More Problems with supply of Liothyronine

[dizzy864]

I went to my pharmacist ( lincoln Tesco ) on Tuesday to collect my regular month's supply of Liothyronine.

They offered me 2/3 of my supply. When I got home I discovered that one of the bottles was batch no. 81526 - one of the one's that made me really unwell over Christmas and New year.

I returned it to the chemist - they offered me a part bottle of batch no. 81377 - the other batch that made me so ill over Christmas and New Year. I declined this and was given a credit note for the 56 tablets remaining on my Prescription.

I was told that they use three different suppliers and all are out of stock of Liothyronine and all are unable to say when stocks will become available.

The company has obviously had production problems and done what they usually do - re issue the last problem batches. These are still within their use by date but are a year old.

I am going on holiday to Stuttgart, Germany next Tuesday for one week. I run out of Liothyronine the day after my return.

As I don't have any time to sort this out after I return, I wondered if any one knows if I will be able to buy some Liothyronine from a chemist whilst in Germany.

Has anyone else had a problem with obtaining their Liothyronine prescription? Or is the problem only in Lincoln?

[polly3]

I just picked up my liothyronine in Gloucester for 100 tablets of 5mcg. I did wait a week for them and they came in a little brown bottle as usual.

[Clutter]

Dizzy, Can you get your prescription back from the pharmacy and try elsewhere? The prescription can be used to buy Liothyronine online from Henning and Aliud in Germany but I don't know whether it can be used in pharmacies.

[dizzy864 in reply to Clutter]

Hi, Thanks for your reply.

No, It would not work getting the prescription back. It had lots of items on it, not just liothyronine. It always does.

Also I found out last year when I had a problem with supply of my D3 tablets, all of the chemists in my area use the same three suppliers. This means that if one chemist has a problem getting hold of supplies then they all will.

I did not have time to get a new prescription from my GP and then order it mail order.

Because liothyronine decays very quickly and tablets are often already months old when I get them, I always run my supply down to a few days before requesting a new lot.

I only had sufficient for a few days when I collected my prescription. The situation was more desperate this time because of my going to Germany 7 days later. I could not take a chance on it not arriving before I left. So I decided, " A bird in the hand..." and took the 28 of 84 tablets that they had.

Does any one know who I can complain to about the situation with liothyronine? It really is not good enough and is causing me and a lot of other people a great deal of unnecessary stress.

I did look on the NHS website and on line generally and could not find anything about this sort of situation.

[Hypo22]

Hi dizzy 864

In Germany you need a prescription (private Rezepte)

From a Hausarzt (GP). Before you go to a pharmacy.

If you know locals maybe they can arrange an appointment. And find out how much he would charge!

I don't know that you can go with an English prescription to a German pharmacy.

I think you have to pay for the prescription by the doctor and for the tablets in the pharmacy.

In Germany liothyronine is called Thybon from Henning (Sanofi - Aventis).

Good luck 🍀

Hope you have a nice holiday.

Tell me if you were successful when you are back.

Hypo 22

[dizzy864 in reply to Hypo22]

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I was hoping I could just buy it over the counter in Germany. I know in Spain most meds are just bought at a pharmacy.

I'm going to try Tesco pharmacy on Tuesday morning before I leave and hope they have got supplies in.

[ThyroidThora]

Hi Dizzy,

I'm still managing to get my Mercury Pharma Liothyronine from my local Superdrug, you could try them instead.

TT x

[dizzy864 in reply to ThyroidThora]

Yes, I will. If it is still unavailable when I get back I'll request a new urgent prescription from my doctor and try superdrug.

Thank you

[penny]

Are you able to ask your GP for a separate prescription for the T3?

When I had this problem, whilst being on T3 on the nhs, a chemist in this country sourced some from Germany as they are able to get some from whichever country in order to satisfy the prescription; they don't have to just use the UK supplier.

I've just come back from Germany and bought some T3 at a chemists, without a prescription. 100 x 100mcg Thybon Henning; they were only able to supply one packet at a time and I wasn't there for long. Interestingly the pharmacist said that he had never been asked for T3 before.

[dizzy864]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure how my doctor would view such a request. If I have a problem again, I will ask him.

Do you know if German lio is more reliable than ours?

I'm sure a lot of how I feel is due to the variations in strength of the lio.