Levothyroxine Generic Vs Brand name Stiff Joints Flare-Ups Combi Therapy

[jjkeurope]

So I went back to try combi therapy T3/T4 trouble is when I add the T4 in at 100 mg I seem to get an extremely stiff neck and shoulder inflamed type pain wondering if its because of the generic Levo brand and if so whats the best brands of Levo to get? anyone else had these inflamed issues with Levo? I'm a poor converter of t3/t4 trialled t4 only in the past exact same issues

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

In the UK, although there is Mercury Pharma Eltroxin, that is identical to Mercury Pharma levothyroxine - and we often see people unable to get Eltroxin. So pretty much all our levothyroxine is "generic". But there is nothing which makes a brand better, or worse, than a generic.

What is far more important is which one works best for you. Unless you know an ingredient you cannot tolerate, or something similar, I know of no way other than trying one.

[Hookie01]

I found Accord caused me inflammation, it was relief when I finally swapped to mercury pharma.

[Retteacher]

I have only ever had levothyroxine. However, after my dose was wrongly reduced I seemed to become sensitized to the various recipients in the generic branded tablets with gut disturbances and intense itching. Eventually, I heard of the brand Aristo made in Germany but available as a generic on the NHS. It has none of the usual suspects - lactose, acacia etc. Two months in and the itching has stopped. At present, it is only available in tablets of 100mg. It is also a battle to get a pharmacy to stock it. We have a very friendly Pharmacist in Nth West London who spent several weeks sourcing it from a small wholesaler in Basingstoke. Aristo themselves have a UK internet site where you can get a telephone number to helpful people who try and guide pharmacists to the nearest wholesaler.