Specifying brands of Levothyroxine

[MMaud]

I have just been started on Levothyroxine at 25mgr, with the papers to retest bloods, with a view to titrating upwards after a month.

After about a week on the Levo I stated to feel a bit queasy, mainly in the evenings. Around the same time as starting the Levo, I began a loading does of Vit D3, plus separate K2 drops, as my GP didn't prescribe those with the loading D3. The drops are vile, and I tend to take them with my evening meal (as likely to be my fattiest meal), so I couldn't be sure if the Levo (Teva) or the drops were causing the ikky feeling.

When I dropped my prescription for the next Levo into the pharmacy, I asked which brands they stocked, and chose to try the Wockhardt and change nothing else. I'm 6 days in and no queasy feelings. Of course, that's a very short period, but the change seems marked.

Assuming this continues, are GPs usually amenable to specifying the brand on the repeat, or is it a pharmacy lottery?

Many thanks, in anticipation.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

My surgery wont specify brands unless there is a good reason, eg you have advese effects with other brands. It's all to do with cost. The pharmacy will be sent the cheapest and dispense that.

My old pharmacist was very good and although the brand wasn't named on the prescription, he made a note to always dispense one particular brand for me and there was always a label to that effect on my pharmacy bag. We have a new pharmacist now and the label has disappeared, fortunately I am still getting the same brand but if it is changed I will request the other brand and say it's the only one that doesn't cause me problems.

By the way, if the K2 drops are so vile, change to a softgel. This is a good one bigvits.co.uk/product.php?p... There is a 60 count bottle but the 180 count is much better value.

In future, always leave 2 weeks between adding anything new. If you start everything at the same time and you have a reaction, you wont know what caused it. Leaving it 2 weeks then introducing the next supplement means that you can pinpoint what caused a reaction if it does happen.

[MMaud in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for your response Susie.

The Levo and D3 were prescribed at the same time, both for the first time ever, and as my VitD had dropped from a natural 80 to 21 and I had been feeling washed out, I wasn't keen to defer anything. I started the K2 drops as soon as the nice man from Amazon delivered them. In my look a the time, I could only find drops for the K2 alone.

As soon as my loading dose is finished, and I go onto a maintenance phase, I'll be having the capsules with both in.

I totally agree with changing one things at a time, and that is why I chose to swap brands asap, rather than wait and then have an increased dose, plus differing brand or risk having to defer titration because of giving the change of brand a while to settle in.

Obviously I'm very early in this whole process, but even on my tiny dose of Levo my symptoms have eased a little.

[bantam12]

Just ask the pharmacy to make a note on your records to only dispense which ever brand you want.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

If you pick up the actual prescription from Surgery then you have option to ring around local pharmacies to get the brand you require

Small independent pharmacies are the most helpful

[MMaud in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you SlowDragon. Bearing in mind I have actually had very few prescriptions, ever, I haven't set up a pharmacy to electronically yet, but I did take my prescription to the likely pharmacy last week. They seemed very amenable. The assistant we very helpful and just toddled off to the dispensing area, bringing back a couple of packages for me to choose from.