Endo wants to switch me to Unithroid: Has anyone... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

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Endo wants to switch me to Unithroid

theriverman profile image
11 Replies

Has anyone tried this brand before? She claims it's good quality, gluten-free, and only $3 a month and her patients have had good reviews of it.

I'm currently on synthroid for about 6 weeks and results have been up and down so far (I was pretty sick when I started).

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theriverman profile image
theriverman
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11 Replies
RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator

theriverman,

Majority of members here are in the UK and don't have the same brands of levothyroxine that you have. So you may not get many opinions on Unithroid.

That said, the same thing applies with your brands of levothyroxine as with the UK brands:

There are those that get on well with a certain brand, and there are those that do not.

Unfortunately no amount of opinions from others change the fact that the only way to know if a brand works for you is to try it. Keep an open mind and see how things pan out.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK

So far as I am aware, Unithroid is the same product as Lannett levothyroxine. (Rather, the other way round.)

Some people find it their preferred levothyroxine product.

With levothyroxine, the one that works best for you is mostly a matter of trial and error. Obviously, avoiding products that are known to contain ingredients you don't get on with.

The dominance of Synthroid seems to owe more to their marketing department than anything special about the actual tablets!

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK

We do have a number of members located in the USA.

And all USA licensed medicines are listed, with quite a lot of information, here:

dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK

Well, this is her website with links to lots of things such as thyroid-info, twitter, etc.:

mary-shomon.com/

milkwoman profile image
milkwoman

If you are not sensitive to filler ingredients, Unithroid should work for you. I don’t know how it compares to Synthroid but, for me, I experienced stomach upset with Unithroid and had to stop taking it. I am extremely sensitive to filler ingredients in medications.

In addition, I found Unithroid to be less effective than Tirosint (the Levo brand I take). All that means is you may require a higher dose of Unithroid in order to achieve the same effects.

You could always give Unithroid a try and then switch back to Synthroid if you find it doesn’t agree with you.

I highly recommend Tirosint but it is very expensive and not standardly covered by insurance. My doc was able to get prior auth approval from my insurance company for Tirosint and I use a discount card from the pharmaceutical company to get the cost down to $35 for a months supply. It’s the only Levo I can tolerate. Capsules contain only Levo, glycerin, water and gelatin.

Good luck!

theriverman profile image
theriverman

Just FYI - my worst symptoms returned on Unithroid, starting about 5-6 days after I switched to it and getting progressively worse. I switched back to Synthroid on Sunday, and hoping it will relieve some of these symptoms soon

EbonyEvans profile image
EbonyEvans in reply to theriverman

Thanks for the update Riverman. Did you find out which ingredient/s did not agree with you?

theriverman profile image
theriverman in reply to EbonyEvans

I honestly don't know, because this happened also on generic levo.. so far sythroid is the only one i've seen any progess on at all.. increasing pain in my hips and legs, low energy

EbonyEvans profile image
EbonyEvans in reply to theriverman

That sounds like a nightmare. Have you tried any forms of NDT? Or in fact different brands even from foreign countries?

theriverman profile image
theriverman in reply to EbonyEvans

Not yet but open to it. .this is the latest on my situation here:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

EbonyEvans profile image
EbonyEvans in reply to theriverman

I had a peep. I think you’ll get less replies as it’s now almost midnight here. Can you research the ingredients and marked off the ones that are different. Re post your question as well if replies stop (because of the time different)

Ebony

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