I take 150 mcg of Activis levo and have done so without any problems for last few years after I was unable to get Goldsheilds eltroxin. My consultant has requested I stick with this brand and all was well until i was told by the pharmacy at my Gps that they would only be dispensing Teva from now on. A local chemist is trying to source me a years worth of Activis but if they can't it looks like I'm stuck with Teva. I have reservations given what happened in 2012. What is general consensus on Teva these days?
Teva? General consensus on reformulation? - Thyroid UK
Teva? General consensus on reformulation?
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janiebell
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Janiebell,
Teva was only reintroduced October 17 so its probably too soon to tell. It is a different formulation to the Teva which was withdrawn in 2012.
Thanks Clutter. I will try and speak to Teva tmor as apprently they have bought Activis (??) so I am wondering if they will just manufacture the same pills but in diff boxes. Why is the production of levo so confusing!!!!????
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK
Have been patiently waiting for someone to post their experience of Teva levothyroxine. Had hoped it was going to be you when I first noticed the post.
Unable to get Teva at any of my local pharmacies - well, some offered to get it in but none had any on their shelves. Seems at variance with the experiences of others who are almost being forced to accept it.
I really don't see why you are forced to accept Teva. You could order from any of the many internet pharmacies - at least some of which would without doubt offer another make.
nhs.uk/Service-Search/pharm...
Janiebell and helvella ,
Rennixon has been taking Teva for 26 days now so perhaps she will be able to update us all how she's finding it.
This week Just started Teva 100mcg instead of Actavis ,still got Wockhardt 25 mcg which replaced Mercury.
Hi Treepie . I was wondering how you are experiencing Teva 100mcg compared to Actavis 100mcg? I was getting my Actavis 100mcg ordered at the chemist today and she said that lots of people are getting Teva now. This could be just because that's what is dispensed to them rather than by choice but it made me think that maybe it is worth giving Teva a try. Have you noticed any difference to Actavis?
Hi Sybilla, I have been on Mercury,Actavis and now Teva. At first on Teva i seemed to be sneezing a lot.I had a pack of Mercury left so went on them and seemed better .Now back on Teva but not sneezing so much so perhaps it was dust! I have not noticed any other differences.
I also have Wockhardt 25mcg. Must admit that i wish the pharmacist would stick to one brand.
Thank you Treepie . Yes, there are the different fillers and also possible variances in potency so it would be best to stick to the same, if possible. I tried a new, small chemist today for a change and she said they can keep my preference for Actavis on file and order it in for me when needed. That was very proactive of her and so nice to hear after an earlier experience at Boots where they just gave me what they had on the shelf without any concern. I think I'll stick to Actavis and this pharmacist for now 🙂
Thank you for the link Helvella. I've just emailed Teva who have bought Actavis asking whether it will still be available in the uk ( my chemist seems to think so as they can't just wipe out the brand due to licencing) but both my gps dispenser and the local chemist in town say their suppliers won't get it. Grrrrrrrrr. Am tempted to give the new improved Teva a shot but want to know more first. I don't want to be the guinea pig!
They have sold Actavis again! Now owned by Intas.
actavis.co.uk/en/Press/Pres...
(You have to be really fast to keep up with all this. 🏃🏃🏃 )
I actually wanted to be a guinea pig - in the sense of trying it before I run out of other and acceptable products. 
And to report back here.
I could get you shed loads of teva here. Lol! I havent started mine yet. Want to trade some mercury for some teva? Lol
Taken in the jocular spirit intended! But I only have Actavis and UniPharma levothyroxine.
So is teva the same the same formulation as the old activis? I hope not. My brain aches!
No, no, no.
Acatavis is still Actavis and has not changed. New formulation Teva is a different formulation. I think levothyroxine was only a note in the margin on the deal. Teva had to dispose of some parts of Actavis they had bought - including Actavis Generics which is the bit that produces levothyroxine in the UK. Phew! I think that's right - please tell me if I am wrong, anyone.
But what will this all likely mean for actavis users ? Will the new company continue to make and sell it, will they change it ? It's the only one I can take due to the others having acacia in.
So far as I am aware Actavis generics in the UK was bought as a going concern. It has, it is claimed, a modern factory in Barnstaple.
Other than the impact of competition from the reformulated Teva levothyroxine, why should they change anything?
A great pity that the new Teva contains acacia. Having managed to achieve lactose-free, could they not have found a less controversial and problematic ingredient? (No - I don't know the ins and outs of pharmaceutical formulation!)
Why can't we just have naturethroid here and on the nhs too. That would be nice! Teva seem to suddenly have the monopoly. Looking fward to hearing from peeps who have been taking the new formulation in a couple of months time. Meanwhile, back to sourcing Actavis.
Actavis is the only levo that doesn't give me stomach pain. I hadn't really looked into why, is it really the only one not containing acacia?
Pharmacy is always trying to slip in a different brand, I check at counter now and get changed if ness. The main pharmacist puts some aside for me but often whoever prepares drugs doesn't read my notes.
I've got to change gp and pharmacy soon as hve moved. I'm hoping I don't get problems
No - it is not the only one without acacia. Wockhardt has no acacia.
Trouble is, Wockhardt only make 25 microgram tablets. Cost-sensitive prescribers may note that four lots of 25 microgram cost £12.12 as against £2.02 for 100 microgram tablets. (Based on BNF levothyroxine prices for 28 tablets.)
I was previously on Actavis for years and years with no problems (between 152-175mcg) ..A couple of months ago the pharmacy I went to switched my brand to Teeva without letting me know..I did notice that the tablets were a lot bigger but given that I was slightly ignorant to different brands, I was worried when i started to get all manner of symptoms that were the same as when the doctor had me on a higher dose than I should have been on...I was sleeping 12 hours straight, 'spacey' throughout the whole day (which is not good in work!) , anxious , heart palps....It was only when i connected the dots that associated it to the change in branding as all of my results were still coming back as 'normal' ...Stopped taking them straight away and now on Mercury...but although miles better that Teeva about 2 hours after taking them i go really tired ... 
It sounds like you were slightly over medicated. I think some brands are stronger even if the dosage is meant to be the same. My chemist tracked down 6 months of activis for me but don't know if i will continue to be able to get it. Its such a drag :(((
Its just so annoying that a pharmacy will change your medication just because its the 'same thing' without warning and then the doctor claims that things are 'normal'.. feel like im banging my head against a wall and ive only been having these issues since June! This thread prompted me to track down actavis ( as mentioned ive been on mercury the past month which is 100% better than Teeva but still getting a bit tired etc)...first chemist i contacted have, actavis, mercury and Wockhardt... so off i go to get a prescription (due in a couple of days anyway) and see if going back to actavis will finally get me back to being 'normal'!
Make sure your ferritin, b12 and vit d are top of range too. Really does make a difference to how we feel. Good luck!
Great thanks. I take VitD3. Its important that it is d3 as its very easily absorbed and cheap at least! I use a B12 sublingual spray - the b12 should be methylcobalamin. Again v easily absorbed.
Teva have caused me to have palpitations to the point I thought I was having a heart attack, indeed ECG showed my heart was racing. This happens approximately 2 hours after I take them. Sometimes the tablets just disintegrate in my mouth! My brother has been to hospital three times with severe palpitations and racing heart and also takes these. I have halved my dose and taking them before bed in a bid to combat these feelings. Today my pharmacist said they have had many complaints and are now going to report it. It has been noted on our records that we are to have Activis in the future !
That is very worrying. I really hope i can continue to get Activis in the future. Some members seem to be doing ok on Teva. It is so important that we remember we are all different and what may work well for some can be poison for others. It sounds like you and your brother became over medicated but if that is not the case then what could have caused such dreadful side effects? All very confusing!
My GP swapped my medication to TEVA without telling me a couple of months ago and since then all my symptoms of underactive thyroid are back especially the tiredness, I keep falling asleep and feel awful, I didn't even link the two until I googled it, booked in to see my GP this week, hope they will change me back; as no problems with what I was on before and finally felt like a normal person again, I see that TEVA was withdrawn from the market in 2012 as simply not working and wondering if same thing is happening this time...
Even if it were being rendered less than 100% effective, it would be for a different reason.
The 2012 issue was due to an unauthorised change in the dextrin ingredient. The dextrin seemed to bind some of the leovthyroxine so, even though the tablets contained the correct amount, not all of it was free to be absorbed.
The current new formulation Teva is a completely different product. (Doesn't mean it is any better - or worse - just different.)
Does your doctor write "Teva" on the prescription? If not, take your prescription round pharmacies until you get what you want.
I am using teva now and seem to be having some problems again. Not sure if it is the teva or just general thyroid issues. Pain in the bum, so trying to work out what to do.
I have just found this site and have found the thread interesting. I was changed onto Teva some months back and started to feel tired, lethargic, depressed, tearful, generally unwell. I put it down to work but then reading an article on Teva I checked my medication and noted one of my milogram packs had been Teva for the past 3 - 6 months. I went to see my pharmacist who noted it down and advised me to see my GP also. As soon as I was removed of Teva I noted a change in my mood straight away, all the aches in my bones went, the tiredness went. I felt so much better.
I am shocked at how medications can be so different in composition from manufacturers, surely they should all act in the same way and not have these impacts upon individual users.
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