The latest on French levo and Merck

[fuchsia-pink]

You may be familiar with the story. Merck changed the formula for its levo in 2017, resulting in a lot of unhappy French customers - and a big class action. Now a court in Lyon has awarded €1000 per claimant on the basis of "moral injury".

There's a paywall in the article below, but you can get the gist ...

connexionfrance.com/French-...

[Lora7again]

Thanks for that ... I am not surprised to be honest. A lot of drug companies change stuff hoping we won't notice. I could tell you a few stories about my time in a hospital pharmacy but I might be banned if I did. Also the payout is nothing to these drug companies because they have unlimited funds.

[shaws Administrator]

I think it would also be excellent if, in the UK, those who are supposed to be specialists were held responsible for the disastrous, stressful, worrying times they put patients through by withdrawing NDT and T3 - especially without notice and no thought given regarding patients who had no back-up except to become unwell again on levothyroxine.

It's time some of the 'professionals' had their thyroid gland removed so they could actually experience the woeful state of affairs if levo doesn't restore their health. I am aware many do fine on it, but the majority on this forum seem not to. I am one who became far more unwell than before I was diagnosed.

[Buzcat in reply to shaws]

What brand of Levothyroxine was T3patients been given

[shaws Administrator in reply to Buzcat]

I assume they'd have been prescribed any levothyroxines that the pharmacist had in stock. There's no brand, I believe, as they are generic. i.e.

"a consumer product having no brand name or registered trademark.

"substituting generics for brand-name drugs"

[Buzcat in reply to shaws]

The reason I ask what brand is Teva is stronger than most and yes nearly every medication is generic

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Thanks for posting.

It is so easy for us to miss what is happening next door.

[Buzcat]

Was that Teva Levothyroxine they were put on myself and daughter have under active thyroid and had been on the same brand for years then given Teva and have been really ill it contains the same excipients as the french wee have been to a lawyer and MP he said if wee could get other people who were given this Teva wee would have a case I am in Glasgow so any one else who have been ill withTeva let me know please.

[fuchsia-pink in reply to Buzcat]

No, it was Merck levo, issued to patients in France, and the litigation arose because they changed the exipients in France without informing patients.

British Teva may well contain the same exipients, but - to my knowledge - the Teva formula hasn't changed recently, and whilst a number of people don't get on with it, others prefer it to other brands. If it doesn't suit you and your daughter, you can "yellow card" it and ask for a different brand. Accordingly, I would suspect that there is little chance of litigation in Scotland succeeding.

[Buzcat]

Yellow card was put in and our doctor told us to go to a lawyer that it is the government to blame wee had been on Mercury pharma for years feeling great then was given Teva excipients in MP is different from Teva So it’s still the same as what happened in France.

[Wetsuiter in reply to Buzcat]

i think in France, the packaging, the name, everything was the same, so patients didnt k ow they were being given something different.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Wetsuiter]

Also, I believe it was the only widely available levothyroxine in the country. So there was no realistic possibility of switching to another make.

We might not be happy, for example with Teva in the UK, but there are four other makes we can try to get.