Trying another brand of Levothyroxine...

[Sarahlouise1980]

If the hairloss I’m experiencing is indeed caused by a change in fillers in the Actavis Levothyroxine, how long will it take for them to clear my system if I try another brand of Levothyroxine?

Thank you!

[Caroline888]

Hi Sarahlouise,

When I had my problem with Actavis I was told it would take 8 days for it to leave my system and in fact that did appear to be the case as all bad side effects went after just over a week.

Hope a change of brand works out well for you.

All the best

Caroline

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

The half life of Levo is 7 days so it may take about 10 weeks for all the Actavis to leave your body completely but will be diminishing by half every week. In the meantime the new brand will be building up.

Here is a document from ThyroidUK which gives the ingredients of all the Levo brands available here so that you can compare what's in each one

thyroiduk.org/tuk/treatment...

[Ellie-Louise]

I didn’t know they had changed fillers. When did that happen because my hair suddenly got worse. I have always taken Actavis.

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Hi Ellie, I don’t know that they definitely have but I’m having hairloss and have always been on Actavis. Thought a change of brand would be worth a try x

[Ellie-Louise in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

I was given Teva once when I collected my prescription from Asda a few years ago. I came up in itchy red spots all over my neck and chest.

As soon as I went back on Actavis all returned to normal.

That’s why I worry about a change of brand.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Ellie-Louise

When did that happen because my hair suddenly got worse.

Actavis are saying there has been no change.

2 or 3 members have reported that they are experiencing symptoms and they think it might be down to Actavis. Here are a couple of threads:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... (Ian has written several threads).

However, I think there are many, many members taking Actavis/Almus/Northstar (all are Actavis) and the number of reports of this type are minimal.

I am currently taking one of the batch numbers reported to be suspicious and I haven't experienced anything untoward as yet.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you.

[SPD1 in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Hi Ellie,

did you notice any other changes at all around the time you noticed your hair got worse ? worse as in shedding? i have been on Actavis for over 10 years, same daily dose, was absolutely fine up until about 15 weeks ago and then i've developed numerous symptoms, including alarming hair fall/shedding.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to SPD1]

I had already told you about symptoms I had noticed since starting a new pack in your own thread.

[Teresamarie]

Hi Sarahlouise1980

Boy, I’m with all those in this forum who didn’t know about levo and all the off brands out there. The pharmacy I had just arbitrarily changed makers and I had a really bad reaction! So I asked for name brand synthroid so I would always get the same thing, not substitution. This has made my life so much better. It took at least four weeks for any real change but now so much better.

Here’s an article I found that helps to understand how a brand name will be consistent but a generic will not.

“Brand name levothyroxines are consistent in terms of potency from batch to batch. Generic formulations, on the other hand, tend to be less so.

If you switch from a brand name to a generic preparation, you may notice that you don't feel as well on the generic drug and may have symptoms of hypo- or hyperthyroidism. While this can be due to the drug's dosage and potency, it can also be due to:

How much of the levothyroxine is available for absorption by the body

The amount of levothyroxine circulating in your body after a dose”

(Brand Name vs. Generic Levothyroxine. There are important factors to consider before taking one or the other By Michael Bihari, MD

Updated July 25, 2019)

Just a thought....

[Lora7again]

I would contact the drug manufacturer and ask if they have changed the fillers. A lot of people who are on Synthroid have hair loss and it actually lists this as one of the side effects. I personally would ask for a different brand.

rxlist.com/synthroid-side-e...

[Lora7again]

Here is another link showing different side effects people have reported. I don't know if any of them are Actavis

drugs.com/comments/levothyr...