Dear friends, where do I buy Armour Thyroid (natural desiccated thyroid) medication in Switzerland? Preferably anywhere near Geneva/Vaud location generally.

I have a prescription for Armour from the U.S. but I need to also find it here before I run out of my stash. Also, I need the name of a doctor who can prescribe it for me, if anyone has recommendations. I'm willing to drive. My location is Nyon (so I'm ok with driving into France if I have to). I know most doctors just prescribe T4/levo, but this does NOT work for me. I really do need Armour.

I don't care what type of doctor (natural, holistic, family practice, endocrinologist, functional medicine doctor, etc doesn't matter).

not all the pharmaceutical products exist in all of the countries - in Switzerland the product seems not be commercialized. I checked the swissmedic database, and nothing appears under that brand name.

The APIs from Armor (Levothyroxinum natricum and Liothyroninum natricum). are contained in another Rx product existing here in Swiss, called Novothyral, but you will need a Rx for the product, as it might be that the titration is different....

Best of luck!

Register with a GP and then take it from there. They'll want to do their own examination and decide what's best for you if that medication isn't available here.

Thanks for the reply. Is there an alternative to Armour that is the actual desiccated animal thyroid? I mean desiccated, not synthetic. The Armour brand I take has more than just T3 and T4 in it, since it's a natural animal product there is some T1 and minerals in there too which have been helping me.

Thank you for the reply. Do GPs in Switzerland normally do a full thyroid panel? I mean T3, T4, Reverse T3, and antibodies for Hoshimotos? in the United States, many doctors only check TSH and do not care about the other numbers or symptoms. Mostly T4 only is prescribed. I had to go to a functional medicine doctor here (who is also an MD, but checks more hormones and vitamins) who would do all full panel and prescribed the Armour.

I’d suggest you attempt to find a thyroid specialist and contact them for an appointment, You do not need to be referred by a GP.

https://en.comparis.ch/gesundheit/arzt/kanton-waadt could be a start.

I have Hashi since a few decades. I think the very best for you is to first go to a GP and get a referal to an Endocrinologist. This is if you have basic insurance, if you are semi-private or private, you can go directly to an Endo.

And yes, re blood tests, they (at least mine always did) will check ALL the thyro relevant things in your blood.

I am on Euthyrox and supplement Vit. D/ all B's etc separately.

Whether you need a GP referral or not will depend on the insurance model.

I moved from the US back in October and was taking NP Thyroid (also naturally dessicated like Armour) when I arrived. I saw a GP first who put me on Levothyroxine (T4). She then referred me to an endocrinologist at the Hormon Zentrum in Zurich. He ended up adding Liothyronine (T3) to my prescription after a couple of appointments. He also changed my T4 to Tirosint after I asked for a change. There are less fillers in Tirosint so I thought it might work better for me (I have only been taking it for 30 days). According to this doctor, Armour is not really natural and Switzerland does not have an equivalent. I have heard through the grapevine that Germany may have Armour. The other option might be to have your meds compounded, but I don't know if that is available here.

Just as an FYI:

While it's true that with a traditional (that is, not an HMO/Telmed model) you are not required to have a referral in terms of the insurance covering the visit, nonetheless some specialists will not see a patient without a GP referral regardless of the insurance model.

The three endocrinologists I have seen here structure their practices that way. They are too busy to take on new patients who do not come with a referral.

Another reason to go to a GP first: If there is an urgent need, a GP can sometimes help to get an appointment more quickly than if you make the appointment on your own.

(FYI, at my endocrinologist's practice the wait for a routine appointment is usually 4 months or so.)

---

ETA:

Talk to the endocrinologist and ask what tests he or she would recommend. If you are concerned that a full panel is needed and not being offered, ask why or why not. It's a dialogue.

---

Hope you find the care you need.

I had a prescription for Armour Thyroid when I moved to CH and I have managed to get a local prescription and all relevant labs through GP and endocrinologist. In my case I needed to explain how I have been treated so far and why levothyroxine does not work for me. You cannot get Armour from any pharmacy but ordering it via an international pharmacy (such as Victoria Pharmacy Zurich) is easy. The main issue is that Armour or any similar desiccated thryroid extracts are not understood here. I haven't so far found a doctor who would be able to really support with adjusting dose etc. Secondly, the insurance does not seem to cover Armour Thryoid, even if you have the supplementary plan which should covered wider selection than the basic insurance. I have hear that the supplementary insurance could possibly cover part of the costs but haven't managed to get anything covered so far.