I think mine are the reformulated ones, as i noticed the tabs were slightly bigger, i had to check the letters against the grain size on the net, because i thought they'd put the wrong ones in the tubs.

I haven't noticed any difference though, but i'm getting improvement in my temps anyway through taking other things like maca etc. I don't take my full dose any more i've cut that in half.

I'm determined to get off Armour for good one day.

Sally

I have been wondering what is going on with my body since the 1st of the year. Up til them I had been on Armour for 2 years with no problems. Then gradually I gained 30 lbs definately not form food, and pain and firomyalgia symptoms returned. Now I read that the formula in Armour has been change and others are having the same problems.
Doesn't tre company care that many are switching to Nature thyroid and feel their product now is inaffective? Even my doctor is not aware of the reformulation. I have had to increase my dose in order to feel better again. This forum is a blessing Thank you.

Here is some good information on the change:

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2009/07/01/forest-pharmaceuticals-armour-thyroid-a...


http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroiddrugstreatments/a/armour-reformulation.htm


I read one source from a doctor that the changes were FDA mandated, but I cannot find any proof of this or what changes were supposedly mandated.

Personally I don't like any hormone replacement therapy. All they do is make the glands lazy and shut them down. Therefore, in my opinion natural or synthetic thyroid hormones should not be used except in cases where the thyroid has been damaged beyond function or has been removed. Otherwise, the base of the problem, which is usually nutrient deficiencies should be addressed instead.

Originally posted in answer to the question:

How do you tell the difference between "old" Armour and "new" Armour?

(Patient had mixed them up into the same container)

New Armour Thyroid is kind of "chalky" due to the cellulose; old ones are kind of crunchy due to the sucrose.

See http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/
for more information.

New Armour really {honked} me up, and, I bullied my doctor into giving me scriipt for ERFA Thyroid just so I could get back on track; ERFA Thyroid, available by prescription from Canada (made in Belgium) is the same as old Armour. I paid approximately 60.00 for 200 tablets plus shipping and handling. It took about 4 weeks before I started feeling better.

I also needed 10 mgs of Cortef (prednisone) for a month to get my inflammation under control, so new Armour also {honked} my adrenals.

I also had extremely low DHEA levels.

I followed the advice from this website to make a concentrated version of DHEA that bypasses the liver. I did not use water as part of the distillation process.

http://www.newagequest.com/health/dhea.html


Given the problem with additives and cellulose in general, I use Pure Encapsulations brand. It is expensive, but, it seems to be worth the money. Purecaps does use cellulose in some of their products, but, not all.

This is my current protocol to recover from the “new” Armour Thyroid.

7 Keto DHEA:

7-Keto DHEA 100 mgs 2X daily previously distilled in vodka (my DHEA level was "20")

Reason: Most DHEA gets discarded by the liver and I was looking for a way to bypass my liver and get more of the hormone in my body. Making a tincture and holding it in my mouth seems to have allowed more of the active ingredients to get to where it needed to be.

7-Keto DHEA (is safer than straight DHEA) and stimulates the immune system, prevents muscle loss (anti-catabolic), reduces stress, increases the calorie-burning rate by activating thermogenic liver enzymes and improves memory more than DHEA or a placebo.

7-KETO DHEA does not raise levels of sex or other hormones or affect blood and urine chemistry, (and is safe) at doses of up to 200 mg per day. It cannot convert to estrogens or testosterone, so it cannot promote prostate enlargement or cancer, breast tumors and other sex hormone effects that may occur with DHEA supplementation.

Bottom line: It stabilized my body temperature and helped my dry skin immensely.

Pregnenolone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnenolone:


Pregnenolone approximately 300 mgs 2X daily previously distilled in vodka.

Pregnenolone is made in the body from cholesterol (many hypothyroid patients have high cholesterol. Our bodies don’t convert cholesterol to the hormones we need).

Pregnenolone is the compound the body uses to make DHEA. Pregnenolone is also the compound from which the hormone progesterone is made; (many hypothyroid patients are “estrogen dominant).

Pregnenolone was used frequently in the 1940s as an anti-inflammatory medicine for Arthritis before the advent of more powerful anti-inflammatory drugs such as the corticosteroids. (Pregnenolone is safer for long term use than Cortef)

Animal studies of pregnenolone indicate a powerful memory-enhancing effect. It is not yet known how powerful this effect is in humans, but many people are trying pregnenolone since it already has a long safety record.

During the 1940s, doses were given for Arthritis at about 500 mg. per day, with some of the controlled trials lasting up to two years.

Bottom-line: It’s safer than Cortef, it allowed me to discontinue the Cortef, and, I am regaining mobility, experience less pain and stiffness, and fibromyalgia symptoms have immensely improved.

Essential fatty acid phosphatidylserine (PS-100) 100 mgs:

I am also experimenting with Pure Encapsulations PS-100 to reduce brain fog and try to regain memory function. Again, I made a distillation in vodka of about 100 mgs per dose, and take about 200 mgs a day.

Based on my above experiments, I am thinking that the absorbability problem experienced with the New Armour might be alleviated with the distillation process / protocol outlined above. I have not yet done this. But for people on a budget, it might be worth a try.

However, given the fact that this is a drug the dose needs to be excruciatingly accurate and it does take time to do it correctly.

As a suggestion, since you’re probably not using the tablets anyway, perform the following trial to ascertain how many drops of alcohol you need to obtain 1 dose.

Suggest taking one table to start, put in a shot glass and add drops of alcohol until the tablet dissolves into a puddle and you can tip the glass and obtain mostly pure liquid. Do the same for 5 tablets (it may be an exponentially different amount of drops) but ultimately that is the number of drops you need for each tablet.

The DHEA distillation website suggests using a coffee filter to get as much of the cellulose out as possible. But, I think you lose more active ingredient since it's difficult to "squeeze" it out of a paper filter without tearing it. I have a cotton handkerchief that is a very tight weave that works really well.

Also, to obtain a concentrated dose in the least amount of alcohol, you can work with a set number of open capsules / amount of liquid and once contents are dissolved / filtered, add more liquid to reach original amount and repeat the distillation / filtering process until all capsules are incorporated. Keep notes of your "recipe" so that it is easily repeated.

I would be interested in knowing if any of these suggestions address the current New Armour side-effects epidemic for you.