Thyroid desiccated and Anxiety: What Users Say

• Lit...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 2, 2020

For Underactive Thyroid "I started taking Armour again after trying Nature-Throid and NP. I had previously taken Armour for many years, but the price went up, so I asked my Endo to find a cheaper alternative. However, after being on both Nature-Throid (which gave me chest pains) and NP (smelled like cat urine and tasted bad), I decided I had to go back on Armour. Armour is not the same as it was years ago. I used to do so well on it. Now I am anxious, cold, not sleeping well, itchy, experiencing heart palpitations, and having vision problems. I know something has changed with the formula. I don't know what to take. Synthroid is not an option. Why did they change Armour when it was fine the way it was and also raised the price??"

• Ama...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 17, 2020

For Underactive Thyroid "DO NOT TAKE THIS. I was on Nature-Throid with no problems for about a year before being switched to this garbage due to recall. I took NP Thyroid for about a week and ended up in the back of an ambulance this morning because my husband thought I was having a heart attack. I am a 30-year-old female athlete with no underlying health conditions other than an underactive thyroid. The past week on it has been a blur. Brain fog, irritability, heart palpitations, achy body and joints, breathlessness, migraines, nausea, dizziness, extreme fatigue, and anxiety. I don't know what's in this stuff, but it needs to be pulled. There is something very wrong with NP Thyroid. Stay far away from this stuff."

• Ami...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 4, 2022

For Underactive Thyroid "Here we go again! Problematic batches of Armour have started to emerge as of 2021-present. Stop the thyroid madness has reported on it as well. AbbVie/Allergan if you’re reading this, please look into your Armour Thyroid medication, as some component of this new formula is causing problems for a lot of us! Something’s changed for sure, because the new pills look and taste different. I have an old batch from early summer 2021 to prove it, hasn’t made me feel as terrible as these new ones have. Feels almost like a repeat of when NP Thyroid went bad. Dizziness, nausea/stomach issues, bloating, weird head pressure, vision problems, daytime fatigue, nighttime insomnia, anxiety/depression, mood swings, ear ringing, general unwell feeling, etc. Not good!"

• Eli...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 6, 2019

For Underactive Thyroid "Do not take this medicine! Started in July. He gave me samples first. Those were good. Did blood work again, doubled dosage and got script in August. My hair dried out and started falling out. Then insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, crying for no reason, menstrual cycle irregular, throat burning, stomach hurt, headaches, very greasy, complete brain fog, itchy with bumps, could barely talk, bad back shoulder and neck pain. Barely functioning day to day, I felt empty inside, like I was losing it. I couldn't talk right. I was waking up at 12 am wide awake, couldn't relax, completely amped and exhausted at the same time. I didn't understand what was happening. I stopped taking it. Every day my brain got clearer and felt more like me, my personality came back. I have always been healthy and didn't look at the side effects. I feel stupid for not, lesson learned. This isn't ok! I'm so glad I found this site and it all makes sense now. Please report this! I am!"

• Spi...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 11, 2022

For Hypothyroidism, After Thyroid Removal "WHAT IS HAPPENING? I've been on Armour since 2018 (before that NP) and I've never in the 15 years that I've been on NDTs experienced this type of thyroid hell. Gained 20 lbs despite being in a calorie deficit, dry skin, insomnia, anxiety through the roof, achy joints, painful heavy periods, and a 24-day cycle. TSH is anywhere between 1-3 (it's usually suppressed down to zero). FT4 is between 0.7-0.9 (usually 1.4) and FT3 is between 2.1-2.9 (usually 3.5). Again, I repeat WHAT IS HAPPENING? I'm praying I can get ahold of NP again or I'm gonna have to go back to synthetic, and I haven't been on those since 2007. I don't even know what dose I'd be on."

• flo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 1, 2014

For Hashimoto's disease "I started off in Oct 2013 on 15 mg of Armour for hypothyroid symptoms. I slowly increased it up to 180 mg by December as per doctor's instructions. I felt a little better, but still bouts of severe fatigue. Suddenly, I woke up last week very energized and started buzzing around cleaning. I felt like I had 3 cups of coffee. Racing heart and anxiety in my chest. I found myself having to find a quiet place to sit and meditate just to try and lower my heart rate. Two days later I went for blood tests. TSH 0.009, Free T3 4.1, and Free T4 1.41. Iron levels and adrenals are fine. Now I am hyperthyroid I guess. I am down to 60mg of Armour. Hopefully I will be able to find a happy balance."

• cof...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 19, 2022

For Hashimoto's disease "I took Armour more than 10 years ago and had good results but had to switch to NatureThroid due to shortages. Started Armour again last year when NatureThroid was pulled from the market. I felt pretty good on NatureThroid, but with Armour, my anxiety went through the roof. I assumed this was just due to other causes, but it kept getting worse until I was completely miserable and dysfunctional. I just had labs done and my levels are 'normal,' so I am clearly reacting strangely to the medication. I even went off for two weeks, felt much better but tired and cold, then tried half a pill today and had another panic episode. Something is off with this formula."

• Kas...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 21, 2019

For Underactive Thyroid "I was on Nature-Throid for quite a long time and was doing great until it wasn't available. Then, I switched to NP Thyroid for the past year or so. The NP Thyroid has given me horrible insomnia, heart palpitations, terrible anxiety, and many more symptoms. I was so grateful to find this site and read everyone's reviews because I didn't really put it together until I started digging. I don't know what I'm going to do now for meds, but I am not staying on this any longer. The last few batches have been really bad, and I've been feeling much worse. Thank you all for writing!"

• Lin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 29, 2016

For Underactive Thyroid "I had been on Armour Thyroid for about 15 years and always felt good. Somehow the formula must have changed when Forest Labs was bought out, although the new company denies that. I started feeling really jumpy and couldn't get my numbers right. I've been on Nature-Throid for about seven weeks. It took some time to adjust, but now I feel much better. I've read that they don't use the fillers Armour does."

• Anonymous
• April 7, 2010

For Hashimoto's disease "I was on Synthroid for 1 1/2 years. I gained 10 pounds and had anxiety. For the first year, I had full trust in my doctor, but later I was not feeling right. I had memory fog, anxiety, and my weight was a problem. I used to be a size 4, and now I am a size 12. That alone was depressing. I took charge and researched Hashimoto's Disease. I later told my doctor that I wanted to go on Armour and that I was done with Synthroid. He said okay and put me on 60mg because he thought we would have to adjust it. Well, here I am a year later taking 60mg and 10 pounds less without working out."

• lis...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 3, 2023

For Hashimoto's disease "I have been on Armour Thyroid 60 mg for the past thirty years with good results. I split my pill in half and took it twice a day. But in the past three months, it seems that the medication is no longer what it used to be. My hair started falling, my hands grew icy cold in the evening, and I had a ringing in the ears. Indigestion, gas, and a feeling of anxiety. In the past two weeks, I fell repeatedly flat on my back with no warning. Unable to get up, my husband called the paramedics to take me to the hospital. There, they did not find anything and glossed over my report that I am hypothyroid and that I am taking medication for it. Instead, they focused on my cholesterol level of 257 and recommended Lipitor. The Armour formulation is not the same."

• Ang...
• October 2, 2022

For Hashimoto's disease "What is going on with Armour? The last few lots I've had have caused severe anxiety and panic that I have never experienced before on NDT. My suspicion is that they have changed API suppliers and that we are suffering as a result. Please change it back. Something isn't right here."

• Mic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 13, 2021

For Underactive Thyroid "I was prescribed this medication for mild hypothyroidism. I think doctors need to be very careful when prescribing thyroid medications for people who have mild hypothyroidism. I wish I would have done my research beforehand, otherwise, I would have really reconsidered taking this medication. Anyhow, I started at a very small dose, 15 mg for about two weeks. Then increased to 30 mg for a few days until I woke up one night with heart palpitations. It was a very scary experience. I had a slew of other symptoms after that such as dry mouth, eyes, insomnia, anxiety, diarrhea, and the list goes on. My body definitely did not want/need this medicine. After about 2 1/2 months of discontinuing this medicine, the side effects are mostly gone, however, not completely. I share my story because I think people need to really do their research on medicines. I had a terrible reaction, and sometimes doctors think they are prescribing a medicine to help, when at times it can be harmful."

• Kin...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 10, 2019

For Hypothyroidism, After Thyroid Removal "I started on levothyroxine. It never helped, so I switched to NP Thyroid. I felt more energized and didn’t fall asleep everywhere. Recently, I started to feel tired again, falling asleep at stoplights, feeling bloated, even if I didn’t eat, feeling like I can’t catch my breath, increased anxiety, and I have this pain in the right side of my neck I’ve never had before. I noticed when I got my refill of NP Thyroid in September 2019, the color, smell, and taste were noticeably different. All these new symptoms started with this new prescription; nothing else has changed. The drug company may claim it’s still of as high a standard as before, even with their new supplier, but clearly, something is wrong if many people have the same experience I have. Let’s make this about helping your patients feel better instead of any other reason that’s been concocted; go back to the old version. I’ll be switching to something different because NP Thyroid is no longer a product worth buying."

• Jan...
• September 17, 2019

For Hashimoto's disease "I took this medicine, Armour Thyroid, prior to 2015 with excellent results. Six weeks ago, I went back on it because NP Thyroid had been reformulated. I had a bad reaction to Armour, both the 45 mg and 90 mg tablets. I could no longer get up in the morning, took naps at 2, had a severe rash on my fingers and scalp, felt anxious, depressed, and was not sleeping. I am in adrenal fatigue and can’t think straight. I don’t know if these reformulations are a way to push people towards synthetic medications, or if some new fillers have been added, or if the pig thyroid is being processed differently. My main concern is that my symptoms became much more pronounced within days of taking it, to the point where I could not function at 20% of my prior activity level. Also, the medicine seemed to be very uneven in consistency, I had several pills that almost made me feel like I was speeding, while 95% of the other ones put me in bed. TSH, which had been in the normal range for 11 years, plummeted to the edge of 0."

• aka...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 20, 2021

For Underactive Thyroid "Last week, my pharmacy gave me NP Thyroid instead of regularly prescribed Armour Thyroid. At first, I noticed the strong smell and taste of mildew/cat wee. I checked the label on my prescription and noticed it wasn’t Armour. A week into taking this, I noticed my body aching and heart palpitations. Then my heart started pounding, and I got all jittery. My hands and knees were shaking, and I felt weak with a headache and brain fog. I called my pharmacist, and after talking to them, they exchanged that medication for my regular Armour. After looking into this medication, I found out it has been recalled multiple times, and my symptoms were identical to other multiple people's reviews. Please do not take this medicine. It is terrible."

• Sel...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 20, 2019

For Hashimoto's disease "This medication has done wonders for me, good and bad. My energy level went up, and I lost a ton of weight. I’m actually underweight now. But over the past month, my mental health has suffered greatly. I’m so depressed and anxiety-ridden. I blow up over everything and just feel utterly hopeless. It’s scary how much I don’t care about anything anymore. Is there anyone else that feels this way? I honestly don’t know if it’s my regular life stress or this medication."

• gui...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 8, 2022

For Hashimoto's disease "Today is Sept 8 of 2022, I have had them all from expensive Tirosint SOL to pathetic Synthroid generics. They all have terrible side effects that I can't handle. Lately, I've been a guinea pig to Armour Thyroid for the past year and guess what? I've been pushed to see a psychiatrist because of the anxiety, depression, insomnia, and panic attacks it's caused me. I was fine on NP Thyroid for 2 years before the big distributors and politicians decided to stick their greedy hands in what did not involve THEIR own health. Ever since the 2020 downfall, I have been forced to anti-depressants and counseling... as if 'WE' THE PATIENTS have no absolute idea what our bodies feel like after living in it for years or changing medications. And surviving COVID wasn't difficult enough. For now, I am stuck with anxiety, chest pains on and off, depression, and somewhat hair loss. If anyone knows a better remedy... please pass it on. Best of luck to everyone out there still fighting the uphill war."

• Emy...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 26, 2021

For Underactive Thyroid "Armour is sadly not working well for me! Someone needs to investigate. My labs this month (July 2021) have officially tanked. On a fairly decent dose (210 mgs) plus I still have my own thyroid. Yet my free T4 is very low at 0.90, my reverse T3 has skyrocketed to 17.5, which has never happened before, at least not since all this time I’ve been on NDTs (2014 onward). Free T3 on the lower part of the range/still not optimal at 3.0, and I am very symptomatic; hands dry, bleeding, and cracking open, 50 lb weight gain in the last year, hair falling like crazy, so hard to get up in the mornings and function, mood swings/depression/anxiety, hard to go to sleep at a decent time, which doesn’t make sense considering I’m exhausted/dozing off all day (unless this med has thrown me into some serious adrenal fatigue). That time of the month (and the leading up to it) has become a painful, emotional nightmare. Need Nature-Throid, WP, and NP thyroid to be back and consistent the way they were before :-("

• AFF...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 16, 2022

For Hashimoto's disease "What has changed with this medication? Something's seriously off since about mid-last year. Headaches, anxiety through the roof. Is there a new API supplier? What? I've taken NDT for two decades. Never experienced anything even remotely like this."

• Mpc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 29, 2020

For Underactive Thyroid "I had a total thyroidectomy 13 years ago. I was put on Synthroid, or generic versions. I only noticed some paranoia/anxiousness with those over the years. About a year ago, I started feeling like I was taking the meds for nothing, as I was tired, foggy, etc. I went to see a new doctor who prescribed Armour Thyroid and suggested '2 grains,' which is two pills. I took one to start, and it made me totally anxious. I started taking half and made myself stick with it for a week. I had been having headaches to begin with. I decided to up to one pill and have done that for about 5 days. I am totally foggy, my body aches, I’m extremely anxious. I’m not taking this anymore. I feel disconnected, like I’m not even myself. I hope to go back to my previous doctor and start back on Synthroid. I’m happy Armour helps so many people, but unfortunately, I am not one of them. ;("

• BNA...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 7, 2022

For Underactive Thyroid "Echoing the many recent negative reviews on Armour. Since mid-2021, the medicine hasn't been the same. I have had depression, anxiety, panic, and after feeling better on an older compounded med, decided to try again since I felt my own system had settled down. Big mistake. By the end of the week trial, I was non-functional. In addition, I'd had an elevation of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies which I've never had before in my 26-year history as a thyroid patient. I have reported my issues to the FDA and talked to them at length, but told them many patients need NDT, but we need it to be safe, reliable, and effective. Encourage everyone having problems or an interest to do the same."

• Jul...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 3, 2016

For Hashimoto's disease "I've been taking levothyroxine for 15 years or so, and I just felt that it had become stagnant after all those years. I started taking Armour and it was fine for the first 2 to 3 years. Then I noticed that I have been having anxiety, trouble sleeping, and I just overall feel like I'm hyperthyroid. Blood levels are fine, but we just thought I needed to adjust my dose. A couple of months ago, I started breaking out in random hives, allergy tests came back negative. However, it is not every day. Because of the hyperthyroid feeling, I stopped taking it for a week and felt fine. I started back on it, same feeling. I also have started getting a humming in my ears and want to know if anyone else has experienced this before I see an ENT."

• Lau...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 9, 2022

For Hashimoto's disease "What happened and what helped. Was prescribed Armour for Hashimoto's. Before diagnosis, I was constantly exhausted, gained 10 lbs in a short time, and experienced anxiety. On Armour, I experienced severe anxiety attacks and nightly insomnia. Took myself off of it. Removed gluten, dairy, alcohol, and caffeine from diet immediately. I also removed kale and Brussels sprouts, as I found irritation towards Hashimoto's. Incorporated fish 2x per week as well as real whole foods as close to their original form (really started to cook!). For supplements, I took with breakfast: multivitamin powder, curcumin, D3K2, selenium (my multivitamin only provided a small amount). In the evening with dinner, I took my omegas if I did not consume fish, as well as my probiotics (I have a Garden of Life 100 billion strain with sleep herbs in them). 100% turnaround. Within 6 weeks, an absolute change in everything. No anxiety. Weight dropped. Sleeping all night. It takes time but worth the investment in change."

• Jam...
• August 24, 2016

For Hashimoto's disease "Was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease several years ago. My doctor prescribed step increased doses of Synthroid. I felt increasingly worse with feelings of anxiousness and insomnia. I changed doctors, and my new doctor prescribed Armour. After one dose adjustment, my TSH numbers were good, and I felt great. That was eight years ago. I still feel great and would not use synthetic TSH. So glad some doctors understand Armour works better for some patients."