linker:
http://thyroid.about.
com/cs/thyroiddru
gs/a/naturethroid.
htm

http://www.hypom
aarniethappy.nl/th
yreoidum.htm

2006: fremdeles er det noen som sier at Armour Thyroid varierer i styrke, at man ikke vet hva man får i hver tablett, og at det er laget av sauer og okser.

Det er Nutri-med Thyroid som er et reseptfritt kosttilskudd som er slik. Det fins faktisk en del som bruker det og er fornøyd, men når vi snakker om medisin, ikke kosttilskudd, er det det reseptpliktige Armour Thyroid man snakker om, eller andre midler som heter Thyroid USP USP=(United States Pharmacopeia). Råstoffet er ganske billig, og Thyroid USP lages av flere firmaer. De har alle 38g t4 og 9g t3 i hver 60 mg. Alt dette råstoffet kommer fra ALI laboratories, og heter Thyroid USP, Thyroid 3xUSP eller Thyroid Full strength. En pdf om Thyroid USP ligger på nettet. Det er også her det kanadiske firmaet ERFA antageligvis får sitt råstoff fo å lage Thyroid ERFA. Forest, som lager Armour Thyroid, har ikke noen markedsrettigheter utenfor USA. De vil ikke og kan ikke søke å få registrert Armour Thyroid i Norge eller i Europa.
En som bor i Australia har også fortalt at Armour Thyroid ikke fins der, men at pasientene der får laget liknende på sitt apotek, for eksempel Stenlake Pharmacy. De viste henne krukken med Thyroid, og sa at det lages ett sted i verden, og at det er det eneste som har et stabil 4:22 forhold mellom t4 og t3 og er absolutt dosestabilt. Mer om dette lengre ned her.

------------------

Det er thyroxin, den kemiske varianten, som er velkjent å ha problemer med styrken fra gang til gang. Det er beskrevet i flere avisartikler og hos Mary Shomon på thyroid.about.com. Armour eller Thyroid har ikke hatt disse problemene.
Her er en tilfeldig artikkel om thyroxin, men en kort historie og skandalen rundt Synthroid, hvor de forhindret en forskingsartikkel å bli publisert. her

De engelske pasientene laget en liten forening, for å få Armour Thyroid godkjent som medisin i forhold til NHS (folketrygden der).

De sendte informasjon om kvaliteten og dosestabiliteten til samtlige endokrinologer i england. Hele historien og alle svarene er dokumentert på deres webside http://www.tpa-uk.org.uk/ Det er et fenomenalt arbeide de har gjort, og nå får pasientene gratis Armour hvis legen deres skriver at de ikke har blitt bedre på levothyroxin.

BTF, søsterorganisasjone til Norsk Thyreoideaforbund, har motarbeidet dem, og de er som kjent også imot å bruke liothyronin, mens den norske foreningen ikke er imot liothyronin.

I det norske bladet THYRA står det i nr 3/04 noe som kan tyde på at Armour Thyroid er laget av ku og sau. Verre blir det når de kommenterer i neste nummer at de har fått en del henvendelser om dette, at det ikke kan medføre riktighet, og at de har undersøkt saken med deres engelske søsterorganisasjon og at en endokrinolog i Australia har sagt at det kan forekomme ku i Armour. Har han vært hos ALI og inspisert??....

----------------------

Her er en liten bruksanvisning i bruken av Armour Thyroid:
http://www.healthrecipes.com/armour_thyroid.htm

Her er en pdf fra en lege (MD, medical doctor) om bruken av Armour
http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/9/2/157.pdf

Merck har en liten historisk side om Thyroidinum:

Merck Thyroid History
In 1894, E. Merck introduced one of the first thyroid preparations in the world. Since then, E. Merck has played a substantial role in thyroid research and development:
1894 Thyroidinum siccatum
Introduction of desiccated sheep thyroid gland (powder, later tablets) in Germany. Available as Thyroidin Merck until 1983
1896 Thyroidin Merck (USA)
Offered in the price list published in Merck's 1896 Index (New York)
1901 Antithyroidin Merck
Produced from the serum of thyroidectomized rams (Moebius)
1911 Glandula Thyroideae siccata "Merck" Tabletten
Dessiccated thyroid gland available as tablets
1912 Research on a standardized thyroid extract product
(Annual report Scientific Laboratory 1912)
1921 Thyreoidinum depurat. Notkin Tabletten
Thyroid protein extract
1925Evaluation of Kendall's Thyroxine "Obviously thyroxine is not the only active thyroid product"
1925 Thyroidea Opton Introduction of protein-free degradation product of the thyroid gland
1928Novothyral Introduction of water soluble standardized thyroid extract (Axolotl)
1941Thyroidin Merck
Standardized also with Axolotl method
1948Methicil
Brand of Methylthiouracil available from Merck in Germany
1965Kalium jodatum Compretten (100 mg KI)
Indicated for prevention of radioactive iodine incorporporation in nuclear accidents
1968Novothyral
Newly introduced as a T4/T3 combination in Germany
1973Euthyrox
Mono T4 tablets introduced in Germany, later in many other countries
1975Jodid Merck
Iodide 100 µg tablets (later 200 and 500 µg) introduced in Germany
1985Jodthyrox
T4/Iodide combination introduced in Germany for iodine deficiency goiter
1990Thyrozol
Thiamazole (Methimazole) introduced in Germany
1993Beginning globalization of Merck KGaA's thyroid business
The thyroid products of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, are marketed all over the world, from France to Vietnam, from Russia to Chile. The most important product is Euthyrox (Eutirox, Lévothyrox) which is a levothyroxine (T4) monopreparation. Other regionally sold products are T4/T3 combinations, iodide, a T4/iodide combination and methimazole (thiamazole). http://pb.merck.de/servlet/PB/menu/1354910/

se også http://pb.merck.de/servlet/PB/menu/1354920/

se også http://thyroide.free.fr/WELLBEING_ON_THYROXINE.htm

"Historical background
In 1883 the Committee of the Clinical Society of London set it upon itself to investigate the cause of myxoedema. Five years later the Committee announced its verdict: myxoedema was caused by thyroid deficiency. Much of the evidence for that bold statement was based on simple clinical observation. For instance Theodor Kocher (1841-1917), an eminent Swiss surgeon who perfected the art of thyroidectomy noted that some of his patients who had total thyroidectomies subsequently developed the typical features of myxoedema. Following the announcement of the Committee of the Clinical Society of London, progress was rapid even with today’s standards. In 1890 a French group (Bettercourt and Serrano) transplanted sheep’s thyroid under the breast of a woman with myxoedema, apparently with some improvement in the hypothyroid symptoms. The following year George Murray of Newcastle treated a woman with myxoedema by injecting her with sheep thyroid extract. The result was miraculous. In 1892 Edward Fox showed that thyroid extract did not have to be injected, it worked just as well when taken by mouth. From that point onwards the standard remedy from myxoedema became “half a sheep’s thyroid, lightly fried and taken with currant jelly once a week”. In 1894 the pharmaceutical company Merck started producing commercial quantities of thyroid extract and “Thyroidinum siccatum” (desiccated thyroid) became widely available and could be prescribed until the 1980’s. In 1927 the chemical structure of thyroxine was discovered and by the 1960s synthetic T4 and T3 could be made. Desiccated thyroid however remained in use as synthetic thyroid hormones were expensive to manufacture. The next landmark in the history of thyroid hormones was the discovery by Dr L Braverman in 1970 that most of the active thyroid hormone T3 was made by tissues such as the liver from thyroxine secreted by the thyroid gland. This discovery formed the basis for the concept that although the tissues in the body only “see” T3, patients with hypothyroidism can be treated with T4 alone. From the 1970s onwards synthetic T4 could be manufactured cheaply and it replaced the earlier regimens which contained both T3 and T4. In the 1970’s and 1980’s there was also a universal tendency for the replacement dose of thyroxine to be reduced. Whereas T4 doses in the 1970’s of 300 micrograms per day or more were standard, few patients nowadays are treated with more than 150-200 micrograms of T4 daily. The trend for using lower doses of thyroxine originated from the introduction of sensitive blood tests to monitor thyroxine treatment and the demonstration that the traditionally higher T4 doses resulted in suppressed serum TSH and elevated T4 levels in blood. In many cases features of hyperthyroidism were associated with such treatment.
A case history
Mrs SE is now aged 52 and is a teacher. In 1997 she developed fatigue and “subclinical hypothyroidism” was diagnosed. Her family doctor started her on 25 mcg of T4. Over the following 2 years the dose of T4 escalated to 175 mcg. Each time the dose of thyroxine was increased Mrs SE felt a little better, but that benefit only lasted for 2-3 months before extreme fatigue set in again. When Mrs SE was referred to me recently her serum TSH was low (0.10), her Free T4 was at the upper end of the normal range (21) and she had positive thyroid antibodies. She complained bitterly of feeling tired, feeling cold, her weight was constantly on the increase despite efforts to control it, she felt that her hair was getting thinner, she could not concentrate and her memory was poor. Mrs SE had been on the Internet and was concerned that she may have defective T4 to T3 conversion; she felt that the thyroid blood tests were not an accurate guide of what was going on in her body and she expressed suspicion of reference ranges for thyroid blood tests. Furthermore she found that her family doctor was unsympathetic and dismissive and she wanted to try combination of T3 + T4 or Armour thyroid.

“On thyroxine and still tired”
Cases like Mrs SE are increasingly common and almost constitute a syndrome characterised by persistent symptoms of an underactive thyroid despite apparently adequate doses of thyroxine. How common this condition is, is largely unknown. A recent study from England suggested that almost half of patients on thyroxine (even those with normal TSH) have some of the symptoms described by Mrs SE. So what is the explanation for this staggering statistic? The honest answer is that nobody knows for sure, but there are plenty of theories......."

-----------------------

Juni 05:

For første gang er det tilbakekalling av Armour Thyroid. De har et bra testprogram, og det fanget opp noe på enden av holdbarhetstiden.
En del pasienter har også merket forskjell, og det gjelder både Armour og Thyroid Tablets uten navn.

Diskusjoner på thyroid.about.com om mangel på Thyroid Tablets i Kanada kan muligens belyse Årsaken: http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=67538.1 Det har vært et kontaminert parti i USA.
Da må man starte på nytt med å lage et svært lager av tørket-kjertel-pulver, og å få det homogent og dosestabilt.

Thyroid powder USP har vært absolutt stabilt nå i 30 år, og apotekene trengte bare å veie opp og lage kapsler eller piller, og styrken har alltid stemt.
Den eneste leverandøren av stabilt pulver har etter sigende vært ALI Laboratories.

Her er en post fra den kanadiske direktøren av ERFA som skal lage Thyroid:
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=67561.38
From: gvsyul Jun-4 1:00 am To: KALABARA 47 of 51
67561.47 in reply to 67561.46

Hi K,just read about your concerns regarding availability of "Thyroid". We understand your concern and really consider the availability of "Thyroid" in Canada as one of our top priorities.
Erfa Canada is presently undertaking all necessary steps to make the product again available in Canada as soon as possible. We still need confirmation from the manufacturing plant regarding their delivery date. We also need approval from Health Canada (TPD) regarding the transfer of the DIN from Pfizer to Erfa Canada. This will take at least 45 days.
We will keep you and other Forum members informed about any progress.
Kind regards,
Georges

--------------------------------

Flere pasienter har merket forskjell nå--Amour har alltid vært dosestabil inntil nå

From: CindyWard 3:11 am To: TexasThyroid1 (TexasThyroid) 25 of 27
68024.25 in reply to 68024.20<<That is not the case. Armour has a two-year shelf life unopened. I don't know where you get the six month figure. >>
endophobia!

I wasn't actually referring to Armour experation dates. I was relaying information from the FDA web site about numerous recalls of Armour thyroid not meeting potency and expected shelf life (many batches failed at six months). Many of these batches were manufactured a year ago (this is why I said I wouldn't trust a bottle of Armour that is about to expire). Who know how wide spread Armour thyroid problems are right now.
The last two refills of Armour I have gotten have had potency problems. I went really hypo on my last 30 day refill of 90mg tablets (after being on that dose for four months). I had my doctor increase the dose to 120mg (May 25th). The 120 mg tablets aren't much more potent than the 90mg tablets (before the bad 90 mg batch).
I have taken thyroid hormone replacement for many years (since 1969). Most of those years I took Synthroid. I could always tell when a batch had a problem (and believe me, Synthroid frequently had problems). I would always get 90 day refills for this reason.

I switched to Armour a year ago June. I was amazed with the postive effects it had on hypo symptoms that Synthroid never did. I'm still trying to determine my optimal dose, which is quite difficult, considering the potency/stability issues that seem to be going on with Armour recently.

In the meantime, I purchased a bottle of Nuti+Meds thyroid (130mg capsules). I've only taken them for 3 days now but I can tell they are much more potent than the 120mg tablets of Armour. I'm beginning to wonder if there is such a thing as consistency with any thyroid meds whether it be prescription or non prescription. I do recall however, that I didn't have a consistency problem with Synthroid until around 1982 (not that it ever did that much for my symptoms in all the years I took it).Cindy
From: CindyWard 3:30 am
To: GSBELLE unread 26 of 27 68024.26 in reply to 68024.16

68024.1
<<Could someone please tell me the Armour equivalent to 112 of Synthroid. I have some 120 mg of Armour, but it will be a year old in September.>>
I apologize if you thought I meant Armour has a six month shelf life. I was cautioning you not to trust Armour that will expire soon due to the fact that the FDA has issued warnings on numerous batches of Armour, some manufactured approximately a year ago with potency and shelf life issues (some batches failed at six months). Cindy

From: nette (Scrozzled) 3:46 am To: CindyWard 27 of 27  68024.27 in reply to 68024.25

All the Armour recalls were for bottles within a few months of their expiration dates. Please note: only a few lots failed, but the manufacturer went above and beyond and recalled all that were manufactured within the time frame just in case. You use the phrase "many of these".... IMHO, very few lots actually failed. Do you know what can constitute failure? 89% potency, as guideline is 90 to 110%. When a med is below potency, part may be from the manufacturing process, part is the shipment, part is the storage in the drug store and part is how you store it yourself.

With your concern about potency issues in Armour, have you investigated what Nutrimeds does for potency? The answer is absolutely nothing! Why? Because if they measure the levels of T4 and T3 in their product and make claims, then they are in violation of the law. Users of nutrimeds who've reported their experiences on the board have seen extreme variability. So, if you are having problems with the variability in Armour, you certainly won't want to use an unregulated product with no measurement of levels.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=67561.38
From: sheilaturne1 May-26 3:55 pm To: Lois8410 38 of 51 
67561.38 in reply to 67561.16
Hi Lois

WOW - thanks for what you are doing and I hope that your (our) dreams come true that one day, all our health services WILL revert back to the one thyroid medication that has been used successfully without problems for the past century, for those patients who will never regain their health on synthetic T4 or T3.

Here in the UK, the British Thyroid Association has, until recently, absolutely refused to acknowledge desiccated thyroid, and whenever they had the opportunity, have advised medical practitioners and patient members against using this, believing that T4 alone is THE only answer for people suffering hypothyroidism. Although I have sent numerous letters to them asking them to let me have references for their statements, they never even sent me the courtesy of a reply.

I decided that they just might have to do something if I posted copies of my letters to them to all their Patrons, their Trustees and all their Medical Advisers and eventually tried the experiment. It appears that this has done the trick. You are no doubt aware that because of this, they have now issued a statement on their website about the prescribing of Armour and have acknowledged that the Medicine and Healthcare Product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have assured everyone that desiccated thyroid CAN be prescribed within the NHS for those patients who do not do well on thyroxine. I think they were very unhappy about doing this because they are still trying to 'bad-mouth' desiccated thyroid. However, we will make them eat their words, because what they are saying is just not true and we have evidence for this. I wonder what the Thyroid Foundation of Canada would say if a similar challenge was put to them?

I have now copied the BTA statement and intersperced my response where their information is blatantly wrong (and sometimes blatantly slanted)and I am sending a copy of my response to them to ALL NHS endocrinologists so that they can see the true and whole picture. I am just sick and tired of the deception that is being created within the NHS here in the UK, as I am sure that it is all done in the interest of something 'other' than patients health (need I say more?).

I will watch this space with great interest - as I will work until the day I die to get desiccated thyroid recognised as a medication worthy of trial.

I was diagnosed hypoT. 6 years ago. 4 of those years on T4 only - 9 days on a combination of T4 and T3 (I almost died). I was on the verge of being relegated to a wheel chair as my muscles were becoming more and more 'locked' for want of a better word, because the synthetic thyroxine was not converting and therefore thyroid hormone couldn't reach my muscles. The last two years I have been taking Armour, and the sun has never gone in since. All I can say is that whatever the secret ingredient is in natural thyroid extract - it is the best thing that ever happened to me and I now assure people that miracles DO happen - Armour was and is my miracle.

Luv - Sheila

PS Just to say that I had a letter from one lady who told me that she had been bed-ridden for the past 6 years and she was taking thyroxine only. Since reading information on support groups, she started taking Armour and she is now back at work and riding a bicycle and states that she is 95% fit.
------------------

Siste nytt fra England: fra legemiddeltilsynet i England: lettere å få blå resept på Armour Thyroid etc.
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroiduk/messages?msg=2157.1&redirCnt=1

Hi everyone,
Dr. Martin Hawkings, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Harrogate (Primary Care Trust), has today sent me the following reply which MHRA has sent to him regarding my query on the prescribing specifically of Armour Thyroid to patients who were unable to tolerate (for whatever reason) licensed medicines in the UK. I.e. synthetic T4 or T3. To those of you who are being told by their NHS GP's or Endocrinologists that they will not prescribe Armour Thyroid because ".. of the difficulty in ensuring adequate quality control" - I would suggest you print this off and give it to your doctor. I am seeing my Endo. on 6th Jan. I am going to send him a copy of this today, so that he can read and digest the information here before I see him. I am also passing a copy to my GP.

Sheila.
-------------------------------------------------

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
Market Towers
1 Nine Elms Lane
London SW8 5NQ
Tel 020 72730000
e-mail info@mhra.gsi.gov.uk
www.mhra.gov.uk
Direct Line – 020 72730715
Fax 020 72730676

"Dear Dr. Hawkings,

ARMOUR THYROID AND PORCINE THYROID EXTYRACT FOR THYROIOD REPLACEMENT THEREAPY.

As you know, synthetic levothyroxine T4 and Liothyronine T3 are available in the UK as licensed medicinal products. "Natural" desiccated thyroid hormone, which contains both T4 and T3, is extracted from the thyroid glands of pigs, and is marketed in the USA under a number of brands. Some of these brands are marketed under US law as food supplements and as such are not authorised by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). These products can vary considerably in the content of thyroid hormones, because they are not standardised, and as a result could potentially be dangerous. However, other brands are authorised by the FDA as medicines, and are standardised to the specification of the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). The specification of the USP for the content of T4 (85 to 115% of labelled strength ) and T3 (90 to 110%) in natural thyroid tablets are similar to the specifications for the content in the individual synthetic hormones (90 to 110% T4, 90 to 110% T3). Thyroid tablets USP contain approximately 38 micrograms of T4 and 9 micrograms of T3 per 65 mgs. Of desiccated thyroid, and are available in a wide variety of strengths.

UK and European law recognises that there may be circumstances when licensed products may not be suitable for some patients. The regulations on medicines allow doctors to prescribe an unlicensed medicine for a patient to meet such a special clinical need, on their own direct personal responsibility. Where these unlicensed medicines are not available in the UK they can be imported by appropriately licensed medicines wholesalers, for supply to a doctor or pharmacy, to meet these needs. The importer is required to notify the MHRA in advance of every occasion that they wish to import such a product.

The MHRA can object to importation of an unlicensed medicine if there are concerns about the safety or quality of the product. The MHRA cannot object to importation of an unlicensed medicine solely on the grounds of efficacy.
In the case of these thyroid preparations, the MHRA has not objected to their importation provided that they are FDA approved products, standardised to the USP, and that they are for the treatment of patients with thyroid diseases, for whom the UK licensed synthetic thyroid hormones are not suitable. We have not told importers that they must provide evidence from prescribers, as this is a matter of clinical judgement. Consequently, these products can be made available to those people who need them, subject to them being prescribed by a doctor.

I hope that this answers your concerns. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Graham Matthews,
--------------------------------------------------------

Men:

From: SHEILATURNE1 Jan-16 10:10 am
To: ALL
The previous information I have now found out is not necessarily true.
Just had a reply to my letter to Primary Care Trust - who e-mailed the MHRA
again, and now the PCT has just written the following to me. It seems a letter may be required after all. Can't quite work it out from what they say - I'm leaving this up to Lyn Mynott to sort out. If you have printed out the information in the 'Pack', please destroy the page where it says that this is not required. I wish they would get their information right in the first place - but, what can one expect!!!. Luv - Sheila
http://tinyurl.co.uk/cq2q
---------------------------------------

Sheila

Please find below the response from the MHRA which means, in effect, that you may require a letter in order for you to obtain the drug after all..
Regards
Martin

Dr Martin D Hawkings
Consultant in Public Health Medicine
Craven, Harrogate and Rural District (CHARD) PCT
The Hamlet, Hornbeam Park,
Harrogate, HG2 8RE
Tel: 01423 859683
e-mail: martin.hawkings@chrd-pct.nhs.uk

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthews, Graham [mailto:Graham.Matthews@mhra.gsi.gov.uk]
Sent: 14 January 2004 09:57
To: HAWKINGS MARTIN (5KJ) CONSULTANT IN PUBLIC HEALTH MEDICINE
Subject: RE: MHRA letter

Dear Dr Hawkings,

The MHRA does not routinely require letters to prove special clinical need for the importation of unlicensed medicines and does not require importers to obtain such a letter provided they are satisfied that a special clinical need does exist. It is, however, up to the importer how they wish to verify this requirement is met and there is nothing to prevent them or other persons in the supply chain requesting such a letter.

The MHRA would not wish to issue a letter of the sort you propose, as this could be misleading given that each notification for importation of an unlicensed medicine is assessed on an individual basis.

I hope this assists.

Yours sincerely,

Graham Matthews
Pharmaceutical Assessor
Defective Medicines Report Centre
MHRA
Market Towers
1 Nine Elms Lane
London SW8 5NQ
Tel: 020 7084 2715
Fax: 020 7084 2676
-----------------------------------

Her er hvorfor legene sier at dessicated thyroid er inkonsistent:
Det fins et dansk produkt som ikke er helt konsistent.
( http://www.hypomaarniethappy.nl/thyreoidum.htm )
Styrkeforholdet er forskjellig fra år til år, men er konsistent i samme batch som varer c a. ett år.
På vanlig forenklingsmanèr blir det så generalisert til alle produkter:

Fra newsgruppen alt.support.thyroid
-------
Avsender:S.Tema:Re: Where did you get that desiccated thyroid?
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=no&lr=&th=43972c902a4627
2a&seekm=LXuC9.863310%24Ag2.28986173%40news2.calgary.shaw.ca&frame=off

Lois wrote:
>
> Armour is imported to the UK, but how many doctors will prescribe
> it there? Only a few, or are there more but hard to find? How do
> you find them? Do only a few pharmacies carry it?

Only a few pharmacies carry Armour, but other dessicated thyroid
products are more widely available due to licencing restrictions.

Armour isn't registered in the UK as I understand it, which
means a special licence is required to import it for a pharmacy.
Individuals on the other hand can import it quite easily for
their own use.

Quite a lot of doctors have little clue on the regulations on
what they can and can't prescribe above and beyond the usual hot
topics, and if it isn't in their regular paperwork may not know
what to do.

Few doctors will be keen to prescribe medications not covered by
the MCA or other relevant regulatory bodies, as they probably
want to keep their licence to practice.

Thyroid UK remains the best source of information.
http://www.thyroiduk.org/

> Is it imported to other countries? If so, how easy/difficult is it
> to get a prescription?

I think you need to be specific on countries, there are a lotout there.

Message 5 in thread
Avsender:Nora Grøndal (n grondal @ start.no)
Tema:Re: Where did you get that desiccated thyroid?

Very interesting.
Thyroid powder is the old-fashioned thyroidinum dessicatum that has been
used for over 100 years and all pharmacies used to have it.
Where in Kastrup does the thyroid powder come from?
Kastrup is not so far from Norway.
In Australia Stenlake pharmacy gets thyroid powder from america and it
is absolutely consistent and they make medicine from it.
www.stenlake.com or something like that. Jan from thyroid about.com
forum has actually seen the box and the powder.
By the way Natyrethroid (I heard it is from from organically fed
pigs)has been registered in the EU see article by Mary Shomon.
We get Armour thyroid here in Norway and Balderklinikken writes
prescriptions. www.balderklinikken.no We should get naturethroid too
because EU things apply for us too because of a treaty. But it is very
expensive for us.
If you make some in holland that will make it much cheaper for us and
then it might be automatically approved here too because of this treaty
and in all EU.
(Armour is considered unsafe biological material here)
nora
norway

"Mieke "
news:1037048165.743358@cache2...
> Hello Lois,
> Here in the Netherlands we have one pharmacy importing ArmourThyroid via
> Broda Barnes.
> The International Pharmacy is located in Venlo and is distributor in the
> Netherlands for other pharmacies.
> Just over the border we can buy ArmourThyroid (with prescription) in a
> pharmacy in Antwerp in Belgium.
> I got this Belgium list with 21 other Armour pharmacies from Broda Barnes.
> In Belgium it is cheaper than in the Netherlands (100 x 60 mg-1 grain=23,18
> Euro)
> Here in The Netherlands via Venlo we have to pay for 100 x 1 grain=38,55
> Euro.
> I also know one German pharmacy just over the border, but the prices are
> unknown.
>
> On the other hand we have some willing doctors who are prescribing thyroid
> powder.
> All the dessicated thyroid powder used in the Netherlands comes from Kastrup
> in Denmark.
> The ratio is not stable, but thyroid powder users are very happy with this
> dessicated powder.
> The ratio is about 3.1.
> It is cheap: 100 capsules x 1 grain= 9,26 Euro.
>
> Now we are trying to import the Full Strength thyroid powder from ALI in
> Nebraska US.
> This is the producer of all the dessicated powder in the US, like
> ArmourThyroid.
> The effort we made to import the ALI powder is only for the reassurance of
> our doctors.
> Because of the stable ratio of 4.22.
> We want to try to manufacture tablets of the ALI powder.
>
> For all these kind of medication we need a prescription.
> It is quit difficult to find a doctor who is willing to prescribe this
> medicine.
> Hopefully I sketched a more or less usefull picture of our local situation.
> Kind regards,
> Mieke (The Netherlands)
> PS 1 Euro = 1 Dollar
>
> > The majority of the posters here are from the US,
> > the UK, and Canada, with a few (?) in Europe and Australia. (Sorry
> > if I missed anyone.) I'd like to cover at least the first 3 areas,
> > and the others if possible.
>>
>
Avsender:Mieke
Tema:Re: Where did you get that desiccated thyroid?

Hello Lois,
Here in the Netherlands we have one pharmacy importing ArmourThyroid via Broda Barnes.
The International Pharmacy is located in Venlo and is distributor in the Netherlands for other pharmacies.

Just over the border we can buy ArmourThyroid (with prescription) in a pharmacy in Antwerp in Belgium.
I got this Belgium list with 21 other Armour pharmacies from Broda Barnes.
In Belgium it is cheaper than in the Netherlands (100 x 60 mg-1 grain=23,18  Euro)
Here in The Netherlands via Venlo we have to pay for 100 x 1 grain=38,55 Euro.

I also know one German pharmacy just over the border, but the prices are unknown.

On the other hand we have some willing doctors who are prescribing thyroid powder.
All the dessicated thyroid powder used in the Netherlands comes from Kastrup in Denmark.
The ratio is not stable, but thyroid powder users are very happy with this dessicated powder.
The ratio is about 3.1.
It is cheap: 100 capsules x 1 grain= 9,26 Euro.

Now we are trying to import the Full Strength thyroid powder from ALI in Nebraska US.
This is the producer of all the dessicated powder in the US, like ArmourThyroid.
The effort we made to import the ALI powder is only for the reassurance of our doctors.
Because of the stable ratio of 4.22.
We want to try to manufacture tablets of the ALI powder.

For all these kind of medication we need a prescription.
It is quit difficult to find a doctor who is willing to prescribe this medicine.
Hopefully I sketched a more or less usefull picture of our local situation.
Kind regards,
Mieke (The Netherlands)
PS 1 Euro = 1 Dollar

> The majority of the posters here are from the US,
> the UK, and Canada, with a few (?) in Europe and Australia. (Sorry
> if I missed anyone.) I'd like to cover at least the first 3 areas,
> and the others if possible.

Message 6 in thread
Avsender:Mieke

Indeed, thyroid powder is old-fashioned. But we still have a few
Dutch users who refused to use the synthetic levothyroxine.

BIOFAC A/S
350-356 Englandsvej
DK-2770 Kastrup
tel.: + 45 70 10 30 20 ask Niels Thiesen. He is a chemical engineer
working in the laboratories of Biofac.
Without any problem he send me a sample of 100 gram of this powder including a certificate of analysis. This certificate is a statutory requirement/obligated, to fulfil the European Pharmacopeia or to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). The European one is strict compared to the USP. Nevertheless untill now NL accept the USP.

The ALI (American Laboratories Incorporated) manufactures this stable powder (ratio 4,22) and are the only US processors.
Before using this powder in the Netherlands, every charge has to be tested to require this (pharmacopeia) certificate (costs ca. 700 Euro!).

Natyrethroid? Interesting! Do you know the producer?
(Armour has also the USPqualification. It means that it is clean and stable.)
Mieke, the Netherlands.

Message 7 in thread
Avsender:Nora Grøndal
Tema:Re: Where did you get that desiccated thyroid?

Dato:2002-11-12 04:28:06 PST

Here is a link where Sunny Wilmington announces naturethroid:
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroiduk/messages?msg=893.1
copy follows:
>From: SWILLMINGTON 2/7/2002 6:36 pm  To: ALL (1 of 7) 893.1

Hello! This is Sunny from Western Research Labs in Phoenix Arizona. We
make Nature-Throid - the only hypoallergenic, natural, prescription
thyroid medication on the market. I have been working REALLY hard to get
Nature-Throid to my fellow country folk back home in the UK and am
absolutely delighted to let you know that you can now fill your
prescriptions in one of 2 ways.

Firstly you can use Idis Pharmaceuticals - your Doctor needs to call
them with your prescription. They are in Surrey 020 8410 0700, find them
at www.idis.co.uk. They fill prescriptions on a named patient basis.

Secondly, there is an international pharmacy in Wisconsin USA who will
fill your prescriptions - on a prescription only basis they are allowed
to do this. They are called the Womens International Pharmacy (608)
221-7800.

If you have any further questions please feel free to email me at
sunnywillmington at hotmail.com and invite your Doctors to call us (or
Idis) for further information - our number in the USA is 623-879-8683

ALI laboratories: http://www.americanlaboratories.com/aliatt2.htm

"Nora Grøndal" wrote in message
news:b66l3i$l12$1 @ troll.powertech.no...
> Hi as far as I know only one place manufactures stable thyroid powder,
> ALI laboratories.
> This is where all thyroid powder that is dose consistent comes from.
> Stenlake pharmacy in Australia said so too. A poster on the thyroid
> forum at Mary's forum, tealady was shown the jars and was told it comes
> from America and is absolutely consistent.
> They dilute it with filler and portion it into something, capsules or
> pills, I do not know.
> Do a google groups search, there was a dutch poster on
> alt.support.thyroid who also found this out. The dutch had also tried
> danish thyroid powder from a company in Kastrup, Denmark which was good
> but not absolutely consistent. But the customers do not mind, they are
> very happy with this thyroid powder.
>
> So when the doctors say dessicated thyroid is not dose consistent that
> refers some manufacturers, not to ALI laboratories. So that is as close
> to a lie as it can get.
>
> nora
>
Hi Nora,
Dutch girl is back ;-).
ALI in Nebraska has a website:
http://www.americanlaboratories.com/aliatt2.htm
You are right. This ALI powder is consistent in ratio (4.2:1).
But the Danish Kastrup thyroid powder is a very, very good alternative with
a ratio of circa 2.6:1.
And for us in Europe a very cheap alternative.
60 mgr (1 grain) ArmourThyroid= circa 38 euro (=ca. 40 USdollar)
60 mgr. (1 grain) Danish = circa 10 euro (= ca.11 USdollar)
Mieke (The Netherlands)
quiquebou at quicknet.nl

Avsender:Kiek (kiekatkinet.nl)
TemaRe: Armour BRAND NAME Rx -- or is the "Generic-equivalent" OK?
View: Complete Thread (13 artikler)
Nyhetsgrupper:alt.support.thyroid
Dato:2003-04-02 23:57:55 PST

Hi Nora,
The first try to import ALI-powder failed.
But from last month tablets are available, using the Kastrup thyroid powder.
But.... as expensive as Armour! The only advantage is the facility for the
pharmacies to order this tablets, in stead of making capsules..
The alternative is to order the cheap powder from Kastrup and to make
capsules from this powder. Dutch pharmacies who wants to make this capsules
are like gold dust, exceptional. If you don't have this kind of pharmacies
in Norway, may be you are able to calculate your own quantity. It is quite
easy to calculate the milligrams you need for your individual prescription.
I don't know the rules in Denmark. May be Niels Thiesen, chemical engineer
from Biofac in Kastrup (tel +45 70 10 30 20), knows a solution for the
Norwegian pharmacies.
So, here in Hollland there are a few pharmacies who make 'Kastrup-capsules'
(100 for 10 euro). Using levothyroxine/Cytomel myself, meanwhile busy with
this tablet-project, I wanted to have a comparison. So last winter I tried  Armour for a few weeks and after that I took the Kastrup-capsules. For me there was no difference. The return to levothyr/Cytomel was difficult for 2 weeks.
May be a phonecall to Niels give you more info.
Mieke
quiquebouatquicknet.nl
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=no&lr=&selm=1049217666.445124%40cache2

Hi Diana,
The remaining 59,953 ug are for ca 25% or 30 % thyroid tisssue and the rest
consists of fillers.

The mean pig thyroid powder per gram consists:
500 ug/g +/-100 ug/g T4
150 ug/g +/- 50 ug/g T3

Armour has a ratio T4/T3 of 4.2

So, it can be that Armour contains per gram 532 ug T4 and 126 ug T3 (ratio
4.2)
or it can be 570 ug T4 and 135 ug T3 (ratio still 4.2), or 456 ug T4 and 108
ug T3 (=ratio 4.2) etcetera.
If the normal thyroid powderhad been used by Forest, they would reach an
amount of about 36 ug T4 per 60 mg. And that is impossible, because we know
that Armour 60 mg contains not only 38 ug T4 and 9 ug T3, but also
dextrose/cellulose, glycolate, calcium stearate and a whitening agent.
How do we get more room for all these fillers?

The American Laboratories Inc. (ALI, who produces the powder for Forest)
uses not only the normal Thyroid powder.
They have the normal Thyroid USP, and they have 3 x Thyroid USP and Thyroid
Full Strenght which is 4 x the normal Thyroid USP.

Armour uses the 3 x Thyroid USP or the Thyroid Full Strenght.
That's about respectivily 33 % and 25% of the 59,953 mg. Now we have more
room for fillers.
I do not know which one Forest uses, but the Full Strenght is the cheapest
one in use.

T4 and the thyroid part of T3 are the only exclusive T's made by the
thyroid. That is not the case with T2 and T1. These T's you can even find in
your finger and your brain and your liver and also in your thyroid but then
as a result of the deiodination process.

Kiek

"Cavalier" <cavaliersaatshaw.ca> wrote in message
news:cXGoa.168630$vs.17710376atnews3.calgary.shaw.ca...
>
> Kevin G. Rhoads <kgrhoadsatalum.mit.edu> wrote in message
> news:3E9DA80C.DAB96CE5atalum.mit.edu...
> > So 1,000 micro-grams = 1 milli-gram; commonly written as 1,000 ug = 1 mg
> >in ast posts.
> 60 mg Armour thyroid (aka 1 grain) = 60,000 mcg.
> That means with 38 mcg T4 and 9 mcg T3 the remaining 59,953 mcg are either
> t2, t1 or fillers? That's a lot of cornstarch, comparatively speaking.

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=28897.27&nav=messages&webtag=ab-thyroid&sr=y  om at den eneste produsenten er et firma i USA

Annen diskusjon om  hvor pulveret kommer fra:

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=67964.33&nav=messages&webtag=ab-thyroid#a33

i en diskusjon om at en batch Thyroid råstoff var dårlig

Se også her
 http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=67964.43&nav=messages&webtag=ab-thyroid#a43

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's good to see this knowledge is getting out! Hopefully the
endocrinologists are paying attention!!!
-SJG

"Frenchy" wrote in part:
: Took daughter to Endo yesterday and in the course of good discussions, I mentioned Armour
: and while he was not aware of that Brand Name, he immediately said that Desiccated Pigs
: Thyroid was unreliable in its efficacy/strength etc. When I told him that information was
: 30 years out of date, he seemed somewhat surprised (probably that I had the temerity to
: question him!) but I would like to send him some good URL's to back this up and perhaps some
: "facts" on the number of times the FDA has had to recall T4 only synthetics in the past 10+: years.
The FAQ page at the Armour Thyroid site has info about batch-to-batch
consistency. From http://www.armourthyroid.com/faq.html#q3:

"Armour® Thyroid is made from desiccated (dried) pork thyroid glands. The
amount of thyroid hormone present in the thyroid gland may vary from animal
to animal. To ensure that Armour® Thyroid tablets are consistently potent
from tablet to tablet and lot to lot, analytical tests are performed on the
thyroid powder (raw material) and on the actual tablets (finished product)
to measure actual T4 and T3 activity.

"Different lots of thyroid powder are mixed together and analyzed to achieve
the desired ratio of T4 to T3 in each lot of tablets. This method ensures
that each strength of Armour® Thyroid will be consistent with the United
States Pharmacopoeia (USP) official standards and specifications for
desiccated thyroid lot-to-lot consistency. The ratio of T4 to T3 equals
4.22:1 (4.22 parts of T4 to one part of T3)."

From our site in progress:
"Until around 1970, the hormone concentrations of thyroid medications were
titrated based on iodine content, but since then, they have all - including
desiccated thyroid - been assayed by their hormone content. Doctors are
still told that the thyroid hormone concentrations in desiccated thyroid
vary between batches. However, desiccated thyroid has been assayed the same
way as other thyroid hormone medications for several decades, and it is
recalled far less often for stability issues than its synthetic counterparts
are."

You might want to ask this endo where he heard this misinformation about
Armour. My guess is that he heard it from the sales rep of a pharmaceutical
company that sells synthetic T4 only.

I just did a search of drug recalls at the FDA site at
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/Enforce.html. The earliest document I found was
dated 1992, but most were more recent. Here are my findings:

- Armour was recalled once because of an assay problem with T4, twice
because of a labelling problem, once because of a packaging problem, once
because the tablets weren't the specified size, and once because of a
possible product contamination.

- Synthroid was recalled three times because of stability and subpotency
problems, twice because of a packaging problem, once because of testing
issues, and once because of trace contamination.

- Levoxyl was recalled five times because of stability and subpotency
problems, and three times because of a labelling problem.

- Levothroid was recalled 11 times because of stability and subpotency
problems, once because of dissolution failure, twice because of a labelling
problem, four times because of a packaging problem, and once because of
product contamination.

I stopped searching after the above examples.

Lois

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-dsphar3200743apr01,0,6005067.story?col
l=ny-health-headlines

Q. I was diagnosed with low thyroid several years ago and was put on Synthroid.

At first I felt much better, but lately I am experiencing symptoms of low thyroid again. I am always tired and often cold, can't lose weight and have very little interest in sex.

I am also troubled with constipation, very dry skin and brittle, ridged nails.

My test results have been jumping around, but my doctor doesn't seem interested in following up on this. Are there any advantages to taking Armour Thyroid?

A. The symptoms you mention are consistent with low thyroid activity.

Laboratory results are essential for diagnosing thyroid dysfunction, but a
new study in the British Medical Journal (Feb. 8, 2003) suggests that the
standard test (TSH) doesn't always correspond to the clinical picture.

Armour Thyroid is dried thyroid gland in pill form. It fell into disfavor
when synthetic thyroid (Synthroid) became more popular. Some physicians are
now returning to Armour Thyroid or prescribing a combination of T3 (Cytomel)
and T4 (levothyroxine) for patients who don't respond adequately to
Synthroid alone.

Write to People's Pharmacy, Discovery, Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville,
NY 11747-4250. Questions can't be answered personally.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.

Joseph & Teresea Graedon
Joseph Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon has a doctorate in
medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert

----------------------------

contact www.stenlake.com.au sydney phone no on their website. They can tell you which docs throughout Australia prescibe Armour (it's actually thyroid USP). I know one lady on this board got in touch with them and found a doc in Cairns.

Now for your dose , yes it is generally considered that 60mcg T3= 240mcg T4...but it never converts exactly ..it is individula and that is a rough guidleine. The equivalent is probably close to what your endo gave you..ie. 60mcgs is probably very much equivalent to 200mcgs T4.

now first..you should never just go onto this large dose staright away.

1. your body ain't used to it...it times weeks for your body to get used to t3, so youneed to hbuild up gradually

2. the T4 will still be in your body for 6 weeks or so...so you are overdosing ...like doubling by switching straight from one to another

3. A suggested dose to start with would be roughly aim for half T4 and half t3...and this will proabably be too much t3 in the long run..but until your body repairs some people require more T3.

So if you were on 200mcgs t4...aim to get on 100mcgs t4 and 30mcgs t3.

butsdon't start there!

go like this
you are on 200mcg t4

week1 reduce T4 by 25mcgs and add in 6 mcgs T3(or as close as you can ..about 1/3 of a 20mcg tablet of T3)....so take 175mcgs t4, 6 mcgs T3

stay on for 3 to 5 days depending on your symptoms , longer if you still need longer for your headaches, heart, bladder etc to get used to it

(If you still have problems with this , you have to reduce the T3 by half again)...some on this board started with only a shaving of T3 and built up...you have tomonitor depending on symptoms

if all Ok,

week 2 reduce T4 med by another 25mcgs and and increase T3 by another 6 mcgs, so you are on 150mcgs T4 and 12 mcgs T3 (2/3 of a 20mcg tablet)

WEEk 3 reduce T4 med by another 25mcgs and and increase T3 by another 6 mcgs, so you are on 125mcgs T4 and 20 mcgs T3

Week4 reduce T4 med by another 25mcgs and and increase T3 by another 6 mcgs, so you are on 125mcgs T4 and 20 mcgs T3

week 5 reduce T4 med by another 25mcgs and and increase T3 by 10 mcgs (you can increase in larger amounbts as your body gets used to it), so you are on 100mcgs T4 and 30 mcgs T3 (or 1 1/2 tabs of 20mcg t3)

Now try this for a while(like 6 more weeks ) then retest for blood levels of TSH, FT3 ,FT4..it will probably be enough t3 for you. To get the labs to run FT3 you need to specigfy on the request form that you are ON T3 meds or they won't run it...standard practise, so i just write it in!

Hope this helps

Jan

From: tealady Nov-20 4:07 am To: SPACEHUSKIE (29 of 30)

35262.29 in reply to 35262.27

If you want to play with alternate doses , here's a spreadsheet .

go to http://www.geocities.com/jan55qld

then look down LHS for calculators and click on t3 t4

try entering in 0(in Armour), , 30 in T3, 100 in add inT4 and you see the "equivalent " is 220mcg in T4 , and it gives you a T4/t3 ratio of 3.3:1..which as most people say about 7:1 is ideal or higher (armour is 4:1)..I don't think you will need more T3 than this...that is why I thought for starters that is what I personally would try for, and then reduce t3 and add in t4 if need be...depending on those blood test results and how your feel! But I wouldn't go to straight t3

This is my play calculator for working out ratios...you can try enetering in lots of diiferent combinations on different lines and se what you get as a comparison!

Also good for Armour.

If you do go to armour..it is still good , if you are used to t4 and it doen't kill you, to go to half armour, half T4...looking at the spreadsheet..it is about 1 1/2 grains of armour and 100mcg t4, giving the eqivalent of 208mcg T4 , and a ratio of 11.4 to 1.

have a play..but it was really desined for armour and additional t4.
Also you will need to take your T3 dose two times a day for starters anyway..so you have to half the daily dose and take it once in the morning and again a couple of hours after lunch..until your body gets used to it.

Hugs, Jan

LeslieB provided this conversion chart to the board some time ago....I have given you the Armour portion, only...hope it helps! If you would like the entire chart (showing other meds) let me know and I will be happy to copy/paste the entire chart.

As you can see, 2 grains is equivalent to 148 mcg of T4 only meds....so no, he is not giving you the equivalent dose. He is giving you a dosage that would be a little less than 1 1/2 grains but a little more than 1 grain (perhaps, closer to 1 1/4 grains?). He may either be starting you lower to see how you tolerate the change....or he may just not be familiar enough with the conversion process to know he is starting you too low. Since you are going to a T4 med, he should have at least started you on .112 mcg and worked you up to .125, then .137, then .150, if need be. As you can see, .137 would have been the closest dosage, without going over .148 mcg.

Armour: (all in mcg)
1/4 grain=15mg=2.25 T3 + 9.5 T4 = T4 equivalency of 18.5 mcg

1/2 grain=30mg=4.50 T3 + 19. T4 = T4 equivalency of 37 mcg

3/4 grain=45mg=6.75 T3 + 28.5 T4 = T4 equivalency of 55.5 mcg

1 grain=60mg= 9.00 T3 + 38. T4 = T4 equivalency of 74 mcg

1 1/2 gr =90mg=13.5 T3 + 57. T4 = T4 equivalency of 111 mcg

2 grains=120mg=18.0 T3 = 76. T4 = T4 equivalency of 148 mcg and so on

In order to change the T4/T3 ratio in the above products, a small amount of T4 med could be added to shift the ratio from 80/20 to 90/10
T4 plus T3 meds with 90% T4 and 10% T3
25mcg of T4+ 2.5mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 35mcg
50mcg of T4 + 5mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 70mcg
75mcg of T4 + 7.5mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 105mcg
100mcg of T4 + 10mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 140mcg
112mcg of T4 + 11.2mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 156.8mcg
125mcg of T4 + 12.5mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 175mcg
137mcg of T4 + 13.7mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 191.8mcg
150mcg of T4 + 15mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 210mcg
175mcg of T4 + 17.5mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 245mcg
200mcg of T4 + 20mcg of T3 = T4 equivalency of 280mcg

Faye (TX)

Dear Sirs:

I was very glad to see a discussion of hypothyroidism on your show. Hypothyroidism is the most underdiagnosed and undertreated illness of (mainly) women today.

But I was appalled at the doctor's ignorant comments about natural dessicated thyroid. In the first place, all of the brands of natural thyroid that are currently available by prescription (Armour, Westhroid, Biothroid, Naturethroid) are porcine. The bovine has not been made for quite a few years.

Furthermore, natural thyroid is no longer the inconsistent product it once was. When synthetic hormones were developed, so were the techniques for testing levels of thyroid hormones in a product. At that time, the manufacturers of natural thyroid began to use modern mixing and assaying techniques to insure the consistent potency of their product.

Like all thyroid medications, the natural product is required to contain plus or minus 10% of the stated dosage. If you search the FDA website, you will find few recalls for any natural thyroid product in recent years, but numerous ones for the synthetic, especially $ynthroid, which was at times found to contain as much as 30% too much or too little hormone. I am including a link to the scathing FDA letter to the manufacturers of $ynthroid.

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/97n0314/pdn0002.pdf

I never did well on the synthetic product alone. I am now on Armour natural dessicated thyroid plus a little Unithroid to correct the T4:T3 ratio, and am feeling well for the first time in many years. Because of the short action of the T3 in Armour, I take it three times a day. But for those of us who do not do well on the synthetic alone, taking two or more pills throughout the day is a small price to pay for feeling well.

I am the chairman of a statewide thyroid support group and on the board of a new thyroid patient advocacy group. As such, I have the opportunity to network with thyroid patients across the country and around the world. There are large numbers of thyroid patients who have suffered because their doctors have prescribed only levothyroxine, usually only one brand, for all patients and not understood or offered the full spectrum of thyroid medications that are available including synthetic T3/T4 combinations and natural thyroid as well as other brands of levothyroxine.

It is telling that most of the few doctors who really understand thyroid disease and prescribe a variety of thyroid medications have two things in common:
1. Either they or their wives are hypothyroid and did not do well on the standard treatment.
2. They are eventually able to quit all HMO and PPO health insurance networks.
If you would like to interview one of those doctors, I would recommend that you contact Drs. Richard Shames, MD and Dr. Karilee Shames, PhD, authors of the book Thyroid Power. You will get a much more balanced and realistic program on thyroid disease.

Thank you for your interest in thyroid disease!
endophobia

To whom it may concern,
It may interest you to know that for many years I suffered from misinformation about my thyroid disorder. That is why I think it is of paramount importance that the media be accurate in its coverage of the subject. Recently a segment of thyroid disease, done by Judith Riechman, MD, on the Today Show, has been brought to my attention along with its many inaccuracies. The most glaring mistake was the claim that TSH ( Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) was the only test needed to detect a thyroid disorder. There are many reason why this is ill advice but the one that immediately grabs me is that, as any Endocrinologists, or any one with an elementary understanding or thyroid disease can tell you, there is just no way one can detect hypothyroidism secondary to hypopitutarism with a simple TSH test. Over looking this condition can have devastating consequences since this condition is almost always caused by a tumor.
Another mistake that hits me personally is the mention that natural desiccated thyroid is bovine. This day in age one can easily conjure fears of "mad cow" disease when, in fact, natural desiccated thyroid such as Armour Thyroid, Biothroid, Westhroid and Nature-Throid are all made from corn fed, USDA porcine thyroid from hogs that are otherwise in our food chain. Furthermore, these medications are not less consistent than their synthetic counterparts, as Dr. Riechman claimed, but have a much better track record in potency and consistency, in recent decades, than some brands of levothyroxine ( particularly Synthroid). The reason I take this particularly personally is that I was unwell for many years while taking Synthroid. Published misinformation led me to believe that natural desiccated thyroid was not available. When I found out that it was available I switched to Armour Thyroid and my health greatly improved.
I thank you and Dr. Riechman for spotlighting hypothyroidism, but I urge you to improve the information you are dispensing and, perhaps, invite Mary Shomon, author of Living Well with Hypothyroidism (www.about.thyroid.com) to the Today Show. She is very articulate and well informed on everything thyroid.
(5) <<“Natural” thyroid is made of desiccated thyroid that is collected from cows at slaughter houses. It has a shorter half-life which means that one pill daily may not is not suffice to maintain even levels; moreover, some clinicians are concerned that the purity and activity can vary. Most endocrinologists prescribe the synthetic form.>>

Oh, boy! Somebody didn’t do their homework here. Desiccated thyroid meds are made from pigs, not cows. BIG difference! The meds contain both T4 and T3. The meds are carefully assayed to comply with FDA requirements. Actually there have been fewer recalls of desiccated thyroid products over the years than of the synthetics. Synthetic thyroid hormones, particularly T4/Levothyroxines, have had their problems conforming to the FDA’s potency, consistency and quality control regulations.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tor 06 Feb, 2003, 20:49 Tittel: Hvor mye betaler egentlig du for Armour?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeg får nok mine medisiner billigere enn deg ...etter mine beregninger ville årsprisen ligge på ca. 2600,-. Jeg betaler ca. 285,- for 100 tabl. Kanskje du tar 1/2-grains tabletter? Husk da på at det er mye mere økonomi i å kjøpe 1 grains + 1 tablettdeler eller ett barberblad.

Ellers bør forøvrig alle armourbrukere sjekke at apoteket deres har Det Norske Medisinaldepot som hovedleverandør. Velger du f.eks. Apotek 1-kjeden, som ikke har dette blir Armour omtrent dobbelt så dyre.

Med vennlig hilsen
Siri Ann

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Siste nytt om thyroxin-Armour - debatten høsten 03:

http://thyroid.about.com/library/drugs/blblountlurie.htm

Betty Blont i Best pills, worst pills har et korstog mot alt som er naturligt. Da kan mye gå galt. Hun hevdet at Armoutr Thyroid var et naturmiddel som kunne kjøpes uten resept, og diverse annet vås. Hun hevdet at hormonet i kroppen heter l-thyroxin og det som er i tablettene thyroxin. Det er omvendt. Hun nektet for at det måles T4 og T3 i Armour. Det har vært gjort nå i over 30 år.

Hun kommer ikke inn på klagefrekvensen på syntetiske L-thyroxinpreparater, som er veldig høy, og om noen noegang har klaget på styrken på Armour. Jeg har lest på internett lenge og har aldri hørt om det. En pasient skrev at hun spurte apoteket sitt om klagefrekvensen, og at apotekeren sa at det hadde han aldri opplevd.

Det har vært store ting på gang i Amerika om Synthroid. For det første var det en skandale da en forsker skulle sammenligne Synthroid med andre L-thyroxintabletter, og ble hindret når man ikke fant forskjell hvis styrken var den samme. For det andre ble godkjenningen trukket tilbake fordi Synthroid puttet mere i tablettene for å forlenge "shelf life", og det forårsaket store svingninger av styrken. tusener eller millioner av pasienter bel under-og overmedidinert fordi de forskjellige boksene med Synthoid hadde forskjellig styrke. Mange pasienter ble dårlige, og mange klaget over at de mistet jobben fordi de ikke klarte å fungere lenger.

Med Armour Thyroid har dette aldri skjedd. Det fins andre produkter, f. eks. den fra Danmark, men man er da klar over det og justerer dosen etter nye blodprøver.

>Dear Ms. Blount ~

With some sadness, I read your poorly researched, mis-statement laden, "canned" propaganda response concerning whether the use of dessicated thyroid was appropriate for the treatment of hypothyroidism.

I can only assume that neither you, nor anyone you care about has had the misfortune of being left with a non-functioning or barely functioning thyroid. Synthetic T4 is best used as treatment for people who are deficient in synthetic T4 (presumably a minor portion of the population -- afterall so few people are born with a gland that produces a synthetic anything). Those of us left with little or no thyroid functioning as a result of thyroid disease, need a full spectrum of thyroid replacement hormones in order to feel healthy. Many of us have dead or dying thyroids, not a synthetic T4 deficiency. Synthetic T4 alone does not, for the majority of people, alleviate the fatigue, pain, hair loss, eye problems, and multitude of other symptoms caused by a lack of thyroid hormoneS.

The fact that you chose to disseminate "misinformation" created years ago in an effort to make one particular brand of synthetic T4 the only choice for patients is a disservice to the hundreds of thousands of men and women who need a full range of thyroid replacement hormones. It appears that you are acting as an advocate for a particular drug than as someone who cares about people receiving proper treatment -- a true a pity.

As a testimonial I can state that I have been taking dessicated porcine thyroid for nearly 2 years -- with NO "ups and downs" -- no bouts of hypo to hyper and back again. What it does do (unlike when I took merely synthetic T4) is alleviate ALL -- not just a few -- of the many symptoms I experienced.

I've questioned my physician about your contentions, and he does NOT (in his 45 years of practice specializing in thyroid conditions) have any experience with the problems arising out of the nature of the dessicated porcine thyroid which you contend exist. This is probably because dessicated porcine thyroid is STANDARDIZED. Of course, the fact that it is standardized is something you would have discovered if you'd done your own research rather than repeating propaganda. Oh, just as a point of reference, the "thyroid" supplements sold in natural food formulations is required by the FDA to NOT contain ANY active thyroid. SO I can only assume you weren't referencing those supplements in your communications.

I challenge you to assay an array of synthetic T4 hormones and an array of dessicated porcine thyroid (try lookin at the ones manufactured by Armour, Naturethroid and Biothroid). Considering the number of published recalls of T4, I think you'll find that it's the synthetic T4 that has the problems, not the natural, dessicated, porcine thyroid.

I truly hope that you receive the opinions of ALL of the people who have been brought back (or at least much closer) to full health with prescription of dessicated porcine thyroid.

With my best wishes for your enlightened future,

>

> I have Fibromyalgia and every time I try the synthetic thyroid drugs my > whole
> body goes into spasm. I do ok with Naturethyroid, and one know why this is? Armour, naturethroid, etc. have T3 in it as well as T4. Fibro patients usually need some T3...you can read more about that at www.drlowe.com

I have FMS too and synthroid didn't do a thing for me...it felt like I
was taking a placebo, no matter how much my dose went up, and even when
my thyroid was suppressed on T4. I really need the T3.

>

Dear Public Citizen: You can have my Armour when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the bottle...
Thyroid Disease Blog

« Do I Need to Lighten Up? | Main

September 26, 2003
Dear Public Citizen: You can have my Armour when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the bottle...
A truly irreverant, impassioned, but quite eloquent reader shared her recent letter to Public Citizen...

"Thank you for your note and your humble retraction. That took courage and I appreciate your doing so. I thank you for taking my words to heart and digging for more of the facts.

I am sorry to say, however, that we are yet at odds.

My initial reaction is to ask you to provide a citation where I can examine the testing requirements of the FDA for dessicated thyroid. I'd also ask you to compare that with the requirements of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP)- the gold standard of American Pharmacology. I'd also be pleased to be provided any documented reports or studies of Armour Thyroid's efficacy, potency consistancy and consistancy issues as stated by you. In other words, may I see your sources?

Even if your pointed claims are true, the fact remains that if so, Forest Pharmaceuticals is following the requirements for product formulation consistancy standards as established by the USP, as is rather carefully pointed out on their web page FAQ.

http://www.armourthyroid.com/faq.html

An excerpt from this page states:

"QUESTION
What can you tell me about batch-to-batch consistency of ArmourR Thyroid?

ANSWER
ArmourR Thyroid is made from desiccated (dried) pork thyroid glands. The amount of thyroid hormone present in the thyroid gland may vary from animal to animal. To ensure that ArmourR Thyroid tablets are consistently potent from tablet to tablet and lot to lot, analytical tests are performed on the thyroid powder (raw material) and on the actual tablets (finished product) to measure actual T4 and T3 activity.

Different lots of thyroid powder are mixed together and analyzed to achieve the desired ratio of T4 to T3 in each lot of tablets. This method ensures that each strength of ArmourR Thyroid will be consistent with the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) official standards and specifications for desiccated thyroid lot-to-lot consistency. The ratio of T4 to T3 equals 4.22:1 (4.22 parts of T4 to one part of T3)."

As I pointed out before, Armour Thyroid is formulated under USP standards, which are exacting and basic to the fundamentals of American Pharmacology. Even if the FDA merely requires the examination of iodine content, USP requires batch-to-batch consistancy of ingredients and their ratios.

What you are telling us might be true -to some small degree-. Trust me, I will be tracking this one down. But by ignoring these further standards of the USP and Armour Thyroid's requirement to maintain these standards, you give the erroneous impression that Armour Thyroid is an unsafe product.

You also ignore a couple of medical issues. Not all people convert T4 into T3 at the same rate. There are many, myself included, with T4-T3 conversion problems. The Resin T3 Uptake test is used to determine those exact issues.

Further, I was forced to endure a total thyroidectomy in December, 1997. Two months following surgery, while on Synthroid, my TSH level was 32.5. Within a few months, after numerous unsuccessful dosage adjustments, I was able to convince my doctor to switch me to Armour Thyroid. That was the day I found my soul after thirty years and remembered what it was like to wake up happy in the morning.

A normal thyroid produces T4 AND T3. Armour Thyroid is formulated to match the ratio of T4 and T3 that the thyroid gives to the body. If I take T4, along with my T4 to T3 conversion problem, WHERE do I get my T3!?!?!

I have yet to find any published study or report, or any scientific study that reports the consistancy problems for Armour Thyroid. I'm still looking and if you happen to know of any appropriate citations, please do forward them to me.

I did find one study that reported the consistency in -1977-

Metabolism. 1977 Nov;26(11):1213-8. "Triiodothyronine and thyroxine content of desiccated thyroid tablets. Rees-Jones RW, Larsen PR.

Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were measured by radioimmunoassay in Pronase hydrolysates of four lots each of 1- and 2-grain tablets of desiccated thyroid (Thyroid, Armour) and thyroglobulin (Proloid, Warner-Chilcott). The methodology used was verified by studies of tablets containing known quantities of T4 and T3. One grain of desiccated thyroid contained 12 +/- 1 and 64 +/- 3 microgram (mean +/- SD) of T3 and T4 per tablet, respectively (T4/T3 molar ratio, 4.3). A 1-grain tablet of thyroglobulin contained 16 +/- 2 and 55 +/- 5 microgram of T3 and T4, respectively with a T4/T3 ratio of 2.9. Two-grain tablets generally contained twice the quantity of T3 and T4 in the 1-grain preparations. The variation in T3 and T4 content between the four lots of each tablet strength for each product was 10% or less. These estimates of T3 and T4 content are 1.5- to 2-fold greater than those previously published. This difference probably results from the more sophisticated methodology now available which does not require chromatographic separation of T3 and T4 or iodometry. Using calculations based on published estimates of T4 and T3 absorption and of the T3/T4 potency ratio, it would appear that the T3 content of desiccated thyroid and thyroglobulin provide approximately 39% and 51%, respectively, of the thyromimetic activity of these two medications.

I have been unable to find ANY reference on the FDA website concerning product recalls or warnings or issues of any kind with Armour Thyroid.

HOWEVER, Synthroid HAS had -serious-, -ongoing- problems with potency and consistancy to the degree that they have been severely chastized by the FDA.

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/synthroidproblems.htm

An excerpt from this page states:

"III. Synthroid Has a History of Problems

According to the FDA,"...Synthroid has a long history of manufacturing problems...In August of 1989, Knoll initiated a recall of 21 lots of Synthroid tablets...because of a decrease in potency during stability studies."

The letter goes on to outline recalls in February 1991 affecting 26 lots of subpotent Synthroid, and a recall of lots of subpotent Synthroid in June 1991. An April 1991 inspection of Synthroid's manufacturing facility resulted in the firm being cited for two deviations from good manufacturing practices. Another manufacturing review in December of 1992 uncovered nine separate incidents of failure to follow good manufacturing practices.

As the FDA letter indicates, the problems continued. "FDA also found that the firm had continued to manufacture and distribute low dosage Synthroid tablets during 1990, 1991 and 1992."

"Although you claim that Synthroid has been carefully manufacturered, the violations of current good manufacturing practices discussed above indicate that Knoll has not always manufactured Synthroid in accordance with current standards for pharmaceutical manufacturing." -- United States Food and Drug Administration Letter to Synthroid Manufacturer, Knoll Pharmaceuticals, April 26, 2001

A 1994 review of the testing facility found additional problems with testing of product, and another recall in 1998 took place of subpotent product.

Says the FDA:

"The history of potency failures...indicates that Synthroid has not been reliably potent and stable. Furthermore, Knoll's use of an overage that has not remained consistent over the years suggests that Synthroid has stability, potency and consistency problem. Although you claim that Synthroid has been carefully manufacturered, the violations of current good manufacturing practices discussed above indicate that Knoll has not always manufactured Synthroid in accordance with current standards for pharmaceutical manufacturing."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Based on your email, and applying your apparent standards to Synthroid - the major branding - I have to assume that Synthroid is much worse a product in your eyes. Will you go after that, next? Remember, if we remove the naturals, the dessicated and the synthetic from the market shelves - then quite simply, I die in a very black, nasty depression.

You've used badly flawed assertions that Armour Thyroid is a bad drug. You've used badly flawed references to indicate that Armour Thyroid is a bad drug. You have used flawed logic to concluded that Armour Thyroid is dangerous.

Yet you ignore those with the greatest problem?

Madam, it is my opinion that your credibility isn't in question, it's on -extended vacation-.

If Armour Thyroid were to be taken off the market, I'd be haunting slaughter houses and purchasing the butchered thyroids. I'd prepare thyroid and onions just like people make liver and onion. I'd measure by weight and titrate as necessary to feel healthy. But I am NOT going to go back on levothyroxine or Synthroid. You may not know how much T4 or T3 are in Armour Thyroid, but I'm content to read the PDR and the package insert and trust on my ability to tell the qualitative difference when I use or do not use it.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, with a paraphrase of a cliche'.

"You can have my Armour Thyroid when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the bottle. I. Want. Armour. Thyroid."

>

England, Edna Kyrie som har websiden www.thyroidhistory.net:

There's a fair bit on www.thyroidhistory.net - especially in the 'research' section. The British Library has everything - you just neeed to know what you are looking for. And have the time and inclination to do something with it...

As far as I can tell, dessicated thyroid was used quite happily for years - but there were problems with potency from some manufacturers.

Then there was what the phamacologists referred to as 'the hoax':

Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of therapeutics Fourth Edition McMillan Company New York 1970

"Thyroid, U.S.P., is a highly satisfactory preparation for clinical use. Its continued popularity does not derive merely from a reactionary attitude, although at first sight the preparation might seem to be crude, old-fashioned, and poorly standardized. It is evidently uniformly well absorbed unless it has an enteric coating, and the potency is sufficiently standard that variation cannot be detected clinically if the official preparation is prescribed. A few years ago, a large batch of material came into the hands of a number of distributors in the United States and Europe and, although of proper iodine content, it later proved not to be thyroid at all. This episode gave thyroid a bad name because several publications about the unreliability of thyroid appeared before the hoax was uncovered. "

Another factor were the very sensitive new tests which seemed to cause something of a panic.

I'm not sure when dessicated thyroid was moved from the 'A' to the 'B' list of drugs in the UK - or anywhere else for that matter.

Does anybody have any information on this?

Edna x

http://www.thyroidhistory.net

http://www.bl.uk/pdf/200203case7.pdf

Dear Sheila,
Thank you for your enquiry about the availability of Armour Thyroid that has been forwarded to the technical information service. I have not found a specific record to Armour thyroid being marketed in the UK but there were other thyroid preparations listed in the 1970s.

Additionally I found a reference that states:-
Licensing authority is removing all thyroid extract products from the market from October 1982, on the grounds of safety. Pharmaceutical Journal 1982:228:456 - the reference reports a statement from the Department of Health that says the Committee of Review of Medicines advised that, in the light of the alternatives that are available, "it could no longer accept the hazard to patients that arose from difficulties in achieving and maintaining suitable standards of quality in respect of the biological activity and potency of thyroid extract". Since that time thyroid preparations have not been licensed in the UK

I hope this is of use
Rachel Norton

Here is a copy of the letter in reply which I received today - the man (and a Consultant in Public Health Medicine) makes badly flawed assertions that Armour Thyroid is a bad drug. I feel extremely angry that my Primary Health Care Trust have trivialised my request for help. My comments on one or two points are in italics)

Where does one go from here?

Dear Ms Turner

Re: Thyroid replacement therapy.

Thank you for your letter dated 1st September. I am writing to you on behalf of Dr. Andrew Clark, Director of Public Health, in response to the concerns you raised in your letter regarding thyroid replacement therapy. While it would be inappropriate for me to comment on an individual clinical case, I am sorry that you feel dissatisfied with your treatment.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHPRA) has not licensed Armour Thyroid for use in the UK (repeating what I already told him) Firstly, this is because of concerns over variation in the levels of the circulating porcine hormones in the blood of recipients during trials of the drug.(When and where exactly did these trials take place? If he had read the paper which I sent to him he would have seen that Armour Thyroid is standardised - but different people need different amounts - did this 'study' give every body the same amount?) Secondly, there are more general concerns regarding the use of animal based products in humans. And, thirdly the more predictable serum levels of the synthetic hormones means that they are safer, and provide better sympton control than that of the porcine extract. ( I am replying to him and asking him to provide me with any published references of studies which report the consistency problems for Armour Thyroid)

Armour Thyroid contains an extract of porcine thyroid and includes both levothyroxine (T4) and liothyronine (T3). This active form of the drug is identical in structure to the synthetic products that are availabvle under license in the UK. However, the synthetic form of the drug carries no risk to patients in terms of potentially transmissible disease from animals to humans. Furthermore, there is no well-documented evidence in the literature of true allergic or idiosyncratic reactions to the synthetic hormones. (Who mentioned allergy? As for idiosyncratic reaction - what about people who are unable to convert T4 into T3 where it can give a toxic reaction in the blood, it flies in the face of the evidence where I and a considerable number of other people unable to tolerate T4 and have been successfully treated with Armour Thyroid - the only idiosyncrasy that I am aware of is where there are some NHS GP's who are prepared to prescribe Armour Thyroid and others who positively refused to do so).

Notwithstanding these concerns, Armour Thyroid is available in the UK and can be prescribed in the NHS by your doctor. The doctor needs to be satisfied that the benefits in an individual case outweigh the concerns around the safety of those products. This needs to be done on a names patient basis. When prescribing an unlicensed medication, the precribing doctor has to take responsibility fot this decision in full knowledge of, and taking into account, the advice from the MHPRA. I mentioned that I was aware of this in my letter to him - he is just waffling)

I therefore suggest that you make a further appointment with either your GP or consultant endocrinologist to discuss these issues and to consider the best way forward. Finally, you are free to change your GP if you are unhappy with their advice. (Thanks a lot doctor!)

Luv - Sheila

http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=53281.1

This just came in today, and I thought some of you would be interested in it. :o)

=============================================
(1) ANTI-ARMOUR PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN:
WHY FOREST PHARMACEUTICALS IS QUIET ABOUT IT
by Dr. John C. Lowe
------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the last few months, several people have written to me asking the same two questions about Armour Thyroid: First, "Is Armour dangerous?" and second, "Is Armour about to be taken off the market?" The typical answer I've given is posted at http://www.drlowe.com/QandA/askdrlowe/mostrecent.htm. Scroll down to "November 12, 2003."

These questions are in response to a propaganda campaign that's underway to discredit Armour as a safe and effective thyroid hormone product. The propaganda has also prompted a third question from a few doctors and patients: "Why does Forest Pharmaceuticals, the company that markets Armour, remain quiet, never defending the product?

Since I had this same question, I phoned an official at Forest Pharmaceuticals to get an answer. What she told me should comfort those who've been concerned about Armour being taken off the market. According to her, Forest has no intention of stopping production of Armour.

"Why," I asked her, "does Forest never reply to Armour's critics?"

She explained, "Other companies such as Abbott Laboratories [marketer of Synthroid] have sales reps who actively promote the companies' products. We don't have reps or even a department that promotes or markets Armour, and that's why we don't give rebuttals or do counter-detailing."

I asked what "counter-detailing" is. She said it's a marketing practice some drug companies use to outsell competitive drugs of other companies. This isn't the first time other companies have used counter-detailing against Armour. "We've heard it all before," she said. "We've heard for years that Armour is being taken off the market, and people phone and ask us about it. I guess we're just immune to it now." She assured me that sales of Armour have not been down and the future for the product is bright.

Patients and doctors should seriously consider the implication of Forest not having to market Armour. Those of us who have open-mindedly evaluated its effectiveness have reached the same conclusion: Clinical results from the use of Armour are far superior to those of Synthroid and other T4 products. Armour's effectiveness will keep the product selling well, as it has for a hundred years. In contrast, Abbott Laboratories will have to keep aggressively promoting sales of Synthroid—if it's to continue selling.

----------

In 1894, E. Merck introduced one of the first
thyroid preparations in the world (Thyreoidinum
siccatum).

Annual Report on the year 1894
Thyroidinum siccatum is obtained from the thyroids of sheep. These thyroids are taken from freshly killed animals, and when professionally pronounced healthy, they are dried and pulverized. In the preparation any important operation is carefully avoided, and the whole gland used, because it has not as yet been proved to a globulin or albumen) its particular effect may be attributed. The preparation represents a coarse greyish yellow powder of a peculiar smell. 6 grs. components of a whole, fresh, medium-sized thyroid. The subcutaneous and internal application of the has lately been recommended especially by English doctors for myxedema, which may be traced to loss of the thyroid-functions according to Horsley (Comp. Brit. med. Journ. 1891, II, 797). It was therefore first proposed by V. Horseley (ibid. 1890, II, 287) to make an implantation of hitherto considered incurable, by which treatment indeed Bettencourt, and Serrano (Sem. med. 1890, Aug. 13th) found immediate improvement in the 1891, II, 797) recommended instead of inoculation, subcutaneous injections of an extract prepared from the thyroid gland of a sheep, with addition results which Murray obtained by this caused a number of English doctors to put the treatment to a further test. Among the treatises on reports of W. Beatty (Brit. med. Journ. 1892,he March. 12th), E. Carter (ibid. 16. April 1892), Barron (ibid. Dec. 24th 1892), Beadles (ibid.), be specially mentioned; later on E. Mendel) are to (Deutsche med. Wochenschr. 1893, Nr. 2), R. Wichmann (Therap. Monatshefte 1893, p. 137 and (Brit. med. Journ. 11, Feb. 1893), and J. Henry (Brit. med. Journ., April 8th 1893) and Leichtenstern (Deutsche med. Wochenschr. 1893, Nr. treatment. On the recommendation of H. Mackenzie and E. Fox (Brit. med. Journ., 1892, Oct. 29th), Ransom (ibid. Dec. 31st 1892), Handford and Wood (ibid. April 18th 1893), H. Benson (ibid. Aprild, 15th 1893), F. Vermehren, S. Laache and Ralf Wichmann (Deutsch. med. Wochenschr.1893, Nr. 11), (Muench. med. Wochenschr, 1892, Nr. 51 and 52), W. Pasteur (Rev. med. de la Suisse rom., 1894, Nr. 3). The thyroid was applied internally in the with a few spices, or cooked in various ways. The effect of the internal administration of the thyroid on myxedema is favorable throughout, yet appetite, exhaustion, giddiness, acceleration off the pulse, palpitation, albuminuria etc. occasionally appear, wherefore the doses must be special care is to be taken not to give too large a dose at once. In a case of myxedema, in which even the weakest dose of the remedy applied 1894, Nr. 58) ordered the whole body to be rubbed twice a day with a 2% thyroidin-lanolin-ointment, with excellent result. obtained by the application of the remedy forere goitre by Burns (Deutsch. med. Wochenschr. 1894, Nr. 41), for various mental diseases by for psoriasis by Byrom Bromwell (Brit. med.r: 59), Journ., 1894, p. 617), A. G. Auld (ibid. 1894, 7th July) and for obesity by Leichtenstern and 50).elstadt (Deutsch, med. Wochenschr. 1894, Nr. As the administration of the raw or cooked gland mee*s in many cases with resistance on the part of dif*iculty, thyroidinum siccatum has been with prepared, which contains the effective components of *he thyroid in a handy shape, and agrees by drying, and pills prepared with it do notened det*riorate for months (comp. Nielsen). Thy*oidinum siccatum may generally be given in gradually increased to the double. The remedy may als* be prescribed in the shape of pills or tab*ets; in the following way: *Rp.: Thyroidini siccati 32 grs. * *Kaolini 32 grs. * Vanillini 1/6 gr. * Mucilaginis Tragacanth. q.s. M. ut f. pilulae Nr. XXX. * *Obduce pasta Cacao saccharata. * Sig.: 2 - 5 pills daily. Rp.: Thyroidini siccati 32 grs. Pastae Cacao aromaticae 53 (?) M. u. f. Trochisci Nr. 20. Sig.: 1 - 4 pastilles daily. To children thyroidin is given in the shape of the above pastilles and in doses of a half up to two pastilles daily. compressed thyroidin-tablets. These consist of finely pulverized and dried thyroidin, and are formed merely by mechanical pressure without any exactly 0,1 gramme (= 1 3/4 grs.); prescription accordingly: Rp.: Tablettarum Thyroidini siccati Nr. XXV. Dentur ad scatulam. Sig.: 1 - 4 tablets to be taken daily.