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January 16, 2023 8 min read

Hypothyroidism is a medical condition that occurs when your thyroid gland can't produce enough thyroid hormones, causing your body to slow down. This condition is often treated with thyroid hormone replacement medications, such as levothyroxine and natural desiccated thyroid (NDT).

While levothyroxine, like Synthroid, is the standard treatment of hypothyroidism, NDT, like Armour Thyroid, is thought to be more effective. But some hypothyroid patients might find themselves increasingly frustrated when their doctor refuses to prescribe them Armour Thyroid. So the big question is: if natural desiccated thyroid such as Armour Thyroid is good at treating hypothyroidism, why won't doctors want to prescribe it?

What is Armour Thyroid?

Before we dig deeper and answer that question, it's a good idea for you to know exactly what Armour Thyroid is. Armour Thyroid is a medication used to treat hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer, and enlarged thyroid gland. It's classified as a thyroid hormone replacement called Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT).

NDT has been used in the USA and Europe for more than 100 years to treat hypothyroidism. Some sources also believe that the Chinese used thyroid glands from animals over 500 years ago. Until the 1960s, it was the only hormonal thyroid medication available. In the 1960s afterward, Sodium Levothyroxine was introduced into the US market under the Synthroid brand name.

Armour Thyroid is made of dried porcine thyroid glands. It contains all the thyroid hormones naturally present in the human thyroid gland: T4, T3, T2, T1, and Calcitonin. Thus, it's often thought of as the more effective treatment compared to levothyroxine, which only contains the synthetic version of T4.

1 grain (60mg) of Armour Thyroid contains the following amount:

  • 38mcg of T4 hormone

  • 9mcg of T3

  • Calcium Stearate

  • Dextrose

  • Microcrystalline Cellulose

  • Sodium Starch Glycolate

  • Opadry White

The benefits

When used regularly in the correct dose, Armour Thyroid offers the following benefits:

  • Treat hypothyroidism by restoring thyroid function

  • Improving your metabolism, which may lead to weight loss

  • Mental and physical development for children

  • Treat other types of thyroid disease, such as goiter and thyroid cancer.

The side effects

Even though Armour Thyroid is safe for most patients who suffer from hypothyroidism, consuming it on a higher dose might cause some side effects, such as the following.

  • High blood pressure

  • Brittle hair and even hair loss

  • Extreme anxiety

  • Muscle weakness

  • Heart palpitations and even heart disease if consumed by the elderly.

If you experience these side effects, be sure to talk to your doctor. They'll likely order a blood test and lower your dose.

In rare cases, Armour Thyroid can cause severe adverse reactions that can be fatal if ignored. You'll need to seek immediate professional medical attention if you experience the following symptoms:

  • Severe skin rash

  • Seizure

  • Extreme anxiety

  • Abnormal chest pain and tightness sensation

  • Swollen limbs.

Tips for when you start taking Armour Thyroid to minimize the side effects

When you're taking Armour Thyroid, here are a few things to keep in mind to minimize the side effects:

  • Consume your NDT at the same time every day. The most common time to take it is as soon as you wake up, before breakfast. However, you can also take it at night. The most important thing is to stick to a consistent schedule to keep your hormone levels balanced throughout the day and stop symptoms from coming back.

  • Don't take your NDT at the same time as other medications. Most medications can interact with Armour Thyroid, either interfering with its absorption or increasing your risk of side effects. Thus, try spacing out the dosages of your Armour Thyroid and other medications by at least four hours. This will help maximize their impact on your body.

  • NDT absorption can also be negatively affected by supplements, particularly iron and calcium supplement. It doesn't mean that you have to stop taking these supplements. You just have to separate them; it does, however, mean you should use them strategically. It's best to take your NDT at least three hours before or after consuming your iron and calcium supplements. That way, there'll be plenty of time for your body to absorb each product separately and completely.

Supplements that can support NDT and help improve your symptoms

According to a study, by consuming the right supplements, you might be able to improve your thyroid hormone levels and help you live a healthier life. You might want to look at some of the supplements that contain the following:

1. Guggul Extract

Consuming daily supplements that contain guggul extract will boost your thyroid function and reduce the symptoms of hypothyroidism. Guggul extract will help your body to boost the T3 and T4 hormone level.

2. Iodine

Consuming supplement that contains iodine will helps your thyroid gland to produce a higher amount of T3 and T4 hormones.

3. Selenium

Selenium is a mineral that's important to improve thyroid hormone levels in your body. Moreover, a supplement that contains selenium will reduce an enzyme in the thyroid, thus also helping you to lose weight.

Is Armour Thyroid better than levothyroxine?

There are two main options when it comes to treating low thyroid hormone levels: NDT and Levothyroxine. Armour Thyroid is a type of NDT.

While the two medications work effectively and have helped people with hypothyroidism, there's a study that proved that NDT can treat hypothyroidism symptoms significantly better.

NDT is more effective likely because it contains both the T4 and T3 thyroid hormones. The main reason for this is that T4 is an inactive hormone, while T3 is the active one. When T4 hormones come into contact with the other cells in our bloodstream, it will give up an iodine atom to interact with those cells, and it will become T3.

The conversion of the inactive thyroid hormone T4 to the active thyroid hormone T3 is essential for maintaining a healthy metabolic rate, but this process doesn't always work properly in some people. This is why NDT has become increasingly popular as an alternative to levothyroxine. NDT works by providing both the T3 and T4 hormones necessary for your bodily's function, so it can be much more effective in helping those who don't convert T4 to T3 efficiently. This means that taking levothyroxine alone may not be enough for some people since it only consists of T4.

Is Armour Thyroid FDA approved?

Just like any drug that contains Desiccated Thyroid Extract (DTE), Armour Thyroid hasn't been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because it has been around since before the FDA was established. However, it's "grandfathered" and allowed to remain on the market without further regulatory approval if they were labeled with the same conditions of use. Moreover, just like any FDA-regulated drug, NDT meets stringent FDA manufacturing guides for potency and consistency in treating hypothyroidism.

So if it's preferred, why don't doctors prescribe Armour Thyroid and other NDT?

Armour Thyroid and other NDT products are actually still prescribed by doctors, but it's true that it's not as popular as levothyroxine. And since the American Thyroid Association considers levothyroxine therapy as the standard treatment of hypothyroidism, some doctors even refuse to prescribe this medication.

So why isn't NDT more widely prescribed? A big part of it is that it's not as profitable as levothyroxine; pharmaceutical companies can make more money selling synthetic drugs than natural alternatives. Moreover, many doctors believe that desiccated thyroid hormone varies too much from one batch to the next to be reliable for treating thyroid patients.

There are also several controversies that are misleading and/or disputable, such as:

1. Some believe that Levothyroxine is More Effective

The treatment of hypothyroidism is a very individualized thing. Levothyroxine is not necessarily more effective than NDT, and vice versa. In fact, a study shows that more hypothyroid patients prefer using NDT like Armour Thyroid and feel worse when they switch to levothyroxine.

2. NDT is Considered a Medication of the Past

NDT is the original treatment for hypothyroidism that has been used since the late 1800s. In 2020, it was the 117th most commonly prescribed natural thyroid medication in the United States, with more than 5 million prescriptions. Until now, NDT has been safely used as an effective hypothyroidism treatment that is able to restore your thyroid hormone to a normal level. Most importantly, there are also other "old-fashioned drugs" like aspirin and penicillin that are still in widespread use, alongside newer medications.

3. NDT Medication will Lead to Mad Cow Disease

This is clearly a false claim since all NDT medications in the US are made from porcine (pigs), not cows. Moreover, there are no cases of Mad Cow Disease that have been associated with NDT products.

4 NDT is No Longer Manufactured

Because NDT is a great natural hypothyroid medication, the production is still going strong until now. If you are having difficulties buying natural thyroid hormones like Armour Thyroid, you can buy desiccated thyroid like VitaliThy online and have it delivered right to your door.

5. Higher T3 Levels on NDT

After taking NDT medication, the T3 hormone will peak in your body within two to six hours. This results in higher T3 levels and T3 to T4 ratios compared to someone taking levothyroxine. Although some concerns have been raised that the higher T3 levels may increase the risk of heart problems, studies have found that when taken at appropriate doses and with regular thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) tests, NDT can effectively normalize an underactive thyroid and eliminate symptoms of hypothyroidism just as well as other thyroid hormone medication.

Should you take Armour Thyroid?

If you need treatment for hypothyroidism, Armour Thyroid is one of your best options. Since thyroid hormones occur naturally in your body, almost anyone that suffers from low thyroid functions can safely take desiccated thyroid extracts. However, you may not be able to take Armour Thyroid if you have a thyroid disorder called thyrotoxicosis or hyperthyroidism.

But who would benefit the most from Armour Thyroid medication? Here's the complete list for you.

  • Those who have a case of myxedema coma (an extreme complication of hypothyroidism)

  • Those who have hypothyroidism, but don't effectively convert T4 to T3 - as evidenced by low free T3 levels within your body

  • Those who have thyroid cancer

  • Those who need thyroid suppression therapy

  • Those who felt well in the past on an NDT treatment, but after switching to levothyroxine, their symptoms returned.

  • Those who prefer naturally-derived thyroid extracts other than synthetically-produced thyroid medications.

  • Those who want to lose weight due to hypothyroidism. This is because NDT medication is associated with more weight loss. Still, you shouldn't use this medication only for weight loss purposes, especially if you have normal thyroid hormones and functions.

What if your doctor won't prescribe Armour Thyroid?

If you want to try Armour Thyroid, it might be frustrating to find that some doctors don't want to prescribe this medication. Plus, it can be hard to find it on the market. But don't worry – there's still hope! VitaliThy, a natural desiccated thyroid you can buy online, is an awesome solution.

VitaliThy offers a safe and reliable alternative to Armour Thyroid. It's made of porcine thyroid glands and contains all the thyroid hormones naturally present in the human thyroid gland. Because it comes from all-natural ingredients, it's free of artificial flavoring and coloring. Plus, VitaliThy is free of gluten and lactose, so you don't have to worry about potential allergens. Whether you need to stock up on your thyroid medication or just want an easier way to get what you need, try ordering VitaliThy today for a stress-free solution.

Wojciech Majda
Wojciech Majda


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