You may already be aware of this but the brand name of Mercury Pharma has been changed to Eltroxin.
I was aware that Mercury Pharma Levo was the same as Eltroxin after reading it on here else I might of panicked thinking it was a different formulation.
When I went to pick up my prescription from Boots yesterday they informed me they could no longer get 50mcg Mercury Pharma so when I said I rang Advanz earlier this year and they were available to order pharmacist advised me to ring them again get a contact name and he would phone and sort it out. So I did that this morning and yes no problem Advanz still have Mercury Pharma available to order I took the chaps name (although he didn't say the brand name has changed to Eltroxin) and he was happy for me to pass it on to Boots pharmacy. I passed info on to Boots ( contact number and persons name I spoke to) and pharmacist was very helpful and straight away rang Advanz and discovered that they have changed the brand name to Eltroxin. They will fulfill my prescription this time but have to inform my GP that future prescriptions should be marked Eltroxin.
Hope this is helpful to anyone else facing this upsetting problem, When you are afraid to change to other brands after experiencing unwelcome symptoms you just don't need the complication of loosing your preferred brand.
Without being on this wonderful site I would be in a very bad place all the info I've gathered has saved me from the misery of this rather complicated illness.
Thank you to all the admin staff who have given me such good advice.
Many thanks.
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Silverlady5
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I usually have Wockhardt Levothyroxine as it’s the only brand that doesn’t cause me too many negative side effects. However, the pharmacist at my gp surgery has not been ‘able’ to get any for a couple of months now and has supplied this ‘Eltroxin’ instead... I contacted Wockhardt, who are based only 30 miles from me in Wrexham, and they informed me there are no supply issues with their Levothyroxine tablets.
In that time my weight has crept up by 6kg (in spite of no changes to my diet), my nails have become extremely brittle and weak, my hair has started falling out, I’m getting muscle weakness, cramp in my feet and lower legs and I’m finding just getting on with life is becoming harder and harder.
The odd thing is that I also take MP liothyronine which has not caused me any issues for the last 10 years I’ve been taking it, which is why I was persuaded to agree to the Eltroxin in the first place.
I will be putting in a yellow card report about this today and I shall also be insisting that I have my Wockhardt restored. 😡
I think it a mistake to think that because we are OK on one medicine from a company, another medicine from the same company will also be OK.
I know, when we find that a food brand that we like, or dislike, it is natural to expect other items to be like or disliked. But that expectation can readily be confounded.
In the case of medicines, each and every one is formulated separately. Just possibly, Mercury Pharma (or any other company) will keep the range of excipients they use to a minimum range, thus the same ones would tend to appear in more than one medicine. But only if they can be demonstrated to be suitable.
Thank you helvella for your reply. I had based my assumption that I would be OK on Eltroxin after seeing your posts which list the different thyroxines and under Mercury Pharma it says that and Eltroxin are the same.
Yes - I do firmly believe that Mercury Pharma Levothyroxine and Mercury Pharma Eltroxin are the same.
I was referring to Zephyrbear's comment "The odd thing is that I also take MP liothyronine which has not caused me any issues for the last 10 years I’ve been taking it, which is why I was persuaded to agree to the Eltroxin in the first place. "
I find this playing about with branding to be almost entirely to the disadvantage of patients.
If someone has managed to get their prescriptions endorsed "Mercury Pharma Levothyroxine", how many pharmacies would consider "Mercury Pharma Eltroxin" to fulfil that requirement? Even if they realise it has the same MAH PL number.
Hence, everyone with that will need to get their prescriptions changed...
Trouble is, we have seen periods during which the Eltroxin branded product has been readily available. And others where it has disappeared. (At least, that is how it appears.) It is silly for us to have to get our prescriptions changed repeatedly, especially if we do not know how long this change will last.
I found out that the availability of a brand has nothing to do with supply but with cost; if a pharmacy can get a cheaper brand or a brand for which they will get a bigger NHS refund, they will order that. It is possible to get a paper prescription and shop around as some pharmacies will have your brand if they have a big contract with the supplier. I keep telling pharmacies about the MHRA guideline that pharmacies should get the brand patients feel well on. They know about it but money speaks is the loudest.
Hi There I usually have MP 100mcgin the box with the pills in a sachet that you pop the pills out but fir some reason the last couple of months they have been coming loose in a small tablet pot it's only since this way I've not felt very good tiredness headaches definitely not felt the same hair loss too. I just wondered why they were coming loose n not in the sealed pkts
I did just have a word with pharmacist who says they came in pots they are Mercury Pharma but they only get from their distributor what they are sent so I'm not really understanding why they arnt coming in blister packs Mercury pharma boxes but I definitely am noticing something
We have seen many previous issues and pharmacies seem poor at getting the real answers.
And, I emphasise, even if the tablets are taken from a big pot, you are entitled to a Patient Information Leaflet for the product dispensed. Every time.
Check the markings on the tablets you actually get.
I have heard back from Advanz and the relevant part of their email is:
Thank you for contacting ADVANZ PHARMA requesting clarification regarding Eltroxin branded and Mercury Pharma branded Levothyroxine marketed in the UK by ADVANZ PHARMA.
As you are aware the products below share the same product license (PL) number, therefore are of the same specification/formulation:
Eltroxin 25mcg tablets (PL 12762/0016)
Levothyroxine 25mcg tablets (PL 12762/0016)
Eltroxin 50mcg tablets (PL 10972/0031)
Levothyroxine 50mcg tablets (PL 10972/0031)
Eltroxin 100mcg tablets (PL 10972/0032)
Levothyroxine 100mcg tablets (PL 10972/0032)
The relevant department have also confirmed that both of the aforementioned products are available.
The generic Levothyroxine tablets are available as a bulk pack and 28 pack size whilst the Eltroxin brand is available only in a 28 pack size.
That confirms there is no move to branding all their levothyroxine as "Eltroxin".
It would certainly have been trivial for someone at Advanz Pharma to have a look and find discussion over the branding issues. And now, my clarifying response/post.
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