Update on French court case against Merck

[wantie002]

This was in the current edition of the French english speaking newspaper The Connection.

connexionfrance.com/article...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Thanks. I suppose it is a win - but pretty hollow in terms of time and effort to get here, and paltry fine.

[wantie002 in reply to helvella]

Indeed, plus only a few thousand people were compensated with payouts of 1000 euros a head even though there were some quite serious cases as a result of the reformulation. I think it just makes us all nervous knowing we are so dependent on these drugs when the medical and pharmaceutical establishment are callously disinterested in the patient experience.

[Yeswithasmile]

we’ll this sheds light again on my experience with Merck then. I realise it was partly my fault but interesting and sad to read how people suffered with a change of ingredients. Maybe it’s one to print off and show the chemists and doctors when we are forced into a change of brand.

Thanks for posting helvella

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Yeswithasmile]

It was wantie002 who posted! I just added a brief comment.

[Yeswithasmile in reply to helvella]

so it was!! Thanks for the correction

So sorry wantie002 for my mixup. Thank you for posting. It feels very relevant for me and I’m grateful 😊

[Nath27 in reply to Yeswithasmile]

hi, can I ask what was your experience with Merck? I’m in France and the levo I take is from Merck. It will be nice to get feedback from other users. This court case doesn’t look great for Merck. Thanks.

[Yeswithasmile in reply to Nath27]

of course. I was using Eutirox for Mexico and I then followed on to some from Dubai. Same company etc made me feel it would be the same. However after a few weeks I noticed I was becoming unwell after previously being so improved. I noticed that the formulation for the Dubai ones contained mannitol and this made me realise that it was the same filler as the Teva brand which also does suit me. So at that point I switched to accord which I have on prescription (I am not allowed enough which is why I self source). I still haven’t recovered completely and I’m around 5 weeks in.

That’s my story with brands. Hope it helps?

[Nath27 in reply to Yeswithasmile]

Thanks a lot. It helps.😀. I can’t compare with other brands, was diagnosed last autumn and I’ve only taken « Levothyrox » from Merck. When you said unwell, does the mannitol gave you specific symptoms ( headaches, nausea…) ? Sorry about all the questions…Thanks.

[Yeswithasmile in reply to Nath27]

Questions are what it’s all about 😊.

When I take Teva or the Dubai Eutirox it is like I’m not taking anything at all. So I go back to being badly hypo. I haven’t tested my blood at those times so I don’t know if it’s reflected there but I can say that a month on accord I tested and I am down from 17.8 (12-22) to 16. All same conditions for taking and testing. I don’t know if this shows the Eutirox was crap or after 4 weeks that the accord is too weak. I took a test because I wanted to see if how I felt was shown in bloods at that point. All does were same and I would say that for 3 days of the week I continue to take my original Eutirox that has suited me for well over a year. So we are talk a change of brand for 4 days of the week making a massive difference to health. I do hope this isn’t too confusing?!!

[Buzcat in reply to Yeswithasmile]

it’s written on my medical files that I had multiple thyroid abnormalities since being given Teva Levothyroxine by the pharmacist my daughter was the same we had been on MP before the switch the same as the French no warnings put out by our government the ones that were put out by Merck contain the same as Teva it’s time someone stood up in this country for thyroid patients.

[Yeswithasmile in reply to Buzcat]

Buzcat I doubt one person here would disagree with you but let’s be honest, the brand issue is only one part of the shocking treatment that thyroids sufferers endure.

We can go years before treatment and then when we do, the level of care is so below par it is, in many cases, not worth having. We are belittled, gas lighted, discriminated against and trivialised. Left to try to negotiate the complexities of the endocrine system with little or no training, help or adequate medication. We self source and fund to be able to grasp some semblance of wellness and forced to withold certain information from our so called medical professionals for fear of no treatment for anything ever again.

Sorry. Rant over.

I’m sorry you have suffered on Teva. For me I found it less useful for my thyroid than taking an aspirin. Lol. I do hope you are managing to get an alternative brand that suits you better?

[Nath27 in reply to Yeswithasmile]

not confusing at all, it does make sense.😀 I have a good conversion T4 to T3, but after a year, I’m still not great. I take 100 levo since July, my T4 went down and my T3 went up. It’s interesting to have other people opinions on different brands… well it is for me anyway. I’ m curious by nature and I think knowledge is power. Thank you for taking the time replying to my questions. 😀

[Yeswithasmile in reply to Nath27]

Nath27 you are spot on and out that very well. Thank you. I honestly couldn’t have it explained how beneficial it is to seek out others experiences and opinion better than your reply.

I imagine it’s very strange to have such a reaction to levo and believe that’s why SlowDragon remarks that levo is not a top up it is a replacement dose. Or words to that effect. The raise in ft3 is odd though isn’t it? Do you think it’s a temporary thing whereby the body initially compensates for a lower ft4?

[Nath27 in reply to Yeswithasmile]

Thank you. I don’ t know, I have issues with my endos, I feel I’m under medicated, 42% in range for T4 and 49% in range for T3. Wanted to try T3 , small dose but according to some of the nice ladies on this forum, I should increase my levo. I probably need to self medicate for now as I’m fed up to see incompetent doctors. Going to Greece in November, going to buy some levo ( can’t get an increase from doctors) and maybe some T3. It’s an ongoing trial…😀

[Yeswithasmile in reply to Nath27]

I feel your pain! I would say the nice ladies are probably right though. It’s difficult when you just want to feel better. You’ll try anything and that usually means rushing. Unfortunately in the world of the thyroid, rushing tends to means that finding your dose will just take longer. When you rush you tend to cram the hormones in and totally miss what you do need.

I did exactly that. Spent 12 months trying to get a combo treatment right. Failed. Backtracked on levo only but higher dose. Within a few months felt better than the entire 12 months before. Starting adding t3 a couple of months later. Bingo. Finally getting somewhere and then the levo brand thing complicated it. Upshot is I wish I had listened as it really was a case of haste makes waste!!

[Nath27 in reply to Yeswithasmile]

It’s only been a year since I was diagnosed (Tsh=48 last October), but it’s a long time when you don’t feel well. I will increase my levo first and see how I feel. You are right… rushing is not good.😀 I hope you feel better soon on your new brand of levo. Thank you again for your advice. Much appreciated.😀

[Yeswithasmile in reply to Nath27]

lastly, I feel much better with a ft4 of 60% through the range. No more, no less. Even with a very low ft3 my main symptoms improve considerably. So if your results were mine I would increase levo first. 😊

[Nath27 in reply to Yeswithasmile]

You are right. Will do.😀 Thanks. Have a nice day

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

There have been further developments on this Merck Euthyrox issue:

PARIS, Oct 19 (Reuters) - German drugmaker Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE) said on Wednesday it had been placed under formal investigation by a French court for possibly issuing misleading information regarding its thyroid drug product Levothyrox.

The ruling by a judge in the French city of Marseille did not concern in any way the new formula for the Levothyrox product, but the way the company provided information when changing from the old to the new formula, Merck said in a statement.

It is part of criminal proceedings launched in March 2018.

Merck has already been condemned in civil litigations for not providing sufficient information when changing the drug's formulas.

Mario-Pierre Stasi, the lawyer for Merck, said on Wednesay the company would continue to co-operate with authorities on the matter and that full legal proceedings must be allowed to run their course.

Merck also confirmed that the Marseille judge had placed the company under court supervision, asking it to pay a deposit of 4.3 million euros and provide a banking guarantee of up to 7 millon euros, which its lawyer said was "totally unjustified".

reuters.com/business/health...