Armour thyroid is dessicated porcine (pig) thyroid extract.  It's an old
remedy for hypothyroidism and predates the current FDA drug
evaluation process.  It even appears in the 1881 Merck Manual, though not
under any brand name.  It contains both T3 and T4 as well as amoung other
things peptides and proteins extractable from the thyroid gland.  Some of
these proteins/peptides bind to T3 and T4.

In Mary Shomon's about.thyroid site there was (is) an advertizement for
porcine or bovine (cow) thyroid extract put out by Nutri-Meds in California
whose web address can be found a search engine.  The pills, available
without prescription,  are light tan just like Armour (not unexpected) and
contain raw thyroid extract 130 mg.  They are the same size as Armour.  The
contents of T3 and T4 are not given or available.  It is possible to make
some comparison by contacting Armour's current distributer (I don't know the
name) to get the weight specifics on Armour in various sizes.  At best a
crude comparison.

Perhaps some participants of this forum have more specific information and
comparisons

In taking any thyroid replacement medication one starts with a lower dosage,
wait 4 weeks, get clinical evaluation and full thyroid panel.  If still
hypothyroid  increase dose by 10-14% slowly, waiting another 4 weeks, etc.
The idea is to avoid shocking the system, no matter how hypothyroid to begin
with, with too large an increment of thyroid replacement, especially
replacement that contains T3.  One must be brought up gradually.

T3 and T4 are the same entities whether synthetic or "natural".  T3 and T4
are after all natural products.  The major difference between thyroid
extract is
quality control in terms of amounts of T3 and T4.  Similar quality control
in amounts in the synthetic T3 and T4 also occurs due to occassional poor
quality control in the factory, something that has occurred with T4
medications.
The other difference between synthetic and
"natural" product is the other components in the raw thyroid extract such as
mucopolysaccharides, peptides, and proteins.  The latter can affect the
nature of the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of T3 or T4.  Ultimately
T4 and T3 are available to one's system..

From: "Andrea Briand" <[log in to unmask]>
 I am not certain I like the choice of thyroid
> medications available in Canada...hence my dilema.  I am curious; is this
> Bio-thyroid a 'natural' supplement, similar to Armour?  If so, is it only
> available in Europe, or could it be prescribed in Canada?  Also, I would
be> concerned about taking "too much" if a dosage were not suggested by a
> doctor.

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