If any of you have a chronic condition and are taking meds, pay attention. I have been on Armour Thyroid for years. It's made from pig's thyroid glands and was the med of choice for hypothyroidism for about a century until Synthroid. It's the most natural choice and was very cheap - like $10 /month. Big Pharma hates all "natural" meds.
Armour was manufactured by Forest Pharmaceuticals out of Ireland. Carl Ichan became their biggest stock holder forced Forest to sell out to Acticvis which was in turn bought by Allergan. In 2019, Allergan was bought by AbbeVie. Guess what one of Abbevie's big products is? Synthroid.
Okay, now with the backstory out of the way, I noticed a couple of months ago that my newest Armour script did not have the fonky distinctive scent that it had had for all the years I've taken it. My weight increased even though I was only eating 1 meal/day, my energy was in the toilet, and I was catching every damn bug around - except, I'm happy to say, Covid.
My family came over for my Dad's 83rd birthday and my sister-in-law also on Armour asked me what the hell was going on with the med. I told her about the lack of scent and she said, "You're right". So I began investigating and found posts all over the internet asking, "What has happened to Armour?" and them having the same problems I'm having.
So, if everything else was the same but the scent is gone, it tells me the medication has been reformulated. With my conspiracy based nature and hey, that's a good thing, I now wonder if AbbeVie has reformulated the medication hoping patients will switch to the much more expensive but less effective Synthroid. Only about 30% of those on Synthroid say it works for them. That's because Synthroid is T4 only and you need T3 as well. So that usually means another medication like Cytomel has to be taken whereas with the more natural products, both T3 and T4 are present.
Seeing the doc next week and will ask for Acella NP which is the only other natural thyroid med left. If that goes down the tubes, my meds will have to be compounded. And compounding is a whole other story. Until not too long ago, a patient could ask their doctors to have their meds compounded. it was an easy process. Now, a doctor has to have an acceptable reason to present to a pharmacist stating why a patient cannot take an already manufactured medication. I mean, come on, it's our fucking money. Shouldn't we have the right to request a compounded formulation if it works w/out going through all the hassle?
This whole post is so you guys have a heads up to notice if your meds are not working the same or if they seem different, especially if they're natural.
I suffered a major back injury a few years back. The Dr.'s put me on Oxycodone for almost 3 years. When I told them I wanted something natural to help with the pain, and tried Kratom, they suddenly claimed I pee'd dirty for Cocaine. Pharma and Dr's are in bed together and you can't trust any of them.
I take Kratom for my back and neck pain, too. Had a Laminectomy (sp?) And Intervertebral Fusion L5-S1 back in '02 while on Active Duty in the Navy. Completely shattered L5, had donor bone inserted in the disk space, and had my hips shaved down to the marrow mixed with ground coral rock to form a "plaster of paris" of sorts because of the shape L5 was in. Needless to say, the coral mixed with bone marrow caused an overgrowth of bone and scar tissue to the point it grew over the Left Sciatic Nerve. I'm in constant pain and have been since the surgery. The VA wanted me to go back on opiates long ago. I got hooked on that shit during the whole ordeal (it took the Navy over a year to get the surgery scheduled and completed) and I had to quit the pills cold turkey, because in those days, even if you told them it was their fault your hooked, they'd pit you thru narcotics rehab and then boot your ass out with either an OTH, Dishonorable, or BCD discharge. I swore back then I would NEVER go on pills again. So I suffered for the better part of 18 yrs...UNTIL I found Kratom.
Now, I'm not completely pain free, but it's to the point where I've regained most of me old life back. To the point I've started biking and hiking again, and will start weight lifting heavier weights again, and have been able to train my daughter in the CQB techniques I learned in EOD. It's been a God Send for me and my kids (I'm a single father of 5, 4 still living with me). It's even helped with the IBS-D side effect from my fusion.
I can't stress enough, how much Kratom has changed me life.
So glad to hear it helped you. Big Pharma has had a push on to make it illegal in all 50 states for a few years now.
I'll have t look into Kratom. Had to have a scan for female stuff and my doc walked in to give me the results. He said, "Girl, your back is all fucked up!", lol. Desiccated disks where the only thing between my vertebrae are the sheaths, bulging disks, etc.
Pitiful - I can't stand doctors who are in bed with the pharmaceutical companies.
Also the price of Synthroid has increased in price. This medicine has been around for long time there is no reason for it to be so expensive.
You're right. Plus it doesn't work for me and most other people who take it.
And they say the Cartels are pushing dangerous drugs. If I remember correctly the name Pharma comes from the Greek word "Pharma Kara" (not sure about the spelling) which means WITCHCRAFT
That is so messed up. Sorry you’re having to deal with that.
Thank-you.
Boron and Iodine, plus co-factors. Please look into it.
I will, thanks so much!
Had a doctor who was an expert. The doctors on the state board got together and pulled his license. All this man did was help his patients. Now, the meds and procedures were not expensive and they were alternative. He didn't see many patients a day because it was not unusual for the doc to spend an hour+ with each patient.
Smells like the pharmaceutical industry, who we know, run the doctors, didn't like him.
Removed, as I warned.
Thanks so much! I made an appt today with a "food is medicine" nutritionist. Will read through and watch the videos in your links. Don't belong to FB anymore though.
Welcome. I recently spoke with a 99 year old. Her secrets to a long and healthy life were:
Seeing a Naturopath
Swimming and Treading
She talks fine. Remembers fine. Senses good. Plays card games on her iPad all day.
Another 101 year old man, who served as a pilot and cook in WW2:
No Smoking or Toxins
Optimize Circulation and Breathing
He talks fine. Remembers fine. Can’t hear, but walks like normal.
Both like to crack jokes and smile.
Great advice
It's a fair bet AbbeVie screwed y'all over and what you're taking is Synthroid.
Could be because it isn't doing crappola.
What do you mean by "catching every bug around"?
If I go to a store and say there's a stomach bug or the flu, etc. , I'll catch it. Right now, I have a viral illness. Have been having it for about a week. The doc said it could last 2-3 weeks. Went to Sam's a couple of days before I got sick. This has been going on since December. It was right before I noticed the scent was gone.
Ah, I see, not my main laguage so I thought about bugs litterally.
Complete;y understand - you must have thought I was crazy, lol.
Colloidal Silver.
Thanks-you!
Nature’s anti-biotic, except the bad bacteria does not adapt to it. Kills cavities. Immune system rockstar.
Fellow hypo here. I have been on generic synthroid (i make sure pharmacy uses SAME BRAND every fill) Also on cytomel. Your doctor should be testing for T4, T3 FREE and bound...thyroid is a biofeedback loop, thus TSH levels DO NOT MATTER. When supplementing with synthetic T4/3 the blood levels rise (duh) and the pituitary gets the message that levels are good...then, the pituitary shuts down production of TSH.
Doc's wife has thyroid issues as well so he has total T3 T4 and a few others as well. She's on NP.
I am also on Armour and just got my refill. You are right about the smell. All of a sudden...I'm having edema in my feet and ankles! Never had that before! I'm a thyroid cancer warrior and Armour was the only thyroid med that makes me feel normal! I have a call out to my Endo....ugh!
Hoping your endo can help you. Sorry for your troubles!
Thanks for the heads up, OP....I shared this info with my mom anon, she's on the same drug, but a generic (Levothyroxine).
You're welcome!
Thanks for the heads up. I have to take progesterone for issues that I’m sure can be blamed on any number of crap things that we’ve all been exposed to since birth ? and there’s a natural form of progesterone that I can take instead of synthetic hormones. I’ll be on the look out for any changes.
Good luck - praying your meds are not messed with.
Which one are you taking if you don't mid me asking?
Naturethroid is kaput. Nothing available at all - guessing manufacturing has shut down.
NP is what I'll ask my doc about when I see him next week.
This pisses me off!
My doc even said it looked like a conspiracy to get natural thyroid meds out of circulation. Ask your doctor to write a script for compounded natural thyroid medication. First though, find a compounding pharmacy so that you have the phone number handy. Then, your doc will have to come up with a reason why you can't take meds from big pharma, aka, Synthroid.
Thanks for the post. I use Armour as well. Gonna make sure to have dr check my tests to make sure it is working. Your blood test numbers after about a couple of weeks should show that you are deficient it this new Armour is not what it is supposed to be.
Good luck to you. I don't know what my numbers will show but I'm having all of the same hypo symptoms I had before I started taking the meds.
I'm so sorry about this. But, you have another option. If you contact a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, he or she may be able to provide you with non-medicine supplements that will support your thyroid functioning. Also, know that if you are taking in lots of bromides, it may be displacing iodine on your thyroid receptors. Bromine is sprayed on over 100 foods, and is always in flour that is bromated. I personally buy flour from Italy, which is not bromated. It can be found where pizzerias buy wholesale bags of flour.
Thank-you for your post! Just looked up Nutritional Therapy Practitioners in my state and found one! Will call to schedule an appt.
You won't be sorry. God bless you.
God bless you as well, Patriot.
I take armour thyroid because it works better addressing my symptoms than synthroid. And I didn’t even notice the aweful smell was gone until now!! I have had a lot going on and have ADD also so I’m not usual paying attention to things that don’t interest me. But that smell, it was hard not to notice when you took the lid off, especially since I take it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
Yep, lol! I never di get used to that odor. Now, I miss it - go figure. Smell is probably my strongest sense. My husband has always said that if we lived in France, my perfect job would be as a "nose" for perfume companies.
Weird I have Hashimotos and my husband and son say I’m like a blood hound. Maybe, but that doesn’t mean they don’t stink! It’s just hard to believe I didn’t notice that smell not being there.
When I took the pill, for a few seconds something tickled my brain letting me know something was different and then I noticed the lack of smell.
Covid ?
No, not me