With so many mergers and acquisitions these days, it’s really hard to keep up. Well, thank goodness my holistic naturopath keeps up.
For those who are not familiar, naturopathy is a form of alternative medicine using natural treatments like homeopathy, herbalism, and acupuncture, as well as nutrition and lifestyle counseling.
Now that we’re all on the same page, let me tell you what happened to me.
About three months ago, I suddenly developed this dry cough. It was like my mouth was suddenly drying out, all day long. It was so annoying, especially to my coworkers who told me “go to the doctor, something is wrong with you.”
Because I don’t really have a regular doctor, I made an appointment with my naturopath, Lisa.
She was testing me for various things, checking my blood work, etc. And then she asked me what seemed like a random question.
“Do you take Armour Thyroid?”
Like many people, I developed an underactive thyroid quite a few years ago. And like my mother and one of my daughters, I take thyroid medicine daily.
Well, I do take Armour Thyroid. And, as it turns out, the company that had manufactured the Armour for years (Forest Laboratories) was sold to another drug company (Activis) in July 2014. According to its website, the company continues to “operate in a usual manner.”
But according to Lisa, many of her patients had become intolerant (aka allergic) to Armour since the change in ownership. So, she tested me and sure enough, it appears as if the formula had been changed, as I now was allergic to it. We suspect that they changed the inactive ingredients.
So, how many times do you think that has happened to you? You get your prescription refilled and they offer you the “generic” version. Or you notice that the manufacturer name has changed on your bottle? Have you ever thought of why a generic version of a drug might be cheaper to purchase? Since the FDA does not require generic drugs to contain the same inactive ingredients as the brand name product—only the active ingredients—my guess is that they use cheaper (and possibly inferior) inactive ingredients.
That’s why I have stopped allowing my pharmacy to give me any generics. I want the real thing.
And, by the way, the day I stopped taking Armour Thyroid and switched to Nature-Throid, my cough stopped. As quickly as the coughing started, that’s how fast it stopped. And my skin, which had also become very dry, went back to normal.
Maybe we all need to start reading those labels and those inserts (with the small type) they give us when we pick up our prescriptions more carefully.
And now you know!
Karen