Anonymous
Synthroid has been around for a long, long time. It pre-existed the FDA. So, when the FDA was mandated to provide evidence of the safety of drugs in the US market, in 1938 or so, Synthroid, and other drugs on the market at the time , were “grand-fathered” in. In other words, they were not required to prove that they did what they said they would, or that they were safe. For some reason, some people a few years ago took that “grand-fathering” to mean that Synthroid — and the other T4 replacement hormones — were not safe. Not that they have been proven unsafe> No. But because they had not been subjected to the same tests as other drugs on the market, and had not been proven safe and effective, that people should not take them. I truly do not understand the logic of this group. T4 thyroid replacement hormones had been used for a long, long time and kept folks alive and healthy. Nevertheless. What is important is that the manufacturers decided to meet the challenge, and as of October, 2002, all of the brand named thyroid replacement hormones (and, by extention, the generics) had met the criteria for FDA approval. I had thought that would be the end of the argument. Guess not.
I do not know what, specifically, if anything, is going on at the current time, or why you heard about a recall, Kim. It is always conceivable that a specific batch of a product, any product, might be recalled — but I know nothing about this, at this point in time. Rest assured, that your pharmacy would not be filling a prescription from a recalled product. But if you have fears, please call the pharmacist to find out for sure.
Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator