TEVA Levothyroxine

[JBL312]

I have heard others say that different brands of Levothyroxine, have different fillers in them, which can cause side effects. I have recently been given the Teva brand instead of Almus. I don’t know if it is a coincidence but I have felt much more lethargic and hot flushes since this change. Any thoughts?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Many members have had severe reaction to Teva brand. If you feel that you aren't so well on it, ask to go back to your old brand then stick to it. Check pharmacy bag before you leave the shop, if your preferred brand isn't in the bag, hand it back. If they can't get you your preferred brand, ask for your prescription back, ring round other pharmacies until you find one that has your brand.

As you have taken Almus previously, it will be of interest to know that it is Actavis rebranded (for Boots Pharmacy) and Actavis is also rebranded as Northstar for Lloyds Pharmacy. So you if you are given Actavis or Northstar instead of Almus, you will know it is the same.

[JBL312 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Many thanks. That’s good to know about Almus. I told my pharmacist about the fillers and they said they had never heard of this! I just wondered if people had experienced fatigue and hot flushes as part of their symptoms?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to JBL312]

Possibly, I think members have experienced a whole host of symptoms, not necessarily the same as someone else.

You might like to give your pharmacist the information on ThyroidUK's website about the different brands of Levo and other thyroid hormone replacements

thyroiduk.org/tuk/treatment...

It's a pdf and possible to print off what information you want.

Have a look through some other posts about Teva that comes up with a search, you'll be able to see what others have experienced

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Auntyp62 in reply to JBL312]

When my vitamin D was very low all I experienced was fatigue and hot flushes ......not menapause as that was ages ago.....sometimes we make assumptions that it’s the Levo but often symptoms are caused by a deficiency elsewhere

[fostercraig in reply to SeasideSusie]

Was given Teva 25mcg for the first time to go with my 100 from another (NorthStar) the addition of Teva made my head explode, blow up, inflate! Horrid feeling woozy etc.

Looking at the pill the pill is bigger than the 100 mcgs. So that has surely got to be full of rubbish!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to fostercraig]

If you haven't already done so, make a yellow card report. Not sure they're going to take any notice, but the more people who report side effects the better.

yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/yell...

[Tinkytink in reply to SeasideSusie]

Can I check... Are u saying actavus/ almus are the same as each other or that they are simply teva rebranded?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Tinkytink]

Teva is Teva and only comes as that brand. Teva is not rebranded for anyone else.

Actavis is rebranded as Almus for Boots and Northstar for Lloyds Pharmacy, so there are three brands which are all actually Actavis. The foil on all three blisterpacks say "Actavis" and the boxes for Almus and Northstar also have "Actavis" written on them somewhere.

[Tinkytink in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks... I'm beginning to wonder if it's one of the binding agents such as acacia... But it could be entirely unrelated

[dfran]

I felt bloated and had a lot of wind with Teva, and had perpetual indigestion. Also, I started putting on weight which it had taken me a long time to lose.As soon as I changed tablets, I felt better. We need to do something about the incompetence of the NHS testing in this area.

[silverfox7 in reply to dfran]

Many though are well on it. It's the only lactose free brand on the market so my be you didn't feel well on it because you didn't match the criteria. It's good that fillers vary for brand to brand as we all can vary so it's not one size fits all. Many have to chop and change to find what is right for them as Mercury pharma doesn't suite some and so on.

[Auntyp62 in reply to silverfox7]

Brilliant for me. I LOVE TEVA

[silverfox7 in reply to Auntyp62]

Good to see positive replies as well! I understand Teva had a problem a few years ago and although it was something very different I'm afraid mud sticks so many have refused to even try it but heartening to hear of others who are happy with it.

[DeeD123 in reply to Auntyp62]

I can’t say I love any of them but I’m fine with teva as well. I find Far to many jump on the bandwagon without trying them 😢

[Auntyp62 in reply to DeeD123]

Unfortunately I think when we have a health problem we automatically assume any new symptoms are related to that. I did for 40 years till I found this site and started understanding the importance of vitamins to support medication so it can adequately work. I also found that when gps find an illness they don’t search for something else and often we accept that.

[JBL312 in reply to Auntyp62]

I tend to agree with you. That is why i exhausted all other options until actually realising that my brand had changed. I think if we blame everything on the thyroid, then our GP’s will too.

[goofball in reply to dfran]

I too am experiencing bloated pregnancy type symptoms I am only just associating with Teva. What did you switch to dfran? I would be interested to know as must swap before I explode. TIA.😊

[lesel]

Yes, probably the Teva brand cause symptoms. I have a note on my records now to say "no Teva" they give me headaches, lethargy and I simply feel dreadful. I always check my meds before I leave the chemist!

[Hidden in reply to lesel]

So do I. Had many problems with Teva-not only with their thyroid but with other meds. I will not accept Teva anymore. I believe it was the fillers.

They may have improved but I'm not willing to be a guinea pig again just to give them another chance. Too many other choices.

No second chances for Teva with me!

[Affipop]

I absolutely hate Teva. I usually have a mix of 50 Northstar and 25 Teva and knew one was giving me allergic reactions. The doctor shouted at me saying that it cannot be since it’s just hormones- something natural that the body creates. I was like 1. Well not really it’s synthetic and the human body is a lot smarter than we think and 2. I could also be allergic to the fillers. My GP then admitted that, that could be the case. Long story short, they tries to see if they could order me the same brand I used to have in germany (Hexal or Bayer Bayer, which i had no issues with). After a constant fore and back with the GP, pharmacist at my GP and the pharmacist where I pick up me prescription I was told that it is too expensive for my GP to order them from Germany so they will just send me fore and back until I give up. I ended up sticking to Teva and Northstar not knowing which gives me a reaction, but the combination was okay-ish. Recently, even though on my account it specifically states that I should only bevgiven that combination, the pharmacy messed up again since they constantly have new faces who do not bother checking and I was given JUST Teva. I took it as an opportunity to try it out and what can I say. I put on 2 and a half stones since Christmas (I previously took NDT), but only around the belly and face region. I sometimes get hot flushes out of nowhere and suddenly sweat like theres no tomorrow. Sometimes also during the night where the entire bedding is soaked. I have extreme mood swings, I almost have next to no leg hair (which as a woman I cannot really complain about, but it just shows theres a massive issue going on) and an also loosing hair on different parts of my body. My period delay increases each month and my entire gut system is just off. I have constantly stomach pain and my bowl movement is just so off. I have discovered that Teva is basically SUPER CHEAPLY manufactured in Croatia I believe. Not only is L-Thyroxine cheap as it is, but they then give you the cheapest of the cheapest and the NHS GP’s then get aggressive, if caught out I guess. I will order NDT next week again, since I have had enough and advise anybody to stay away from Teva. I haven’t looked that much into Northstar yet, but it definately is better for me than Teva. But I guess that differs from person to person.

[teacherspet in reply to Affipop]

I don't know how old you are but many of the symptoms you are describing sound like the menopause...………… hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings and changes to periods.

[Affipop in reply to teacherspet]

I am 24 🙂👍🏽😂 and these symptoms only started when i started taking Levo thyroxine by Teva. Before Christmas I took NDT. I wanted to check for myself that me taking NDT isn’t a placebo affect for me. I have been battling with issues and side effect from Levo for almost 10 years now. I doubled my weight since taking the tablets. I lost weight drastically when I took NDT, but also went against the doctors advice and went gym regularly instead of doing light cardio like cycling and swimming, which is what I was advised to do. Anyways, since thyroid controls hormone production and can even cause miscarriages, etc. it only makes sense for it to also cause changes to your menstrual cycle. However, I didn’t have issues this severe when I still lived in Germany. Hopefully, once my NDT arrives I won’t have to deal with LT anymore 🤞🏽

[silverfox7 in reply to Affipop]

So are you saying that Levo upsets you rather than Teva but NDT is fine presumably as it's natural and not synthetic though still has fillers?

[Affipop in reply to silverfox7]

With Levo I meant Levo Thyroxine, which is what I take from Teva. NDT seems to work for me since it also has T3 ( I suspect that I had adrenal fatigue and reverse T3, but endo refuses to test anything further than T4 and TSH)

[silverfox7 in reply to Affipop]

It only causes miscarriage if you aren't on right dose i.e. The TSH is too high. Any brand is likely not to suit if you aren't on the correct dose of you and that and/fillers in Teva may well have been the problem but they work well for many as well so it's an individual thing and no one can be sure until they try it.

[Affipop in reply to silverfox7]

That is very true- it is an individual thing. However, I do the worst on Teva . I didn’t experience any of those symptoms on other brands. My TSH has gone up, but it is still within the normal range. My guess is that I have reverse T3 plus acting sensitive towards the fillers anyways. I’ve had the same reaction (hot flushes, water rentention, weight gain around stomach and face, etc.) when I had a bad reaction to penicillin aged 14 and my mother actually thought I was pregnant- lol. So I’m guessing it is a combination of issues with me, but as I said I didn’t have these symptoms on other meds, even when my TSH was still high

[AnneEvo in reply to teacherspet]

I have hot flushes at 72!

[Auntyp62 in reply to AnneEvo]

Mine at 67 were went when my vitamin D rose

[AnneEvo in reply to Auntyp62]

That's good to know. I've just sent for vit D test kit. Fingers crossed 😀

[AnneEvo in reply to Auntyp62]

I was deficient in vitamin D but still having hot flushes now my levels are ok 😏

[Intouchable in reply to AnneEvo]

Me too.

[Gcart]

I had such body aches and I felt so hot on Teva . Asked gp to add Actavis on script which he did Pharmacy still put in Teva. Very important to open package before leaving chemists. You can at least hand it back . That chemist then put it on their system , so hope next time they dont try to palm them off on me . I will still check though!

Good luck

[teacherspet in reply to Gcart]

I always ask what brand they have and tell them I can't tolerate Teva. If that's what they have then I go elsewhere. I can usually find somewhere in my area that has what I need. Teva affects my arms causing muscle weakness.

[Hidden in reply to Gcart]

It's our right not to accept any brand we don't feel comfortable with.

Very occasionally the pharmacy will try to get me to accept the Teva prescription saying it's the only brand in stock. (I'm in the US). That may or may not be true but I respond by saying I'll wait to refill. Please order another brand. If they give me grief I can refuse it, call around to other pharmacies. If they have another brand they will call my pharmacy and have the Rx transferred. As they want the business they will do the work.

Sometimes we get offered a different brand handed to us after getting the same brand for several months. The pharmacy may have negotiated a deal with another manufacturer for a lower wholesale price. But they won't tell you that. They pay less for the drug but your copay and your insurance coverage stay the same.

Cut corners, save money, but don't pass it onto the customer. It's the American Way!

[Intouchable in reply to Gcart]

I have all of these symptoms. Fatigue, hot flushes, itching from head to toe, hair loss, bloating. I came off the tabs for a while and felt a new lease of life. 10 yrs younger then I went for my review/ blood test and unfortunately it showed in the results that my under active thyroid level was higher. GP called me and made me promise I would resume taking the med. I did and my latest test showed that the thyroid problem was controlled. All very well but I got all the above symptoms back again. This is Teva. All I ever get dispensed. Pharmacist says they have to dispense what they are sent. GP tells me they are not allowed to prescribe a specific brand. So they tell me.! No one cares if your brand doesn't suit, they just look at you as though you have no right to question it.

[Gcart in reply to Intouchable]

Sadly it seems right that they don’t Carr .

I was lucky and my GP did write activis on my script. So far it has been dispensed by the Lloyds chemist I use .

Try another doc. They are different I find

Good luck.

[Beah]

I got very bad heartburn with Teva. I went to the pharmacist and they have it on my notes not to give me Teva. I’m on Wockhardt which has been fine, though haven’t lost any weight.

[KittyAO]

I had terrible headaches (which I don't usually get) and did not feel well on Teva. I 'yellow carded' the side effects and reported it. My chemist has a note on their system not to prescribe Teva but they often do, so need to constantly be on my guard. Good luck in getting what you need.

[jgv2018]

Teva has the filler manitol in it instead of lactose used in most other brands. When I took Teva I suffered hair loss, extreme anxiety, chronic insomnia and massively increased blood pressure. I saw my GP and a consultant ( privately ) and had everything checked out. Once I stopped taking Teva all these symptoms went away. My GP has now agreed to prescribe Eltroxin ( the only " official " brand of Levothyroxine ) which is manufactured by Mercury Pharma to ensure I always get the same brand whenever I pick up a prescription. General advice here is that it is best not to change between brands regularly, but most pharmacies can't control what is sent to them by the central warehouses and you often get whatever is most readily available ( and cheapest ).. There was a big legal casein France against the drug company Merk when they put manitol into levo as a filler. If you look up " manitol and levothyroxine " you will get all the details of this. This case was reported in the BMJ but most GP's know nothing about it.

[Sandy146]

I thought I had the flu after taking Teva I never even noticed I had a different brand. I couldn’t get out of bed and noticed the sign on the box saying new formula so googled Teva (as you do) and low and behold they had their licence to make levothyroxine years before taken away and only just got it back. I phoned my gp who gave me another brand and within 24 hours I felt fine again it was just awful. I yellow carded it and now my gp doesn’t give me that brand. Who knew different makes of tablet could make you feel bad!

[teacherspet in reply to Sandy146]

I was issued with the old formula (they were using up stock just after the licence was withdrawn) and it set me back a year (got the symptoms I had just before starting on Levo) then I was given the new formula just after it returned to the market and it wreaked havoc with my arm muscles causing weakness. I have never taken it since and not had any issues with any other brands - wockhart, almus, mercury pharma, activis (it's just the branding name change on some of these) but they are all fine.

[valjo18]

I was unable to take Teva it didn't agree with me at all. Tbh with it not agreeing with so many patients I think it needs looking into, although that's extremely unlikely to happen. I'm ok on Activis and Wockhart. My Dr gave me Teva because I'm on 75 mg and Teva (I think) is the only 75mg. I had a problem convincing her that I needed to go back to 50 and 25 tablets. Good luck

[silverfox7]

Several years ago now I opened my packet at home to find I had been given a different brand so I took it back. I was told once I had left the pharmacy I couldn't return it and may be I should tell them which brand I prefer so they can add it to my records. So I replied I thought I had though didn't mention it was around 25 years earlier. She looked at my card then called the girl across who had dealt with my prescription and pointed to it and then came back and begrudgingly said she would change it this time-no apology etc wasn't impressed but after that I always checked in front of them. When I went in to say I wouldn't be taking Levo anymore asgoing back to NDT the new pharmacist said they would leave my preferred brand on their notes so they knew should I change back so at least he was sensible!

[Auntyp62]

Well after all this negativity I have to say I LOVE TEVA......I was sleeping 18hours a day and diagnosed with hypersonia and doctors wanted to put me on stimulants.......changed to TEVA and now better than ever. If I am given any other I am straight away sleeping......

[Mrsocks]

I've been taking Teva brand for about 18 months and use it for TSH suppression for Thyroid cancer too. For me personally, it's been brilliant. I got on much better with Teva than any of the others and it's always worked with the TSH suppression, never letting me go hypo or low normal.

I hope this helps.

[Chriskisby]

I posted last week about being given a different brand to Mercury Pharma as my dispenser says it is not available. Teva was bad for me too, so many symptoms described by all the other posts here. I have been given Almus now, mixed with 25 mcg of Wochardt, but have yet to try it as I had a spare months supply of MP. I am dreading trying the new one, but I am definitely getting my prescription in my hand next time to try other chemists, as Mercury Pharma tell me there is not a shortage. I suspect it is not as cheap as others, hence the “difficulty” in obtaining it!

[Sheffield6]

Teva gives me a rash.

[Svelsker]

Oh! Lightbulb just gone on! I was given Teva last week instead of my usual and I've been driven mad with itching ever since, particulary in the evening and it's stopped me getting to sleep. Couldn't think what was causing it. Thanks for the enlightenment!

[Intouchable in reply to Svelsker]

Know how you feel. My GP told me the itching had nothing to do with the medication. I disagreed and after a little research proved them wrong. Finally the pharmacy put it on my notes yet they are still forcing it on me because they say they can only dispense what they are sent. I'm banging my head off a brick wall...The irony is I feel better without levothyroxine at all .

[Svelsker in reply to Intouchable]

Glad to hear of someone else who understands! Fortunately my pharmacy have made a note only to supply me MercuryPharma, so I'm fine now.

[Hidden]

I started on Teva a few years ago and got such bad reactions: hot flushes, heart pounding out of my chest, severe migraines, tremors, that I was taken off Levo altogether. Two years on and my new GP has just started me on Levo again (I have Hashis). I mentioned the issue with Teva and he charmingly informed me that the pharmacy is not a 'shop' where I can 'pick and choose' brands. Not that I'd suggested it was...

So my first prescription 7 weeks ago was Northstar and I'm absolutely fine with it. I'm going to ask to take the next prescription away with me rather than the doctor send it to the dispensary next door so I don't get stuck with Teva again and end up being treated like a nuisance hypochondriac with hysterical tendencies (it's already been intimated that my thyroid symptoms are caused by 'anxiety' despite my high antibodies - the usual crap we have to put up with basically).

Anyway, good luck!

[Intouchable in reply to Hidden]

What happened while you were off the Levo altogether for two years?

[Hidden in reply to Intouchable]

I just continued to feel the same as I had for years (but things got worse after having my son in 2012): tired, cold, dry skin and hair, libido disappeared, weight gain, brain fog, continual headaches, anxiety, poor digestion, very low B12 levels...

Unfortunately, if you're not at death's door, doctors tend to wave you away. And if there's something going on that they don't understand they're often of the opinion that it's all in your head. Which is why it took so long (and a lot of money) to finally get a diagnosis.

I'm now self treating with NDT because, yet again, my GP has absolutely no idea about thyroid but is too pig headed to admit that.

[Olivia80]

I don’t get on with Actavis, Teva is my friend

[michael-g1xcc]

Teva works the best for me after trying all others available I think it's a case of what's best for you!

[Raventhorpe]

I can't take teva it gives me terrible palpations, I'm alright with activis and mercury pharma. Have it put on my file at the chemist not to give Teva and I always check before leaving the chemist that the prescription is right, they put Teva in last time but changed it when I pointed out their mistake.