Armour and thyca - Jan

[Guest guest]

Jan -

I've been reading the messages on the thyca group for several months

now. It's quite an eye-opener when it comes to hormone replacement. I

haven't heard of anyone (except now !) on Armour - they're all on

either Synthroid or a generic T4.

The subject came up today, so I asked why. The person answered with the

comment that the doctor can add synthetic T3 and adjust the dosages

separately. That sounds reasonable, except that I know that lots of

people who need a ratio different from plain Armour add synthetic T4

and tweak that way.

Then she referred me to an older message, which said something to the

effect that adding the T3 caused TSH to fluctuate during the day, which

means that the user might not be suppressed at some points, although

he/she might be suppressed at the time a test was done. I know that T3

has a shorter life and would fluctuate, but if you're getting enough T4

to suppress, wouldn't this be moot?

And then there were some quotes, which actually made me laugh:

" Armour Desiccated Thyroid is an old preparation made of the

thyroid glands from animals. It is not well standardized and contains

both T4 and T3. The quality control of the amount of thyroid hormone in

each pill is not up to par with today's standards, and for that reason

it is not being used for the last 20 - 25 years.

" We now have pure T4 in a tablet (Synthroid, Levoxyl etc) which is much

better, specially for a person with Thyca who needs a reliable

suppression of TSH every day. " - ARTURO R. ROLLA, MD Boston, MA 10/00

" ....There is absolutely no conceivable role for taking Armour thyroid

extract or mixtures of T3 and T4. Most of my colleagues and I would be

happy if the FDA removed these items from production. ......

" There is nothing gained by choosing medications based on " natural "

extracts or processes. Such items, frequently found in " Health Food "

stores,are often dangerous, impure, untested, and of unproven value.

Their designation as a " natural " product merely protects their

manufacturers from having to justify their purity, safety, and efficacy

to the FDA (which is empowered to protect us from " pharmaceuticals "

only), permitting great financial profits at the expense of the public.

.....

" ..... Finally, in the wake of experience with " mad cow " disease in

England and the known presence of prion diseases in cows, sheep,

humans, and other mammals, anyone who would knowingly take an animal

product over a chemically pure synthesized compound should have their

head examined (for spongiform encephalopathy). " - KENNETH B. AIN, MD

Lexington, KY 7/00

I definitely got a giggle from Dr. Ain's comment about the FDA and it's

protection of us! I think a debate between you and Dr. Ain could be

quite entertaining! <giggle>

I know you've mentioned more than once the fact that Synthroid has been

recalled by the FDA numerous times for potency issues. Where is that

information found? I looked around on the FDA site once, but couldn't

find anything historical (I'm probably looking for the easy way out - a

nice chart by drug and date or something like that).