WO Thyroid

[Da52]

I have asked my GP for WP Thyroid, he says he has checked the EMIS website and it is unavailable with no date of availability, does anyone know I this is normal? It seems odd that people have been prescribed this but my GP can’t get it? Thanks

[helvella Administrator]

WP Thyroid was only extremely rarely prescribed in the UK. It does not, and never has had, a UK licence.

For that reason, it is no surprise at all it is not on the EMIS system. (Though there must be a way for doctors to add products to their systems.)

(Both WP Thyroid and Nature-Throid are listed on the dm+d database often used as the source for much medicine information in the UK. But that is probably simply historical and no-one has told the people who maintain dm+d that these products are on long-term recall.

services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/dmd-... )

Further, both Nature-Throid and WP Thyroid products from the company have been unavailable for at least two years. See recall details below:

getrealthyroid.com/voluntar...

Therer remains a slim possibility of getting Armour Thyroid, Erfa Thyroid or NP Thyroid.

[Da52 in reply to helvella]

My GP had told me that some people in my position just don’t take medication as it makes them so ill. Does that mean there is no help for me?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Da52]

Vast majority of members on NDT either get prescribed privately or self source

A small number are prescribed Armour on NHS ( via NHS endocrinologist initially)

Typically 6 prescriptions per person per year

openprescribing.net/analyse...

And even smaller number on Erfa

openprescribing.net/analyse...

[humanbean in reply to Da52]

My GP had told me that some people in my position just don’t take medication as it makes them so ill. Does that mean there is no help for me?

I found Levo and NDT impossible to tolerate at the start of my thyroid treatment. I ended up using T3 only for several years which I bought myself.

The main things that improved my tolerance was doing all the things that are regularly mentioned on the forum i.e. optimised as many nutrients as I could, and gave up gluten.

Nowadays I take Levo and a small dose of T3 and I cope quite well with them. I feel a whole lot worse if I forget a dose.

One thing that your doctor clearly doesn't know...

The first ever thyroid treatment available in the UK was developed in the 1890s and was a form of NDT using sheep thyroids. I don't know when they switched to pig and cow thyroids.

Prior to this treatment being available women who were untreated and had severe hypothyroidism lived for an average of twelve years from when their condition developed, and often ended up in lunatic asylums because the brain doesn't cope well without thyroid hormones. Even after the 1890s poor people often couldn't afford doctors or treatment, and even if you could afford them there were no reliable ways for doctors to diagnose hypothyroidism, so this was still a problem for decades after treatments were developed.

See this article from the BMJ in 1949 called Myxoedematous Madness (myxoedema is an old name for hypothyroidism, and is still used occasionally in severe cases requiring hospitalisation with a condition called myxoedema coma ) :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

So, your doctor saying that some people just don't take medication is NOT a sensible solution, nor does it show any compassion for someone who has a disease that doctors have forgotten can be a slow killer, which ruins people's lives, and possibly even their sanity.

I don't think that leaving yourself untreated is a sensible suggestion from your doctor and you shouldn't give up on trying to find a solution that works for you.

[Da52 in reply to humanbean]

When you say intolerable, what do you mean. I was doubled over in pain retching continually on 25mg on day 3 of taking . I was extremely ill,. I have had this reaction before to anti depressants and HRT.

[humanbean in reply to Da52]

I wasn't that bad, although I did feel very nauseous and very unwell.

Your description sounds like you are allergic to or intolerant of one of the ingredients in the pills you take. There are a few ingredients that cause problems for people, and it isn't usually the active ingredient that causes problems, it is one of the fillers or excipients that turn the active ingredient into a pill.

Problematic ingredients are usually one of the following - acacia, mannitol, lactose, and probably a few others than I can't remember.

Have you asked your doctor to prescribe liquid Levothyroxine? There are lots of different brands available for prescription - but only if the doctor will agree to prescribe, because liquid solutions are much more expensive than tablets.

bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/levot...

The above link is to the British National Formulary which contains a list of drugs that doctors have the power to prescribe.

Another possibility...

Have you tried taking Levo with or immediately after food? It would be frowned on usually, but if it makes it possible to tolerate them then it is worth it because, as I said above, living without thyroid hormones when hypothyroid is not an acceptable alternative. You would probably need a higher dose when taking Levo with food.

There are several Levo pill brands. Have you given all of them a try?

Another possibility...

Take an anti-histamine - one of those tablets that people can buy (without prescription) for hayfever. Take it an hour before taking your Levo. Sometimes for people with an intolerance to pills an anti-histamine can help.

I can't think of anything else, sorry.

[Da52 in reply to humanbean]

I have been gluten-free for 4 months I am taking supplements and having acupuncture and it has made no difference to my tolerance.

[humanbean in reply to Da52]

It took a long time for me to tolerate T4. I not only had to stay off gluten and optimise my nutrients but I had to keep them optimised while my body healed from the years of low levels of nutrients.

[jgelliss in reply to humanbean]

Very interesting humanbean. Do you mind sharing what dose Levo and T3 your dosing with now with that you feel better with?

[humanbean in reply to jgelliss]

Now, I'm taking 100mcg Levo five times a week, and 50mcg Levo twice a week. I also take 12.5mcg T3 every day.

I have only recently moved to my current dose of Levo. Until about two weeks ago I was taking 100mcg Levo four times a week and 50mcg Levo three times a week (as well as the T3). I'm trying to fine tune, as you can probably tell.

[jgelliss in reply to humanbean]

Thank you for detailed information. In the thirty years of my thyroid journey I have learned that we are work in progress. It makes me feel so much more appreciative of my once healthy thyroid that made adjustments without my realizing it.Now with our thyroid in a bottle it's all a different story.