Where can I get Armour in Australia? And how do I work out correct dosage?

[Ropo18]

I’m wanting to try bioidentical thyroid replacement as Oroxine isn’t working, can anyone help with where to get it in Melbourne ?

[Ropo18]

Thanks for all of the helpful comments!

[Red_Star]

The ingredient is Thyroid Extract USP powder which is the same thyroid extract used in Armour Thyroid tablets. A compounding pharmacist makes up the prescription in store. I could see the powder through the clear capsule.

[Barb135]

One can often see powder in clear capsules, but unless we can see what's actually put in them, we don't really know.  If they're selling them as Armour, we can only assume that's what they are; however, some compounding pharmacies use synthetics to compound thyroid hormones, as well in order to get specific dosages of T4/T3...

[Red_Star]

Under the Professional Practice Standards (PPS) in Australia, the correct medicine must be used and the ingredients list clearly on the label.

[Barb135]

I believe it's that way in most countries, and surely you can trust your compounding pharmacy, so I'm not questioning them.  

I was also stating that we don't always know that what's on the label is what's in the pills, as was discovered with some of the OTC thyroid supplements in the U.S.  They aren't supposed to have any active hormones, but some of them had quite a bit.  That was reported by Mary Shomon some years ago.

[flyingfool]

People who do not adequately convert T4 into T3 and live in a country where NDT or even synthetic T3 is difficult or unobtainable, are really in a terrible place.

Selenium is needed and helps with conversion.  Also the proper levels of Iron and Ferritin is also needed to properly metabolize thyroid meds.  So trying to get those optimized may help.

NDT is man made manipulated pig thyroid.  So the word "natural" is maybe somewhat misleading.  And as Barb stated above, the chemical hormone made synthetically (man made) is identical to the human body hormone.

So really there is no truly "natural" thyroid other than what is actually produced by your own thyroid gland.  Outside of that, any medication in one way or another is man made.  

I guess the moral is don't be freaked out by the word synthetic or beholdened to the word "natural".

[Barb135]

NDT is natural dessicated thyroid.  Desiccated means it's dried aka the moisture has been removed. Although the Armour pills are manmade, the actual hormones are pig (porcine) made.  :-)  The only manipulation is that the hormones are dried and mixed with whatever fillers/binders into specific dosages and made into pills.  

It's correct that it's not really "natural" to man because pigs produce more T3 than we do, but the hormone molecules are supposed to be the same as ours, which is why some people do so well on it.

There is also desiccated (dried) bovine (cow) produced thyroid medications, which can work for some people, too, but cows do not produce the same molecules/amounts of thyroid hormones that humans do.  

I'm not sure the compounded medication that Red_Star is referring to is the same thing as Armour, because it *may* actually be made from synthetic products such as levothyroxine and liothyronine instead of actual pig thyroid; it could also be produced from bovine thyroid.

Often, the best benefits of compounding allow one to get specific dosages of T4 (80 mcg instead of 75 or 88 mcg) and T3 (12 mcg vs 10 or 15 mcg) that are different from the standard manufactured dosages, plus they allow the T4 and T3 to be produced in the same pills. They can also be produced in a time-release formula so one only has to take the T3 once/day instead of multiple times/day.

"I guess the moral is don't be freaked out by the word synthetic or beholdened (sic) to the word "natural"."
I totally agree... I watched a video the other night produced by a well-known thyroid doctor.  They said that both, desiccated and synthetic hormones work equally well as long as the combination and dosage(s) are correct.

[Red_Star]

I meant to add the conversion to 1 grain of Armour (60 mg) is 50 mcg. I've read different conversion dosages online but my endo prescribed 1 grain (60mg) a day for 50mcg of eutroxsig (generic version of Oroxine). I wasn't absorbing Armour so I switched back to Eutroxsig.

[Red_Star]

1 grain Armour = 60mg. Armour is made up at compounding pharmacies and is not covered under the PBS. Only by prescription. Google: compounding pharmacy Melbourne.

[Barb135]

Dessicated hormones, such as Armour are not available in all countries.  Synthetic versions, such as Oroxine are identical to the hormones our bodies produce.  Typically, if they aren't working, it's because the dosage isn't right for you or you aren't converting the T4 to T3 adequately.  There may also be other things wrong, such as vitamin/mineral deficiencies that may cause inefficient absorption or conversion of thyroid hormones.

The most common of these vitamins are Vitamin B-12, D, and Ferritin, but there may be others.

If you'll post your current thyroid hormone levels, we can help you determine what the problem is and what might be a good solution for you.  Please be sure to include reference ranges with any results you post as ranges vary from lab to lab and have to come from your own report(s).

It would also be helpful to know if you have Hashimoto's.