Hi All..As anyone experienced stomach cramps taking Accord tablets?. I wake at 6 am, take 50 x2 tablets on an empty stomach then within 15min my stomach starts to ach..and continues to ache for a few hours, even after I've eaten and had a cup of tea after an hour or so. It's just passed 10am now and it's easing off.
...(Apologises if this is a double post..attempted to post 30 min ago but it's not appeared).
vivvov
Ask to try a different brand and put in a yellow card report about Accord.
yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/reso...
Don't accept Northstar or Almus, they are also Accord rebranded.
Thank you SeasideSusieWill do that..and thanks for the info on multiple names/same manufacturer.
..just been and collected the prescription...not Teva!25's of Workhardt and 50's of North star.
I'm going to try the Workhardt first and see if they work...I've blood test results coming back on the 10th so I can talk 'brands' with my new GP.
So the 50mcg Northstar are made by, and are the exact same tablets, as Accord
List of different brands available in U.K. and ingredients
thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-hy...
Which brand of levothyroxine were you taking before?
academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...
Physicians should: 1) alert patients that preparations may be switched at the pharmacy; 2) encourage patients to ask to remain on the same preparation at every pharmacy refill; and 3) make sure patients understand the need to have their TSH retested and the potential for dosing readjusted every time their LT4 preparation is switched (18).
I changed doctors recently..just got a new prescription today..Teva..I'll give it a try.If it doesn't make any difference, I might try taking it with something bland.. a couple of oat cakes or some bran...as suggested by Anthem 55.
Northstar 50mcg and 100mcg are Accord
Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet. So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half
But for some people (often if lactose intolerant, Teva is by far the best option)
Teva, Aristo and Glenmark are the only lactose free tablets
Most easily available (and often most easily tolerated) are Mercury Pharma or Accord
Accord is also boxed as Almus via Boots, and Northstar 50mcg and 100mcg via Lloyds ....but doesn’t make 25mcg tablets
beware 25mcg Northstar is Teva
List of different brands available in U.K.
thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-hy...
Teva poll
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.
Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.
New guidelines for GP if you find it difficult/impossible to change brands or cannot find any tablets that are tolerated.....they should prescribe liquid levothyroxine
I know this goes against most of the advice on here, but you may find it better for you to take your thyroid hormones with food.
Dr Barry Durrant Peatfield told me to do this as he said that it is better for the stomach. I have done it for some time now. I take it at the start of a meal. It makes it so much simpler than having to time it away from food and drink etc.
Dr Sarah Myhill (one of the medical advisers to ThyroidUK) recommends it in this page from her website, where she quotes from Dr Kenneth Blanchard's book 'The Functional Approach to Hypothyroidism'.
Go to the section headed 'Timing of Dosing'.
drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Thyroid...
You may think that you would need a higher dose if taking with food, but Dr Blanchard said that most of his patients who he switched found no difference, but a few became underdosed. I like his theory that 'thyroid hormone contacting the stomach wall has never occurred in the evolution of the human race until we started taking oral thyroid about a century ago'.
Thanks Anthea55...I'll try taking it with a bland snack if the new Teva tablets don't solve the problem.
I'll try taking it with a bland snack if the new Teva tablets don't solve the problem.
Teva??? You said above you have been given Wockhardt 25mcg and Northstar 50mcg.
Hi..I had rung the chemist to see if my prescription was ready and the assistant said 'teva'..so I wrote teva on the first one..then when I got there it turns out it wasn't teva in the packets..it was actually northstar (50s) and Workhardt (25s). I took 100 of the Workhardt this morning at 6 am and there wasn't the same 'pit of the stomach' ache that I've been experiencing with accord/northstar...slight soreness but got back to sleep no problem. I'll keep on the Workhardt for a few days to confirm the change and let the GP know on the 10th. Hopefully between informing the GP and the chemist, I can obtain a prescription that is all Workhardt.
Also..from precious post..I'm hoping the new GP/new blood test will result in an increase of thryoxine. My last GP was totally unapproachable and prescribed 75 Monday to Thurs. .50 Friday to Sunday ( He was not even going to increase the dosage from 50/day until we argued..even though I had the whole raft of hypo symptoms still(. So long story short... shortly after I unilaterally increased my dose to 100/day...resulting in still not symptom free but feeling halfway normal. That was in the lockdown so just requested prescriptions more frequently over the phone without any problem..supplemented by a small supply obtained elsewhere.
I've ended caring for mum recently so changed area and GP.
Talked with my new GP who was much more receptive (even suggested ref to endo) and informed him I had unilaterally upped my thyroxine dose to 100..and still have physical and psychological symptoms. GP arranged bloodtest to review so hoping he'll recommend an increase to 125 on the back of having symptoms. Mornings are worst time for me..brain fog, anxiety, constipation (and the rest) are at the worst levels as I wake ..and the stomach cramps from the accord brand was extra crap icing on the cake I don't really need. The physical symptoms are one thing but the psychological symptoms have been taking a heavy toll on my mental wellbeing. My hope is that the new GP will engage with discussion, pragmatically take into account prevailing symptoms and work with that to allow a slightly higher (lower?) than median t4 level if necessary (and that a 125 dose will sort out the physical symptoms plus sort out the t3/ serotonin etc side of things).
vivvov
Hopefully you've cracked it with the Wockhardt and you can get the pharmacy to make a note on your records to only prescribe that brand, or maybe your GP can state it on your prescription.
Good luck with new GP, hopefully you'll be able to get the right dose to achieve wellbeing 😊
Thanks Susie..Workhardt seem to be the ticket so hopefully between pharmacist, gp and me..we can do the simple task of arranging I get Workhardt.
Excellent! Hopefully they'll both be on board and there are no further problems 😊
I also had stomachache, constipation, headaches and extreme bloating when taking Northstar. I tried Mercury Pharma but they gave me a continual headache. Wockhardt 25mcg taken in multiples have been the only ones I can tolerate although I haven’t tried Teva but with all the bad press they have had, I don’t think I will 😊 Good luck in finding your preferred brand and make sure that once you’ve found it you get it marked on your prescription.
Thanks for writing to me...I've been experimenting with the workhardt 25s ..taking 100 each day for the last couple of days and they don't give me pain like the northstar tablets. I'm going to call into the pharmacist today (think it's a Lloyds franchise) and ask them to swap my unopened northstar 50s for workhardt 25s.
Regards
Good luck with that, they may say they can’t take them back so you’ll have to get a new script
I've a telephone appointment with my new GP on the 10th in regards to bloodtest results and (hopefully) upping dosage to 125/day. I'll add the swap to workhardt.Even tried crushing the northstar/accord the other day and taking with some oatcakes in an attempt to help speed up digestion of the thyroxine...still battered my stomach so there seems to be no way round it other than simply sticking to workhardt brand....I can only think it must be something to with the different fillers they use.
Thanks again.
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