Again...from Mary Shomon's newsletter:
Perhaps one of the most common fallacies doctors regularly repeat is that Synthroid is the only treatment for hypothyroidism. Actually, Synthroid is a brand name for the drug "levothyroxine" -- a synthetic form of the thyroid hormone thyroxine, also known as T4.
Synthroid happens to be the top-selling levothyroxine drug -- primarily due to its marketing influence on physicians and their organizations, as well as relationships with distributors and insurers. Synthroid, however, is almost always the most expensive levothyroxine. Other brands, considered equally effective by many practitioners, and almost always less expensive, include Levoxyl, Levothroid, and Unithroid. Some patients find that they respond best to a one brand -- not necessarily Synthroid -- due to the way that brand dissolves and is absorbed, or the fillers and dyes used by the different manufacturers.
In addition to the levothyroxine drugs, there is also liotrix, the generic name for the brand name drug Thyrolar. Thyrolar is levothyroxine and liothyronine (the synthetic form of the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine, or T3). The addition of the T3 to this drug makes it an optimal drug for some thyroid patients who need that additional hormone in order to resolve symptoms and feel well. Liothyronine is also available as a separate prescription pill, known by its brand name Cytomel.
Finally, there is the category of prescription drugs known as natural thyroid. Don't mistake these with over-the-counter glandular thyroid supplements -- they are not the same. Prescription natural desiccated thyroid -- the primary brand being Armour Thyroid, but also available are Biotech and Nature-throid -- is made from the dried thyroid gland of pigs. It includes natural T4 and T3, plus other less understood thyroid hormones including T2, T1. Some practitioners, and in particular holistic, integrative and natural health experts, find that natural thyroid is optimal for some patients.
http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroidbasicsthyroid101/a/5lies_2.htm
Calley7
