When Levo comes loose in a bottle, how do you know it's the right brand...

[Portia1974]

So as a newbie on Levo I'm still "testing out" different brands. Had a terrible reaction to just two tablets of TEVA. Pharmacist swapped them for Mercury Pharma. While nowhere as bad as Teva, I have still spent the last 3 weeks with headaches and nausea that I didn't have before. So asked my GP for a prescription that specified Actavis as the brand to see if I felt better on that instead.

Pharmacist dispensed from a bottle (loose tablets) rather than blister packs. So I had no way of confirming the brand was indeed the one I had asked for. I stopped taking people's word for things a while back.

So I phoned Accord Healthcare (contact deets in thyroid uk files) and asked what a 50mcg tab of Actavis Levo should look like.

Really, this post is just to say they were really helpful. Described the size and colour of the pill as well as what should be stamped on both sides. And in case any other newbies like me get dispensed loose tabs and have the same concerns (some pharmacists do like to tell you that one brand is the same as another when they are not)...it's quick and easy to check with the manufacturer that you have their tabs.

The pic attached is what Actavis 50mcg Levothyroxine looks like.

[helvella Administrator]

That is helpful, thank you.

I do have a document which has very brief descriptions of all the UK, and many non-UK, thyroid hormone tablets. Not always known so if anyone can fill in any blanks, please let me know:

dropbox.com/s/1eglsf0qntb2d...

The pharmacy MUST supply a Patient Information Leaflet (PIL), if requested. And it MUST be the one for the product dispensed. That is, they are not allowed to grab a Mercury Pharma 25 microgram PIL and to throw at you when dispensing Actavis. One of the reasons I suggest everyone always requests a PIL is precisely this - it should identify the product properly.