Perrigo liothyronine - unavailable?

[dizzy864]

I have a prescription from my doctor on a named patient basis for Perrigo only 25mcg and 5mcg liothyronine tablets, which my local Tesco pharmacy have been obtaining for me for over a year.

I had a telephone call from the pharmacist yesterday evening.

He told me that he was unable to obtain either of these tablets. He said that he is still investigating the situation but his information is that both tablets have now been discontinued and will no longer be available. He is going to get back to me at the end of this week.

I did an internet search which showed up a problem with supply of the 5mcg tablet just before last Christmas but nothing since and nothing about the 25mcg tablets.

Has anyone heard of a current problem with these tablets here in the UK?

The pharmacist asked me to name an alternative brand of tablets that I wanted. I am vegetarian and have Perrigo brand because they are vege friendly.

I did a lot of research and contacted a couple of manufacturers before being given Perrigo. I did not find any other vege friendly ones.

Does anyone know of an alternative brand that I can switch to if I have to that is also vege friendly?

Any help is much appreciated.

[sezzy]

Perrigo have discontinued ,I emailed the company to find out . Mayne pharma have taken over production. Not sure if ingredients is the same ! Hope that helps x

[dizzy864 in reply to sezzy]

Hi,

Thanks for that. How disappointing. I switched from mercury pharma because they changed something in the tablet and certain batches made me very unwell. I do not know the relationship between Mayne and Mercury Pharma but it doesn't sound immediately appealing to me to try them!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Aren't all Liothyronine brands vegetarian friendly. They are made from chemical products

NDT is from pig or cow

[dizzy864 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi,

No definitely not although you would expect them all to be. The actual drug is synthetic but the fillers can be absolutely anything. Also, manufacturers do not want us to know that they are not vege so they give the ingredients names that sound vege but are actually from animals.

I have also found that whilst we all like to stick with the same brand of tablets, we are not always getting the same tablet every time. Many manufacturers change some of the fillers from batch to batch. This means that a tablet may be vege with some batches but not others. Also starch, a common filler may be obtained from corn or wheat etc. So tablets are gluten free sometimes but not all the time.

Personally, I don't think it's ethical. Whether we are vege or not, I think we have a right to know what we are consuming. Ingredients should be clearly labelled so we all know what we are getting. And they should be consistent so that we get the same every time. Not only do many manufacturers try to mislead us with ingredients lists but they are unhelpful when questioned about the ingredients.

As consumers, I think we are getting a pretty poor deal from a lot of manufacturers and not just because of the price.

[Treepie]

I am not a veggie but agree with your argument.

[jgelliss]

Perrigo liothyronine was bought out by Mayne Pharmacy . It was bought out in December . I spoke to the people at Mayne Pharmacy they said nothing will change not even the name Perrigo . Everything stays the same they assured me .

I hope this helps .

[helvella in reply to jgelliss]

Seems odd that there is a new label on the FDA site which clearly shows Mayne Pharma!

dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailym...

Mind, also odd that those labels also say "Made in Germany" - directly contradicting everything else which says USA.

[dizzy864 in reply to helvella]

Hi, Thanks for replying.

It is very odd that they now state made in Germany as Perrigo was made in the USA.

As the company was only bought out in December they seem to have changed manufacturing base very quickly.

[helvella in reply to dizzy864]

But the DailyMed info. has dates like 08/17 and 10/17 - which is also odd!

No-one would have posted a new product label on DailyMed - with new company name and manufacturing location - before they had bought the product. Would they?

I don't pretend to understand.

[jgelliss in reply to helvella]

helvella ,

I called them again and they very kindly assured me nothing changed with Liothyronine Sodium Tablets other than it will say it's distributed by MAYNE PHARMA instead of Perrigo . The NDC # will be different . If you have any questions contact them or visit their web sight .

maynepharma.com/contact-us/

[dizzy864 in reply to jgelliss]

Thanks for your reply. I am confused. If everything is staying the same, why was my pharmacist told that the tablets had been discontinued and that he could no longer obtain them?

I have emailed Mayne to ask when supplies will be available here and asked them to confirm that they will remain vege.

I am so angry with these drug companies. I am unwell at the moment and could really do without the stress. All they're interested in is making more money. It all comes down to greed!

[lolajone]

Hello dizzy did you get anywhere with Mayne? I have just been told by pharmacy that Perrigo has been discontinued. I’ve been stable on that and need a lactose free t3. I am recovering from flu and could do without the battle

[dizzy864]

Hi, Nothing yet. Pharmacist did not phone me as promised. Mayne have not replied to my email yet.

I m going to go to pharmacy on Wednesday to see if they have any news.

I love get back to you if I learn any more.

[helvella in reply to dizzy864]

I too have contacted Perrigo - and await a reply.

[dizzy864 in reply to helvella]

I spoke to a different pharmacist this morning. They had been able to obtain one bottle of Perrigo 25mcg tablets for me. This will last me about 7 weeks. They were not able to obtain any of the 5mcg tablets. I gave her the info I had about Mayne Pharma taking over Perrigo. She said she would contact their supplier and see if she could get any further information for me. She did say that Mayne Pharma would need to apply for a licence to distribute the tablets and that may well be why there is a delay in their tablets being available. She had no idea how long it takes to obtain a licence.

I still have not received a reply from Mayne Pharma.

I'll post again if I hear anything more.

[helvella]

I can't see any non-vegetarian substances in Henning Thybon.

versandapo.de/en/0/7498960/...

But I might just have missed one!

[dizzy864]

Hi Helvella,

Thanks for your reply. I have emailed them to ask if they can confirm if they are vege friendly and to confirm that they are available in the 25 and 5mcg strengths that I need.

It would be so much easier for everyone if manufacturers / supplies state up front if they are vegetarian, vegan or gluten free but none of them do!

[dizzy864]

Hi, I have just received a reply to my email from versandapo.de.

They state that their liothyronine is free of animal products and is gluten free.

However, they state that they only do Thybon 20 tablets, which contain 0.02mg of liothyronine hydrochloride and Thybon 100 tablets, which contain 0.1mg of liothyronine hydrochloride.

I do not know what difference it would make that the tablets are liothyronine hydrochloride rather than liothyronine sodium. Also, I do not know how these strengths compare with the 5 and 25 mcg tablets that I am currently prescribed.

[helvella in reply to dizzy864]

The difference between liothyronine sodium and liothyronine hydrochloride has been discussed a number of times. A few people have suggested that is why they didn't get on as well with Henning Thybon. Trouble is, it is extremely difficult to be sure of the reason. And quite a number of people have found it absolutely fine.

Given that either form will be going through a stomach with hydrochloric acid in it, it might actually make little to no difference.

[dizzy864 in reply to helvella]

Hi,

Thanks for that. I think I would prefer to stick with what I'm used to if at all possible. I am ultra sensitive to any medication. I also wonder how my or any other GP would view the change.

Regards

[coneflower]

Ive pm you.having very similar problems to yourself all round. Found many solutions but need a t3 i can tolerate..perrigo worked mayne doesnt seem to i just hope its stress. Dont know where to turn from here t 3 only.tried lots and lots...no alcohol formulars or starch agree with me Diane