Living with seemingly unending bouts of hypothyroidism can be an incredibly difficult experience that can feel like an even tougher experience when ill effects result from prescription natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) medications. For years, it had been widely accepted that the use of NDT medications โ such as Armour by Allergan, Erfa Canada, Naturethroid by RLC Labs, and NP Thyroid by Acella Pharmaceuticals โ was a reliable form of treatment for hypothyroidism. Still, researchers and patients alike have noticed several concerning shifts in the availability and quality of NDT medications in recent years.
The patient-left reports of unreliable and changed NDT medications appear to have occurred across manufacturers in the past decade, with Allerganโs ARMOUR being the first to draw attention. In 2009, some patients reported a significant change in their tablets that seemed to correlate with a return of previously subsided hypo symptoms. A similar event occurred in 2015, prompting researchers to further investigate the reports of ARMOUR appearing less consistent than its previous iterations.
Around this same time (early 2020), a similar pattern of deterioration of quality was reported in Naturethroidโs NDT by RLC Labs. Those who switched over to Naturethroid after trouble with their former NDTs experienced a miserable return of their hypothyroid symptoms. As for the WP Thyroid, some reported the same pattern of worsening throughout this time. Yet, all of these medications might still be working if one seeks to get optimal results.
NP Thyroid, the last remaining consistent and excellent NDT, then changed in the summer of 2019. Patients with low-to-optimal levels of free T3 and FT4 reported a sudden return of devastating hypothyroid symptoms and accompanying problems like nausea, burning stomach, allergic reactions, flu-like symptoms, and more. On top of that came an exceedingly repugnant tasting and smelling NDT, with the patient comparing it to cat pee or kitty litter. Unfortunately, none of the responding pharmaceuticals seemed to give much of a damn, with some claiming that the change in their medication or deflection of patient concerns was normal.
It is difficult to ignore the near-ubiquitous pattern of increased issues in the availability and quality of prescription NDTs in just the past decade, and it is just as hard to deny the financial incentives for pharmaceutical companies that are largely blind to the extended and worsening health implications of these changes.