Does anyone know what the problem is with the supply of Thybon Henning Liothyronine?

[dizzy864]

I went to Tesco this morning to collect my monthly prescription.

I was told that they were unable to obtain Thybon Henning liothyronine for me.

They could tell me nothing about the problem or more importantly when or if they will be able to obtain some for me.

I was told to, " Wait until you are desperate and then see your GP. "

My problem is that it took a number of weeks for my gp to change my prescription when the Perrigo I had been prescribed was suddenly no longer available, so I don't know how long I should wait. I don't want to see my gp until I know that this is a permanent problem as I am very happy with Thybon Henning.

I have sufficient for five or six weeks - I always stock pile slightly in case of this happening!

Has any body else encountered a problem with Thybon Henning? Does anyone know if it is going to become available any time soon?

In case it is no longer available, does anyone know of another brand of vegetarian liothyronine? My gp is willing to prescribe which ever brand I am happy with.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[whatevs]

I obtain my Thybon via this German online pharmacy using an NHS prescription but pay for it myself:

bennewitz.com/scat/scatphar...

I haven't had any problems ordering and get 100 tabs at a time.

I wasn't even aware it was possible for a UK pharmacy to import it for patients, let alone a Tesco one.

[dizzy864 in reply to whatevs]

I get it on a named patient basis. Mostly because I m vegetarian but also I ve had lots of problems due to mixers. An understanding gp helped.

It works the same as any other prescription but I and tesco had to got through a lot of hoops to set it up.

[whatevs in reply to dizzy864]

I actually have the Thybon Henning brand on my NHS prescription - it's just that my local pharmacy ( an independent) said they had no way to source it.

So my stumbling block was the pharmacy, rather than my GP who's pretty fab.

[Gingersnap202 in reply to whatevs]

You are so fortunate to have a knowledgeable GP! They are few and far between! ...I love my 80 year old GP Thyroid Doc!!! Don't know what I would do if he decided to retire! ... I know that he is still practicing because he knows that his patients wouldn't be understood elsewhere.

[dizzy864 in reply to Gingersnap202]

Hi, Don't be too envious. He's a nice enough guy but for years he was treating me as if I was just on T4 only and I got severely under medicated because he was reading my blood test results incorrectly!!

[Carna in reply to whatevs]

Me too. I received an order last week. First time. Very easy and smooth transaction. I did message them online to say I was sending a private prescription in the post. They emailed me with amount I had to pay when it arrived and I did it through Paypal.

Allow at least one week to get your original prescription to them and same again for your medication to arrive. It cost just over £35 for 100 tablets which is 200 days medication for my at current dose. Only thing is cutting the pills into four but they are quite big with a centre line.

[BrownBella in reply to Carna]

Hi, do you have to send the paper copy of prescription or can I email it?

[Carna in reply to BrownBella]

No you can't email it. They want the original which is understandable. You have to post it. I posted on a Tuesday and they emailed me with price on the following Sunday. I paid on the Monday and received prescription the following Monday so a fortnight should do it.

[McPammy]

I get my ThyBon Henning via a private prescription and send it direct to a supplier in Germany.

I never knew one could get ThyBon Henning via an NHS prescription. This is very interesting as I’ve recently been given T3 on the NHS but the brand Sigma has made me go backwards I feel. I don’t think I get on with Sigma at all. I switched back to ThyBon Henning and I’m much better again. It suits me too why Sigma doesn’t I’m not sure. I didn’t know ThyBon Henning is vegetarian?

I’m sending off my private prescription this week to Germany. I do hope there is no issue.

[ThyroQueen in reply to McPammy]

I live in Germany and picked up meds this week, I don't think there's any problem with Henning but the production/supply chain in Germany can be erratic, things as simple as Nescafe go out of stock for a bit sometimes.

[McPammy in reply to ThyroQueen]

Ok. Thank you for letting me know this. I haven’t had a problem previously.

Thanks again 👍

[ThyroQueen]

I live in Germany and picked up meds this week, I don't think there's any problem with Henning but the production/supply chain in Germany can be erratic, things as simple as Nescafe go out of stock for a bit sometimes.

[Quokka]

Last week I ordered 200 tablets from Bennewitz in Germany using a private prescription. They're 'processing' the order- no mention of supply problems.

[Lalacat in reply to Quokka]

How is your prescription written for 200 tablets? I need 300 so would I ask my doctor to write it like this?

Liothyronine 20mcg x 300 Tablets

Thank you! 😊

[Quokka in reply to Lalacat]

Exactly. You can buy it in multiples of 50 or 100. As many as you doctor will allow! my latest order arrived safely.

[Lalacat in reply to Quokka]

Thank you Quokka! I'm trying to get an nhs prescription out of the gp (on endo's say so!). If she doesn't play ball I'm hoping she will agree to write a private prescription for Thybon. Fingers crossed!

[marin5]

Mine are Greens mfg, very tiny pills. Prescribed for 450 pllls. USA

[dizzy864 in reply to marin5]

Hi, Thank you for replying. I've never heard of Greens. Do you know who makes them? Are they vege friendly?

[YSpencer]

Hi l too get mine from Germany on a named prescription basis which l pay for . I ordered extra earlier this year in case Brexit caused a problem. I got information from this site about buying through an independent chemist and did it once. The cost was about £47 for 50 where as buying from Germany it’s about £35 for 100. It is correct though to buy in the UK the chemist does have to jump through a few hoops but once it’s set up it’s fine. Good Luck. Yvonne

[dizzy864]

Thank you to all who have replied. It seems to me that if there is a supply issue in Germany they would stop sending to UK first and any problem would hit Germany later. That's only a guess. I've still not heard anything from Tesco. I'm away for a week from tomorrow so I'll chase Tesco when I get back.

I've been researching alternative brands and not finding very much. Does anyone know anything about Morningside Liothyronine? What are it's ingredients and is it vege friendly.

I've emailed them but from past experience I don't always hear back.

[RedApple in reply to dizzy864]

dizzy864, If you download this document from the Thyroid UK website, you'll find the ingredients of all UK thyroid medications listed (plus many non-UK ones too). thyroiduk.org/tuk/treatment...

[dizzy864 in reply to RedApple]

Hi, thanks for that. It's a pity that they do not state if they are vege friendly. Many ingredients can be sourced from animal or plants. This means that some tablets are vege some times and some times not. It's really crazy.

[RedApple in reply to dizzy864]

Well if the manufacturers don't state this information on their documentation or packaging, then you obviously can only find out by asking them directly. Not being vege myself, I just assumed that as they do declare all the ingredients, you would be able to tell from the ingredients list Maybe you could try phoning them if they're not responding to your email enquiry.

[helvella in reply to dizzy864]

Well, lactose monohydrate, partially pregelatinized maize starch, spray dried acacia, sodium chloride seem extraordinarily unlikely to be non-vegetarian.

I believe most magnesium stearate is also vegetable source.

I guess you are left asking how they make the liothyronine sodium itself.

[marin5]

Ask Google

[dizzy864]

Obviously tried that first!! Doesn't work. Very difficult to find ingredient lists. When they do publish them some of the ingredients can be sourced from both plants and animals and no way to tell from which.