Anyone respond better to Levo than Synthroid?

[lcsnow21]

I've tried NDT several times and cant tolerate the T3. Yes I've worked on ferritin, B12, D, and adrenals. I'm on my first month of T4. I started with some Synthroid samples and switched to my prescription which I was given generic of course. I started feeling better within a couple weeks but not perfect. I started to consider all the fillers in the Levo I would be exposed to for the rest of my life and wanted to try the Synthroid again so I pulled the samples out. Since taking it I've been totally exhausted. I can't get up in the morning and I'm sooooo tired all day. I have some breakthroughs of energy mostly in the evening. But I surely can't live like this forever! Anyone like Levo better than Synthroid? I'm confused bc everyone says name brand is so much better.

[RedApple Administrator]

lcsnow21,

For clarification, Synthroid IS levothyroxine in a branded packaging i.e the active ingredient is the T4 hormone levothyroxine, regardless of the name on the packaging.

It really does not matter whether you take a 'generic' or a branded levothyroxine. What matters is that you find the one that best suits you. Lots of people do better on one make over another. Ignore the brand name, or lack of. If necessary, trial every version of levothyroxine that's available to you until you find the one that works for you. Then make sure you get that same one every time your prescription is filled!

[lcsnow21 in reply to RedApple]

Thanks for your reply! I realize Levo is the generic version of Synthroid. I've had a long and bumpy road with this unfortunately. I did all the research and decided to try NDT before anything else. My first round was Naturethroid and this was over 2 years ago. It made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack. So I stopped medication all together and focused on my ferritin which was low, B12 which wasn't optimal, D, and took ashwaghanda for a year to support adrenals. I was also on a prenatal because I was trying to get pregnant and still am. I just never got enough energy so I went back to the same doctor and they gave me WP Thyroid and told me to start even smaller. A half of a 1/4 grain every other day and go up from there. Same thing happened. I was totally wound up, talking very fast and felt like I had about 10 espressos. I got labs when I started to feel this way and my thyroid labs had gotten WORSE?? My TSH went from 3.05 to 3.9, and my free Ts had dropped a tiny bit. So I asked for a referral to an Endocrinologist. This guy told me I was too sensitive to T3 and gave me some Synthroid samples, and a prescription. When I filled the prescription of course they gave me the generic. I took the Synthroid samples for a few days and felt terrible but I thought I was just getting used to abruptly stopping the T3 containing med. I switched over to the Levothyroxine because I wanted to see how that would make me feel. I felt ok ... better in the evenings than during the day... but not GREAT. So after reading about how many people do better on the name brand I pulled the Synthroid samples out again and tried those. And I've been feeling much worse than I ever have in my entire life. I can't get off the couch, my brain won't work, it's very hard to get out of bed, and I have very little appetite. I'm usually a big food lover and it just doesn't excite me to eat. I emailed the doctor and his response was "Ok to stop all thyroid meds if you want but remember we gave you the prescription to help you concieve. Go ahead and get labs done and we will visit again". So now I'm just lost, confused, frustrated, and feel like I've tried EVERYTHING. Sorry for the long long reply I just feel like I have nowhere to turn.

[jgelliss in reply to lcsnow21]

lcsnow21

My sympathy and blessing to you . When I dosed with Synthroid after my TT experienced palpitations high blood pressure and like you said felt awful . I then found out a few things . The fillers in thyroid meds can be problematic for some . Causing different issues . Some have skin break outs and itch . I further found out that I was low in Iron . Nutrients are extremely important to make our thyroid meds work well for us . Vitamin "D" Selenium , Iron if low , B-12/folate Magnesium . You need to four hours apart between your nutrients and your thyroid meds . I would suggest to try different brands of T4 Levothyroxine till you find and settle on what works for you best .

[lcsnow21 in reply to jgelliss]

Thank you so much! It's such a long journey. I've been trying to figure out what's wrong with me for about 5 years and been to so many doctors. I will try to convince my doctor to let me try some different brands. I read so many places Synthroid is the best but apparently not the best for me! I will also continue to work on my vitamins and minerals. I sometimes have trouble with my iron. I hope you're doing well now.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to lcsnow21]

lcsnow21,

The widespread claims that Synthroid is the best are probably highly correlated to enormous advertising and promotional budgets that AbbVie spend every year.

I think that I would nowadays choose Sandoz of the makes of tablet available in the USA. Or Tirosint gel caps - but they are expensive.

Warning, though, Sandoz can deliver more levothyroxine than the same claimed dose of Synthroid. So if you did change, you might need to adjust dose.

[lcsnow21 in reply to helvella]

Thank you! I know tirosint is available here ... I might ask for that if my doctor is open minded. I don't mind paying a bit more for the cleanest version of a medication I might have to take for the rest of my life!

[jgelliss in reply to lcsnow21]

lcsnow21

Yes your so right that the journey can be very long . However navigating our journey on this great forum is a great learning experience and very empowering . We learn more from one another than any Dr can ever teach us . Most Dr's are not only not helpful but I think they know less than we do as thyroid patients .