Shortage of T3?

[lynmynott]

Has anyone been informed that there is a shortage ofT3 again? Boots are having problems, it seems, but I'm not sure if it's because of their own system of ordering or not.

[phronsias]

Hi

I got my 3 months supply last Friday, no problems here but I don't get mine from Boots

[loueldhen]

I picked up 4x28 this week from my local chemist with no problems.

[Hidden]

Collected mine ok - not from Boots x

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

From what we have seen here recently, the biggest shortage of T3 in the UK is on the prescription pad.

[Lily905]

I hope we are not about to have another UK T3 shortage.

I'm still trying to work out which T3 & supplier is a good as Mexico & it's customer services

[Kel8]

My local Lloyds chemist has been trying to get mine from their supplier for 3 weeks! So they are having a problem for sure.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

Thank you so much for this. It's been very useful.

[Glynisrose]

I changed to Lloyds because Boots messed me about with my NDT!

[ChelleBelleX]

My pharmacist always has issues getting from Mercury Pharma, and often gets another brand of T3 from Thame Labratories. Not sure how they do this.

I'm being told GP/Endo in my area is no longer allowing T3 on prescription due to cost, so looks like I'll be finding my own online

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to ChelleBelleX]

Not heard of Thame Laboratories before. I'll look them up. Sorry to hear that you are probably not going to get it on the NHS soon. As far as I am aware, doctors don't HAVE to do what the CCG tells them, especially if their patient has been seen to improve. However, some docs are worried about losing their jobs. Someone told me on the phone today that their GP said, "I'm not losing my job for anyone!"

[ChelleBelleX in reply to lynmynott]

That's awful. My endo is trying to fight it, but he said because T3 is not on NICE guidelines and the price keeps going up, they have no other choice than to remove it.

I've had a bottle of T3 from pharmacy from Thame Labratories a couple of times now, as well as strip on T3 called Thybon. I've only had Mercury Pharma T3 twice in past year

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to ChelleBelleX]

Thybon is the German brand and is very cheap. This is what pharmacies should be doing all the time! It looks like some pharmacies are sourcing it cheaper.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to lynmynott]

Are pharmacies allowed to source unlicensed products when, at least theoretically, there is a licensed product available? That is, on grounds of cost rather than other bases such as being lactose-, gluten-, whatever-else-free, available dosages, etc.?

I understand that a prescriber can write almost whatever they like, but can a dispenser provide unlicensed products (unless prescriber endorses doing so)?

I know that during one previous T3 shortage, the MHRA issued guidance.

[ChelleBelleX in reply to helvella]

When I questioned Pharmacist over the different brands, he told me they still cost pretty much the same price as the Mercury Pharma ones. He said they are still licensed. Just different manufacturer. Not sure how true all that is though.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to ChelleBelleX]

I know that Thybon is only around Euro 30. One of our advisers is a German endo and this is what he prescribes to his patients.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to ChelleBelleX]

Ask for the Product Licence number (P/L).

And for the Patient Information Leaflet.

I am not at all against people being given Sanofi (formerly Henning) Thybon. But they should be fully informed.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to helvella]

I think if the doc puts "liothyronine" on it and it's unavailable in the UK, they can source it elsewhere. It's a shame they can't do it if the product in the UK is very expensive. Stupid NHS rules!

[Babette]

I went to a supermarket pharmacy a few weeks ago for mine and was told that their supplier was out of stock. I asked when they would be available and, what a surprise, they managed to find another supplier. Collected them the next day.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

I have been in touch with AMCo and they have told me there is no shortage and that chemists can get it from Alliance wholesalers with an expiry date of March 2017.

I then contacted a wholesaler who told me that any chemist can access it from Alliance but it's possible that some Alliance "hubs" are having problems.

She told me that AMCo only have a contract with Alliance and therefore chemists HAVE to get it from them because it is a licenced product.

So, if you can't get it from your local Boots, you may not be able to get it via any other chemist because they have to get it from Alliance.

Perhaps you could think about using an online chemist such as Lloyds who can perhaps obtain it from any hub? Let's see what happens.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

Have been in touch with Alliance and the person I spoke to said:

"I have checked with our supply chain team and they confirm that the product is currently in stock in all of our service centres across the UK and we don’t anticipate any problems with supply. That being said, there was a recent blip for a day or so in a couple of service centres (one which covers Scotland) when we had to withdraw some very short dated stock from sale and send them back to the supplier who replaced with longer dated stock, so it’s possible this may have affected some supplies.

They also said that there is a ‘pip code’ for this product which is 1136530. It may help your pharmacist locate it but I suspect they already know about this code.