Today I engaged my hairdresser in an interesting conversation about thyroid disease. She stopped the blow dryer and shared her very indepth knowledge about hair – healthy hair and unhealthy hair.
Every day, all day long she works on someone’s hair. It is incredible the knowledge she has. Four weeks ago when I saw her, I was so distressed about my hair. It was falling out like dead leaves from a tree on a fall day. Previously, I was ecstatic about my hair. After starting on the Armour thyroid, my hair was becoming thicker, shiny, and full of life. What a change, and how exciting!
Then the FDA (and pharmaceutical companies?) made such restrictions on the natural thyroid supplement companies, that they had to shut down their operations. When my prescription ran out, I could no longer get my natural thyroid supplement. It was back to the synthetics. Any correlation to the changes in my hair texture?
My hairdresser told me the story of one of her clients. This client was on some sort of thyroid medication. My hairdresser kept telling her that something was not right with her thyroid. Her hair did not grow. It was dry and unhealthy appearing. At her urging, the client finally went to her doctor, and her prescription was changed. Shortly thereafter, her hair “started growing like crazy.”
Thyroid imbalance shows up in the hair, skin and nails. My ND recommended that I start applying “Biosilk” to my hair and to take “Hair, Skin, and Nails” supplement. My NP friend told me an active ingredient in “Hair, Skin, and Nails” is Biotin, which some health care providers use for hair loss.
My hair is limping along this month. My prescription has been changed to different synthetics, trying to find something that attempts to match where I was on the Armour thyroid. My prayer is that the natural supplement companies can overcome the restrictions placed upon them by the FDA.
It is unbelievable what gets endorsed in this country. Please pray for the good to prevail in the end.
Only the 2 generic manufacturers were closed down.
The 2 American name-brand natural thyroid meds, Armour and Naturethroid (AKA Westhroid) were not affected by the FDA’s actions; however, both companies have had production problems, limiting supply.
Rather than continue on the synthetics, which are apparently not working for you, you can use your Armour prescription to get the Canadian equivalent “Erfa Thyroid” from an online pharmacy.
I recommend the following links to both you and your ND for excellent information about the drug shortages and different alternatives available to patients.
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2009/11/06/how-are-you-doing/
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/options-for-thyroid-treatment/