ordering Armour

[Guest guest]

http://www.biogenesis.co.za/pi-thyroid.asp

[Guest guest]

Hi all - well I've started NAE today and not scary as I thought it might be - Ive been wary of this for some reason - and Im about to order Armour for the first time!

For the record - and anyone else who is contemplating this route : Im sad that I have to resort to this - I work in the NHS! To have to do this really is a demonstration of how let down I feel by the NHS, but now Ive decided I feel a bit excited that I might really be going to get well! I hope that I will lose weight as well as feel better and get rid of my pains!

I wonder what Im going to say to my GP or whether Im not going to tell them - do I stop for a while before blood tests? Things like that, or do I see if they will support me - I dont know! (and I doubt it!).

Do I tell the endo?) who was quite happy to say my bloods say Im fine and my fibromyalgia, lack of libido and my not feeling that I was on the dose of levothyroxine that would potentially get me well were due to other thingsl Im so disappointed in him).

So, this is where I am now - I will let you all know how I get on!

Gill x

[Guest guest]

Hi Gill

It is a very sad state of affairs I agree with you as someone who is

DIYing. I will say I told my doctor that I was not willing to go on

like that, asked him if he could help, he said no so I said well I am

going to try it. He said keep me informed and that is what I am doing.

That way I can say after a couple of months that I need a blood test,

seeing as he asked me to keep him informed. To be honest with you I

think he feels his hands are tied but that is just my take on it. I

chose to tell mine in case of problems, which I don't invisage as I am

only taking thyroid hormones. Plus he might call you in for bloods to

do with your thyroid levels and then you would have to tell him

because they will come up differently to someone on Thyroxine. However

it is up to you whether you tell him or not and what kind of a

relationship you have with your doctor. Always remember it is Your

Body hon.

The NAE are good tablets, I was on them going up towards 4 weeks

before I started my armour and it is exciting knowing you might at

last get better, keep hold of that thought .

In the petition posted below (at this moment) it mentions fibromyalgia

so you might like to take a look at it before you comment and sign,

its interesting that Janie should mention it when a lot of us have CFS

and FM diagnosis.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/thyroidmadness

I wished you good luck under your Armour post, so again

Good luck and God bless

Dawnx

>

> Hi all - well I've started NAE today and not scary as I thought it

might be - Ive been wary of this for some reason - and Im about to

order Armour for the first time!

> For the record - and anyone else who is contemplating this route :

Im sad that I have to resort to this - I work in the NHS! To have to

do this really is a demonstration of how let down I feel by the NHS,

but now Ive decided I feel a bit excited that I might really be going

to get well! I hope that I will lose weight as well as feel better

and get rid of my pains!

>

> I wonder what Im going to say to my GP or whether Im not going to

tell them - do I stop for a while before blood tests? Things like

that, or do I see if they will support me - I dont know! (and I doubt

it!).

>

> Do I tell the endo?) who was quite happy to say my bloods say Im

fine and my fibromyalgia, lack of libido and my not feeling that I was

on the dose of levothyroxine that would potentially get me well were

due to other thingsl Im so disappointed in him).

>

> So, this is where I am now - I will let you all know how I get on!

>

> Gill x

>

[Guest guest]

HI Gill

I too am sorry that there now appear to be tens of thousands in the UK (if not millions) who are not being given a diagnosis of hypothyroidism because their TSH is within the reference range, and therefore, they are not getting the necessary thyroid hormone replacement. I am also sorry that a very large minority of sufferers are unable to regain their health on the one and only synthetic thyroxine - when WILL doctors do just a tiny bit of research where they will find that for many and various reasons, not everybody can convert the inactive T4 to the active hormone T3. Do they honestly believe we can survive with no T3. I hope they will read the evidence in the TPA response to the two misleading and incorrect statements by the BTA on Armour and T4/T3 combination therapy. I know I keep spouting about this, but they have to know how badly they are treating their patients by following the BTA protocol.

If you have made up your mind 100% that you have been forced to go it alone and there is no other option, then I would recommend you come absolutely clean with your GP and tell him what you are doing and the reasons why you have felt forced into this situation. You have enough evidence to be able to answer anything he should throw at you as to reasons why you should not go down this route. Ask him to monitor you and tell him that you have researched into what is wrong with the NHS one and only LO-thyroxine therapy and also researched into what the other thyroid hormones do etc. If necessary, do give him a copy of the papers and the letter from the MHRA saying that doctors can prescribe Armour for those who do not do well on L-thyroxine. Don't fall out with your GP - we need them on our side, and hopefully, he will be interested enough to help you through this and if he sees a great improvement in your condition (and I can almost swear there will be) he might, at the end of the day, come over to your side and prescribe this medication for you. As we have to take thyroid hormone replacement for the rest of our lives, surely doctors, when they see the evidence in front of them that Armour actually works, should start to ask questions why the NHS only use L-thyroxine. I wonder if Armour had been licensed whether they would use it - I think they would still find an excuse not to - all to do with the Big Pharma, sadly. Synthetics make more money than natural.

You can tell your GP that you will be stopping your Armour before your blood tests and the reason why - it's all there in the responses. A good GP will want to know why, you can show him.

I would definitely tell your endocrinologist - especially as he is one that uses Armour and T4/T3 combination therapy on some of his patients. I am sure he will understand, and he will probably want to see the effects it has on you and want to keep an eye on other things. My endo sends me for bone scans (and yes, my bones have shown they are stronger since starting Armour almost 5 years ago. He is delighted. I am sure Dr B will want to follow up your progress. I know how you feel about him telling you your bloods were fine, but they should know that other things should be taken into account, such as how you actually feel, what symptoms you are still suffering. I think he is getting pressure from another quarter - damn and blast these doctors who are interested in the financial aspect only and don't give a damn about their patients.

I had one lady phone me from Birmingham last night, she was on the phone for 1 hour 15 minutes and I could have wept with what she has been put through. She was a highly intelligent lady of 72 - who refuses to take Ibuprofen for her pains (which she knows is caused through lack of T3, which her doctor/endocrinologist refuses to recognise. She told me her doctor has said "If my mother was in the pain that you were in, I would force the tablets down her throat". This doctor is no longer there, but she went to an female endocrinologist in Birmingham who never looked up from her notes, told her that although she was taking 150 mcgs L-thyroxine and had been on thyroxine for the past 30 years, that now her blood results were within the normal range, she no longer needed to take her thyroxine. She wrote to her GP saying as much and so this lady stopped taking any more. She became seriously ill, had more blood tests after a few months, found her TSH was sky high, GP started her on L-thyroxine again and she is much better now, though still seriously suffering through lack of T3.

Sadly, she has no computer skills but is getting her daughter to download the information from our website. I told her this endocorinologist should be reported to the GMC and she said she thought about this, but she was too ill to take it any further, and once again, this idiot doctor has got away with it. How much longer do we have to put up with such ignorance by the medical profession.

Sorry to go on like this, but we have to make a stand. Tell your GP and your endocrinologist Gill - if they wash their hands of you and refuse to monitor you, they should be made to put their reasons in writing, citing studies and research to back up such 'evidence'.

Will now go and get on with my paintings to calm me down.

Luv - Sheila

I wonder what Im going to say to my GP or whether Im not going to tell them - do I stop for a while before blood tests? Things like that, or do I see if they will support me - I dont know! (and I doubt it!).

Do I tell the endo?) who was quite happy to say my bloods say Im fine and my fibromyalgia, lack of libido and my not feeling that I was on the dose of levothyroxine that would potentially get me well were due to other thingsl Im so disappointed in him).

So, this is where I am now - I will let you all know how I get on!

Gill x

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[Guest guest]



Hi Dawn

Thanks very much for your support and good wishes. Without TPA I wouldn't have dared do this - but actually without TPA I wouldnt have known about Armour anyway!

Good luck to you too - let us know how you are doing with Armour.

GillxIt is a very sad state of affairs I agree with you as someone who isDIYing. I will say I told my doctor that I was not willing to go onlike that, asked him if he could help, he said no so I said well I amgoing to try it.

[Guest guest]

Hi Sheila

Thanks for your advice and support - the endo and GPs have left me with no other option than to do this so yes Im 100% - I am considering changing GPs so am going to do a bit of research into the other practices - see if I can find out if any prescribe Armour - there's a dispensing practice near to me so I might try that practice.

I will probably tell my endo but I dont see him until September so I have time to think about that.

Gill x

RE:

too am sorry that there now appear to be tens of thousands in the UK (if not millions) who are not being given a diagnosis of hypothyroidism because their TSH is within the reference range, and therefore, they are not getting the necessary thyroid hormone replacement. I am also sorry that a very large minority of sufferers are unable to regain their health on the one and only synthetic thyroxine - when WILL doctors do just a tiny bit of research where they will find that for many and various reasons, not everybody can convert the inactive T4 to the active hormone T3.

..

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[Guest guest]

Hi Gill

I really hope the Armour works for you. Hopefully when you go back to

see Dr B in September, if it has worked you can tell him, then surely

he will have no reason not to prescribe it if you have proved you are

feeling better. also by then he should have had time to read the

responses to the BTA statements. I see him at the end of this week but

I doubt he will have had time to read it by then.

Good luck Lizzie.

[Guest guest]

Hi Lizzie - I doubt he will prescribe it for me now as my blood results do look as though Im doing fine - but I will try!

With you your bloods do show that you arent converting and he has prescribed T3 so I would think he would be open to prescribing Armour for you.

I keep thinking about my visit to him and have even wondered if he has got me mixed up with someone else - he seemed to think that I was an awkward patient but I really have never been awkward or stroppy in any way at all! He also didnt seem to remember me from previous visits - which I would expect as they see so many, but to not remember me and my symptoms, but to treat me as someone awkward or difficult didnt match up! Dont get me wrong he was not rude or bolshy at all - he just wasnt going to budge as my blood tests told him the story!

What Im most upset about is that I have usually stopped my T4 for a couple of days before seeing him but because I mixed up when my appointment was I had to have the blood test done the next day and so was only able to not take my T4 the morning I saw him, and I had on my own accord raised my T4 by another 25 mcg, over what he had suggested and I dont think he was happy about that - but I had emailed his secretary and asked for his opinion on this but never got a reply from him (she let me know she would pass on my message).

hey ho! That's life and Im sure that Armour will be good for me so we will see!

Good Luck Lizzie - I really hope that he will agree to prescribe for you and will keep my fingers crossed for this - let us know when you have seen him.

Gill x

I really hope the Armour works for you. Hopefully when you go back tosee Dr B in September, if it has worked you can tell him, then surelyhe will have no reason not to prescribe it if you have proved you arefeeling better. also by then he should have had time to read theresponses to the BTA statements. I see him at the end of this week butI doubt he will have had time to read it by then.Good luck Lizzie.

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[Guest guest]

Hi Gill

Why don't you write to him and tell him what you have told us and how you have always appreciated and respected his decisions and his previous considerations of your history ect. Tell him how he made you feel and that you were concerned he had mixed you up with somebody else and that you really would like to talk to him on the phone, if at all possible so you could put right whatever appeared to have suddenly gone wrong before the situation deteriorated beyond repair. Sometimes (often) these doctors are so terribly over-worked, I don't know how they do it, but when one gets tired, it is so easy to overlook something important. It's worth a try anyway, ask a few questions in your letter that you specifically need a response to. I can't see you have anything to lose. The way he has treated you is so unlike him - unless he is becoming a different man.

luv - Sheila

I keep thinking about my visit to him and have even wondered if he has got me mixed up with someone else - he seemed to think that I was an awkward patient but I really have never been awkward or stroppy in any way at all! He also didnt seem to remember me from previous visits - which I would expect as they see so many, but to not remember me and my symptoms, but to treat me as someone awkward or difficult didnt match up! Dont get me wrong he was not rude or bolshy at all - he just wasnt going to budge as my blood tests told him the story!

What Im most upset about is that I have usually stopped my T4 for a couple of days before seeing him but because I mixed up when my appointment was I had to have the blood test done the next day and so was only able to not take my T4 the morning I saw him, and I had on my own accord raised my T4 by another 25 mcg, over what he had suggested and I dont think he was happy about that - but I had emailed his secretary and asked for his opinion on this but never got a reply from him (she let me know she would pass on my message).

hey ho! That's life and Im sure that Armour will be good for me so we will see!

Good Luck Lizzie - I really hope that he will agree to prescribe for you and will keep my fingers crossed for this - let us know when you have seen him.

Gill x

..

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[Guest guest]



Hi - yes I changed from levothyroxine - do it slowly as it is different - I feel better on Armour as it stops my pains or mostly does. I think I will add iln a bit of levothyroxine but dont think I have got to the best dose for me yet. I think its really a case of take it very slowly - more slowly than levothyroxine in my experience. When we went to France in October my feet were bad - just as they had ever been so I upped the dose (I was still increasing then) and it calmed them down and they havent been as bad since. I think that I have learned that you really do have to go on your symptoms and not try to compare your dose of Armour wilth what you were on on levothyroxine - it really doesnt just translate! Take it slowly and I think you will be better on it. I feel lie Im still getting there but the positives so far are wonderful - in that Ive lost weight and my pains are much improved!!

Gill

Hi Gill

I have just ordered some and will start on half a grain a day, did you change over from thyroxine?

If I dont do well on it I can always go back to thyroxine but I cant see any reason why I would need to do that, I am just replacing one thyroid treatment with another.

I dont intend to rush things, I think thats the mistake a lot of people make becuase they are impatient but who can blame them

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[Guest guest]

…which

brings up a good point Gill. Anybody who is nearing the end of their Armour

should order it quickly because I have known many of our members have

miscalculated the time of arrival of their medication because of the Christmas

Rush. Don't be caught out this year.

Don't

forget also that if you are ordering anything from Amazon either for yourself

or as Christmas presents, please do so through our web site www.tpa-uk.org.uk Look in the right hand

column of our Home Page and you will see the Amazon tool bar to click on. This

way, TPA-UK gets a small percentage of the cost which we use for printing,

stationary and postage when we send out information to NHS endocrinologists.

This is your way of helping us.

Luv -

Sheila

Hi all - someone posted recently about how long it

takes so thought Id

post - I ordered some from International Pharmacy on 28th November,

just the bog standard postage but paid the £3 or so for insurance - it

arrived today - I dont think that's bad at all though Im sure its

arrived quicker in the past but probably Christmas post!

Gill