How to purchase a specific brand of T4

[HopefulMe23]

Hi,

I would really like to try taking only Mercury Pharma for a while, to see if just taking one brand helps with some of my symptoms. I already asked my GP to put ‘not Teva’ but now I am getting accord, wockhardt etc. and it is a battle each month to avoid Teva and not know what else you are going to get. I would really like to privately purchase my own Levo, still take the prescribed amount, but at least I will feel more in control with the same brand and not only getting 28 days supply at a time. Is it possible to purchase Mercury Pharma online? I did try Google but didn’t seem to get very far.

Thanks in advance.

[RedApple Administrator]

You need a prescription for any thyroid medication in the UK, paid for or not. So in order to purchase, you'll need to find an online prescribing pharmacy. There are such things, but anyone that knows of one will need to message you with the info. Once you have suggestion/s contact them first to check they can supply your preferred brand.

[HopefulMe23 in reply to RedApple]

Thank you RedApple, if anyone has suggestions and could private message me I would be grateful.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

If you could get GP to write Mercury Pharma only in the FIRST LINE of the prescription then they have to dispense that brand only. It's how many people are able to stick to the same brand that they prefer. It's a battle getting GPs to do this correctly so keep trying.

[HopefulMe23 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Thank you, I am finding the battling side of things quite difficult. I wish I could just purchase the medication, I saw someone had said previously they started purchasing t4 to get the same brand and was hoping I could do the same but perhaps they meant purchasing from abroad.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to HopefulMe23]

Perhaps make an appointment so you can go through this with your GP. Have to say my surgery have been particularly thick understanding what I am talking about as regards this. Good luck.

[Kimkat in reply to Jaydee1507]

my prescriptions state *category A* Mercury Pharma only but my pharmacy will give me whatever is in stock and I have to challenge it every time. At first it all went swimmingly but now I feel as if it’s a constant battle with the chemist.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Kimkat]

It's to do with where it is written on the prescription. Is it written in the first line of the prescription?

[Kimkat in reply to Jaydee1507]

Yes it is but if the pharmacy haven’t got it in it’s difficult to get it. We have a new pharmacist now, the old one used to hold them for me.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Kimkat]

Some pharmacies are better than others. Can also depend on individuals working there as you have found. Independent pharmacies are generally much better at getting specific brands as they are not tied to a supply chain.

[Kimkat in reply to Jaydee1507]

yes you’re right, I’ve tried a few independents near me but they all say the same thing, that they are having problems getting it.

[humanbean]

Could you phone around your local pharmacists and ask them which brand(s) of Levo they usually have and then change your nominated pharmacy at your GP surgery?

Edit : I realise that this isn't guaranteed to get you what you want, but it might improve your odds.

I recently switched my nominated pharmacy on Patient Access because the one I was set up with had inconvenient closing times, and I changed to one that had longer opening hours. I didn't need to discuss this with my surgery or a doctor.

[HopefulMe23 in reply to humanbean]

Thank you, I will try changing pharmacy.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.

Mercury Pharma make 25mcg, 50mcg and 100mcg tablets 

Mercury Pharma also boxed as Eltroxin.

Both often listed by company name on pharmacy database - Advanz 

 

Government guidelines for GP in support of patients if you find it difficult/impossible to change brands 

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. 

How GP should write prescription

[HopefulMe23 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you SlowDragon.

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

I'd recommend asking them to prescribe 56 tablets at a time at least, which they seem to agree to quite easily 😉

[HopefulMe23 in reply to TiggerMe]

I will definitely give this a go, thank you.

[Nikkisnow]

Hi, I had the same problem. I was on mercury for years but parmacist said he could no longer obtain it. I kept getting given different brands and suffered various side affects. My pharmacist told me to speak to g.p. and request eltroxin be put on prescription as this is same as mercury, and he has no problems obtaining this. Dr agreed to do this and I have been on Eltroxin for three weeks now. I am experiencing body aches and pains which I did not get when I was on Mercury. I am hoping this will resolve itself the longer I am on it. I did note another post where they stated that they could no longer get eltroxin so I am hoping this does not happen to me. I just want to stay on same brand, it is so frustrating.

Hope you get it sorted out soon.

[HopefulMe23 in reply to Nikkisnow]

It is so frustrating when it could make such a difference to your life to have the brand which works best for you. I really hope you start to feel better Eltroxin soon. It makes the journey a little more hopeful when we know we are not going through it alone.