I have self-treated many times with natural dessicated thyroid (armour) and with vitamin b12 shots, I was forced to several years ago when my Dr. refused to prescribe it to me (the b12) and even after explaining I would do myself. I ordered from a pharmacy in Vancouver, Canada and since there it was sold over-the-counter no prescription was required. That was in 2007 so I don't know if they would still offer that now, I only did the injections for a year to boost my levels, (then I just took the sublinguals I bought at a local health food store, worked equally as well as the shots) which were so bad ithere were days I could not go to work. My Dr. did give me a script for armour in 2006, however I still ordered from an overseas pharmacy just in case he wouldn't give it to me again and that way I would have a back up supply. The result? It was exactly natural dessicated thyroid (armour) and I had. I never told him, either. Luckily, he continued to give me scripts for it so I did not need to order anymore. I must add that no prescription was needed for the armour that I got from overseas, that is probably because in other countries its considered a "thyroid supplemental"? I'm not sure of that but I came to that conclusion. As far as the injectable b12 is concerned I must say it worked quite well for me, boosted my levels, and I had absolutely NO bad after effects.
I donot recommend self-treating initially, I still think working with your Dr. (Or trying to find a good one who will listen to you) is the best route to go, however I know first hand about drs who pretend to be deaf as an excuse to not prescribe you what your body needs, so with that there is nothing wrong with it, just use caution.