Are all brands of Levothyroxine as good as each other? I take 125mgs of Levothyroxine, the 100mgs is usually Mercury, but the 25mgs this time is from a Company called Wockhardt, has anyone else had these tablets. They look a lot smaller than the usual mercury ones.
My surgery has an attached pharmacy which make up the prescription for you, I think maybe Wockhardt might be a cheap alternative!
I have not been feeling that well for the past week or so, I just wondered if the Wockhardt levo is to blame, or just a coincidencex
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dylansmum
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All 25 microgram tablets available in the UK are either Mercury Pharma or Wockhardt.
I doubt the price difference is very great.
People vary in their reactions to the three different formulations of levothyroxine in the UK. Some feel no difference, others feel better/worse on one rather than another.
If you continue to believe that the tablets are to blame, you should consider sending in a Yellow Card report.
When it comes to prices, reality can be very different to how you might think.
In the USA, the second to top brand, Levoxyl, has been withdrawn from the market until next year. So everyone who took it has had to change. One person I am in contact with has switched from this expensive "brand" to the cheapest "generic" from Mylan. And she says:
I'm sort of glad I was forced to go off Levoxyl though - I think the generic levothyroxine is easier to digest. Probably should have looked into it years ago.
What suits one person may not suit another. We've had people who *only* do well on Wockhardt and actually have their whole script filled with 25mcg Wockhardt tablets.
If I were you, I'd tell the pharmacy to only give you Mercury from now on. That way you will know that how you feel is not because you have a mixed batch of levo tablets. If the pharmacy won't co-operate with this request, then you can in theory take your custom elsewhere. You're not obliged to use a particular pharmacy simply because it's attached to your surgery.
I took 100mcg mercury plus alternating 25/ 2 x 25 wockhardt for 6 weeks. Just because the wockhardt had rubbish dates so I thought I would use them first.
It took me ages to work out why I felt so rubbish, when I had been improving for the past 3 months on my vit D and B12 supplements and all the advice from this site about taking away from food etc.
Then I sussed it and switched back to all Mercury and am slowly recovering.
I told the pharmacist this and he was surprised. He said that he expected the German tabs to be the best.
Unfortunately he only had one mercury 25mcg in stock, all the rest were wockhardt!!
Mercury (AMCo) is owned by a European private equity firm. I believe they contract out the manufacturing of their levothyroxine tablets to a UK company called Custom pharma, located in Hove. I believe most of Mercury's other products are manufacturered in India.
Wockhardt is based in Mumbai, India. It is one of India's leading pharmaceutical manufacturers. It has numerous facilities in India, Europe and the United States.
Indian pharmaceutical companies generally perform relatively little research into new medicines, but their manufacturing facilities are vast and technically advanced.
Wockhardt levothyroxine has a manufacturer of CP Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Wrexham identified on the Patient Information Leaflet. Which is Wockhardt's own address.
It is not clear to me whether the tablets are actually made there, or just that the company's offices are there.
Wockhardt became a major name in the UK generics market when they acquired CP pharmaceuticals in 2003. The process of rebranding the old (grotty looking) CP packs as substantially more attractive Wockhardt packs then began. Does this sound familiar?! CP packaging was particularly vile - we should perhaps be thankful.
>It is not clear to me whether the tablets are actually made there, or just that the company's offices are there
I don't know either. The actual site of most pharmaceutical company's manufacturing is very difficult to fathom. It is indeed the norm to state the address of the UK Head Office on the leaflet.
• in reply to
They certainly used to make medicines at CP, Wrexham. Having said that, most manufacturing has gone abroad already!
The brands are all different they must be as i have had generic ones before and came out with a rash all over my body it was like a pox over my upper body only. I was then put on the best ones which were goldshield branded ones, and after reading in the directory given to all doctors that explains the composition of each tablet and cost, the goldshield tablet of 100 mcg cost 1 pound sterling so a box of those was expensive and you didnt want to drop one. The unbranded levo from mercury pharma for me is still hard to get and had to travel to get it delivered in boots chemist but got it today and feel better don't have the awful headaches or hot and cold fevers i had on the branded levo actavis which most chemists are stocking.So for me. I do believe they are all different and its down not only to the disclosed ingredients but also the undisclosed binding ingredient they use in the tablets that affects people.
I have a similar problem with Wockhart and could not get on at all well with Actavis.
My local chemist promised to get Mercury for me and they do for the 50s but still giving me Wockhart for the 25s. I will have to ask for the Mercury 25s. (for some strange reason my doctor will not prescribe 100s)
I find the pricing of a medication which has been in use for so long ridiculous. Any research costs have been recovered donkey's years ago. They probably cost less than a penny a tablet to manufacture.
Most pharmaceutical wholesalers sell the goldshield unbranded product (now called mercury) for about £1.20 per box of 28. There is no levothyroxine sold at £1 per tablet in the uk. Branded eltroxin packs (also mercury) used to cost £1 *per box of 28*a few years ago, this is no doubt the price you have seen. The cost of eltroxin is now £1.70 per box for all strengths.
The mercury, Actavis and wockhardt products have some different ingredients apart from the levothyroxine itself. There is no difference whatsoever between the tablets present in packs marked goldshield, mercury and eltroxin.
Pharmaceuticals sold in the uk do not contain any undeclared ingredients. That would be highly illegal.
if you felt better of mercury pharma levo then tell your doctor the wockhardt ones are making you ill and your body is taking an allergic reaction to them. I think they are the ones i had problems with and came out in a terrible and odd looking rash,
I had problems a few years ago with the 25 wockhardt - it has been discussed on this site before. My sister has no problems with it. I now have a mercury or any 50 ordered and just bite off a half.
Funnily enough I have been using a 25 wockhardt for the last 3 weeks and not felt great, headaches recently, but took a half a 50 mercury - I think. Woke up with an even worse headache and feeling mush all day today arms and toes even hurt. But saying that maybe its just my usual migraine headache - nothing to do with levo-thyroxine.
I was also on the dodgy t3 batch so not sure what is what at the moment.
well the main thing is to get your exact level right, you have to be sure you need 125, because if its too much you can suffer hypo problems , and the brand has to suit you , i take mercury & have been good on that
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