Armour thyroid has become practically unavailable for a number of reasons, and I seriously doubt this will change any time soon.

One of the main reasons is the fact that managed care pharmacies have been notifying all prescribers that Armour is basically unsafe and should not be prescribed.

Armour is dried raw pig’s thyroid gland, and contains 2 different thyroid hormones, T3 and T4, but the ratio of T3 to T4 is radically different to the ratio found in human thyroid, so it has way too much T3, which can, and does lead to heart problems, osteoporosis etc. in some people, particularly older folks.

Having been notified several times of this problem by the powers that be, if a doctor now prescribes it and the patient has a problem, the doctor has no defense in case of a suit, his “goose is cooked”. So sales have plummeted and it is no longer profitable to manufacture Armour.

On top of this, the FDA has mandated that the manufactures comply with a very expensive set of new regulations for Armour etc, which makes it a loosing proposition for the manufactures.

The only natural alternative now available is compounded natural thyroid, which compounding pharmacies can provide at a cost for approximately $55./ month, twice as expensive as Armour, but here again, doctors prescribing this are at risk of malpractice.

Combined T3 & T4 preparations, with the proper T3 to T4 ratio such as Naturoid and Thyrolar are also unavailable due to new FDA regulations.

If you are a present user of Armour you will have to consult with your doctor as to what to do next. This will require considerable amount of thought and evaluating a number of factors specific to each patient.

Dr. Manso is offering a phone consultation, which, if the patient limits to just the thyroid issue, can be done in 15 min or less at a cost of $90. or less, depending strictly on how much time the patient uses.  This cost includes the doctor writing or calling in a new prescription.

Switching thyroid meds to other than compounded thyroid will also necessitate a follow up visit and thyroid blood test about 30 days after switching. Here again, if the visit is limited to the thyroid issue it can be done in 15 minutes or less at a cost of $90. or less, depending strictly on how much time you take.

A comprehensive thyroid lab panel, including TSH, T3, T4 and free Thyroxine index cost $50. A plain TSH test cost $40. The results are normally available in 48 hours, and will be mailed to the patient with a new thyroid prescription and the adjusted dose at no additional cost. This prescription will be good for 90 days, at which time a final thyroid lab profile should be done. (No office visit is needed this time.) If the lab results are in the desired range, a new prescription good for a year will be mailed to the patient. Yearly testing is required thereafter, with an office visit.