Re: adjusting to T3 again...

[Guest guest]

Hi aggiemomo. There may be no damage from being on T4 for a year!

But, you could be experiencing problems from stopping the premarin

cold turkey. And....you have to be careful reintroducing T3 to your

system. You may do fine, but it's prudent to start lower than you

expect, and build up to it.

Did you have your free T3 and free T4 done, by any chance? Not

necessary, but it is good added info.

Janie aka ThyroDiva

> Question please: Does anyone know what symptoms I might experience

> adjusting to my correct meds again. Long story that I won't go

into

> completely(way to long), anyway, I finally got my thyrolar back and

> wonder how long it will take to repair the damage of taking

> levothroxine for a year. I've been back on for 3 days now and am

> feeling pretty achey-breaky'still have this killer headache, no

> energy and am slightly dizzy. My doctor also stopped the premarin

> at the same time he changed meds.

[Guest guest]

Welcome!

Someone else who takes Thyrolar! In case you didn't know (from

about.com)

March 02, 2004

Thyrolar: Why Can't You Get It?

Many people have been writing to me, concerned that they are unable

to get prescription refills of the drug Thyrolar. Many times, we hear

incorrectly from pharmacists that a drug is " no longer available "

or " out of business " etc. and people have been hearing this about

Thyrolar. That is NOT the case. But it WILL be difficult to get your

prescription for most dosages of Thyrolar filled for a number of

months...

Thyrolar, the brand name of the drug liotrix, is made by Forest Labs.

Thyrolar is a combination synthetic T4/T3 drug, and is the only drug

of this kind made in the U.S. There is no generic liotrix on the

market.

According to Forest, shortages may persist through September 2004 on

all strengths of Thyrolar except for Thyrolar-3. This means that

Thyrolar Thyrolar-1/4, Thyrolar-1/2, Thyrolar-1, and Thyrolar-2 are

all affected. The shortages are apparently due to changes to the

manufacturing process that are taking longer to implement than

anticipated. According to the manufacturer, there are no product

safety issues, no mandatory recall/cessation of distribution. Product

that is still available in the pipeline is safe. You can, continue to

use Thyrolar where available.

And, Dr. Roby wrote to me to share his good advice regarding

another option. Says Dr. :

Another alternative is to have the compounding pharmacist make up a

T3/T4 combo per the doctor's specs. The Armour is the most economical

solution, but for patients who get it covered on their insurance, the

compounded formula makes the smoothest transition.

Unofficial word is that September is probably the latest that things

will be moving, and it's likelier that we'll see Thyrolar available

again within the next 3 months or so.

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN THE MEANTIME?

You can have your doctor prescribe 2 separate drugs -- levothyroxine

(synthetic T4) plus Cytomel (synthetic T3) -- or, you may want to

have your doctor switch you to the natural desiccated thyroid product

also produced by Forest, Armour Thyroid. Find out more about Armour

now, and visit the Armour site for a chart to aid in converting

dosages from Thyrolar to Armour.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Find out more about Thyrolar

Visit the Thyrolar official website

WANT TO CONTACT FOREST DIRECTLY?

If you need more information, contact Forest Labs directly, by email,

at info@...

> Question please: Does anyone know what symptoms I might experience

> adjusting to my correct meds again. Long story that I won't go

into

> completely(way to long), anyway, I finally got my thyrolar back and

> wonder how long it will take to repair the damage of taking

> levothroxine for a year. I've been back on for 3 days now and am

> feeling pretty achey-breaky'still have this killer headache, no

> energy and am slightly dizzy. My doctor also stopped the premarin

> at the same time he changed meds.

[Guest guest]

-

Thanks, no I didn't have any tests done. I'm on thyrolar 3 so I

guess I should break them in half and a\start low. And no he didn;t

taper me on the premarin. He just said no more refills. Duh!

Thanks again, I'm glad I found this site, More questiuons later

about Armour.....

-- In NaturalThyroidHormones , " loboshe " <usns@r...>

wrote:

> Hi aggiemomo. There may be no damage from being on T4 for a year!

> But, you could be experiencing problems from stopping the premarin

> cold turkey. And....you have to be careful reintroducing T3 to

your

> system. You may do fine, but it's prudent to start lower than you

> expect, and build up to it.

>

> Did you have your free T3 and free T4 done, by any chance? Not

> necessary, but it is good added info.

>

> Janie aka ThyroDiva

>

>

> > Question please: Does anyone know what symptoms I might

experience

> > adjusting to my correct meds again. Long story that I won't go

> into

> > completely(way to long), anyway, I finally got my thyrolar back

and

> > wonder how long it will take to repair the damage of taking

> > levothroxine for a year. I've been back on for 3 days now and

am

> > feeling pretty achey-breaky'still have this killer headache, no

> > energy and am slightly dizzy. My doctor also stopped the

premarin

> > at the same time he changed meds.

[Guest guest]

This is from the files section. Thyrolar is more potent than Armour

so Thyrolar 1 1/2 is equal to Armour 2 grains.

Louise

(All the below is mcg.)

1/4 grain Armour = 2.25 of T3 and 9.5 of T4

1/2 grain Armour = 4.50 of T3 and 19.0 of T4

1 grain Armour = 9.00 of T3 and 38.0 of T4

1 1/2 gr. Armour = 13.50 of T3 and 57.0 of T4

2 grains Armour = 18.0 of T3 and 76.0 of T4

3 grains Armour = 27.0 of T3 and 114.0 of T4

4 grains Armour = 36.0 of T3 and 152.0 of T4

5 grains Armour = 45.0 of T3 and 190.0 of T4

THYROLAR:

1/4 grain = 3.10 T3/12.5 T4

1/2 grain = 6.25 T3/25 T4

1 grain = 12.5 T3/50 T4

2 grains = 25 T3/ 100 T4

3 grains = 37.5 T3/ 150 T4

> > Hi aggiemomo. There may be no damage from being on T4 for a year!

> > But, you could be experiencing problems from stopping the

premarin

> > cold turkey. And....you have to be careful reintroducing T3 to

> your

> > system. You may do fine, but it's prudent to start lower than you

> > expect, and build up to it.

> >

> > Did you have your free T3 and free T4 done, by any chance? Not

> > necessary, but it is good added info.

> >

> > Janie aka ThyroDiva

> >

> >

> > > Question please: Does anyone know what symptoms I might

> experience

> > > adjusting to my correct meds again. Long story that I won't go

> > into

> > > completely(way to long), anyway, I finally got my thyrolar back

> and

> > > wonder how long it will take to repair the damage of taking

> > > levothroxine for a year. I've been back on for 3 days now and

> am

> > > feeling pretty achey-breaky'still have this killer headache, no

> > > energy and am slightly dizzy. My doctor also stopped the

> premarin

> > > at the same time he changed meds.