Not Teva please

[cat_alli]

Please can someone advise me is it possible to get 25mcg thyroxine but not Teva brand? If so, which brand? My dosage has just been reduced from 100mcg to 75mcg, and 25mcg of the prescription I came home with was Teva. As my GP and I wish to see how I get on with the lower dosage, I don't wish to introduce another possibly problematic ingredient which might or might not make me feel 'off'. Many thanks.

[A2C3]

Hey I try to get 50mcg accord and cut them in half if that’s an option for you?

[cat_alli in reply to A2C3]

Thanks for your reply. I'm cutting 50s at the moment but even with a sharp knife the two halves are not even and there's some crumbling.

[cat_alli in reply to A2C3]

Thanks yes, that is what I'm doing now, but it's not very accurate!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Which brand of levothyroxine do you normally get?

Mercury Pharma make 25mcg

Accord only make 50mcg and 100mcg. Just cutting 50mcg tablets in half to get 25mcg

What were your most recent results that have meant reduction in levothyroxine

Never agree to dose reduction based just on TSH or TSH and Ft4

Previous post shows good vitamin levels

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Obviously you needed TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 tested together

Did you get test via Monitor My Health

All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

[cat_alli in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for your reply and advice. As I've moved from London to Devon my GP has changed. I've been on 100mcg for six years and the current pack I have is Actavis brand.Due to feeling very well aged 57, with blood tests well within range including T3 (which yes I did through Monitor My Health) and all vitamins etc, but having a lot of heart palpitations, my GP and I have agreed that I may be a bit over-medicated and I will try alternating 100mcg with 75mcg every other day and then re-test in seven weeks time. So, with my new prescription I realised I was now taking:

100mcg Actavis on one day

50 mcg Accord (Northstar) and 25mcg Teva (Northstar) on alternate days.

I only took one dose of Teva before I realised what it was. As I'm trying to see how I feel on the lower dosage, and having read on this forum that many people feel unwell with Teva, I decided to stop the Teva and started splitting the 50mcg tablets to make up the 75mcg dosage. The reason for my original question is I would like to stop splitting the 50s as the two halves are uneven and there's some loss due to crumbling.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to cat_alli]

Accord (previously called Activis) doesn't make 25mcg tablets

Levo is a storage hormone

You can just take 50mcg alternate days to give 25mcg dose without cutting

[cat_alli in reply to SlowDragon]

Wow I didn't know that about the way thyroxine stores, yes I will consider this option, thanks!

[shaws Administrator]

You should request your pharmacist to source the 25mcg of Teva.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

cat_alli

If you are fine with your current brand you can take 100mcg one day and 50mcg the next (cut the 100mcg tablet in half) to average 75mcg daily. No need to change your prescription or brand and cheaper than dispensing lower dose tablets.

[cat_alli in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for your reply. Due to feeling very well aged 57, with blood tests well within range including T3 (which yes I did through Monitor My Health) and all vitamins etc, but having a lot of heart palpitations, my GP and I have agreed that I may be a bit over-medicated so I am alternating 100mcg with 75mcg every other day and then re-test in seven weeks time. With my new prescription I realised I was now taking:

100mcg Actavis on one day

50 mcg Accord (Northstar) and 25mcg Teva (Northstar) on alternate days.

I only took one dose of Teva before I realised what it was. As I'm trying to see how I feel on the lower dosage, and having read on this forum that many people feel unwell with Teva, I decided to stop the Teva and started splitting the 50mcg tablets to make up the 75mcg dosage. The reason for my original question is I would like to stop splitting the 50s as the two halves are uneven and there's some loss due to crumbling.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to cat_alli]

cat_alli

The reason for my original question is I would like to stop splitting the 50s as the two halves are uneven and there's some loss due to crumbling.

What are you using to cut the tablets?

I cut a 50mcg Accord tablet in half with no problem and no crumbling. If it is a little bit uneven it doesn't matter because Levo is a storage hormone, you'll be using the other half within a day or two, some people take it once a week under medical supervision.

I use this pill cutter amazon.co.uk/Safe-Sound-Pil...

When I've split the tablet I tip everything into a little pot and if there are any crumbs they'd go in the pot with the two halves. Also, a couple of crumbs wont make much difference, a tablet is not guaranteed to have the exact amount of active ingredient, there is a tolerance of (I think) + or - 5%.

[cat_alli in reply to SeasideSusie]

I have ordered that pill cutter - I didn't know such a thing existed and I was using a sharp kitchen knife 😜

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

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

It includes all UK levothyroxine products - and every dosage available.

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...

[cat_alli in reply to helvella]

Thank you helvella that is very helpful for me!

[tattybogle]

The manufactures of 25mcg levo available in UK are :-

-TEVA 25mcg (these are also in the boxes branded "Northstar 25mcg" *)

-MERCURY 25mcg(from Advanz) *Edited to remove confused comment about eltroxin*

-WOCKHARDT 25mcg

(ACCORD do not make a 25mcg..

* Only Northstar 25's are from Teva , their 50's and 100's are from ACCORD)

If they don't make 25's in the same 100mcg brand you are used to, you could alternate 100mcg one day /with 50mcg (half tablet) the next.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to tattybogle]

Tattybogle - I’m not at all clear why there would be a change of branding to Eltroxin? Think I might be missing something!!!

[tattybogle in reply to helvella]

I’m not at all clear why...good point .. neither am i.. I seem to have added "? now branded Eltroxin" next to mercury pharma (advanz)on my bit of paper with 'who makes what' on.

If you'd asked me where i got that idea from i'd have said "from something Helvella wrote somewhere"... but at this precise point in time i trust your memory more than i trust mine..... So let's assume i just had a senior moment , and i'll edit it out x

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to tattybogle]

Absolutely all of us make mistakes!

I think you might have been thinking of this post:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

So far as I can see, that acquisition is unlikely to change any branding.

[tattybogle in reply to helvella]

nope.. wasn't that.. has been on my bit of paper for a ? few weeks... maybe ... i was just wrong..... it has ben known to happen before

[tattybogle in reply to helvella]

on your dropbox doc: helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines.pdf "UK Levothyroxine Tablets:-

Advanz - Mercury Pharma Levothyroxine tablets and Mercury Pharma Eltroxin tablets"

...Is probably what made me add Eltroxin? to my list.

I keep it in my pocket for when i go to the chemist (so i know what i'm talking about before starting an argument about what they've given me this time)

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to tattybogle]

Right-ho! Eltroxin (in the UK) is indeed a branding used by Advanz. But for reasons that are anything but clear, it is hardly ever available in the pharmacies.

Goldshield (the company which became Mercury Pharma) acquired the Eltroxin brand indirectly from Glaxo in the UK.

Glaxo, later GlaxoSmithKline, eventually sold world rights excluding the UK to Eltroxin brand to Aspen of South Africa - and acquired a 17% interest in Aspen. I think there might be a couple of other areas where Aspen do not own the rights - like India.

And Mercury Pharma used to sell levothyroxine under their Forley Generics branding.

Eventually, it became clear that except for one minor difference, later resolved, what is now Mercury Pharma levothyroxine is 100% identical to Mercury Pharma Eltroxin.

[tattybogle in reply to helvella]

lol.... so if i understand correctly . they could call it Eltroxin in UK if they wanted to, but they (probably) won't.. so i can safely cross it off my list of "items i might have to argue with the chemist about" ?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to tattybogle]

Correct. Occasionally people do get it branded Eltroxin.

(And when we see people in other countries refer to Eltroxin - it is a different product.)

[cat_alli in reply to tattybogle]

Thank you for your reply and advice, that is very helpful.