Hi Amy, I’m happy your found a good thyroid doctor through my site. Dr. Melnick is great. You should let him know that your hair is reacting this way to NP. Our bodies react to the different ingredients in each brand and I wonder have you looked into the cost of paying for Armour out of pocket given that you were doing well on it. I ask because a few years back something similar happened to me with insurance and when I priced it out at the pharmacy it turned out to be well worth the extra money to pay to be well. If not, then other options are also available to discuss with him including compounded meds. Best, Dana

Hi Ana, It has been a very frustrating journey for all of us and every new formulation of different brands seems to come with its own complications. I remember back to around 2008 or 2009 when Armour reformulated. I had been doing wonderfully on it and then I started to notice my old thyroid symptoms and new strange symptoms appear with the new pills. Turned out there were new fillers and some of us were sensitive to those new ingredients including me. Yet others tell me they continue to love it. I was doing great on Nature-throid for years and went it went on backorder in 2018 I had a strange feeling that a new formulation would come out that wouldn’t agree with me just like my Armour saga so I made the decision to switch to a compounded prescription with porcine desiccated powder by a specialty compounding pharmacy and so far so good for me. It isn’t cheap and I have to pay for it out of pocket but it is worth it for now. I worried at the start of the pandemic that shortages in porcine thyroid glands for NDT products would become a problem. The truth is with every new formulation we are vulnerable to have issues with potency and/or sensitivities to new ingredients. It is a frustrating situation for those of us that rely on our medications to be well. I have decided for myself to continue paying out of pocket for my compounded medication but should problems arise with it for myself that I may switch to compounded synthetic T4 and T3 with a special request to my compounding pharmacist to use as few fillers as possible. I hear good things from followers also about the T4 product Tirosint. It is a liquid formula that seems to be more easily digested and absorbed and it contains fewer fillers than other brands. I’ve thought that an option for me would be a combination of Tirosint plus a compounded T3 and my doctor likes that approach too. It is not ideal because NDT is the perfect solution for my body as I know it is for many hypothyroid people, but I think if we can find a temporary solution that works well enough for our bodies until things get sorted out and potency issues get resolved then we can make clearer decisions. I know this answer is long and not the perfect answer that I wish that I could give but I hope it is helpful.

Hi, Dana. Could you please address the problems that NDTs have been going through over the past couple years? Nature-throid and WP Thyroid were unavailable in early 2018, and when they returned they had significantly reduced potency. NP Thyroid became problematic around June 2019. At first people were noticing a diminished potency, but by August the batches were tainted with something that had a strong chemical odor and that made people very ill. All three brands continue to be ineffective, and NP Thyroid is still causing serious symptoms in patients who take it. RLC Labs and Acella have both reported sourcing the porcine thyroid powder from new manufacturers around the time the problems began. Armour is the only viable NDT left. This has been a very difficult time for those of us who depend on NDTs.

Hi Denise, It is very frustrating for sure when signs and symptoms are thought to be all in your head when you know your body better than anyone. You know when it is off and your hair is a barometer of your inner health. I hope this inspires you to investigate your thyroid more closely just in case it is the issue and I hope my website Hypothyroid Mom will be helpful to you as well: https://hypothyroidmom.com

Wendy, I am sorry to hear about your granddaughter having to go through all this. How is she doing now since the thyroidectomy? All the best, Dana Trentini

Hi Silvia, There is much that I can say about resolving hair loss. I personally spent over a year researching every hair loss study that I could find to finally stop my own thyroid hair loss. Here is a popular article from my website Hypothyroid Mom with things that made a difference for me. All the best, Dana Trentini

https://hypothyroidmom.com/10-things-that-stopped-my-thyroid-hair-loss/

Hi Alesia, Losing our hair is a tough symptom of hypothyroidism. I have heard from many Hypothyroid Mom followers that notice pronounced shedding with one or more thyroid medications. There are different fillers, binding agents, and dyes in the different brands of thyroid medication. It may be about trying another brand. Since your doctor is open to T3 and Armour hopefully they will be open to helping you try different ones to find the right match. For natural desiccated thyroid, there are other options including Nature-Thyroid, WP Thyroid, and NP Thyroid too. There is also the option of having NDT or T3 compounded specially without many fillers in it by a specialty compounding pharmacy by prescription. Wonderful to have you on my website. All the best, Dana Trentini