Disappearance of Eltroxin tablets

[Jumeirah]

I have been taking 125mcg Eltroxin for some time and have felt very well, which was in sharp contrast to a few years ago when I was given Teva thyroxine.; my TSH shot up to 45 and I felt so unwell. After a month on Eltroxin my TSH returned to normal. Incidently, Teva had their licence revoked for the manufacture of thyroxine...I was informed that there was a problem with the incipients of the drug(the bulking out agent). Since Mercury Pharma stopped manufacturing Eltroxin tablets I was given a mix of medication from Wockhardt, Actavis and Goldshield and soon developed symptoms like fast heart/pulse and feeling like I was going to faint. I am at a loss as to why companies stop manufacturing tablets that people rely on. I have contacted Murcury Pharma and asked when they are going to resume manufacturing Eltroxin tablets and they just say they don't know. Maybe we should all look more closely at the insipients in thyroxine with different manufacturers because everyone's tolerance may be different and this can affect the absorption of thyroxine.

[Parbrook]

Mixing different brands of Levothyroxine is not recommended, as they can have different binders & fillers.

Some people on this forum have allergic reactions on a specific brand.

Better to use a single brand and cut the tablets, if needed.

[nightingale-56]

Is it because our NHS/Government/or whoever won't pay for Eltroxin and maybe AMCo have taken it away from UK in spite? Janet.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to nightingale-56]

I don't think so.

Although the numbers of prescriptions for Eltroxin that have been processed are low, and maybe unrepresentative, in November 2013 the cost of 50 and 100 mcg Eltroxin is almost identical to non-Eltroxin products. And 25mcg Eltroxin was £2.59 against £40.1 for non-Eltroxin.

(The term "non-Eltroxin" could, possibly, include Eltroxin when dispensed against a prescription that says "levothyroxine". I simply do not know enough about how the prices are calculated to be sure of this.)

Rod

[Moggie]

That's why I now buy my own levo (with a lot less fillers) from a German site - I pay £3 a week and think it is well worth it to be feeling so well.

Like you I did so well on Eltroxin, and again like you I was palmed off with all sorts of other brands and ended up with heart palps etc, but I am now very stable on Aliud.

Moggie x

[veronicahoward in reply to Moggie]

Maggie, Could you give the address or website of your German suppliers?

[Bix66]

I am on liquid Eltroxin (due to allergy to excipients in tablets) and my pharmacist has had a terrible job sourcing it for me recently. He was then able to get me teva brand liquid (didn;t know they made it) then my last prescription I got bottles in the same packaging as Eltroxin but it was just labelled 'levothyroxine' and although he was able to get the 100 microgram strength this time there was no 25 microgram available! He has told me that it is impossible to get anyone on the phone from MercuryPharma (now AMCo) and that if you do get anyone they are very vague and wont give a straight answer about whether Eltroxin has been discontinued. I have found the same whenever I have treid to phone or email them.

On a related, but non-thyroxine related note, a friend of mine was in hospital last week for an operation, was prepared for theatre, then the consultant came in and told her they could not in fact perfom the op as the drugs needed had been discontinued! My point is - dont these pharmaceutical companies have ANY sense of responsibility for their users. If a doctor behaved in this random and unhelpful way would s/he not be up for disciplinary action?! Yet pharmas, who doctors and patients rely on for treatment, can behave in this really unhelpful and in fact damaging way! Do we have any recourse here? - just a thought!!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Bix66]

The non-availability of Eltroxin liquid is reported here:

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/news.h...

Rod

[veronicahoward in reply to Bix66]

If you google Customs in Sussex you will get a telephone number and when I rang them they told me that they were still manufacturing Eltroxin and they were contracting to the pharmaceutical companies. They also told me that Amdipharma (name change from `Mercurypharma) hold the licence, therefore, you are completely right and I believe this company are breaching the 'Trading in Medicines' regulations (you can google this and see the law on it). If enough people bombard their M.P. perhaps there will be something done to reinstate Eltroxin. It is all, of course, about greedy commercial interest and to hell with patient care.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Am actually not in the least clear that the Eltroxin tablets being supplied to the Irish market isn't the exact same stuff, made in the same factories as the used-to-be-available-in-the-UK Eltroxin.

Which, if I am right, makes all the non-availability even more perplexing.

Rod

[veronicahoward]

Hi, Mercury Pharma or Amdipharm Mercury (later renamed) here the whiolesale distributors of Eltroxin, not the manufacturers. The manufacturers are Customs in Sussex. You can google them. They sent me an e mail informing me that they were still manufacturing Eltroxin and the distributors were responsible for the shortage. I then wrote back to them asking if I could buy it privately from them but have had no reply. I have had questions in both Houses of Parliament about this and they are all singing the same tune. After nearly 40 years on Eltroxin with superb health my doctor has shunted me on to levothyroxine and for the first time in years I am getting adverse effects. I have told the GP that I will not take a blood test until my original prescription is reinstated. Something very sinister is going on with the pharmaceutical companies and it is causing mayhem, however, the more people who complain to their M.P.'s (thereby creating a huge deluge) perhaps we can bring the culprits to book.