Different brand of levothyroxine different effects??

[BlueKeith]

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in February and was prescribed with 50mcg levothyroxine a day. I am now on my fourth box of pills and each brand was different. The first box of pills didnt do anything for me at all and the second seemed to work. The third box I was tired, couldn't think and was doing stupid things and memory loss. Now on the fourth box and I feel amazing and slightly hyperactive. Had any one noticed this or know if this is true as my doctor dismissed the idea and said they are all the same.?

[tattybogle]

Hello :)....perhaps your doctor hasn't read this yet... (to be fair it's only a day old !)healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Yes some people do notice subtle differences between brands.

Some people have significant issues with one brand and can't tolerate it ...while others can only tolerate that brand (Teva).

Personally i think Teva makes me feel a little slow and bleurgh , but i don't really notice much of a difference between the other brands.

Doctors and chemists and receptionist's and the monkeys uncle's have all been saying for years "that's not possible they are all the same thing" ... but patient's experiences are starting to be listened to , hence that new directive from the MHRA... So in future trust your own experience to be valid ....

Keep a note of what brand you get , and how you feel.. it may come in useful later on.

However ,when first starting treatment and getting up to the full dose, you can expect to feel different every few weeks anyway .. so at the moment it may not be the different brand of tablet you are noticing, but just the normal us and downs as your body adjusts to having thyroid hormone dose increased.

50mcg is just the starting dose and is not enough for most people. usually we end up on somewhere between 75mcg and 150mcg.

have you had a blood test after 6 weeks of being on 50mcg ?

[BlueKeith in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks tattybogle . I agree . I will take picture of each brand and write the effect on it. Or like you say could be just the ups and down. What's your dose if you don't mind me asking?

[tattybogle in reply to BlueKeith]

currently its 112.5mcg , but it was 150 for many years, with a few forays into 125mcg and back again... but comparing dose doesn't tell us much, some people need 175mcg some need 75mcg . ....a VERY rough estimate of expected dose can be got by 1.6mcg per Kg body weight , but even that often bears no relation whatsoever to what dose the person actually ends up feeling best on.

It would be usual to start on 50mcg and perhaps feel a bit better for a few weeks but then feel less good again... this usually coincides with the time for the 6/8 week blood test to check dose , and is normally a sign that dose needs increasing.

The same effect often happens when dose is increased to 75mcg ie. better after a week , OK for a while then less good again. etc until full dose is achieved .

This is because taking thyroid hormone doesn't exactly 'top up' your own production of thyroid hormone . it sort of 'replaces it' .

Your pituitary gland then reacts to the increase by lowering TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and this adjusts your own production of thyroid hormone..... so it's a juggling act until you are on enough to keep things stable.

It is because TSH takes several weeks to stabilise that we have to wait 6 weeks before testing the blood to see the effect of the dose we are on.

Forgive me for waffling .... it's got to that time of day where i can't think clearly, lol

so hopefully someone else will be along to give you the concise information on how to get hold of results, and what they mean.

Have they tested your blood on 50mcg yet ? if so what were the results.

[BlueKeith in reply to tattybogle]

They've tested blood but waiting for results. Thanks

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to BlueKeith]

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 is not always easy to keep to the same make. You might need to ask your pharmacy always to dispense the same product. If they are not helpful, try another pharmacy.

And if you have problems with any, put in a Yellow Card report.

🟨 Making Yellow Card Reports 🟨

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

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...

[Nanaedake]

You're still adjusting to levothyroxine. Each dose change takes 6 to 8 weeks to adjust to. Nothing about levothyroxine and thyroid hormone is speedy or instant. Best advice while getting used to levothyroxine is to stick to one brand then at least you reduce one potential variable factor.

Generic levothyroxine is supposed to all be bioequivalent. The regulators are the MHRA. Chances are, you won't have any problems between brands but until you are on a stable replacement dose you won't be able to judge.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

50mcg levothyroxine is only a starter dose

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine

Once you work out which brand levothyroxine suits you best, make sure you only get that brand at each prescription

Unless very petite likely to need several further increases in levothyroxine over coming months

Have you had thyroid antibodies tested or vitamins?

What vitamin supplements are you currently taking

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies

About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease

Ask GP to test vitamin levels and thyroid antibodies at next test if not been done yet

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Thriva Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins By DIY fingerpick test

thriva.co/tests/thyroid-test

Thriva also offer just vitamin testing

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

Come back with new post once you get results

[BlueKeith in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. Thanks