Desiccated Thyroid References

For an introduction to desiccated thyroid, see Desiccated Thyroid. Links to the Desiccated Thyroid References pages are in the column at the right on this and every page in this section.

See also T3 References and TSH References.

Desiccated thyroid references highlights

• 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 is dramatic.

A little background

Desiccated thyroid, or thyroid extract, contains both T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine) 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 is natural, it can't be patented, while synthetic medications can be patented, and therefore pharmaceutical companies can charge more for them.

The best-known brand name of desiccated thyroid is Armour.

Until around 1970, the hormone concentrations of thyroid medications were titrated 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 — 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.

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