Wellness

[Lucky Charm]

On 6/23/2014 gailchap said:

On 6/23/2014 Rachelle said:

Your good doctor said no because Levo is the drug that is being pushed through the medical system and the more doctors write scripts, the more perks they receive. Armour is much safer than Levo.. Oh and to the nurse of 30 years who said she never heard of any side effects.....you better get on the pc and read.........................It helps to renew your education, especially when you are caring for people...

This is simply not true! Doctor do NOT receive perks for prescribing a particular drug. The physicians that do receive perks are the ones that teach and hold seminars for the drug companies. Once in a while a drug company will buy sub sandwiches for the office but that happens maybe once a year. And by the way, Levothyroxine is a generic of Synthroid. So drug companies wouldn't even offer perks on a generic (even if they did).

I work in a physician's office and I have never heard of any of our patients reporting side effects with Synthroid or the generics. The one thing I would like to mention is that patients make sure they take Synthroid as directed. I was taking my iron medication at the same time as my Synthroid and it screwed up both my thyroid and my anemia! Now I take them at separate times - so follow the directions.

Each person is different, some people respond to the generic synthetic thyroid medicine and some only respond to the brand name - Synthroid. While others prefer the Amour thyroid. I'm on the brand name, along with my dog. My dog was on the generic but he was not responding. I started using the brand name and his hair starting growing back and he had more energy. So now we share a prescription.

The website TiredThyroid.com has a lot of information about why the synthetics work for some and the Amour works for others.

Here's my personal experience for the poster that is having thyroid surgery soon. I had a fine needle thyroid biopsy done that showed I had thyroid cancer. The nuclear medicine test also showed the nodule as cancerous. However, the biopsy was done again on the thyroid surgically removed and it was clear of cancer. I am thinking good, good thoughts for your surgery. Gail

It's not the doctors pushing the generics, it's the darned insurance companies/prescription plans. Of course they don't want you to have the top dollar name brands! (I hope they don't get to take them either.)

[emmysmom]

On 6/24/2014 Lucky Charm said:

On 6/23/2014 gailchap said:

On 6/23/2014 Rachelle said:

Your good doctor said no because Levo is the drug that is being pushed through the medical system and the more doctors write scripts, the more perks they receive. Armour is much safer than Levo.. Oh and to the nurse of 30 years who said she never heard of any side effects.....you better get on the pc and read.........................It helps to renew your education, especially when you are caring for people...

This is simply not true! Doctor do NOT receive perks for prescribing a particular drug. The physicians that do receive perks are the ones that teach and hold seminars for the drug companies. Once in a while a drug company will buy sub sandwiches for the office but that happens maybe once a year. And by the way, Levothyroxine is a generic of Synthroid. So drug companies wouldn't even offer perks on a generic (even if they did).

I work in a physician's office and I have never heard of any of our patients reporting side effects with Synthroid or the generics. The one thing I would like to mention is that patients make sure they take Synthroid as directed. I was taking my iron medication at the same time as my Synthroid and it screwed up both my thyroid and my anemia! Now I take them at separate times - so follow the directions.

Each person is different, some people respond to the generic synthetic thyroid medicine and some only respond to the brand name - Synthroid. While others prefer the Amour thyroid. I'm on the brand name, along with my dog. My dog was on the generic but he was not responding. I started using the brand name and his hair starting growing back and he had more energy. So now we share a prescription.

The website TiredThyroid.com has a lot of information about why the synthetics work for some and the Amour works for others.

Here's my personal experience for the poster that is having thyroid surgery soon. I had a fine needle thyroid biopsy done that showed I had thyroid cancer. The nuclear medicine test also showed the nodule as cancerous. However, the biopsy was done again on the thyroid surgically removed and it was clear of cancer. I am thinking good, good thoughts for your surgery. Gail

It's not the doctors pushing the generics, it's the darned insurance companies/prescription plans. Of course they don't want you to have the top dollar name brands! (I hope they don't get to take them either.)

That makes sense LuckyCharm. They also control how long your hospital stay will be!

[violann]

On 6/23/2014 only shops online said:

I insisted that my endocrinologist put my on Armour years ago. And, then when it was unavailable, we switched to a compounded version. I never felt well and had all sorts of side-effects that I blamed on other things. We played around with the dose forever, and nothing worked. It's kind of funny because he told me, when I requested it, that he didn't think I would be able to tolerate it.

After quite a few years on the natural stuff, I started to think that maybe he was right. Last summer I asked him to switch me to Synthroid for a trial, as my daughter does wonderfully on Synthroid. This is the best I have felt in 10 years. My numbers are much more stable. My skin looks good. My horrible anxiety is gone. My mood is good. And, I have a full, thick head of hair again.

I wouldn't touch the natural stuff again.

With all due respect, if I "insisted" that a doctor put me on a certain medication and he or she complied, I'd be looking for another doctor. Armour Thyroid and synthetic thyroid replacements each produce good results and poor results based on the physiology of the people taking them. If given my choice, I'd rather take no replacement at all, but having taken both, I find that Armour works better for me. I took both original Armour and reformulated Armour, and both work better for me than synthetics do. I know zillions of people who do absolutely fine with synthetics. It is WONDERFUL that you have a positive resultwith Synthroid. I wish nothing but blessings to anyone who has this problem.

[LilacTree]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is going to be my motto with Synthroid, which I have had huge success with. It's never been "up and down" with me. One change since it started and that was from 110 mcg to 100 mcg. over 26 years. I've never had nodules, my thyroid physicals have always been perfect. Unless I have to for some reason (e.g., I find out my adrenals are suffering in any way) I am not messing with it.

The generic ("levo") doesn't work for me, but my prescription plan charges me $7 for a one month supply of Synthroid (which would cost nearly $200 with no plan), so even cost is not an issue.

[PinkieBelle]

On 6/21/2014 Peaches McPhee said:

You just cannot make blanket statement of good vs. bad when it comes to health care and medications. Everybody's body is different, and different things will work.

I have been on levothroxide (sp?) forever, with no problems at all.

Someone else? Maybe not.

I did not feel that the OP was making a blankent statement. They were just saying that if you are taking synthroid and are having symptoms, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about the alternative med to see if the symptoms go away.

[emmysmom]

On 6/24/2014 PinkieBelle said:

On 6/21/2014 Peaches McPhee said:

You just cannot make blanket statement of good vs. bad when it comes to health care and medications. Everybody's body is different, and different things will work.

I have been on levothroxide (sp?) forever, with no problems at all.

Someone else? Maybe not.

I did not feel that the OP was making a blankent statement. They were just saying that if you are taking synthroid and are having symptoms, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about the alternative med to see if the symptoms go away.

Thanks Pinkiebelle! I thought I was pretty clear. As I posted earlier, I won't be doing this again. Too many defensive posters ready to jump on someone. Its not worth it. They can do their own research~ Thanks for understanding! Maybe there were some that were helped, that was my intent~

[LilacTree]

On 6/24/2014 emmiesmom said:

On 6/24/2014 PinkieBelle said:

On 6/21/2014 Peaches McPhee said:

You just cannot make blanket statement of good vs. bad when it comes to health care and medications. Everybody's body is different, and different things will work.

I have been on levothroxide (sp?) forever, with no problems at all.

Someone else? Maybe not.

I did not feel that the OP was making a blankent statement. They were just saying that if you are taking synthroid and are having symptoms, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about the alternative med to see if the symptoms go away.

Thanks Pinkiebelle! I thought I was pretty clear. As I posted earlier, I won't be doing this again. Too many defensive posters ready to jump on someone. Its not worth it. They can do their own research~ Thanks for understanding! Maybe there were some that were helped, that was my intent~

I hope you don't think I was bashing you emmiesmom, because I absolutely was not. I was just stating how successful my thyroid treatment has been with Synthroid. In fact, I did not even notice it was your post (I rarely look at who is posting). Believe me, you're one of my favorite people here and I surely wouldn't bash someone who was just trying to be helpful, as it's happened to me so many times.

[emmysmom]

On 6/24/2014 Ford1224 said:

On 6/24/2014 emmiesmom said:

On 6/24/2014 PinkieBelle said:

On 6/21/2014 Peaches McPhee said:

You just cannot make blanket statement of good vs. bad when it comes to health care and medications. Everybody's body is different, and different things will work.

I have been on levothroxide (sp?) forever, with no problems at all.

Someone else? Maybe not.

I did not feel that the OP was making a blankent statement. They were just saying that if you are taking synthroid and are having symptoms, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about the alternative med to see if the symptoms go away.

Thanks Pinkiebelle! I thought I was pretty clear. As I posted earlier, I won't be doing this again. Too many defensive posters ready to jump on someone. Its not worth it. They can do their own research~ Thanks for understanding! Maybe there were some that were helped, that was my intent~

I hope you don't think I was bashing you emmiesmom, because I absolutely was not. I was just stating how successful my thyroid treatment has been with Synthroid. In fact, I did not even notice it was your post (I rarely look at who is posting). Believe me, you're one of my favorite people here and I surely wouldn't bash someone who was just trying to be helpful, as it's happened to me so many times.

Ford, I would never think that, no way! You are a sweetheart! You are one of my favorite people, you and addiegal are so helpful, you girls make it all worth it!

[twocent]

On 6/24/2014 emmiesmom said:

On 6/24/2014 PinkieBelle said:

On 6/21/2014 Peaches McPhee said:

You just cannot make blanket statement of good vs. bad when it comes to health care and medications. Everybody's body is different, and different things will work.

I have been on levothroxide (sp?) forever, with no problems at all.

Someone else? Maybe not.

I did not feel that the OP was making a blankent statement. They were just saying that if you are taking synthroid and are having symptoms, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about the alternative med to see if the symptoms go away.

[LilacTree]

On 6/25/2014 emmiesmom said:

On 6/24/2014 Ford1224 said:

On 6/24/2014 emmiesmom said:

On 6/24/2014 PinkieBelle said:

On 6/21/2014 Peaches McPhee said:

You just cannot make blanket statement of good vs. bad when it comes to health care and medications. Everybody's body is different, and different things will work.

I have been on levothroxide (sp?) forever, with no problems at all.

Someone else? Maybe not.

I did not feel that the OP was making a blankent statement. They were just saying that if you are taking synthroid and are having symptoms, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about the alternative med to see if the symptoms go away.

Thanks Pinkiebelle! I thought I was pretty clear. As I posted earlier, I won't be doing this again. Too many defensive posters ready to jump on someone. Its not worth it. They can do their own research~ Thanks for understanding! Maybe there were some that were helped, that was my intent~

I hope you don't think I was bashing you emmiesmom, because I absolutely was not. I was just stating how successful my thyroid treatment has been with Synthroid. In fact, I did not even notice it was your post (I rarely look at who is posting). Believe me, you're one of my favorite people here and I surely wouldn't bash someone who was just trying to be helpful, as it's happened to me so many times.

Ford, I would never think that, no way! You are a sweetheart! You are one of my favorite people, you and addiegal are so helpful, you girls make it all worth it!

Thank you, emmiesmom . . . I'm glad we're "good."