Desiccated Thyroid Options

[ChEMom]

Armour Thyroid

Armour got reformulated and contains a lot more cellulose than it did before. Cellulose binds up thyroid hormones.

It seems the easiest thing to do with Armour is to pulverise the tablet before taking. Some crush when taking with their teeth and others are using a mortar and pestle. Some may add some sugar, honey or even Pixy Stix under their tongue to make subilngualing easier.

Some are trying the enzyme cellulase. Cellulase digests cellulose, the filler we've identified to cause issues with thyroid preparations. It may take many thousand "CU" (units that measure how much cellulase is in a product) to get anywhere.

Some products which feature lots of cellulase are (just Google them):

Candex by Pure Essence Labs (this one is working well for me)
Candidase by Enzymedica
Acidophilus Complex w/ Cellulase by Pure Advantage
Digest More Ultra by Renew Life
Platinum Digest by NOW Foods

I don't know what the ones with protease, or other enzymes are doing to the desiccated thyroid and its proteins. Too bad there isn't a product with just cellulase in it.

I experienced what must have been candida die-off when starting Candex. I had some bowel looseness and gas which passed. Despite the company saying no die-off reaction I did find one review online that reported a die-off reaction.

Taking cellulase right before thyroid sounds logical. You do not need to eat when you take Armour with enzymes and remember that calcium and iron should be avoided before and after thyroid doses by a few hours. Cellulase is not known to be made by humans in the digestive tract and may explain why the cellulose causes such problems.

Thyroid by Erfa

Erfa is the thyroid drug imported from Canada that some switched to after their Armour wasn't working like before. Some LOVE Erfa. Others hate it and say it's not the old Armour in effectiveness at all.

Here are a few topics relating to experiences with Erfa:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=18631

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17928

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=18688

Gaining weight, feeling depressed, sleepy and having other bizarre symptoms sound like Erfa isn't working for some that previously did well on the same dose of old Armour.

It seems that some are reporting issues with the T4 in Erfa, possibly due to some filler ingredient. Some have posted labs with rather low FT4 levels despite the dose they're on. Cornstarch is the second inactive ingredient and talc is also prominent, yet no cellulose.

Nature-Throid by RLC (Westhroid is another name you may find it under)

The RLC products contain two ingredients that have cellulose in them Croscarmellose Sodium and Microcrystalline Cellulose. The latter ingredient is what the new Armour Thyroid is full of.

Like mentioned above, some may try digestive enzymes with cellulase to try and defeat what's binding up the thyroid hormones. Also, crushing up the tablet really well helps regardless of whether you swallow or sublingual your thyroid.

Thiroyd or Thyroid-S can be imported from Thailand. It seems many have good success with the latter and the few reports on Thiroyd I've heard go from mediocre to positive, which is better than saying it's terrible ; ) . Thyroid-S contains gluten. Armour, Nature-Throid/Westhroid and Erfa are gluten-free.

Compounded Thyroid USP

Many have reported issues with compounded thyroid when it's been filled with the typical Avicel or microcrystalline cellulose. This seems to be about as good or bad as the new Armour formulation. Remember, RLC, Forest and compounders use the same thyroid powder, which is simply Thyroid USP and purchased from ALI in Nebraska. It's theoretically all the same, but the fillers are what change how it works.

Some are taking compounded thyroid filled with dextrose. This is sugar (sourced from corn) and what old Armour used to contain a lot of, so we know it's not as bad with binding up thyroid hormones.

Others are discussing using other fillers from ginger to acidophilus to vitamin C. You'd need to check on the price if you use another filler like this. Also, vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid isn't such a good thing to have next to your teeth and calcium ascorbate or sodium ascorbate would likely be better choices. Also, it's little good if a filler like acidophilus still has some cellulose in it as a filler (100% pure probiotic powders aren't super cheap), so make sure the ingredients of the filler are are explained. Another option is lactose provided it doesn't bother you.

I've just heard of compounded thyroid with NO filler, so maybe that is even an option. How many grains you'd get in a capsule sounds like it would be a funny number, unless the capsule is dosed differently and not filled completely. If it's too much hassle, then you could just have the highest dose possible rounded off by nearest 60 mg (one grain) or half grain in their smallest capsule with a filler.

It's fairly easy to open the capsule if you wedge one end between teeth and the other end you pull with your fingers. You can close it back up for use later or you can dump everything out on something like a plate and divide with a knife (although I don't know what you do after that.. lick your finger and take thyroid powder that way!?).

If you know of a compounding pharmacy that's willing to comply with any of these things, let us know.

Regardless of what you're on, if your TSH has shot up, frees have plummeted and you feel hypo, then a raise could be considered. Hopefully doctor will get this and some don't take the same dose on another preparation.

What's working for you?