Desiccated Thyroid and Combination Theorapy References
Thyroid Australia (Brisbane) is of the belief that every Thyroid patient is an individual and should be medically treated as such. We have an experienced understanding of the benefits of both Synthetic and Desiccated (natural) dispensed oral Thyroid preparations. In saying that we maintain an open mind as to the Thyroid medication patients take and help them to communicate with medical professionals to improving the patients ongoing quality of health.
Please be aware: Desiccated Thyroid Extract is not for everyone and it is most probable that the more complicated and the longer your hypothyroidism has existed, that Desiccated Thyroid Extract may not be as beneficial long term as to optimal and on going treatment, that includes synthetic T4 and naturalT3 replacement therapy. This treatment is also known as combination theorapy.
Desiccated Thyroid Extract should only be prescribed by a doctor who has vast experience treating hypothyroid patients and an exceptional knowledge including careful monitoring of the dosage. Desiccated Thyroid Extract (combination T3 and T4 or the more potent T3 triidothyronine formulation) is not something to be experimented with by the patient and or inexperienced medical practitioners.
The information in this article is based on American data. In Australia we have only one manufacture of synthetic T4 that is labelled as ‘Oroxine and Eutroxsig’. These two products are manufactured by Sigma Pharmaceuticals and are identical medications sold under different brand names. ie: Eutroxsig being the generic form of Oroxine and is the same product.
The desiccated (natural) Thyroid extract imported into Australia from the USA goes through stringent quality control from the Professional Compounding Chemists Association of Australia (PCCA). The potency of which is controlled and regularly tested against TGA standards.
Both the natural and synthetic forms of T4 and T3 in Australia are consistently very stable and accurate in their respective chemistry…………….Rick Maynard Thyroid Australia (Brisbane) 2010
Desiccated thyroid references highlights:
For an introduction to desiccated thyroid, see Desiccated Thyroid. Links to the Desiccated Thyroid References. See also T3 References and TSH References.
Medical References: A 2001 study that apparently received little notice proves what thyroid patients have been saying for years.
Desiccated thyroid is more effective in relieving hypothyroidism symptoms than synthetic T4 is ?
•Interviews with Doctors: Doctors who are familiar with desiccated thyroid have had more success with this treatment than with using synthetic hormone replacement therapy.
•The longest category by far in the "Patients' Experiences" compilations is that of people who switched from synthetic T4 only to desiccated thyroid. The difference between patients' well-being on "the preferred treatment" of synthetic T4 only and desiccated thyroid can in some cases be dramatic.
A little background:
Desiccated thyroid, or thyroid extract, contains both T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triidothyronine) thyroid hormones, as well as (probably; unmeasured) T2 and T1. It was the only thyroid treatment used from the early 1900s until 1958, when synthetic T4-only medications first appeared on the market. Since then, doctors have increasingly viewed desiccated thyroid as old-fashioned and obsolete.
At around the same time, a similar argument was made for infant formula over breast milk. Infant formula was marketed as being superior to natural mother's milk, and mothers who nursed their babies instead of feeding them formula were seen as perhaps lesser informed.
That situation has turned around completely since then. However, the belief that synthetic T4 is superior to natural desiccated thyroid, which contains all the thyroid hormones, still exists among physicians.
It is worth noting that because desiccated thyroid extract is a natural product, legally belonging in the public domain, can not be patented in it’s natural form. Synthetic medications are patented at enormous cost to pharmaceutical companies. To recover their costs and be prophetable in business they need to sell huge amounts of product and rely on doctors and pharmacists to prescribe and dispense their products.
The best-known brand name of desiccated thyroid is called Armour.
Until around 1970, the hormone concentrations of thyroid medications were titrated (adjusted) based on iodine content, but since then, they have all — including desiccated thyroid — been assayed by their hormone content. Doctors are still told that the thyroid hormone concentrations in desiccated thyroid vary between batches. However, desiccated thyroid has been assayed the same way as other thyroid hormone medications for several decades, and it is recalled far less often for stability issues than its synthetic counterparts are. For details, see a 2003 newsgroup post that compares FDA recalls of different thyroid medications: "Armour Reliability?”.
Synthetic T3 in combination with synthetic T4 has been getting more attention in recent years. This topic is discussed in our T3 References section.
The need for these references:
Doctors who attended medical school after the mid-1970s may not have even heard of desiccated thyroid. However, it is listed in the Physicians' Desk Reference.
When a medical treatment with a long history of success is relegated in favour of one that sometimes works, but is overall less effective and is more expensive, doctors and patients have a serious problem.
Desiccated thyroid is safe provided it is dispensed with respect and careful monitored — far safer than numerous other medications that many doctors prescribe unquestioningly. It is highly effective for many thyroid patients, who often have lingering symptoms on synthetic medication. It is more stable than synthetic T4. We encourage physicians to look at the facts as they are presented from sources that have no financial interests in promoting synthetic thyroid medications.
The above is an American statement where there are a number of brands of synthetic Thyroxine and desiccated Thyroid Extract on their market, where as potency can vary from brand to brand. We do not have this problem here in Australia. Here ‘Oroxine and Eutroxsig’ are constantly stable. Our product has been accredited as being one of the safest medications available for ingestion…………Rick Maynard Thyroid Australia (Brisbane) 2010.
Medical articles and factors to consider:
Unfortunately, there have not been a lot of articles in medical journals about desiccated thyroid. The doctors who have studied it are generally those who have seen patients improve on desiccated thyroid much more than on synthetic medications. Some of these doctors have seen patients' health deteriorate when they were switched from desiccated thyroid to synthetic medications.
When patients find improvement on the medication that they ask for, the improvement is sometimes credited to the placebo effect. We would like to point out that people who still have hypothyroidism symptoms after treatment usually travel a long road before they reach a healthy state. They have often tried just about everything, read or hear about, and each time, they hope that it will be the answer for them. If the placebo effect works for them, it would have worked earlier in their quest for wellness.
Also, while desiccated thyroid produces the best results for many hypothyroid patients, a few are disappointed to find no improvement in their symptoms when they take it. As with the alternatives, it is not the answer for all hypothyroid patients. The placebo effect is not a reasonable explanation for the use of desiccated thyroid or any thyroid treatment.
If you are a medical doctor and have had success using desiccated thyroid with hypothyroid patients, we encourage you to write about it for a medical journal so that more doctors will have the option to consider this treatment. We especially encourage further studies on the use of desiccated thyroid.
Lois Summers with Kevin G. Rhoads, PhD - October 11, 2003.
Rick Maynard Thyroid Australia (Brisbane) 2010