My Endo has reduced my levo to 75mcg, however only TEVA make levo in 75 tablets and I cannot tolerate TEVA brand. So my doc prescribed 25mcg and 50mcg which was fulfilled by lloyds pharmacy and they sent Northstar - happy days! BUT when I opened the boxes I noticed that the 50s are marked on the blister as accord (that's ok) but the 25s are marked on the blister "MA Holder TEVA UK Ltd".
So does anyone know if these are TEVA reboxed by Northstar (arggg) or ........
I will speak with Lloyd's tomorrow as I only noticed last night.
Written by
twizzle303
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Not really when you think they package Accord in Northstar box.Boots and Lloyd's want their own brand but don't make Levo, so Accord provide the tablets and they are just branded with those shops own brand name. As Accord don't make a 25mcg tablet and Lloyds/Northstar want to offer the full range then they've obtained that dose tablet from elsewhere.
They've just catered for the wider audience by offering the full range of tablets, there are probably more people who don't react to Teva than do react.
The fact is that all retail chains, whether clothing, food or pharmaceuticals have their own branded products made by various different manufacturers. It is up to us to check where everything is produced, whether a manufacturer or country concerns us. I check every medication or supplement, both prescribed and otc, for myself and my partner, to check for any excipient that might cause us issues. It is the same for any food item, whether natural or processed. We must all be vigilant
Was just wondering in what way does it make you feel? I stopped taking the accord and was issued 2x50 mcg of the other but it was a nightmare breaking them in half so reverted back to like your taking.
Yes they are Teva. I can’t tolerate Teva, accord or Actavis. I’m on 100mcg and my GP marks my prescription Wockhardt only. Wockhardt only do 25mcg so I take 4 a day.
Hi twizzle303 I’m the same as you I’m on 75 mcg and I can’t tolerate Teva. The only way Ive been able to avoid it was with the help of an out of hours GP - after discussion he thought the only way he could do it was put “not Teva” on on my prescription. It’s worked so far. The 25mcg tablets I get are Mercury Pharma.
Thank you, my prescriptions have this on - but lloyds/echo decided to ignore it ot more worrying, the person who made up the script was unaware of what was in the northstar box!!!!
I said to my GP that many people reacted to Tevo and I was happy on my brand so they just prescribed 1 and a half tablets. May be worth asking your GP to amend your prescription
This has been the case for a long time. I also take 75mcg daily and can't get the 25mcg Levothroxine in another brand. I don't think NHS GPs would want to prescribe 2 lots of 50mcg for you to half one lot. It is already a pain that we can only receive our Thyroxine for 28 days at a time ............ although we shall be taking this medicine for the rest of our lives. I used to be able to get 2 months supply which was so much easier. Now the doctors can only prescribe more if you say that you are going away on holiday (I assume abroad), and you can get 2 months supply !
i think this must be dependent on the local policy of the surgery.... i currently get 2 months prescription of Levo as routine ( Morecambe Bay CCG) I used to get 3 months until about 2016, when i changed surgery (in same area) .
1 month must be a proper nuisance.. and seems like such a waste of everyone's time and money, (not to mention making it more likely to be given different brands more frequently, with all the issues that brings for some of us)
It is not impossible for GPs to prescribe for longer periods. But some might have to jump through hoops to justify their decisions to others.
It has been implied that pharmacies are one force behind 28-day prescribing. As I understand, they only get one prescribing fee whether the prescription is for 28, 56 or 84 days!
lol. It shouldn't be too difficult for even the dumbest GP to justify giving 2/3 month prescriptions instead of 28 days. I had the impression that part of the reason for the '28days', is that Levo got caught up in recommendations to shorten repeat prescriptions for all sorts of other medicines/ appliances , in a bid to reduce NHS money that was wasted on medicines etc that are not fully used up by patient.
OK , so maybe no need for 3 months of a cream/ painkiller etc if you only use it intermittently, or the problem got better after 3 weeks use. Fair enough.
But since Levo is life long/daily necessity it's not going to get wasted . So that argument is irrelevant. Levo should clearly never have been included in these recommendations.
And as you say, it must cost the NHS more in some ways to do 12 prescriptions a year than 4.
multiple Chemist fee's / Receptionist time to process repeats at surgery / GP time to Check & sign them .
environmental cost's (wasted paper for unnecessary repeat prescription forms, and paper bags at the chemist / delivery vans driving to your house ,polluting the air, 12 x a year instead of 4 )
And there are costs to the patient .. not everyone uses 'online' for repeat's .. i have a 2 mile walk. or some bus fare, to put the repeat into the surgery and a long walk in the other direction to a chemist . which is lovely if i'm doing well , but a big use of energy if i'm struggling with energy and skint .
But the main issue is surely that for a condition requiring lifelong precise dose of a hormone, where consistency of dose absorbed is important to well being , it is idiotic to introduce 12 potentially different brands a year, possibly creating issues that lead to patients requesting GP consultations , possibly leading to repeat blood test's etc..... when, for less money and effort all round, they could limit the potential changes to just 4 ..... like it used to be, before some muppet messed with it to allegedly 'try and stop wasting NHS money'
Where I once lived, the 28-day prescribing was introduced as local policy. This was close to the time of the MHRA report into Levothyroxine - one of the recommendations of that being three month prescribing.
I complained to the relevant body and they replied that they had only become aware of that due to my email! They didn't really have an answer.
I also pointed out how ludicrous it is for medicines taken on an "as needed" basis. One I had at the time could have lasted anything from about two weeks to a year or more - depending, obviously, on my need. They failed to answer in any way how a GP was supposed to reach a number for 28-day prescription.
Yes, I found this out (after being really unwell) and the pharmacy now have a note on my file for no Teva or Northstar. They have to give me a mix of 50s and 25s to fill my 75 prescription.
I have been taking levothyroxine for many years and was always given the same brands, i.e. Activis and Wockhardt until a few yers ago when I was given Teva. I found my symptoms recurring while taking this so asked the pharmacist not to give it to me again. However after a while I was told that was the only brand they could get as they are a chain and the ordering was done centrally. I switched Pharmacy and was assured that they did not stock Teva so this would not be a problem. It has recently become a problem again. I even got my GP to write on the prescription Not Teva. This has worked for a while, until yesterday when I was given Northstar and on examination of the box discovered that it appeared to be a rebranding of Teva. So back I go yet again to the pharmacy. Why the name change? To boost sales perhaps, as people may be unaware of what they are actually getting.
Why the name change? To boost sales perhaps, as people may be unaware of what they are actually getting.
There is no name change. It's specific branding required by certain pharmacies. If you read my first reply, directly under the opening post, you will see which pharma company makes tablets for which pharmacy:
Accord is rebranded as follows:
Almus for Boots - 50mcg and 100mcg
Northstar for Lloyd's Pharmacy - 50mcg and 100mcg
They do not produce a 25mcg tablet.
Northstar 25mcg is Teva.
and my next reply explains
Boots and Lloyd's want their own brand but don't make Levo, so Accord provide the tablets and they are just branded with those shops own brand name. As Accord don't make a 25mcg tablet and Lloyds/Northstar want to offer the full range then they've obtained that dose tablet from elsewhere.
Doesn't matter if it's an independent pharmacy. They will source from a central distributor. Accord will be the usual brand name from an independent pharmacy. If there is a shortage of the brand name Accord then then it can be substituted for either of the others as it's the same tablet, except for Northstar 25mcg which is Teva.
The name of the Marketing Authorisation Holder and the licence number will always be printed on the outside of the packaging on all UK medicines. That means it is possible to check without opening any pack.
Once you are aware of that, it becomes quite simple to check.
The photo below is a close-up of the long lower edge of a 100 microgram Almus levothyroxine packet. And clearly shows the PL number and that the PL Holder is Accord. (Might say MAH - Marketing Authorisation Holder.)
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
TEVA levo
What side effects from TEVA Levo?
Teva/Levo brands
TEVA Levo - allergic reaction?
Northstar 
