Lawsuits against Forest for Armour thyroid?

[marilynns]

I have been taking Armour thyroid (3 pills of 15 mgs each per day) for about 4 years. It seemed to be working fine. This month I started getting a burning feeling in my throat and esophagus and upper stomach. I smelled the bottle of pills and it had a very bad chemical smell to it, so I stopped taking them. I went to another pharmacy and got a new prescription of Armour thyroid. It seemed fine for the first 2-3 days and then I again got this burning in my throat, esophagus and stomach. When I smelled this second prescription bottle, it now too had this strong chemical odor. I contacted Forest Labs, the manufacturer, and they denied knowing about any such problems. But they lied to me, saying they called the two pharmacies and couldn't get the lot numbers from the pharmacies and so couldn't check up on the lots that I got. I reported this to the FDA. They called the pharmacies and were able to get the lot numbers without any problem. I am considering a lawsuit against Forest, since I am still having this painful burning and it has been about 2-3 weeks since the problem first started and I stopped all Armour thyroid after the second prescription was bad, too. The FDA found out that, in fact, both prescriptions came from the same lot! Their impression was that maybe Forest got these pills from outside the country and they are contaminated! Especially likely since Forest has been having production problems with the 15 mg size. Please let me know if you have had a similar problem or know of any similar lawsuits against Forest. Thank you.

[LazyMoose]

Canadian ERFA brand thyroid is the closest to old Armour that you can get. Available by faxing a script to many Canadian online pharmas - goggle it.

[sNAPdragON73]

I've been hypothyroid for nearly 7 years and have recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease.  In the early years of this condition, I was taking Synthroid.  It was okay, but Armour was MUCH better and held me steady for several years.  I loved Armour and continuously sang its praises on various hypothyroid forums.

Last fall, while attending classes full-time at UT (Toledo), I began noticing changes.  Long story short, my grades during the fall & spring took a nose dive and I've gained 20 pounds since August '09.  Needless to say, I AM ANGRY!!!!  

I'm now seeing a specialist who is trying to stabilize my worsened condition.   At some point, I'll lose the weight and be healthy again, but a lot of money has been spent on blood tests and for my classes, which I worked my butt off in to only get C's!  The fatigue was both physically AND mentally horrendous.

Is a lawsuit the answer?  Probably not.  But why didn't Forest make an announcement about the formula change?  It really upsets me that they completely disregarded our, i.e. the patients' well being and overall health, toying around with us as if we're some lab experiment!  

[Smilerdeb]

To all of those considering legal action against the Amour Manufacturer.


Firstly...have you ever considered that the PHARMACIST didnt store the medication properly as they are supposed too?

I had a similar experience with Neomercazole (anti-thyroid med) a few years ago.
I found the meds had black specks on them.
It was found that the Pharmacy hadnt stored the meds in a dry place ...hence the black specs (which was mould).
I was horrified too but didnt make a fuss as I was STILL breathing and STILL alive.

I dnt take Armour as it is banned here in Autsralia and has been for many years but I did stop to think that HAD I taken a lawsuit out against the manufacurer of Neomercazole (MMI), I would be disadvantaging people who couldnt take PTU and only MMI.

Life is he// without treatment of the thyroid and if you got a batch that wasnt up to scratch...is it such a big deal?
Are you dead?
No
Are you sick?
No.

If you brought milk that was off...would you sue the company?
No...you would take it back to be replaced.

Sorry , I know this post is old but to be honest.........just take the Armour they replaced and be thankful you can get it.
Because without Armour....you are also depriving yourself of quality of life.

Food for thought.........

[terena41]

I have had some problems with armor thyroid the last six months since there has been a shortage now in the medication. My energy level was extreme fatigue, my levels have not been normal, weight gain, etc. I've been on this medicaiton for three years and always did fine with it up until the last 6 to seven months. Before the shortage, I was fine on the medication. I did discover that due to a shortage, my endocronologist informed me that the manufacturer has changed the formula in making this medication now. I was very upset that I wasn't informed and was wondering why I was getting so ill. I even had further tests done because of other health issues because the medication wasn't replacing what I needed. I feel if the medicaiton is changing, the consumer needs to be informed. I'm contacting a lawyer to see what my options are and if I should proceed with a lawsuit. If anyone else has had this problem, please contact me at ***@****

[ladyl324]

Companies need to be held responsible for the problems that they caused with this ill fated Armour Thyroid.  It amazes me that people are so quick to discount the health issues and expense related to it because of someone else's negligences. I literally just spoke with a professional that I know  and had not seen or spoken to during my illness.  She said that she is having some of the same issues that I had in the beginning of my ill fated trip and that she is on Armour Thyroid.

This post may be old but there is definitely an issue that needs to resolved in this situation.

[LazyMoose]

Its amassing how older posts surface now and then.

Back in 2008 there were plenty of brands of natural dessicated thyroid to choose from in the US. So even if there was a change in Armour as early as 08 then, why continue to take any med brand if you suspect you have problems with it. Synthroid did not relieve any of my symptoms, but I'm certainly not going to sue them for it not working for ME, it works for many just fine. That said, I have personally spent thousands as Hoshis continued to wreck havoc with my health on T4 until I learned about dessicated.

Also many of the symptoms from the very top post resemble acid reflux, a common symptom when your hypo with thyroid issues.

The FDA already shut down Time Caps Labs and Major brand's generic of original Armour in summer 09. And who is to say Armour might improve in a positive direction some time (as of 1-4-09 we dont know their game plan do we?). A law suit would surly be noticed by the Makers of Nature Throid, personally I dont want anything to interfere with the one remaining quality manufacture NDT in the US left standing.

Bottom line: Say if a lawsuit happened, even if past Armour patients received monetary reimbursement, will this fix our illness? I will still have Hoshis, but maybe with the extra $ I could afford the possibility of the price quadrupling of the NDT that's left on the US market.

I do, to some extent understand some peoples reacting in the form of outrage to this Armour thing.  But outrage and reacting before thinking of the possible future outcomes, in general, weather it be in medicine or (do I dare say) world peace, does not result in anything positive.

Lets positively  concentrate on improving our thyroid heath and helping others with the limited thyroid meds that are left for us to choose from, that is THE purpose of Med-Help.