I’ve had a 5 week break from Levo as, due to Accord, I was having a scary amount of heart palpitations and all sorts of other side effects. My doctor ordered me MP Eltroxin. I was told both by her and the pharmacist it was tricky to get hold of cos it was a ‘brand’ make. I told the (rather dozy) pharmacist that I’d found that MP Eltroxin was identical to its Levothyroxine (thanks to research shared on this forum - thank you!) and he just could not (would not?!) understand and ended up ordering me an additional box!! Insane.
Anyway, the tablets took 2 and a half weeks to arrive. I was generally feeling human again off Levo, my face has de-puffed, my itchy skin episodes vanished and I haven’t had a diarrhoea attack since I stopped taking Accord. I could even go out without anxiety that I’d need a toilet quick. My throat/thyroid started to feel a bit off and I began feeling very tired, so I knew I should try this ‘new’ Eltroxin.
So I’m now day 5 of taking Eltroxin. I just started again at my usual dose - 50mcg and 75mcg alternating daily - perhaps this is too much after such a long break? But I’m once again getting diarrhoea, cramps, bloating and now with added nausea as a lovely bonus!
I can’t even face ringing the pharmacy to ask them what they think at the moment, as Accord, Teva or Mercury Pharma do not agree with me, and I got the impression they absolutely don’t want to spend out on the filler-free expensive stuff! So thought I’d come back and ask what you think - too much too soon causing the GI problems and insomnia? Should I leave it off for a day or two or just reduce the dose for a few days? Arghhh I’m getting to the end of my tether with it all.
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PirateQueen
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Clearly there is a filler in the Levothyroxine brands that you have tried that doesnt agree with you. Have they tried you on liquid levothyroxine. It has to be kept in the fridge and isnt as stable as tablets but it won't have the fillers. I would ring them up and ask for that.
Meant to add that 50mcg is a starter dose and as you are only alternating between that and 75mcg its very unlikely to be too strong.
A pharmacist (she was possibly temporary) I spoke to suggested the liquid stuff, she then asked me to hold on while she asked the other pharmacists. They said it was very expensive and only people who had swallowing problems or something could have it?! So that doesn’t give me hope on that one, sadly
Thats not true!! There are people on here who have the liquid form due to allergies. It has to be stored more carefully. It is more expensive......but then if you are not treated you will end up on a raft of other medication from all they symptoms of hypothyroidism which will cost a fortune!
Sorry PirateQueen, I am not familiar with the Eltroxin, (never heard of it) as I have always been on levothyroxine, but I do have to have the Morningside one, as Teva I could not cope with and not been on Pharma for a very long time. As you said the tummy upsets can be horrendous. Regarding the palpitations, it can be a sign of the dose being too high. Regarding the dose of Eltroxin, is that the 50-75 mcg? For me, I have a combination of 200 mcg of Levo and 10 mcg of Lithyronine, daily. Sorry I could not be more help. Hope someone can give you the answers you need.
Thanks. Apparently Mercury Pharma has brought out ‘Eltroxin’ (not the same as the stuff in America) but people here have researched and found it was exactly the same as the Levo they produce - just changed the name!! Ridiculous. GPs and pharmacists think I’m making it up, I think.
So yeah, taking the “Eltroxin” (quotation marks are on purpose!) at the same dose as the other Levo’s I’ve been on in the past. I had such a lovely 5 weeks with no tummy upsets at all, this has made me very sad!
In 1951, Glaxo, who then produced l-thyroxine-sodium decided to apply a brand name, Eltroxin. They simply changed the name and the labelling - no change whatsoever to the ingredients.
Somewhere between 1990 and 1995 the Eltroxin product was sold on and arrived with Goldshield. They were merged and renamed to form Mercury Pharma.
For reasons that were not entirely clear, they also produced the same product under the name Forley Generics. (There was one tiny inconsistency between Eltroxin and the generic products.) They eventually dropped the Forley Generics name and simply produce Mercury Pharma Eltroxin and Mercury Pharma levothyroxine. Which are identical to each other.
There must be some advantage in Mercury Pharma (who are owned by Advanz) keeping both products. But it would just be guesswork by me as to what that is.
I’ve been on their Levo before and it just made me very tired, like it wasn’t strong enough - I don’t remember this amount of stomach upset though, which made me wonder whether taking my usual dose after 5 weeks of nothing had hit my system a bit hard again.
I was bed bound for almost a month when I first started levo, and that was on Actavis, so my body hasn’t liked Levo from the start! I guess I’ll have to ring the pharmacy again and tell them I’m not tolerating this either. Just wasn’t sure if it was a bit soon to tell, but I can’t live needing to be attached to a toilet all day every day!
Hi, I am on Levo but I don't think I can help with the question, sorry, I don't have any experience of other brands. I found I felt unwell for quite a while at the start on Levo but, touch wood, after a couple of months I think it settled down and I stopped feeling ropey and I have much better energy days now on the whole. My blood tests are all normal now too. It's a bit of trial and error I think with the drugs as I took pure T3 for a while and it gave me hot flushes and didn't help my blood results, but strangely a lower dose of Levo has improved my bloods and I feel better on it. Hope you get somewhere with it all and sorry not to be of more help. I should add also that I'm very careful about my diet these days and I think that has helped my thyroid function - I don't do gluten, dairy, processed foods and I eat really clean and try to keep up a good dose of healthy fats and protein, generally stick to low carb. I've found all that has helped to reduce my antibodies and with the Levo improve my thyroid function a lot.
If you are in the UK Go to Boots the Chemist they will source it for you. There was an issue a while back in production due to The patent holder being bought out by MP. Eltroxin is the only brand I can tolerate. Good luck
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I’m getting to the end of my tether with it all.
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