Brands of T3, some weaker than others?

[ReneeC76]

I've been taking a generic brand of T3 made in the US by Greenstone, LLC for the past 6 weeks with great success. I also ordered Uni Pharma T3 online to have basically in the event my dr gives me any issues with the amount of T3 I need prescribed. I noticed the Uni Pharma T3 expires long before the Greenstone, and so I switched yesterday. Even though I'm taking an equivalent amount, I feel different. Seems maybe the Uni is weaker, as I do feel a bit low and dizzy, just a bit strange overall.

Does anyone have experience with these brands of liothyronine? Does Uni Pharma tend to be weaker than others you've been prescribed? I know all brands habe differences, especially with additives. I'm asking if anyone has experience with Uni Pharma brand and how it compares to others you've taken.

Thanks.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

ReneeC76

I take Unipharma. I did try Grossman Cynomel for a short time but found it too strong, it made me feel unwell and my blood pressure and heart rate increase when taking the same dose as I did with the Unipharma. I lowered the dose of Cynomel but still didn't like it.

I am currently taking Unipharma that has an expiry date of June 2019 and I haven't found it any less effective than when it was in date, and all my stock will continue to be more out of date as I use it up.

I haven't used any other brand to compare.

I think we all differ in what suits us, some find Tiromel weak but some find it perfect for them.

[ReneeC76 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you. Yeah, no doubt you're right, everyone will have a difference in what suits them. I'm currently in need of high levels of T3. I was in a myxedema-like condition and also had high reverse t3 and high inflammation. I've increased the T3 med every 3 days with no adverse effects at all, so my cells have been in desperate need of it. Maybe the Uni Pharma is just a bit weaker than the other I was taking. I'm still going to continue ordering though, will maybe just increase a bit when I use it.

That's good to know you tried some that was outdated with no issues. I was concerned about stockpiling to far ahead. Maybe I won't be so concerned now. It's a bit unsettling to have only a months worth at a time from the doctor!

[SilverAvocado]

Tablets are all a little bit different in terms of fillers and perhaps other subtler elements of the manufacturing process. Even though they all theoretically contain the same amount of active ingredient, maybe our bodies have a difference in how they process them.

Something I suspect from stories on the forum is that very often when switching brands people feel the new brand is weaker. But then you'll get someone in another thread switching in the other direction and finding the brand person A started on feels weaker. I've come to think maybe at the very least our bodies can take a while to figure out how to deal with the slight differences in a new brand and make as much use of the hormone.

Personally I've been lucky and never felt a difference when switching brands. However, I get my T3 from two different sources so have stocks of two different brands in the house. To hedge my best I take one brand for my morning dose and the other brand in the afternoon, to reduce any shock in switching back and forth as I get different supplies in.

[ReneeC76 in reply to SilverAvocado]

I agree, our bodies probably do need some time to adjust to those subtle differences in fillers and so forth. That's a great idea, to reserve one brand for morning and one for evening. I'm currently using the circadian t3 method, taking the t3 4 times per day. Perhaps taking one brand for 2 doses and one for the other 2 might be an option.

[helvella]

I think that you will find Greenstone liothyronine is manufactured in Germany or Austria - not the USA. Greenstone is, though, a USA company.

Further, it would appear to be made by the same company, Peptido, and have identical tablet markings to Pfizer Cytomel. KPI 115, KPI 116, KPI 117 depending on dosage (5, 25 or 50 micrograms respectively).

(KPI comes from when it was a brand of King Pharmaceutical Inc. later acquired by Pfizer.)

More information about the products on the FDA's official site:

Greenstone liothyronine

dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailym...

Pfizer Cytomel

dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailym...

SeasideSusie

[ReneeC76 in reply to helvella]

That's good to know they seem to be identical and made by the same company. My insurance co likes to bitch about name brands and pushed generic. I'm sure most do. But if there is no difference here, I guess no need to think greenstone is inferior.

[helvella in reply to ReneeC76]

An unknown name most certainly doesn't mean a medicine is inferior. We have seen so many name changes, brands coming and going, repackaging, it is very hard to keep track.

[ReneeC76 in reply to helvella]

Very true. I was never on meds before this so all I had to go by was my goofy first endocrinologist, that I fired, acting like name brand was the only way to go. Thank goodness that isn't a fact!