I know there was an issue regarding being able to obtain Eltroxin (beginning of the year) but I was advised yesterday that it isn't being produced at all any more. Has anyone else been told this please?
Many thanks
Liz
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Yep I have been told the same this week so Boots are trying to get the generic brand made by Mercury Pharma for me, which apparently is supposed to be exactly the same as Eltroxin but, as yet, they have not been able to get that either. The beauty of using Boots is that they can put in a special order for you but your script needs to say "Levothyroxine" and not Eltroxin and also must state "Mercury Pharma".
Hope this helps.
Moggie x
Thank you Moggie. My prescription read Mercury Pharma, but was still advised that he company has stopped production (this was yesterday) Another chemist said the same; perhaps I'll try to contact my Endocrinologist see if he can help/advise? If I do then I will update on this site. So disappointed, I was feeling loads better - had to use Levothyroxine for a while and could definitely feel the difference - not good, ho hum. Thanks again, Liz
Hi i used to be on eltroxin but cannot get hold of it at all, im now on mercury pharma and i get mine from Asda but i also ring them beforehand and ask if they have it in before i take my prescription in x
Liz, Eltroxin *is* levothyroxine. The ingredients are the same regardless of whether the name on the box says Eltroxin or MercuryPharma. Anyone who has a PIL from both products will see that, but for those that don't have the PILs to compare, the info is on the main Thyroid UK website here:
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...
Click the first purple bar that says UK - Synthetic Levothyroxine (T4) Tablets
Thank you for your response's - however what I can't understand is why the Endo changed my medication from Levothyroxine to Eltroxin, if they are identical? I get soooo confused with this at times....x
Eltroxin is one 'brand name' of levothyroxine. Your endo obviously wanted to specify that your pharmacist should only give you that make of levothyroxine rather than any other make of levothyroxine, such as Actavis or Wockhardt for example.
What your endo will most probably not have been aware of at the time, was that the company that make the Eltroxin brand, also supply the exact same tablets without the Eltroxin name on the box. These levothyroxine tablets will have the name MercuryPharma on the box instead.
See the post below from 'juliahayden', where she has copied and pasted the email repsponses from the company.
So, if the levothyroxine tablets that you have at the moment say MercuryPharma on the box, then they are the same as Eltroxin.
However, if the box says Actavis or Wockhardt, then these tablets will still contain the same active ingredient (i.e. levothyroxine), but they will have been made by a different company and have different excipients (i.e. non-active ingredients).
Some people don't notice any difference in how they feel, regardless of the name on the box, but some people very definitely find that one make of levothyroxine suits them better than another.
Edo- and Thyroxine are generics of pharmacological prescription, as I understand. Same thyroid diagnosis.
There really is no need to get in touch with your endo, just phone your local Boots and ask for the generic levothyroxine made by Mercury Pharma. A few people on here get there's from Boots so they know its about. I did all my explaining to the Boots pharmacist over the phone so you don't even have to go there in person, only when you have to pick up the tablets.
My local Boots has just rung me back to say they have got it in for me.
Moggie x
Response: Ask Thyroxine - medically/clinically - and probably pharmeceutically - much the same. Mainly for regulaying thyroid neurochemicals to the body system, but vital for general metabolic functions. Can have huge impact on 'well-being'. Do ask relevant doctor.
MercuryPharama levothyroxine is still available, although the tablets in the Eltroxin branded box are not. This has been going on for a long time now, and there is no excuse for pharmacies not to know that they can supply the MercuryPharma generic in place of the Eltroxin branded tablets. MercuryPharma have repeatedly assured us all that the tablets are identical, and it's only the box packaging that is different.
If you have any doubts at all about the availability, you could contact the company directly. Here's a link to their page explaining about Eltroxin shortage. Contact details are also there, so do email or phone them to get the story straight from the horses mouth if you feel the need to. they are used to thyroid patients contacting them about this problem!
amcolimited.com/news/evothy...
Hi I have an issue with this. I have had an under active Thyroid for about 20 years and had regular blood tests and taken various doses. I was taking the brand Eltoxin and getting on really well. A few months ago the brand was changed (or packaging as I was told. Now have bad symptoms, dizziness, hot and cold sweats, more frequent headaches. So I do feel I am told incorrect information about the product. I will be contacting the company directly. Thanks for the link. Regards
Hi Sheria, sorry you are also having problems with this medication. You are not alone in this 
My suspicion is that although MercuryPharma assure us that the ingredients have not been changed, they have somehow changed the formulation of their levothyroxine, (perhaps as a result of the Teva levothyroxine report last year - see here for info thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/news.h... )
The medication seems to have the effect of being stronger for some people. I know someone who recently had to reduce their dose from 100mcg to 75mcg whilst taking the MercuryPharma, and then had to increase back up to 100mcg when they switched back to Actavis.
Please do contact MercuryPharma about your problems, and let us know what reply you receive.
You may also like to put in a Yellow Card to report your experience yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/
And if you haven't done so already, you could contact your GP to ask for a thyroid blood test to check your levels because the symptoms you describe could suggest possible over-medication.
I felt exactly the same despite reports and acknowledgments that the product was identical. Then my last prescription was changed again to Activas....I really had just given up by then, fed up with being patronised so thought oh to hell with it, will just take this brand. Know what? Feel good....!! Now explain that one to me!!
I think that when they stopped putting the product out as Eltroxin, they also changed something about how the medication behaves (the word dissolution is in my mind, as this was the issue with Teva).
Hence, even when (or if) they package it as Eltroxin again, it will now not be like the previous Eltroxin, but the same as the MercuryPharma packaged tablets.
Bingo! mercury Pharma with acacia powder? never felt worse. having tests for cancer (gastric problems, cold, confused, headaches you name it) now, after 20 years of good symptomatic control. Last test showed my thyroid had become overactive, only thing that's changed? The brand name, shouldn't matter should it?!!!
Gone back to Activas myself, I'll either have stomach cancer, gastroscope planned, or not! Will keep you posted.
Glad you feel better
Captiva x
I commented on another question that was something like this one, saying that on the bottom of the PIL for Mercury Pharma Levothyroxine the manufacturer was not Mercury Pharma but Custom .Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Mercury Pharmaceuticals (or possibly now Amdipharm ?) are quoted as being the Marketing Authorisation Holder. I wonder what is going on with our thyroid meds? Janet.
The leaflet I have was last revised in March 2012. Janet.
I have been saying that I get confused......now even more so!! Hah x
Nothing has changed, this is exactly as it has always been (well certainly in the eight years that I have been looking into this 
)
Custom Pharmaceuticals have been the manufacturer (i.e. the factory), with the marketing authorisationation holder first being called Goldshield, then renamed to MercuryPharma and now to AmdiPharm.
It's really no different to buying a can of baked beans that says Sainsbury on it. Sainsbury is unlikely to have actually manufactured the contents, they just put their name on the tin and sell it to us.
Thanks for putting me straight Red Apple. Just show how much attention I have been paying to the smallprint! Janet.
Thank you for contacting Amdipharm Mercury Company (AMCo) Medical Information department.
We hold the license for a number of generic and branded products. The generic levothyroxine tablets are manufactured in the same way as Eltroxin however they are subject to different packaging requirements based on their license. The various costs involved in maintaining several licenses can affect the price of any given product and ultimately this is a commercial decision.
I am sure you can appreciate the extensive process involved in producing medicines for human consumption and hope that you can understand that we take our duties very seriously.
I hope this information is useful.
On 15 March 2013, the Amdipharm and Mercury Pharma groups of companies (including their Antigen, Anpharm, Forley and Goldshield affiliates) merged to create the new international speciality medicines company, Amdipharm Mercury Company Limited. This merger will allow us to further improve the service we offer to partners and patients, and to make our combined product portfolios available to a larger number of patients. However, rest assured that there have been no changes to the manufacturing formulation, strength or pack sizes of any of our medicines, nor to any of our legal and regulatory duties.
Thank you for contacting Amdipharm Mercury Company (AMCo) Medical Information department. I understand you have requested information on the difference between Eltroxin (levothyroxine) tablets and the generic levothyroxine tablets, manufactured by Mercury Pharma.
I can confirm that the products (of the same strengths) are produced by the same manufacturer and have identical formulations. Please see the table below for the full list of ingredients in the product.
Eltroxin 50mcg Tablets
Levothyroxine 50mcg Tablets
Levothyroxine 50 micrograms (mcg)
Levothyroxine 50 micrograms (mcg)
Sodium citrate
Sodium citrate
Lactose
Lactose
Maize Starch
Maize Starch
Powdered acacia
Powdered acacia
Magnesium stearate
Magnesium stearate
I Hope you find this information helpful
July 16 at 4:11pm
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If you read this post, and most especially the link from it to Amdipharm's document:
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
.. then you will find that what this claimed in your response was almost true - but not quite. So falls into disinformation or misinformation or both!
Rod
I have been told that ELTROXIN is temporally unavailable I have since been prescribed LEVOTHYROXIN which doesnt suit me as well. Why no more ELTROXIN
Have a careful read of these two links:
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/news.h...
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Rod
Thank you for posting this....so good to know I wasn't bonkers!!
The issues discussed are no longer current. Closing post to replies as any future issues should be raised in a new post/thread.
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