to start doing everything it's suppposed to do.
Posts: 422 | From Luck home | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
WOW!!! What happened to my NEW post from yesterday about what's happening to me from the new 60s of Armour! YIKES!
Posts: 422 | From Luck home | Registered: Sep 2005
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klutzo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5701
posted
I take 60 mg. Armour, and last month had to get it from Walmart instead of Walgreens. This month I had to resort to buying it online from www.drugstore.com. in 15 mg. doses, since that is all they had.
I called Forest Pharmaceuticals today. They have an automated line set up to answer this question.
It appears they are doing some kind of quality improvement on the hihger dosages. As a result people who took those dosages, are buying out the lower ones and doubling up, causing a shortage for those of us who normally take the lower doses.
Right now, they are making the 15 mg. only. The message says they will being producing the 30 and 60 mg. pills again on 9/22, which is today, and that they expect to produce the larger dose pills again by "late 2008", whatever that means.
The message is emphatic that they are not going to stop making Armour, but what we are supposed to do in the meantime is anybody's guess.
I do have a bottle of Synthroid I had saved in case there was a Hurricane and I got desperate, always a concern where I live, so I may have to take that if availability doesn't improve soon.
klutzo
Posts: 1269 | From Clearwater, Florida, USA | Registered: May 2004
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