One of the most frequently prescribed medications in the pharmacy is thyroid hormone. At last count, drugstores filled nearly 100 million prescriptions for thyroid hormone in 2008. But people taking a natural form of thyroid hormone are distressed because their medication has disappeared from pharmacy shelves.
No one knows why so many people suffer from sluggish thyroid glands. Symptoms include fatigue, constipation, dry skin, lowered libido, brittle fingernails, high cholesterol, depression and hair loss.
Physicians have been using desiccated (dried) thyroid medicinally for more than 100 years. Armour thyroid got a head start because the company had access to thyroid glands from animals slaughtered for meat.
In the mid-20th century, synthetic thyroid hormone (levothyroxine, also known as T4) became available under the brand name Synthroid. This product was promoted as a modern treatment for hypothyroidism, and it dominated the market for the next several decades. Now that generic levothyroxine is available, doctors prescribe it more often than any of the brands.
Desiccated thyroid, however, has its strong supporters. For years there has been a controversy about the benefits and risks of natural thyroid hormone compared to synthetic levothyroxine.
While most hypothyroid people do well on levothyroxine, there has always been a minority that feels better while taking a mixture of hormones (T4 plus T3) found in natural products such as Armour, Nature-Throid or WesThroid. In recent years, this option has become increasingly popular, but many endocrinologists feel that it is antiquated and varies too much from one batch to the next.
The big mystery of the moment is why desiccated thyroid products are becoming hard to find. We have heard from dozens of readers like this one: “I’m unable to get Armour thyroid. Everyone says it’s unavailable at this time. It is the only thing that helps me feel good, so I am beginning to feel desperate. Is there an alternative?”
The disappearing act seems to be a tale of woe and intrigue. The manufacturers tell us that there is a shortage of raw material. It is not clear why that would be the case, nor when the shortage might ease. There are rumors that the FDA would like to eliminate natural thyroid, but an agency spokeswoman denied this.
In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of desperate patients are looking for options. Thyroid patient advocate Mary Shomon (SaveNaturalThyroid.com) has found several possibilities. Desiccated thyroid is sold in Canada as Thyroid, manufactured by Erfa Canada, Inc. Another alternative might be to look for a compounding pharmacy. Finally, a combination of synthetic T4 (levothyroxine) and T3 (liothyronine, brand name Cytomel) might be the right choice for some people.
For more information about treating thyroid disorders, we offer our Guide to Thyroid Hormones.
