Pharmacist Cannot Get Teva Omeprazole unitil December 2023 Any suggestions for other brands without issues

[thyreoidea]

Happy New Year to all members.

I have been told by my Boots branch that my usual Teva 20mg Omeprazole capsules are not going to be available until December 2023 and have been offered Almus brand as an alternative, does anyone know who's capsules are actually packaged as Almus 20mg?

If this is the case can anyone suggest an alternative brand that they take without issues with colourings or fillers etc, I realise the contents of the capsules should be the same but the capsules are different.

Many people will post that suffering from Hypothyroidism leads to low stomach acid rather than high but in my case it is high and they help.

[humanbean]

Have you ever tried another brand of Omeprazole? There are lots available :

bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/omepr...

[thyreoidea in reply to humanbean]

Thank you Humanbean, I have stuck to Teva for some years as pharmacy were swapping the brand constantly beforehand, always been worried bout colourings of the capsules but will have to choose another brand now, Boots stock Almus which is not brand of medication itself but boxes other manufacturers products but hopefully consistent.

[Canta]

I can't believe I found this post on the thyroid website, but I'm so grateful I have. I hope it's ok to post here as it's not about thyroid issues, although there is some relevance as many thyroid patients suffer from stomach problems too and many on here are concerned about brands. Added to that, I never had any stomach problems at all until my thyroidectomy.

I take 20mg omeprazole which I get from Boots under the Almus brand. Last October the colour of the capsule changed. Although I'd never felt really well on omepazole and had occasional flare ups, the new capsule brought utter misery. I was about to go to my GP when it subsided for a few days and then it was time for my next repeat prescription. The new capsules were Teva, which I'd never had before. I was quite trepidatious but from the very first capsule I felt normal again, something I hadn't experienced for years and years. The whole two months of taking the Teva was like another world.

Fast forward to my next batch of omreprazole and I am given the new colour Almus capsules. I took one last night and at 6.00am I was awoken by pain in the sternum. This quickly escalated and I spent over two hours pacing the house with severe upper abdominal pain and I haven't felt well all day.

Reading the info sheet I see that the ingredients for the two brands are quite different. The Almus contains mannitol and I know many on here can't tolerate that.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get Teva in future.

[thyreoidea in reply to Canta]

Sorry to hear of your experience. After checking with Teva and being told they would back in stock the next week, relayed this to Boots and normal service resumed.

I hope you can source Teva from Boots as I ask for this brand and they order it in. Almus is a company which has something to do with Boots owners who actually box other peoples medications. I have Almus Levothyroxine as the box actually contains Accord brand. What are the Almus Omeprazole brand inside just out of curiosity?

One thing I do if having a flare up is shake the capsules before taking to make sure there is actually something inside, OCD makes me not trust anything.

Gaviscon can help when having a flare up, Advanced double action Aniseed which I managed to get from my GP, it was denied due to cost for a couple of years by the surgery pharmacist but I told my GP that the over the counter Gaviscon is not the same so they put it on repeat prescription again so I can order it when needed.

[Canta in reply to thyreoidea]

Thanks for the info, Thyreoidea. I'll try to get Teva from my local Boots.I had no idea Almus was just a re-packaging operation. The omeprazole I have now is manufactured by Laboratorios Liconsa and some years back it was Sandoz, both Spanish companies. I assumed the companies had merged or somesuch and Almus was just their brand name.

As regards my flare ups, it's not so much reflux that I experience but both upper and lower pain and discomfort, as though most of my digestive system is disturbed, and antacids give no relief.

It may have something to do with levothyroxine and my thyroid status, as when I once tried to reduce the omeprazole by spacing out the doses I suffered horrendous angioedema, which I know has a connection with thyroid disturbance.

I will certainly start shaking the capsules now - and be more aware of what is actually inside boxes which look exactly the same.

[thyreoidea in reply to Canta]

I suffer pain more than acid reflux ie heartburn, acid does cause pain nonetheless in gastric areas though, that's why when I have a flare up the Omeprazole is twice a day sometimes topped up with Gaviscon whether taking single or double dose.

[helvella]

thyreoidea - Have you put in a Yellow Card report for each and every product which causes you problems?

🟨 Making Yellow Card Reports 🟨

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

This applies to EVERYONE who has any medicine issues such as intolerance, ineffectiveness, other side effects and so on.

[Canta in reply to helvella]

I did this yesterday because I was incensed when I realised I had been suffering for years and years because of Almus omeprazole - and even more so when the capsule colour changed (although the ingredients remain the same apparently - which doesn't make any sense. There must be something going on).

Unfortunately I reported the manufacturer as Almus, not Laboratorios Liconsa. They will obviously know the connection with Boots but I wonder if I should contact them.

[helvella in reply to Canta]

The information that links up is the Manufacturing Authorisation Holder (MAH) and their authorisation number (also often called Product Licence). Probably PL nnnn/nnnnn.

This is always visible on the outside packaging of medicines.

If you submitted that it will tie up with actual product - not just Almus packaging.

If you reported online, I think you might be able to add something.

[Canta in reply to helvella]

Thanks, Helvella, I'll try.

[thyreoidea in reply to helvella]

To tell the truth I make sure I stick to my regular brands of medication. If having an issue would report it but it would not always be clear whether the problem is medication related.

[helvella in reply to thyreoidea]

I've come to the conclusion we need to be willing to report a product on the grounds of suspicion alone.

The MHRA can easily ignore the odd report on the basis that the cause of an issue could be something else.

[Canta in reply to thyreoidea]

Yes, it can be hard to pin down why a problem occurs sometimes. As regards the omeprazole, I know they cause me problems. Very often I will be feeling completely fine, I'll take the Almus omeprazole and within 35 or so minutes I'll have discomfort in the sternum area which lasts for an hour or two. The medicine actually seems to cause the problem it is meant to cure. This latest episode started around six hours after taking the first Almus capsule after two months of being perfectly well on the Teva.

I'm on omeprazole for the rest of my life due to Barrett's Oesophagus so I'll try to get Teva, but I think it's going to be difficult - which is ridiculous in a country such as ours.

[RedApple in reply to thyreoidea]

' it would not always be clear whether the problem is medication related.'

I'm with helvella on this. It's not our job to 'diagnose' ourselves in this way. I we reasonably 'suspect' it might be medication related, we have a duty to put in a Yellow Card. If we don't do so simply because we're not sure, nothing will ever come to light.

[helvella]

The full current list of the 47 actual 20 milligram omeprazole capsules is available here:

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

(That list includes withdrawn products which are identified by red ticks in the Discontinued column.)

Screenshot of first few omeprazole 20mg capsule products on dm+d

[Canta]

'Withdrawn products' sounds rather ominous.

I see that Almus is on the list but strangely they were not on the drop-down list on the Yellow Card online form. I had to add them in another section.