What brand levothyroxine is the best brand

[Hscott1988]

Hi I’ve been on Northstar for over 6 weeks now and I can honestly say I feel awful. I’m tired, feel sick, foggy mind and just generally down. My throat feels tight and I have lots of phlegm and also acid so I’m really uncomfortable. What brand is the best brand to take? Has anyone else had these side affects?

[Lalatoot]

If the tablets are 25mcg they are made by TEVA. Teva brand levo causes problems for some folks.

[sverdelleee in reply to Lalatoot]

Generic Levothyroxine - onlinecheappills.com/levoth... I received the order and it was on time and the pills work great.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

How much levothyroxine are you currently taking?

Standard starter dose of levothyroxine is 50mcg

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine

Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.

Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.

Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.

Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet. So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half

Northstar 25mcg is also Teva

Are you currently taking Teva?

Teva, Aristo and Glenmark are the only lactose free tablets

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Teva poll

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Physicians should: 1) alert patients that preparations may be switched at the pharmacy; 2) encourage patients to ask to remain on the same preparation at every pharmacy refill; and 3) make sure patients understand the need to have their TSH retested and the potential for dosing readjusted every time their LT4 preparation is switched (18).

Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after

Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime

verywellhealth.com/best-tim...

No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap. Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away

(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)

[silverfox7]

The best brand is one that suits you! Sounds a bit flippant but the usual problem is the fillers as they can differ and we can be allergic it particular brands because of that.

When I first started out my them doctor put me on NDT from Canada and I was fine on then but eventually I was changed to Levo as my new doctor had been told that was how it is!

So I went to talk to the pharmacist to ask her advice. She told me there were several but not all were always available to her. I wasn’t too happy with that comment but realised she was trying to be helpful by being honest!

So change of tack! I asked about the brand easiest to source as that seemed, in view of her comments, the one to try first so she recommended Mercury Pharma and also said she would prescribe in in multiples of 25 mcg. and that she would start me off with a month at a time to see if I was suited. Thankfully I had no issues and was eventually moved up to 3x as soon as we knew I was suited to them. So that suited both of us. Years later I came across her again when I was about to be discharged from a private hospital with pain meds after a new hip and she remembered me.

I don’t imagine anyone would want to dispense in 25’s from a cost point of view but may be a good idea to talk to the pharmacist about what she was most easily source and talk it from there. When you find one that suits you etc then always check they have given you the right one before you leave the counter as once you leave with the wrong one they can’t replace it without another prescription from your doctor.

[Mrcarloc]

I have the exact same issues on Northstar.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Mrcarloc]

Northstar is not a single formulation.

25 microgram Northstar is Teva product.

50 and 100 microgram Northstar are Accord product.

[Mrcarloc in reply to helvella]

I take 100mg so that would be Accord

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

UK Levothyroxine Tablets

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The detailed information is over four years out of date - hence I have edited this post to remove it.

helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) can be found here:

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines

helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world. There is now a specific world desiccated thyroid document.

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - UK

The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrixes for levothyroxine tablets, oral solutions and also liothyronine available in the UK. Includes descriptions of tablet markings which allow identification. Latest updates include all declared ingredients for all UK products and links to Patient Information Leaflets, etc.

helvella - World Desiccated Thyroid

Contains details of all known desiccated thyroid products.

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - RotW

Contains details of all levothyroxine, liothyronine and combination products - excluding desiccated thyroid products. Details available vary by country and manufacturer.

The link below takes you to a blog page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones. You will have to scroll down or up to find the link to the document you want.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to helvella]

The reply above is out of date - please see my medicines documents:

helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) can be found here:

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines

helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world.

This link takes you to a page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and Google Drive, and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones.

The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrix for tablets, oral solutions and liothyronine available in the UK.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[EllieTa]

Yes, I felt really terrible when I took North Star. I had the same symptoms as you. I take a German brand called euthyrox. It’s brilliant. All the symptoms cleared up and I felt great. Unfortunately it is not on sale in the uk. I was in Germany and I’d forgotten to take my north star with me. A doctor there gave me Euthyrox and it was amazing how all the awful fog and tight throat and depression cleared up. I am still using it a year later and it’s still wonderful.

It’s good to hear that I’m not alone in experiencing those symptoms on North Star. I thought it was just me.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to EllieTa]

Not sure if you saw my earlier reply.

Northstar is not a single formulation.

25 microgram Northstar is Teva product.

50 and 100 microgram Northstar are Accord product.

[EllieTa in reply to helvella]

Whatever it is it’s terrible.

[Partner20 in reply to EllieTa]

Accord levo formulations are generally well tolerated, but Teva levo contains mannitol and acacia. As Euthyrox usually contains mannitol, perhaps it is the acacia excipient to which you are sensitive. Checking the PIL of any medication or supplement is vital if you have suspected intolerances or sensitivities.

[EllieTa in reply to Partner20]

Thank you for your reply. I've reacted badly to Northstar and Activas. My face, my body swells up. With Northstar my throat swelled up and I had breathing problems. I thought it was mould or air pollution or something in the house or some food or toothpaste and went to the doctor who ignored it. Once I started taking Euthyrox all symptoms cleared up.

Do you think it could be the lactose? Is lactose in Activas too? There's no lactose in Euthyrox. They replaced it with mannitol which seems to agree with me.

Acacia isn't on the list of ingredients for Northstar which I definitely had a bad reaction to. Maybe I would be able to take Teva.

[EllieTa in reply to helvella]

Thank you I just looked at your earlier message properly.

If it was the lactose in Northstar that affected me so badly. Which is the best UK brand to take?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to EllieTa]

The list I posted does state which brands definitely contain lactose.

Three makes are lactose-free: Teva, Aristo and the yet-to-be-launched Glenmark.

Note: The 25 microgram Northstar tablets do NOT contain lactose. They are actually Teva product. The 50 and 100 microgram Northstar tablets DO contain lactose. They are actually Accord product.

[EllieTa in reply to helvella]

Thank you. I was taking 100 microgram Northstar with lactose.

[StitchFairy in reply to EllieTa]

Very interesting about Euthyrox. Are you living in Germany now? If not, how are you able to get it prescribed?

[EllieTa in reply to StitchFairy]

You can buy it in Turkey and Spain. It’s not a prescription drug there. My husband is Turkish and I have dual nationality. Merck the company that produced it has an office here in London. I did contact them but they said it can’t be sold here.

Another lady on this site had a similar experience to me. She forgot to take her Levothyroxine to Spain on holiday and bought euthyrox there and felt much better. We both discovered it by accident.

[StitchFairy in reply to EllieTa]

Thank you, that's worth rembering if I ever get to travel out of the UK again! There was a problem somewhere a while ago, France I think, because Euthyrox levo contained mannitol. Does yours have mannitol in it?

[EllieTa in reply to StitchFairy]

Yes, it does have mannitol. After reading your message I checked the leaflets for Northstar and Euthyrox and read the side effects. It seems I had an allergic reaction to the Northstar. I did go to the GP at the time and said I felt I was allergic to something - I wasn't sure what at that time possibly Xylitol or air pollution or mould but I now see I had the side effects symptoms on the Northstar leaflet . MY GP told me she didn't think I had an allergy . Luckily I got the Euthyrox at that time and all symptoms cleared up. Maybe the lactose in Northstar is the problem. Euthyrox doesn't contain lactose.

[Taminaone in reply to EllieTa]

just read your post of 3 years ago re thyroxine brands. Pharmacies in UK closing down due lack of NHS funding so I am worried it will be harder to get my MercuryPharma tabs for my Hashi’s. My friend in Italy is on same German make as you. Can you pm me if you are in UK where one can get it from. Do I need a prescription? Thx so much

[grumpyold]

It's a matter of trial and error, finding one that suits you. For years I was always given Mercury Pharma and I accepted the joint aches I lived with, thinking that was how my Hashi's was.

Then, the pharmacy had trouble getting it for a while and I was given Teva. I know a lot of people really don't get on well with Teva but I thought I was OK and just accepted the chronic constipation I had, as part of life with hypothyroid. This went on for years and I took 6 Dulcoease every day and 8 prunes as well as magnesium citrate and I still couldn't go.

Then, the pharmacy couldn't get Teva for a month and gave me Northstar (Accord). 50 microgram tablets so definitely not Teva. I was on 3 x 50 mcg a day and within a week the constipation improved and I cut the Dulcoease down to 3. I was a happy bunny!

All the years I was on Teva and never realised it was that that caused the constipation.

Now, I have had the devil's own job trying to get Accord every month but finally, I think the pharmacy is understanding how important brands can be.

Good luck.

[Partner20 in reply to grumpyold]

Accord manufacture the 50mcg under the Almus branding for Boots. This is what I always have.

[adin]

For me the best is Tirosint but I'm not living in the Uk. Anyway, no matter how good levothyroxine is, I still need some T3.

[heps56]

Hi I have been on other brands and me I found Actavis the best brand but I am on 100mcg a day. I was on this for years then the pharmacy changed and I could feel the a difference. Maybe ask pharmacist if you try another brand.

[Partner20 in reply to heps56]

Actavis manufactured levo under its own name, and also with the Almus branding for Boots. Actavis was taken over by Accord, but the only change has been to the name in the packaging; the product itself remains the same. Always check the PIL if you are unsure.

[Annacat69]

Unfortunately, even good brands can be reformulated. I was on Euthyrox for years and felt fine on it until they reformulated it to include mannitol. I felt much worse on the new formula so had to switch brands. It would seem fillers affect us much more than most doctors are willing to believe...

[Levo_100]

I started working from home during March 2020 and to stay safe I started to order my meds through a postal pharmacy. This is when I started to have the Northstar brand of Levothyroxine. I was working in a stressful job (sometimes working 7 days a week). That combined with the stress of what was happening in the world I didn't pay too much attention to how the new brand of medication was effecting me. Thought what I was feeling was due to sitting for long hours, not getting to see the sun and basically bad work life balance. Eventually when I realised it could be the brand of Levothyroxine causing the issues I tried to get the brand changed but the Northstar brand was the only one offered. I stopped ordering through ECHO and went to my local pharmacy only to be given the same brand and answer. In Feb 2021 a week after my COVID vaccine I started to experience severe pain in my lower back and legs, my skin started to hurt. I took ibrufen (which i later found I should not have) and paracetamol to elevate the pain, I developed the shakes and felt very cold. After 5 days apparently I went very pale and that's when I took my condition seriously. However still did not go to hospital due to fear of contracting C19. By this time I was seeing double, my head was throbbing and my blood pressure had gone up (all these symtoms had been getting worse over the past 12 months). I was assured by the GP it could not be side effects from the AZ vaccine. The GP increased the dosage of Levothyroxine. However they would not record 'not to give me the Northstar brand'. The pharmacy have tried several times o give me the Northstar brand but I refuse to take it. Though I feel better I still feel weak and shaky some times. But worse of all is that my finger tips and toes remain very cold. Some time my hands and wrists also become very painful. My blood test showed that my thyroid problem was not being treated. I take the levothyroxine at the same time every day and can not understand how taking a particular brand of a generic drug can cause such serious side effects. It's May now and I still have not fully recovered. Feel so let down by the GP practice and pharmacists. If a brand doesn't suit you and you need another one check out the for following. assets.publishing.service.g... for MHRA Drug safety update

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Levo_100]

Northstar is what is known as an own label supplier. They get their product from other companies.

The 50 and 100 microgram tablets are Accord product.

The 25 microgram tablets are Teva product.

I have created, and try to maintain, a document containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and many in other countries.

And if you have problems with any, put in a Yellow Card report.

🟨 Making Yellow Card Reports 🟨

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines.pdf

This document has information about the available thyroid hormones in the UK and, in less detail, around the world.

dropbox.com/s/shcwdwpedzr93...