I've just read on another post that we should have a blood test, not only after any change of dose, but also after any change of brand. Does anyone have a reference for this please? I spent 10 years on Mercury Pharma and was happy and stable and feeling well. However, Mercury Pharma is now almost unobtainable in my area, so every 28 days I am changing brands.
Last month I had Accord 100mcg and Mercury Pharma 25mcg. This month I have Accord 100mcg and Teva 25mcg. It is clear that on some brands I feel better than on others.
How do others handle this situation?
Thanks
Written by
AngelRain
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Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.
Request GP specify brand on your prescription
Mercury Pharma make 25mcg, 50mcg and 100mcg tablets
Mercury Pharma also boxed as Eltroxin.
Both often now listed by company name on pharmacy database - Advanz
Accord only make 50mcg and 100mcg tablets.
Accord is also boxed as Almus via Boots,
Wockhardt is very well tolerated, but only available in 25mcg tablets. Some people remain on Wockhardt, taking their daily dose as a number of tablets
Lactose free brands - currently Teva or Vencamil only
Teva makes 25mcg, 50mcg, 75mcg and 100mcg
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine.
Teva is lactose free.But Teva contains mannitol as a filler instead of lactose, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Mannitol seems to upset many people, it changes gut biome. But for some people (usually if lactose intolerant, Teva is by far the best option)
Aristo (currently 100mcg only) is lactose free and mannitol free.
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.
Physicians should: 1) alert patients that preparations may be switched at the pharmacy; 2) encourage patients to ask to remain on the same preparation at every pharmacy refill; and 3) make sure patients understand the need to have their TSH retested and the potential for dosing readjusted every time their LT4 preparation is switched (18).
Not sure it will get me anywhere though. The pharmacist knows I prefer Mercury Pharma and don't want Teva, but we're in a situation where I have to have what he can get and the surgery are resistant to him giving me 5 x25 for example to maintain the preferred brand and make up the dose.
Hello AngelRain. Sorry to learn of yet another struggling to get the brand that suits them best. Like you, I was happy and stable on MercuryPharma for years....this changed after covid when suddenly MP became difficult for pharmacies to get hold of, despite the manufacturer saying there were no supply issues. If you check out my Posts you'll see how 5 x25 MP did not suit me, despite it all being MP. Eventually I had my GP prescription changed to read Eltroxin only. Good luck, I hope you find a way through this.
Could you change pharmacies? I've found independent pharmacies much more reliable and flexible than big chains like Boots or Lloyds. They seem very limited in what they can order in.
Alternatively if you got a paper prescription from your GP rather than them sending an electronic one,you could try different pharmacies in your area and ask if they can reliably source MP. Its a faff but might be worth it if you feel much better on Mercury.
I don’t have a solution, but am in exactly the same position. It’s on my prescription that I should have Mercury pharma but the surgery can’t get it. I do not feel good on the other brands - particularly Teva, which they keep giving me. I was wondering whether to try an online chemist but it sounds like the problem is widespread.
Fingers crossed Mercury pharma supply increases (or they drop their price -whatever is causing the problem!).
Since I first posted, I have spoken to a pharmacist I know socially, who tells me Levo is a generic and all brands are the same! I have also spoken to another independent pharmacy, where I was told that Mercury Pharma is no longer available so I would have to have whatever they could get.
In ten years, I have never been able to get an annual blood test via my GP, so there's no way they would test me every month! Generally, I feel OK, but I notice my weight is creeping up again.
By way of an update, I had a medication review recently and raised this issue. As a result, Mercury Pharma was to be specified on my prescription. The next time I went to collect my meds, I had MP 100s, which I haven't had in over a year, but Wockhardt 25s, so I guess that didn't work
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