or, for fear of sounding too much like Victor Meldrew, I just don't believe it.
How simple can a medication review at the GP's be, you make an appt, you turn up at the appt, you discuss what meds you are on and at what level - in my case I informed the GP that I had reduced my T4 down to 112.5mcg's (more on that in a minute) and I again refused beta blockers. I also asked her to refer me to a gastroenterologist, as recommended by my endo, and left thinking all was o.k. How wrong was I.
Turned up last night at the chemist to collect my 28 x 100mcg's of Eltroxin and 28 x 25mcg's of Eltroxin only to find that my script had been changed to 50mcg's instead of the 25mcg's. I explain to the lady on the till that my dosage had changed and I needed 25mcg's as I was splitting them and I could not split the 50mcgs into four which then brought the pharmacist to the counter. She listen to what I had to say and then went to her computer. Within minutes she was back saying that there was no mention on my notes of a dosage change, in fact there was not mention of me ever having seen the doctor at all. To make matters worse I was then informed that there was no 25mcg's and they had been discontinued. "How about the generic Mercury Pharma brand" I asked "apparently they have exactly the same ingredient as the Eltroxin so could I have them please", the pharmacist replied that she didn't even know there was a generic made by Mercury Pharma but would find out about them for me. Unfortunately she can not obtain these so I have had to go to Boots chemist instead who are trying their hardest to get them for me. I must say that through out all this the pharmacist was brilliant, she understood why I needed the same T4 ingredient (due to heart issues) and why my endo had clearly stated that I needed to stay on the same brand due to the same issues. I am awaiting news from Boots to see if they have been successful.
I then went to my GP's to find out what the hell had happened, to find out why my notes had not been update and explain the problems this had caused at the chemist. The receptionist was as miffed as me as to why my GP had failed to enter any record of my appt and if it wasn't for the GP doing the referral I wanted I don't think she would have believed that I had actually had the appt at all.
Back to the dosage issues I am having and why twice recently I have had to reduce my T4 due to my heart playing up again. My endo did a very thorough set of bloods, which included all that my GP had refused to do (namely iron and ferritin) it was found that I had a ferritin level of 12, which as you know is far from ideal, and I was immediately started on iron supplements. Five months on my ferritin level has gone from 12 to 37 - still not ideal but getting there - which is why, I think, that I have had to reduce my T4 twice since starting iron supplements. If my thoughts, and what I have read, are correct my body is now able to utilise the T4 better as bloods are showing that my FT4 has increased from 17 to 22, my ALP levels are now in range for the first time in two years and my RBC is coming down, which makes me ask what the hell was my GP doing by refusing me a ferritin test when my bloods were clearly showing iron deficiency, it also shows me how important it is to listen to people on this site who bang on about vitamin levels and how they can effect the thyroid medication you are taking - so once again this site has proved its worth and done its job.
Sorry for the long post but this is my last for a while as harvest time is upon us and I am now getting extremely busy at work so wanted to get everything in.
Moggie x
Can I decide whether to go up on meds with only a TSH reading (GP won't do T4, T3)?
Eltroxin Supply Problems
ELTROXIN 100mg availability
Anyone else know a similar equivalent brand to Mercury Pharma?
Mercury pharma..eltroxin
