NHS Liothyronin/T3

[Wired123]

Hi all, hope you are enjoying the sunshine!

I have an NHS Endo appointment tomorrow morning, the doctor is on the Thyroid UK list as a T3 prescriber.

I am already on Liothyronin from a private consultant and want to see if the GP can prescribe it for me. Only way of doing this is seeing an NHS Endo.

My question is what brand is available on the NHS? I have tried 2 brands privately, SigmaPharm works very well whilst Thybon did not sit well with me. Hoping the Endo can keep me on Sigma.

[Serendipitious]

How did you feel on Thybon? That's the only T3 I've ever tried and it initially caused insane insomnia and then I had nausea when I tried it again after a few years. I know Thybon Henning is Liothyronine Hydrochloride whereas the others tend to be Liothyronine Sodium. How much of a difference this makes I don't know. All the best for your appointment.

[Wired123 in reply to Serendipitious]

Yeah I just felt all over the place on Thybon so went back to Sigma.

Just felt tired and lethargic, so was going backwards vs not being on T3 so had to stop.

[Lotika]

I am on Morningside via then NHS.

[Lalatoot]

I have had Morningside and Teva (which is not like Teva levo!). My GP also insists on prescribing 5mcg tablets as he doesn't think it right to split tablets so it costs them more each month but I am not complaining.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

NHS brands are

Morningside healthcare 20mcg, 10mcg and 5mcg tablets

Teva 20mcg

Mercury Pharma 20mcg

Price per 28 tablets

Morningside healthcare 10mcg is £148

Morningside healthcare 5mcg £98

All brands 20mcg £118

So 20mcg is significantly cheaper....most patients cut the 20mcg into 1/4s (5mcg )

[crimple]

When I started on T3 I had to buy it from Greece. I found it crumbled when cutting so not easy to get an accurate dose. I then was able to use a private prescription to obtain Thybon, which seemed to be better. Eventually after seeing an NHS endo I was allowed an NHS prescription from my GP.I had to remind the GP about my various food intolerances and in particular acacia powder. After looking at helvella's list of T3 products I decided it would be best to try Sigma Pharma. I have been taking that ever since. 3 x 5mcgm per day and been very happy with it. (I also, have actavis/ Almus levothyroxine specified on my prescription, due to avoiding acacia powder)

I had problems obtaining Sigma Pharma locally and therefore my scrip is sent to Springfield Pharmacy and my meds come in the post- great service.

It is best not to change brands if you have found one you are happy with, cost may well be an issue! Good luck

[Wired123 in reply to crimple]

Interesting Re intolerance, never heard of acacia intolerance.

I’ve been to tested twice for allergies and nothing came back positive. I’m definitely intolerant to milk and wheat but this is not severe enough to trigger the allergy test.

How did you identify the acacia intolerance and is acacia in a lot of products?

[Wired123]

Interesting Re intolerance, never heard of acacia intolerance.

I’ve been to tested twice for allergies and nothing came back positive. I’m definitely intolerant to milk and wheat but this is not severe enough to trigger the allergy test.

How did you identify the acacia intolerance and is acacia in a lot of products?

[Wired123]

Just in case anyone is wondering about the lack of update, my appt was cancelled due to IT problems as the relevant person in the hospital was off sick so they could not setup the virtual appt system!

Will receive a new appt within a month 😏

[crimple]

The acacia intolerance was identified by a process of elimination. At the time i was on 100mcgm of levothyroxine and then had to increase to 125mcgm. So that meant a 100 mcgm tablet and a 25mcgm tablet. Within a week of increasing the dose i thought i was developing a stomach ulcer. I had a lot of discomfort in my guts. I asked the GP for 50 mcgm tabs from same manufacturer as the 100mcgm and cut them in half to get the correct dose. Within 2 weeks my gut issues were a lot better.I probably would not have made the connection if I had not been diagnosed some years previously with intolerances to wheat, chicken, eggs and soya. I have since adopted gluten free and lactose free diet and still avoid, chicken, eggs and soya.

I am fine with Actavis/ Almus levothyroxine and Sigma Pharma T3

Doctors and pharmacists can be very dismissive about the fillers in medications and the problems they can cause.

[Wired123 in reply to crimple]

Thanks for the reply, very interesting indeed.

It’s shocking how doctors and pharmacists bury their heads in the sand and deny variations between brands. I’m sure these same people will have preferences when it comes to Coke vs Pepsi (or any other consumer products) but fob us off because they are too lazy to pull their finger out.

Where did you get your intolerance test done. I’ve had allergy tests but intolerance testing is probably the next step for me.

[crimple in reply to Wired123]

My GP referred me to an allergy consultant, 20 years ago. I had to follow a very strict elimination diet for 6 weeks. That wasn't easy but I was determined to find out why I was always feeling ill, tired. After the restricted diet you introduce one new food each day and record the results such as pulse rate, temperature and any other symptoms. The result was wheat, chicken, eggs and soya all raised my pulse rate and there were physical effects such as swelling of joints in my hands, pain in my guts etc. At that time I hadn't been diagnosed with any thyroid issues.

The hypothyroid diagnosis came 7 years later and eventually I was diagnosed with Hashi's so following advice on here I went GF and then dairy free.

I can tolerate lactose free milk and cream and have ordinary butter and hard cheese. It is much easier to be GF theses days, but most bread has egg white in it

😕 so until recently hubby made me bread in the breadmaker. Schar has some bread buns without egg and Promise white loaf is also egg free and really tasty and moist.