Euthyrox - Hello everyone. Does anyone take the Euthyrox (Merck) brand of thyroxine. It is the only brand that works for me and with Brexit I am told pharmacy can no longer get it. I have been getting it on NHS prescription for the past 5 years. I have a friend in Thailand who can get it for me (it was first prescribed for me there by a hospital when I got really ill out there on holiday). Does anyone know what I would have to do with customs for them to be able to send it to me? UK brands make me ill. Euthyrox is levothyroxine sodium. All UK brands are anhydrous levo sodium. I don't know if that's the reason?
Thanks for any help
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OllyTojo
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Euthyrox is still on the list of available Levothyroxine brands on ThyroidUK's website as "European Levothyroxine (not licensed in the UK)" but that doesn't mean it can't be prescribed. It could be that it's still available and your pharmacy might not know the current procedure on obtaining it.
I have a friend in Thailand who can get it for me (it was first prescribed for me there by a hospital when I got really ill out there on holiday). Does anyone know what I would have to do with customs for them to be able to send it to me?
You don't have to do anything. It can still be sent, we are allowed to import a certain amount of prescription medication for personal use, it's just that it may be checked at Customs and there may be VAT and a collection fee to pay, but that's always been the case when importing anything from outside the EU pre-Brexit.
Thank you so much for replying. That is so so helpful. Thank you. I am speaking to my GP this week and will tell him and try to get my prescription repeated. I will also ask my friend to send from Thailand also, absolutely cheaper than chips! Less than £5 for 200! That way I'm covered. Thank you
OllyTojo, I think some European versions of Merck Euthyrox may have different ingredients to the Thai version. Have a look at the ingredients listed on the PIL of the ones you have. Some versions have Mannitol in them, some don't. This may not matter to you at all, but as some people are unable to tolerate mannitol it's good to be aware just in case.
The question about Anhydrous vs. Pentahydrate has cropped up so many times, I have written a document to explain my view:
helvella – Levothyroxine sodium – Anhydrous vs. Pentahydrate
If you read about levothyroxine, especially as a medicine, you will see mention of two forms used as the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in levothyroxine medicines: levothyroxine sodium (anhydrous) and levothyroxine sodium.
The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 57,000 employees and present in 66 countries.
The company has so many subsidiaries around the world that it is hard to find information that would be simple for much smaller companies - such as a list of manufacturing locations.
For that reason, I believe that we simply have to check each time where the product was manufactured and what are its ingredients.
[When discussing Merck, we need to be very careful. There are, basically, two major companies:
Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA is known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada. We often see the name Merck Sharp & Dohme used which is where the abbreviation MSD comes from.
Hello Helvella. Could I just check, is it the Merck group that makes Euthyrox. My pharmacist is trying to source it for me and asked me which one it was. My muzzy brain can't work out your message 🙂 Thank you
I am on Euthyrox (Merck) and live in Sweden. Mine is made in Germany, but bought with prescription in Sweden. This very Euthyrox is the only brand that works for me.
I really hope you will find a way to get your medication. I know how hard it can be with different brands.
My Euthyrox actually has a warning on the box saying "changed ingredients".
Thank you Sweetpea Flower. Mine has changed ingredients too. I hadn't noticed so I guess I'm OK with it. I have noticed my hair falling out though Apologies delay responding and thank you for your message
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