Brand of levo

[Essexlil]

Hi, I’ve asked my local pharmacy where I collect my prescription to give me Mercury Pharma each time. They’ve said they can’t guarantee this as they usually get sent Teva. I explained that I don’t want to swap backwards and forwards between Mercury Pharma and Teva and I’m not as well on Teva. They said they’d do their best. I stupidly collected my prescription today and didn’t check until I got home - they’d given me Teva again. Is there a way I can insist on Mercury Pharma or will I have to put up with this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Yes request GP write on all future prescriptions, “Mercury Pharma brand levothyroxine only “

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/l...

If a patient reports persistent symptoms when switching between different levothyroxine tablet formulations, consider consistently prescribing a specific product known to be well tolerated by the patient. If symptoms or poor control of thyroid function persist (despite adhering to a specific product), consider prescribing levothyroxine in an oral solution formulation.

[Essexlil in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you SlowDragon I’ll do that

[Sparklingsunshine]

Hi

I had some issues on Northstar and Mercury, on my pharmacist's advice I got my GP to try a named brand, Accord, which I've felt better on. That is now named on my prescription by GP. Your alternatives are, if they give you Teva hand it back and ask they order in Mercury.

Or change to a pharmacy that can give you the brand you need. I used to use an online pharmacy but started having issues with them not getting my medication in. I then tried Lloyd's but they were hopeless, pharmacies that are chains like Boots or Lloyd's often have little flexibility over the brands they get.

I've found independent pharmacies much better. Or alternatively ask for a paper prescription, rather than electronic one from your GP. Then you can go to whichever pharmacy you like.

It's not as convenient I know but if you really prefer one brand over another it's worth it. A lot of people don't get on with Teva.

[Essexlil in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Hi, my local pharmacy is Day Lewis. I wonder if Teva is the cheapest? The only thing is that they deliver to me as my hubby and I are vulnerable so I don’t really want to hunt around other pharmacies.

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to Essexlil]

You could try an online pharmacy, I used to use Pharmacy 2U. They send your medication out by Royal Mail tracked. Your GP sends your prescription to them electronically, as they do now.

They were pretty good to be fair, I only stopped using them because they couldn't get me one of my other pills, not thyroid related. There are others, and most pharmacies deliver nowadays.

[Essexlil in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Oh ok thanks, if I have more trouble I’ll try them

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to Essexlil]

Hi You could always phone any pharmacy you are considering switching to and check which Levo brands they stock. Before taking the plunge, so to speak. 😀

[elwins]

I have problems with teva, my doctors surgery have written no Teva on my records, also the chemist has done the same. I use boots and she checks it in front of me to make sure it is correct every time. Best of luck in sorting it out.

[Essexlil in reply to elwins]

Hi, thank you I’ll try the GP as slowdragon advised and see if they’ll request Mercury only.

[Essexlil in reply to elwins]

Hi, yes I should’ve checked this in the pharmacy, the only thing is I’d run out so needed them that day so I may have had to take them this time. Thanks it’s a nightmare isn’t it as I don’t think non-thyroid problem understand what a fine tuned balance it can be to make you feel half normal!

[PamBow]

I take 75mcg of Levothyroxine. Recently the pharmacy has been giving me 50mcg of Accord and 25mcg of Teva. This last month I haven’t felt to good( fingers tingling, almost a tremor feeling in my blood as it flows around my body??? Weird to explain also aching muscles. I did wonder if my Covid vaccinations over the last year affected my meds. I was interested to read your post… I get very confused with all the talk of adding T3 or T4( where do you get each one on its own ), to your dosage… I’m awaiting my own Medichecks bloods results as I’m not confident enough to keep asking my doctors for bloods and checks to be done.My doctors did put on my prescription a while ago to be prescribed only Accord no Teva but the pharmacy did say he was sent Teva.Do you also have these problems understanding everything. Please take care.

[Essexlil in reply to PamBow]

Hi, I was told that only Teva do 25 mcg so I wonder if that’s why you’re getting that brand. From what I’ve read on here, switching brands isn’t always great and so mixing them together may not be good but the alternative may be 50mcg cut in half of Accord. I think T3 is available if you see a consultant and it’s if your body isn’t converting T4. I don’t know much and yes I do find it all very confusing. I’ll see how I go this month on Teva as they won’t let you take it back, then I’ll request my GP to request Mercury as I’m on 100 mcg soon need to have Teva

[Mlinde in reply to Essexlil]

Only Teva do 25mcg? That's not true, I get Mercury and/or Teva (and there's a third whose name I've forgotten) in 25mcg.

[Essexlil in reply to Mlinde]

Whoops sorry

[BrynGlas in reply to Mlinde]

I got Accord in 50 mcg because my Pharmacist said that Accord didn't do a 25mcg dose. I was living in Wales then though, whether that made the difference I don't know. I am on T3 only now though.

[Gingernut44 in reply to Mlinde]

Wockhardt- it’s the only brand I can tolerate 😊

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Essexlil]

Simply not true! Whoever told you that is wrong.

Only Teva do 12.5 and 75 microgram dosages. All other dosages (25, 50 and 100) are available in other makes. In fact, theoretically, five other makes (one might not currently be available).

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines

I have created, and try to maintain, a document containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world.

From Dropbox:

dropbox.com/s/shcwdwpedzr93...

From Google Drive:

drive.google.com/file/d/12N...

[Essexlil in reply to helvella]

Oh heck sorry must’ve got confused with the smaller dose

[Mlinde in reply to helvella]

I have Teva 25mcg, the other one is Goldstar

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Mlinde]

Are you in the UK? I don't recognise the name Goldstar. Did you possibly mean Northstar?

[Mlinde in reply to helvella]

No, Goldstar and there's another, Lockhardt and yet another brand that I've forgotten the name of. I've never seen Accord.

[Mlinde in reply to Mlinde]

Sorry, Wockhardt, as someone else here pointed out.

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to PamBow]

Hi

I have Accord as a named brand on my prescriptions. I was on 75mcg, I got Accord. I would half a 50mcg tablet each time, or you could take 100mcg one day, 50mcg another and that averages 75mcg.

I've never taken Teva and a lot of members have reported issues with it.

[Essexlil in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Yes I don’t think I’m as well on Teva. I did take it for a few years then one prescription was Mercury and I realised I felt better on that one. I don’t think pharmacies understand to them it’s just a thyroid pill, the brand doesn’t matter

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to Essexlil]

Hi No they don't I tried 3 brands before getting on with Accord. I had gastric issues and itching. But as you say the pharmacies just dish out anything and seem surprised when it's not as good.

I remember my mum had trouble with certain brands of low dose aspirin. Which seems mad but there was only one brand she really liked. Some people are sensitive to medications.

[Essexlil in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Yes that’s true suppose they all have different fillers

[BrynGlas in reply to Essexlil]

I don't think that GP's understand either. But my pharmacist did understand totally.

[BrynGlas in reply to PamBow]

Ask for your Accord 25mcg as 50mcg tablets and split them yourself. Easy with a knife or you can buy a pill splitter cheaply on ebay. I was the same, I wanted to have just Acvord brand Levo.

My GP wasn't keen but I had a small local pharmacist and he was very supportive and ordered Accord only for me. Sometimes it meant that I had to wait a day longer if they hadn't got enough Accord brand in stock, but that was all.

My GP did come around to my way of thinking in the end though. They sometimes can't be bothered to do anything which means they might have to put themselves out in any way at all, even to being able to give you a brand that suits you better than others.

They have to do it if patients are allergic to penicillin, etc and Levo is the same thing, it is just that the wrong brand doesn't actually become life threatening, so they can't be bothered to do anything about it.

[elwins]

I have been very lucky with boots, they are good to me, she even said they had another customer who had the same problems. My prescription is made up at the local Boots and I have no problems, they have requested it comes down to them, rather than going to local centre I understand they use for all prescriptions to be made up. Best of luck.

[Essexlil in reply to elwins]

Thank you - I haven’t got a boots locally unfortunately