As of 2005, 10 million people in the U.S. take Synthroid, the second-most prescribed drug in the U.S. However, Natural Thyroid is vastly superior to Synthroid, and this article explains why.

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A few times every day, I find myself explaining to a patient why natural thyroid is superior to Synthroid.

What is Synthroid? What is in it?

Synthroid contains Thyroxine also called T4, which is the identical hormone produced by the thyroid gland. Levothyroxine is the generic form of Synthroid.

Above Left Image: Thyroid Gland on Radionuclide Scan Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

What is in Natural Thyroid?

Natural Thyroid pills are made from desiccated porcine (pig) thyroid glands which contain Thyroxine (T4),T3, T3, T1 and Calcitonin.

Economics of Synthroid

As of 2005, 10 million people in the U.S. take thyroxine. When one considered that Abbott's Synthroid is the most popular form of thyroxine, and the second-most prescribed drug in the U.S., one starts to understand the financial rivalry between Synthroid and natural thyroid competitors.

Left image: chemical structure of thyroxine, T4 courtesy of wikimedia commons.

What Does Mainstream Medicine Say?

Here is a typical statement by Mainstream Medicine found on a popular medical information web site called medicine.net. Armour is a natural desiccated porcine thyroid preparation. Synthroid contains onlyT4.

From Medicine.Net: answering a Viewer Question

What is your feeling regarding natural vs. synthetic replacement therapy in hypothyroid situations? Armour, for example vs. Synthroid? from L.H.

Doctor's Answer:

While it is reasonable to assume that synthetic medications are less desirable than natural counterparts, in this case- natural thyroid hormone replacement is definitely not an ideal solution for the vast majority of people.

Here's why:

Armour thyroid is derived from desiccated pig (porcine) thyroid gland. A number of years ago, these natural preparations were our only alternative. Replacement with desiccated thyroid creates dosing problems because there is no way to standardize the exact amount of the dose for each batch. As a matter of fact, these preparations do not report their dosage strength in milligrams, but rather, in grains of thyroid. This is because, they don't really know the milligram equivalent in each dose. Dosing is also based on the assumptions that each gland has equal amounts of hormones as the next gland, and that the ratio of T4 and T3 (the more active hormone) are similar and constant in each gland from the pigs. There is no way to be certain of this, and patients on these preparations often have fluctuating hormone levels, which may or may not result in symptoms.

Regardless of symptoms, the goal of replacement therapy is to keep the hormone levels as stable as possible. This is much easier to achieve with synthetic preparations such as Levoxyl and Synthroid. These preparations come in a vast number of standardized doses, allowing for minute adjustments in hormone dosing. There is another comment that should be made. With all the issues surrounding "mad cow disease" and other ailments, I personally am reluctant to offer animal based therapy to patients when a safe effective well studied synthetic preparation is widely available.

I hope this helps answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your question.

Medical Author: RM, M.D.

"Natural Thyroid is Not an Ideal Solution" ? !!!!

This nonsense really makes my blood boil and my eyes pop out of head.

Let's start by doing a little research. If the above statement is true, we should expect to find that the FDA HAS NEVER recalled Synthroid because of problems with stability or potency, and we would expect that the FDA HAS recalled natural thyroid pills because they are unstable, and vary in potency. So let's ask the FDA about this. What do we find? In reality, the FDA says Synthroid is unstable and varies in potency, while natural thyroid from RLC labs HAS NEVER been recalled for instablity or variation in potency.

Is Synthroid a Reliable and Stable Drug? No, Says the FDA.

Synthroid was marketed in 1955, but not FDA approved until July 24. 2002 because of a "history of potency failures...which indicates that Synthroid has not been reliably potent and stable."-- United States Food and Drug Administration Letter to Synthroid Manufacturer, Knoll Pharmaceuticals, April 26, 2001 (link )

Unstable, Not of Consistent Potency from Lot to Lot

Here is an FDA document August 14, 1997, Docket No. 97N-0314, which says:

"The drug substance levothyroxine sodium (also called Synthroid) is unstable in the presence of light, temperature, air, and humidity. Unless the manufacturing process can be carefully and consistently controlled, orally administered levothyroxine sodium products may not be fully potent through the labeled expiration date, or be of consistent potency from lot to lot.

There is evidence from recalls, adverse drug experience reports, and inspection reports that even when a physician consistently prescribes the same brand of orally administered levothyroxine sodium, patients may receive products of variable potency at a given dose. Such variations in product potency present actual safety and effectiveness concerns.

However, no currently marketed orally administered levothyroxine sodium product has been shown to demonstrate consistent potency and stability and, thus, no currently marketed orally administered levothyroxine sodium product is generally recognized as safe and effective. " end quote . source: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1997-08-14/html/97-21575.htmFDA Document [Federal Register: August 14, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 157)][Notices][Page 43535-43538]

Armour Thyroid Pill Recall 2005

To be completely fair, there was a recall of Armour thyroid in 2005,
Lots manufactured in 2003 were found to have lost potency 2 years later in 2005, so Forest Labs recalled all tablets made in 2003. Since it was 2 years later, very little product from these lots was still in distribution, so it was actually a small recall.

Change in Armour Formulation

Armourchanged the thyroid tablet formulation in 2009, and we have seen reports from patients who are unhappy with the new formulation. To avoid these questions, we preferNaturethroidfrom RLC labs. Note: I have no financial interest in RLC labs or any other thyroid pill company.

Naturethroid Manufacturer Speaks Out: Natural vs Synthetic

The makers of Naturethroid say this : "In contrast to Naturally Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) containing T3 and T4, most synthetic medications contain T4 (or T3) only. In reality, many patients don't start to feel normal again until they switch from synthetic to NDT (Thyroid USP). Natural Desiccated Thyroid hormone replacement has been used since the late 1800s, and it is one of the safest drugs available. It contains a full spectrum of thyroid hormones, T4 and T3 and also T2 and T1 as well. The typical indication by the proponents of synthetic T4 is that NDT is unstable and inconsistent in its dosage. However, under the full USP monograph of both Thyroid USP as an ingredient and Thyroid USP Tablet as a finished product establishing full prescription status, this conventional argument could not be further from the truth. Unlike Nature-Throidâ„¢ and Westhroidâ„¢, synthetic medications have often been recalled due to batch inconsistencies. Yet most doctors are led to believe that desiccated thyroid is unstable. To ensure that Nature-Throidâ„¢ and Westhroidâ„¢ Thyroid USP tablets are consistently potent from tablet to tablet and lot to lot, analytical tests are performed on the raw material (Thyroid USP powder) and on the actual tablets (finished product) to measure actual T4 and T3 activity."

By the way, contrary to the Medicine.net comment above, natural thyroid tablets are labeled in milligrams. One Grain tablets contain 65 mg .

Conversion of T4 to T3

A common problem for many patients who don't feel well on Synthroid is the inability to convert T4 to T3 . Synthroid contains T4 only which is inactive, and must be converted to T3 by the body for it to work. This conversion is done by the De-Iodinase Enzyme. Sometimes this enzyme isnot working, and many patients have an inability to convert T4 to T3. They feel much better on a natural thyroid medication which contains T3 and T4. In my experience, most patients feel much better, with more energy, and relief symptoms when switching from synthroid to a natural thyroid such as Naturethroid.

Mary Shomon on Natural Thyroid vs Synthetic

An article by Mary Shoman in the Townsend letter explains why natural thyroid treatment is the better choice, and that Synthroid and Levothyroxine are unstable, with dosage varying according to batch, and subjected to multiple recalls. Natural thyroid from RLC labs has never been recalled and is the preferred solution. Mary Shomon's blogis an excellent resource on natural thyroid.

Can I Get Mad Cow Disease from My Pig Thyroid Pill?

Millions of Americans have enjoyed ham sandwiches and pork products for decades without a single case of Mad Cow Disease ever reported. This essentially invalidates the fear of Mad Cow Disease from a pig product as an argument. However, Mary Shomon advises cautionwith over-the-counter glandular supplements, which may contain unregulated meat products from areas of Europe known to have mad cow infected livestock.

Stop the Thyroid Madness

Another excellent resource is the Stop Your Thyroid Madness Blog and Book by Janie Bowthorpe. Janie suffered for years with low thyroid symptoms even while on Synthroid, and had a dramatic recovery after converting from synthroid to natural thyroid. With her blog and book, she is one of the strongest advocates for natural thyroid medication.

For links and references, Click here for original aricle.

Articles with Related Content:

The Low Thyroid Condition by Dr Dach

Stop the Thyroid Madness Book and Blog

Hypothyroidism Part Two, The Thyroflex and Reflex Time

Natural Treatment of Low Thyroid

Breast Cancer Prevention and Iodine Supplementation

Questioning the New Armour Thyroid

Selenium for Hashimoto's

The Thyroid Nodule Epidemic

The Unreliable TSH Lab Test

Disclaimer click here: www.drdach.com/wst_page20.html

The reader is advised to discuss the comments on these pages with his/her personal physicians and to only act upon the advice of his/her personal physician. Also note that concerning an answer which appears as an electronically posted question, I am NOT creating a physician -- patient relationship. Although identities will remain confidential as much as possible, as I can not control the media, I can not take responsibility for any breaches of confidentiality that may occur.

Financial Disclosure: the author has no financial interest and receives no financial compensation from RLC labs, Forest Labs or any other pharmaceutical company that manufactures thyroid pills.

For links and references, Click here for original aricle.

Authors Website: http://jeffreydachmd.com

Authors Bio:

Jeffrey Dach MD is a physician and author of three books, Natural Medicine 101, and Bioidentical Hormones 101, and Heart Book all available on Amazon, or as a free e-book on his web sites.

Dr. Dach is founder and chief medical officer of TrueMedMD, a clinic in Davie, Florida specializing in Bioidentical Hormones, natural thyroid, functional medicine and low level laser therapy.

Dr. Dach was originally trained and board certified as an Interventional and Diagnostic Radiologist, and worked in the hospital setting for 30 years in Broward County at the Memorial Hospital System. Because of declining visual acuity, Dr Dach retired from radiology and returned to clinical medicine about 8 years ago when he founded the TruMedMD Clinic offering bioidentical hormones and natural thyroid to the South Florida region. For more information about Dr Dach, you can find his entire CV posted on-line on his web site.