No significant product or price changes from August 2022.
Liothyronine 5microgram capsules £55.00 Roma Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Liothyronine 5microgram tablets £99.47
Liothyronine 10microgram capsules £65.00 Roma Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Liothyronine 10microgram tablets £152.44 Morningside Healthcare Ltd
Liothyronine 20microgram capsules £55.00 Roma Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Liothyronine 20microgram tablets £59.31
This is out of date - more recent information has been posted.
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Thank you again for this information. Just to let you know I have collected a tube of Piroxican 0.5% gel from my local pharmacy. Hope it will help in relieving peripheral neuropathy pain. Did you find the cream helped you?
Oh yes! The Axsain cream is amazing. Far from perfect but it makes a huge difference to my postherpetic neuralgia.
I get a bit sick of my clothes and bedding and towels all distributing chilli dust! And sometimes I want to use twice as much as is allowed.
The Fiery Jaxx has arrived. Tried a tiny bit - not sure yet. Looks like colourless petroleum jelly.
So pleased you are getting some relief. I wasn’t made aware such a cream could help me with my postherpetic neuralgia…. and the GP didn’t even mentioned it although she new I was in much pain … it is just starting to feel better now, well over a year and a half post shingles. Let’s hope Fiery Jack is useful too. Thanks for the photo.
Hope you like chilli smell…. Can’t bear it, but hey ho, anything helping in bringing relief from pain is acceptable.
I got it because I did some research before seeing her!
But she wouldn't give me a B12 injection which has also been mentioned around the net.
And, while the amitriptyline got me through for a while, the side effects made me really want to stop. And didn't want duloxetine as an alternative.
Am very sceptical of the figures re PHN. Like how many get it, how long it lasts, etc. So far (around 6 months) it has actually changed a bit but is no better, might even be worse. But the Axsain gives me something even if its impact is partially placebo.
Glad you are - eventually - improving.
Yes they have been trying pushing Duloxetine… and was prescribed it but never took it. Nasty nasty drug. I have been using Biofreeze gel (use it on joints pain for which it is best £10/tube) which helped a little with the peripheral neuropathy in my hands which are very painful… perhaps the new gel will help more. Good luck with getting more relief.
They are trying to get me to try duloxetine ! What is the side effects?? Please let me know as I definitely don’t want to change then . Thank you
What is the reason they want to prescribe duloxetine? Is it for chronic intense pain (as is my case)? If you Google Duloxetine side effects NHS, you will find a list of possible side effects. Not everyone is affected in the same way but it is not a pleasant drug.
Some side effects:
Difficulty sleeping- insomnia, headaches, feeling dizzy, blurred vision, constipation or/and diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth and eyes (I already have dry mouth and eyes because of having Sjogren’s), increased appetite and putting on weight, anxiety etc.
Rather a lot of most unpleasant side effects.
However, sometimes one has no option but taking this drug.
Clearly it is most important to understand why the doctors want you to take it. You then will need to weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision.
Good luck in making a decision, it is never easy.
Neither I nor JGBH took it.
The Patient Information Leaflet is available here:
medicines.org.uk/emc/produc...
Remember, no-one gets all the side effects and most of us would get few, possibly none of them.
God I was so lucky I didn’t get this peripheral neuropathy after my shingles it sounds hideous if only chilli peppers quell the pain that’s what I call beating fire 🔥 with fire 🔥
My GP said my shingles was "severe" - though only my left shoulder, up the neck a bit, down towards my chest a bit. (I'll not post the pictures. 
I had to take them to send to GP!)
I daren't think what it is like if it really affects your head and face and ears and eyes. At least I could sit and walk and eat and read or watch television/use computer.
Mine was on the optic nerve I looked like I’d been 10 rounds with Mike Tyson and the pain was indescribable. I sat in the doctors consulting room and just cried with the agony of it. I can’t think mine was mild but I was given antivirals straight away and was carefully monitored at the eye hospital I think I was really lucky I didn’t get that peripheral neuropathy. For the week before I had terrible neck and shoulder ache and felt very nauseous and had pains on the front of my face. I thought it was very bad sinusitus but I did think it was particularly hideous and not like any sinusitus I had suffered before, I was rather prone to it (my sinusitis stopped after I was treated for hypo interestingly abd I have never had it since) . Even the doc diagnosed sinusitus but when I reappeared weeping and looking like I’d been mercilessly beaten about the face , she apologised for not spotting it was shingles. I didn’t hold it against her cos she was fantastic when she did realise what it was.
Again, I was lucky. Sunday evening started to feel itchy spots/lumps. Initially thought I'd been bitten by some insect.
By Monday, it was obvious. And I got the antivirals on Wednesday. Not as fast as they should have been but could have been worse.
That was quicker than mine then, it must be the luck of the draw with persistent symptoms. When I went to the eye hospital I considered wearing sun glasses I look so dreadful, but I could not wear any it was too painful having them touch my face. When I got there I realised most people there probably couldn’t even see me very well anyway. I must have been bad because I was rapidly ushered in to be seen before anyone else already in the waiting room. It was so long ago in my case that mobile phones were bricks and cameras on them were still to come. It was easy to see a doctor and asking for photos of your problem was never even dreamed of - there’s a lot to be said for face to face consultation especially with that nasty condition, isn’t there.
hi Helvella,
Have you tried the Fiery Jaxx Ointment yet? Any good?
I just tried it a couple of times, then managed to get a full tube of Axsain!
It does help but am not sure how long a pot will last. And didn't use it enough to assess. I find it varies so much day by day, and within a day, that comparisons are difficult.
I'd definitely keep going with it if it were all that was available.
This was intended for Helvella ( but also for anyone who can’t get a GP appointment).
I popped into my surgery to collect a letter and while I was waiting in the queue there was a patient who was requesting an appointment with a GP, appointment which her GP had asked her to request 2 weeks ago. She was told “ we do not make any appointments at all at the moment and we don’t know when we can do so again “!! That’s really concerning. WHAT is happening? What are all those overpaid doctors doing exactly? They are like civil servants (except they don’t really serve the public) sitting at their desks doing what exactly? So many people have been misdiagnosed and their lives put at risk. Clearly I can’t see the need for medical students to study medicine now if that’s how the service will be run.
I anticipate it is the already privatised GPs’ ways of forcing patients to pay for their miserly services… I have lost any modicum of respect I had for them.
Yet, consultants and nurses, radiographers, porters, cleaners, etc are working very hard in hospitals. They are very pressurised. It is difficult to get a balanced view on this situation.
A few years back it was predicted that a less than local, central GP facility would be introduced throughout the country, that we'd not see the same GP twice [if at all, phone calls have now become the 'lucky' norm!] and nothing would be the same again. Guess, along with much else that's been privatized, we're on our way to....
What a depressing future. I fear young people won’t live as long as our generation because they won’t get the service and help needed. Hardly progress…
Yes, just when we'd reached a relatively safer point due to good health care. Wickedness out there, as if us chronic people don't have enough to contend with. xox
Western medicine is the 3rd biggest killer I believe after heart disease and cancer - either the wrong neds or an incorrect dose. I often wonder how the confused elderly manage their rainbow of pills and potions.
I think the current waiting list is a ploy to push people into the private sector - SIGH !
Have just watched Dr Vernon Coleman on UK Column News - worth a watch/listen if you have an hour to spare !
Yes, your assumptions are very probably correct. The GPs especially are greedy (most of them). I have often question their choice of career… Many are in it for status and money. The cars they drive are top of the range! Huge Mercedes, Saab, Range Rover…. Hardly hard up overworked doctors. And yes, I know there are a few genuine caring doctors but … not where I live.
I did read somewhere of the % of people seeking surgery etc in the private sector - having increased of late due to waiting lists. So a little more than an assumption - tiz real 😪
Indeed, my choice of wording is incorrect… it is a fact, not an assumption, unfortunately. Hope you’re keeping as well as possible. x
Thank you - we are doing our best to stay fit and healthy - so hard at times. I don't have to tell you that 🌞 Not looking forward to winter ! Stay strong x
Indeed, Marz! Both of my parents were 'seen off' by polypharmacy... likely why I stay away from it all, unless immediately vital. Aside from vertigo med [to stand up without vomiting] and some typical OTC products, that's pretty much it. Oh, T3!
Alternatives, just not some of the 'woo' stuff [my view only!], needs to be on offer, instead of so much hackneyed clap-trap 'little opinions' by those higher up the food chain who seem to wield so much power yet with little to substantiate it. Our acute medicine is quite different to those 'good ol' chronic boys club'.
Thanks for the link info. xox R=Take care and be well xox
Life expectancy is already dropping
Yes, unfortunately. Sadly it will get much worse. It is a big concern to me, having 5 wonderful grandchildren, aged 26, 25, 23, 21 and 16. I don’t envy their stressful lives.
I often feel I am blessed not to have children for that reason, the worry of it must be awful. I do worry for youngsters now but it’s somewhat removed. There are advantages to being an evolutionary dead end!
Am not sure my clever and lovely grandchildren feel it is of any advantage to be part of an evolutionary dead end! They are most concerned about the present global situation at all levels. We do have most interesting conversations when I see them or while on Skype. They feel they don’t have much of a future… which is difficult to live with. Our generation, the post WWII babies have had the very best of everything. No other generation will know such a good progressive, plentiful time. Quite depressing really.
Jeez I am so lucky with my surgery. I have been plagued by trigger finger locking multiple times a day so I called them got through quite easily was given an appointment within a week, went in had a a cortisone injection given by a really decent GP who I’ve not seen before. The anaesthetic hurt but rest was fine first time In ages my hand hasn’t ached I rather liked it numb! It has caught on waking but even that has now stopped after a week. Every GP I have seen there has been brilliant getting an appointment is easy I don’t even book on line just call . It’s frightening to read what other people put up with. It’s a poor ward too.
How lucky you are! GPs at my surgery are only concerned with saving enough money so they can inflate their salaries! Not one single doctor works full time and one retired recently aged 55… with a great pension. She was always dressed as though she was going to the opera! Most expensive clothes, shoes… How shameful. Not easy to change surgery if one lives alone and is disabled. Where is your surgery, if I may ask? I feel I should move there.
I've just blown some of my savings on Armour NDT from USA ..nearly £300 on 100 pills .I did this coz I'm feing a lot better on this stuff and can't get through the NHS walls of ignorance and pride. .In the grand scheme of things I accept that it doesnt matter that I've suffered because of the denial by NHS protocols of the worth of combined meds, But if you multiply me by all the people who are suffering and go on to develop co morbities of mental ill health and heart issues and weight issues ..time off work etc ,this protocol is costing the NHS a shed load of money down the line especially with an aging population. What is even more insane is that Armour used to be a GO-TO drug on NHS .Also there are businesses which could be set up in UK which could manufacture this stuff under the supervision of UK inspection protocols this could provide a boost to the economy .My dad a farmer would describe this madness as ",dog in a manger " the dog being the medical establishment not being able to eat the hay in the manger themselves but stopping the horses and cows (the likes of me) from feeding.The upshot is that both dog and horse go hungry . ..It is insanity
There is, so far as I am aware, no theoretical bar to a company manufacturing desiccated thyroid and getting it licensed - all within the UK.
But the rules about medicines produced from animal sources have changed. And I think you have to demonstrate that it is a medicine which works and conforms to various standards. We have no standard for desiccated thyroid (whereas the USA has Thyroid USP - and everyone else claims to copy that). So would need to establish this so that a product can conform!
Then, even if you get it to market, that doesn't get you far unless prescribers actually prescribe it!
You need a very good bank balance to even consider getting into it.
When I win the Euromillions all will be well
Every time I hear of a huge win, of any sort, I hope the recipient will tell us that they are going to do something like that. 🤞
They never do. 
And nor will I - because I don't buy any tickets.
Does that mean it is impossible because there are no longer any standards or could the fda ones suffice? I wonder if enough of us could crowd fund it….probably too much dosh needed
I'm no expert but I suspect the MHRA would not be willing to use the Thyroid USP standard. And I am pretty sure there isn't a European one.
Therefore, someone would have to create a new standard. Even if it ended up pretty much identical to Thyroid USP.
And the big, big, huge problem is getting "them" to accept that one is needed and agree that desiccated thyroid is a reasonable treatment.
Which the current rabble won’t. It’s a ridiculous situation thanks to the gang of six or how ever many they were that managed to removed NDT from the scene with that letter. How did they get away with it ? And consign so many to a life of suffering, ill health and an early grave. Tortured with gold standard Levothyroxine thanks to that lot they have a great deal to answer for, but as ever got away Scott free. I looked them up - what a bunch of talentless nobodies they appear to have been.
Which letter is that? Where can I see it please?
It was posted on the forum quite some time ago not sure if it was by helvella
I think this is the one meant:
helvella - The end of Thyroid BP
A published letter which highlights the attitude regarding desiccated thyroid shortly before it was dropped from the British Pharmacopoeia.
From Dropbox:
dropbox.com/s/zbiyjk19wjsq4...
From Google Drive:
drive.google.com/file/d/1Wd...
TSH110
Ta 👍🏽😁👍🏽I have been using the useless search tool on here since I posted above 🥱 and it just put up hundreds of random posts that you cannot easily search through, hopeless. I wish they’d improve it it’s not worth bothering with! A tool of a tool
Try using a standard search engine and including:
site:.healthunlocked.com
That works with some, but others might have different ways of expressing the search!
E.g.:
Thyroid BP British Pharmacopoeia site:.healthunlocked.com
It was no better using google search….until I put in .com and got one of your classic posts after a bit of scrolling
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
When I used that line in Google:
Thyroid BP British Pharmacopoeia site:.healthunlocked.com
The second hit was this:
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
And some others on that first page of results were others post in which I had quoted the same thing!
Ah that’s where I went wrong I’m not clever enough to spell pharmacopoeia let alone put it into a search engine….well not up until now…..I did put in helvella but that’s probably too generic as you must have a huge post catalogue!
Can you get Armour in UK? But thanks, the ending I tried told me there was nothing wring with me
It is possible to buy Armour Thyroid in the UK via a small number of specialist pharmacies. You need an appropriately written prescription. I am not aware of current prices.
More information here:
hi helvella, I see MP isn’t listed in your post, but the £59.31 has no manufacturer - is this Mercury Pharma ?
No - well, not quite!
The 5 and 20 microgram tablets are made by multiple companies. The price is the NHS Drug Tariff price. But for some there is also an NHS indicative price. And for the product made by some companies, that is high than the Drug Tariff price.
See this link and look for Advanz Pharma (who own Mercury Pharma) - the price is very much higher for them.
bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/lioth...
The problem is that payment by the NHS for medicines is immensely complicated. I think that if a pharmacy dispenses a medicine with a higher price that the Drug Tariff price, they cannot usually claim the difference. (But they can if it was prescribed by specific brand name.) Or something like that!
(The BNF figures appear to be a little out of date - as they always are. Maybe a few weeks/months.)
thank you, do you know what “NHS Drug Tariff Price” means, and what “NHS Indicative Price” means?
As I understand (and bear in mind, even those who are very much involved in the area can have different ideas and opinions):
The NHS Drug Tariff price is the agreed price the NHS will pay for a medicine.
The NHS Indicative Price is the actual price charged for the medicine. Which only matters if it is higher than the NHS Drug Tariff price.
If the price charged by a supplier to a pharmacy is higher than the NHS Drug Tariff price, the pharmacy needs to account for that price difference, and might not always get paid that difference.
Medicines which are simply supplied at manufacturers' list prices are handled slightly differently and they might not have NHS Drug Tariff prices listed at all.
CLAUSE 8 BASIC PRICE
A The basic price for those drugs, appliances and chemical reagents ordered by a name, or a synonym of that name, included in Parts VIII or IX shall be the price listed in the Drug Tariff.
B In exceptional circumstances, where, in the opinion of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Welsh Ministers, there is no product available to contractors, at the price in Part VIII, claims for reimbursement for a product with a higher price than that listed may be accepted. Such claims shall be made by endorsement as set out in Clause 9C but only in the circumstances described in that Clause. If the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that the contractor was not able reasonably to obtain the product at a lower price, the basic price shall be the list price, for supplying to contractors, of the product and pack size so used, or such other price as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Welsh Ministers shall determine. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Welsh Ministers will publish details of any preparations to which this applies and the month(s) in which it applies. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Welsh Ministers may in addition specify the products for which endorsement will be accepted.
C The basic price for a drug which is not listed in Part VIII of the Tariff shall be the list price, for supplying to contractors, of the pack size to be used for a prescription for that quantity, published by the manufacturer, wholesaler or supplier. In default of any such list price, the price shall be determined by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Welsh Ministers.
Thank you very much. I couldn’t quite get it on first reading, I’ll have to have a coffee before reading it again to see if I can understand. I always think clarity is often synonymous with brevity.
Could take several readings and a few sleeps before it makes sense!
what is the situation in Scotland, it might be easier to relocate?
I found this, but don’t have time to read it now. It’s old though
pharmacy-forum.co.uk/forum/...
Whatever anyone explains, someone always seems able to pop up with a case where it doesn't apply and some other approach is used!
And remember the BNF is a derivative publication getting (most? all?) its data from the dm+d!
Dictionary of medicines and devices (dm+d)
The dm+d is a dictionary of descriptions and codes which represent medicines and devices in use across the NHS. The dm+d data is refreshed weekly and contains a huge variety of information, including:
whether a product will be reimbursed by NHSBSA, if submitted for reimbursement by a dispensing contractor
the indicative price of each pack of a product (where a price is maintained)
current and discontinued products and packs available from manufacturers and suppliers
nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pharmacies-gp... contractors/dictionary-medicines-and-devices-dmd
is it still the case that if your prescription indicates a brand, that the pharmacist will receive full payment for it from NHS?
Has anyone had their liothyronine tablets changed to capsules and was there any adverse reaction? I don't understand why they are so much cheaper than the tablets. My GP has told me he wants me to change to the capsules to save the NHS money... worried about going backwards...
One member reported they couldn't take them because the gelatin shells are porcine - and they are allergic to them.
Not many have reported but a few have been fine with them.
If the company had not priced them lower, I doubt many would have had them prescribed. Though they do not contain the more common problem ingredients lactose, mannitol and acacia, which might have helped some people.
Depending on dosage, the price difference can now be tiny.
Liothyronine 10microgram capsules 28 £65.00 Roma Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Liothyronine 10microgram tablets 28 £152.44 Morningside Healthcare Ltd
Liothyronine 20microgram capsules 28 £55.00 Roma Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Liothyronine 20microgram tablets 28 £56.19
Liothyronine 5microgram capsules 28 £55.00 Roma Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Liothyronine 5microgram tablets 28 £99.47
Thank you very much, that is interesting. I used to take dessicated pigs thyroid, so doubt the porcine shell would be a problem. I don't understand why the capsules are cheaper though, it doesn't seem to make any sense. Thanks for the price list too, that is also very helpful.
As I said, if they weren't cheaper, they probably wouldn't sell enough. But by being cheaper, they gain market share.
Remember, even at £55, that is bound to be very much moire than they cost to make or import. And, at about £1.96 per capsule, they are much more expensive than Thybon Henning!
yes well it's an absolute racket as we know. What is Thybon Henning?
It is a make of liothyronine that is the most common, possibly the only, make in Germany.
It is frequently discussed on the forum as it is often the most cost effective for those who get private prescriptions - at around 60 pence per tablet. Supplied in 100 tablet packs. A few more details (and links) in my medicines document.
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. It is sectioned by UK - rest of the world, and by T4, T3, desiccated thyroid, etc.
From Dropbox:
dropbox.com/s/wfhrlmb5983co...
From Google Drive:
I see, thank you - it's good to know it's available privately but that would be very expensive. Fingers crossed I'm okay with the new liothyronine capsules
Hi Helvella
How do I find up to date prices for Liothyronine. I was on 10 mcg Morningside for 2 years with no side effects. See my post re Roma side effects. My pharmacy are saying that they cannot obtain Morningside at present due to them being’out of stock’. I’m just wondering if it’s budget driven.
You follow this link!
Current NHS Drug Tariff Liothyronine Prices
helvella.blogspot.com/p/cur...
(Of course you can go to the tariff itself, but I've extracted the relevant bit. I intend to keep updating it each month - and if I don't, please let me know!)
Many thanks - much appreciated
Hi notatortoise , I also get on best with morningside liothyronine, but the 20 mcg tablets are much cheaper than the 10mcg (£51.54 vs £152.44) so also cheaper than Roma capsules (£65). You could get the 20mcg tablets and half them, so saving the NHS even more money if you can talk the GP into doing that for you. I had to yellow card the Teva liothyronine 4 years ago but every now and then a new locum at my local Boots tries to prescribe it for me (I have to check every time before I leave the shop just to make sure) despite it being in my notes that I react badly to some the excipients in Teva. They are always really good and reorder my Morningside and I haven't had any supply issues with the 20mcgs for at least 3 years now. Best of luck 🙏
Many thanks. That’s very useful to know. I also had a very bad reaction to Teva, for me it was their Levothyroxine. Perhaps the new Roma capsules have some similar fillers that just don't agree with me. I had a battle to get Wockhardt Levothyroxine. Looks like I’ve another battle to get Morningside reinstated, but maybe if I get the 20s and cut they will be more obliging to provide.
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