Has anyone else struggled to get Levothyroxine recently?

[Yasai]

I was wondering if anyone else had been finding it hard to get their Levothyroxine prescriptions recently. Last month I was told that I would be issued my Levothyroxine around this date this month. I just collected my prescription and I have no Levothyroxine.

I've gone without it for a few weeks now and was hoping it would be with the prescriptions I collected today. I would usually buy it myself in this situation but that also isn't a viable option.

I think this might just be an issue with my pharmacy more than anything else, but I started thinking that there may be a shortage of Levothyroxine and wondered if anyone had heard or read anything that confirms that.

[bantam12]

If you requested your repeat Levo you should ask the Pharmacist why it hasn't been dispensed. They may be having problems getting a particular brand but you should be offered a different one, you shouldn't be going without any for weeks, that won't help you at all !

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

I know there have been issues with 12.5 microgram Teva levothyroxine - that was officially identified. And I know we have had a few posts mentioning issues getting Mercury Pharma levothyroxine (maybe specific dosages). But I am not aware of any more general issue.

If there were a widespread issue, I'd expect to have seen more posts referring to it.

Are you saying that you have had NO levothyroxine at all for a few weeks? Or just that you are using what you have got and need to get some more soon?

If it is as bad as it reads, your pharmacy is due a rocket.

[Yasai in reply to helvella]

I usually have the Mercury Pharma Levothyroxine. If there's issues with the Mercury Pharma Levothyroxine it makes some sense as to why I haven't received any. I haven't had any levothyroxine for 2 weeks at this point - I went to collect my usual prescriptions expecting there to be levothyroxine included, and the pharmacist was also confused as to why there wasn't any despite the fact it's on my repeat script and they order in my prescriptions.

There was recently some kind of issue with my pharmacy's text reminder service, which usually alerts me that my prescriptions are ready to collect. I got a notification that some kind of prescription was ready, only to find that they had received nothing and it was a false alarm. I wonder if something went wrong on the technology end and my levothyroxine wasn't ordered in.

I've got another UTI (second one in 6 months) and have a had a nightmare of a day trying to get someone from my GP to call me back so it can be dealt with while it's in the early stages so I can avoid antibiotics. Currently waiting on a call back from 111 after I made it very clear that leaving it and waiting wasn't an option as the last time they decided to wait and see I ended up getting C-Difficle.

It hasn't been a good day, honestly. It feels like everything is repeating itself all over again and my GP surgery have really tested my patience. I only have so much energy to fight the GP surgery and after wasting an entire day trying to get through to them I don't really care anymore.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Yasai]

I almost always suggest contacting the manufacturer - in this case, Advanz. They can tell you what is happening and have sometimes managed to advise how a pharmacy can get hold of the required products.

ADVANZ Pharma

Capital House, 1st Floor, 85 King William Street, London, EC4N 7BL, UK

Telephone

[phone]

Medical Information Direct Line

08700 70 30 33

Customer Care direct line

[phone]

WWW

advanzpharma.com

Medical Information e-mail

[e-mail]

[Yasai in reply to helvella]

Thank you very much for the information! I will get in touch with them directly tomorrow before I get in touch with my pharmacy. I think it's a technical hiccup on their end, but it should be relatively easy to sort out.

Thank you very much for replying! 😄

[tattybogle]

It's not clear form your last post whether you are still being prescribed 25mcg or it had been increased to 50mcg Levo , but it needs to be taken every day. You need to phone the Doctors and get this sorted out quickly. Tell them you have not had any to take for several weeks and need an urgent prescription sorted out.

Not taking thyroid hormone when you need it will leave you hypothyroid which will make any other health problems worse.

There is no problem with the supply of Levo it's an extremely common tablet ,and there are many different brands available if one was hard to get hold of. So the problem here will not be at the Chemist's end, it will be that for some reason the Doctor hasn't put it on the prescription.

The main reason Levothyroxine Prescriptions are free is because it needs to be taken every day, usually for life.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Are you in the UK

You MUST take levothyroxine everyday

A pharmacy can't leave you without levothyroxine

You need to get prescription sorted asap

Likely to have low vitamin levels as direct result of no levothyroxine

Get Blood test 6-8 weeks after taking levothyroxine everyday

Which brand of levothyroxine are you normally taking

[LouiseJackstar]

You need to get on to your GP ASAP as you need to take it for your body to function properly, I’m on 75mg and have had no issues with prescriptions.

[Yasai in reply to LouiseJackstar]

I have another UTI (second one in 6 months) that cropped up yesterday evening. I have wasted an entire day trying to get someone from the GP surgery to call me back so this can dealt with early so I don't have to take antibiotics. Currently waiting on a call back from 111 after I made it very clear waiting was not an option, because last time they waited it turned into a kidney infection and 3 rounds of antibiotics later, I ended up with C-Difficle.

I need to change GP ASAP, that's what I need to do. I shouldn't have to fight this hard and waste this much time to get treatment for anything. Current plan for tomorrow is to sort out the Levothyroxine issue with the pharmacy.

[cheslee]

Hi There. I have been taking levothyroxine for years. It is on a repeat prescription and there has never been a problem. It may just be an oversight, so get back to the pharmacy. It is also Free on the NHS so you shouldn't be buying it.