Hi, I wondered if anyone has experienced stomach pain and bloating from taking Levothyroxine containing Mannitol? Im taking Teva and a few hours after taking it I get very bad stomach pains and bloating.
There is no lactose but there is also magnesium stearate which I have taken in vitamins before and had the same problem so could it be MANNITOL or MAGNESIUM STEARATE or both??
I dont suppose there is a brand that doesnt contain these ingredients or lactose?? Long shot I know! Thanks 
Lots of people react badly to Teva …..presumably because of the mannitol
What dose levothyroxine are you taking
Vencamil (currently 100mcg only) is lactose free and mannitol free.
March 2023 - Aristo now called Vencamil
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
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
Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet.
So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half
But for some people (usually if lactose intolerant, Teva is by far the best option)
List of different brands available in U.K.
Your post yesterday said you didn't have a diagnosis and stopped taking carbimazole a week and a half ago? Things are changing fast so if you could update us on what your Endo/GP has said?
Its perfectly possible that this could be a side effect of additives in Teva brand, however you are also very low on thyroid hormone and that in itself can cause various gastric issues.
The only way to tell would be to try an alternative which is tricky as the only other lactose free tablet is Vencamil and only available in 100mcgs size.
If you have a very kind GP you could ask for Levo liquid but its several hundred pounds a bottle and also can be difficult to source due to manufacturing issues/Brexit/Ukraine war etc Due to the cost aspect GPs can be reluctant to prescribe it.
I did a post 3 days ago about "aspirin therapy in which I said I had finally been given a diagnosis of hashimotos. I am waiting for endo to contact me and goodness knows when that will be so decided to start 25mcgs of Levo in the meantime as Im hypo and suffering.
Severe stomach pain started a few hours after Teva Levo so definetly that. I dont have a very kind GP! Will try to source Vencamil. Thanks
It might be an idea to update your bio as different posts give a different impression.
I'm not sure how it takes for the effects of carbimazole to finish and normal (for you) thyroid production to restart. I'll tag PurpleNails in case she has further advice on that.
If you get a pill cutter then you can quarter Vencamil fairly easily. I'll load an image of a prescription written for Vencamil which you will notice doesn't mention Levothyroxine, it's just the brand that is named.
Have updated bio and thank you for prescription info - can cut the pills so hopefully GP will do prescription for me.
My medicines document for the UK has a table showing which products contain lactose, mannitol and acacia.
I found even 12.5 micrograms of Teva (alongside 100 micrograms of something else - probably Accord - made my stomach uncomfortable.
helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) can be found here:
helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines
helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world.
This link takes you to a page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and Google Drive, and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones.
The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrix for tablets, oral solutions and liothyronine available in the UK.
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
This is excellent info - thank you so much helvella
This blog page repeats (largely) what Jaydee1507 has already said in replies to you!
helvella - Prescribing Aristo Levothyroxine and Vencamil
How prescriptions for Aristo Levothyroxine and Aristo Vencamil need to be written.
stopped eating bread and gluten about 2 months ago - it bloated me and gave me stomach pain - dont miss it at all !
Thats tricky - maybe try to find healthy versions of them
Sorry to hear your unwell - are you getting treatment?
I could not take teva because of one of the fillers which I’m assuming was the mannitol as I’m fine with the other stuff it gave me constant stomach pain and diarrhoea for the whole 3 months I was taking it. We didn’t connect the dots at the time as to what was causing it but as soon as I stopped taking it, everything resolved. I struggled to find a different brand of the 25’s locally so ended up just getting my usual 50 and using a pill cutter to cut it in half x
I had the pleasure of explosive diarrhoea with TEVA, delightful! But I had an upset stomach with all the other brands I tried except Vencamil. Vencamil is the only brand I can tolerate without upsetting my stomach. So might be worth trying that brand, as others have also suggested, if you can get it.
jenny876, I dis covered many years ago I couldnt tolerate TEVA because of the acacia powder filler. Beware also honey that may have acacia from acacia blossom!
I have recently switched from Actavis/Almus to Vencamil 100mcgm and found it to be OK with respect to any intolerances.
It’s unusual to stop carbimazole & start levo so quickly.
You however have a history or fluctuating levels. You have positive TPO & TG so fluctuating levels may be explained by the rises caused by autoimmune damage. This is usually mild elevation for short period.
Treating with carbimazole is not recommended unless you have confirmed continuous hyper (either from TSI or TRAb (Graves) antibodies or a toxic nodule).
It looks like you were on a fairly low dose carbimazole in 2019 for a few months & again recently, but with Hashimoto’s the rise is temporary and caused by damaged thyroid cells releasing hormone stores (not from production). Carbimazole lowers production & not a wise option as the levels will naturally drop low or “crash”.
It is said carbimazole works quickly (within hours) but the affect is not fully manifested for up to 8 weeks but you have Hashimoto’s which means you need replacement hormone as your levels will likely remain low.
What is your current restarting dose? 50mcg?
It’s quite important to take the replacement as consistent as possible. Which I know your struggling with, finding a brand which doesn’t cause side affects.
Hopefully you can find a brand which you can stick with. I used a pill organiser & set alarms on phone app to ensure I take medication doses / supplements at right time & spacing.
Once you have taken a continuous dose for 6 weeks you can re access, as doing at a faster pace can be counterproductive.
Thank you for your reply. I think I should definetly be taking levo now but had a bad experience last night with heart palpitations so wont take any more of the Levo.
My problem is that I have never had any concrete advice from GP/Endo and kind of figuring it all out myself with the help of this site and internet.
Unfortunately I am waiting for a phone call from my Endo so cannot get another prescription until then but when I do I will get Vencamil which come in 100mcgs so will have to cut them up. Can I start on 25mcg and then go up to 50mcg say a week lateras id like to get on a decent dose as soon as possible.
Magnesium can cause this. Please look at side effects. I am not able to take synthetic thyroid medication no matter what the filler is. I have had it compounded with different fillers and still same reaction. I take compounded porcine with Microcrystalline cellulose, which this filler was also tried with synthetic med...same reaction. Everyone is different, so it may take some research on your part.
Hi jenny876. Sorry you are suffering with the meds. Not pleasant with gut problems.
While I have never taken the standard levo medication due to the corn maize filler, I went on Natural Desiccated Thyroid instead.
However, ended up reacting (coughing and eventually throwing up) to the Microcrystalline cellulose filler used in NDT.
Now have my NDT compounded with plain sugar -no coughing/vomiting so far. -Maybe that's something you can look into if all the other brands don't work for you.
Hope you find a resolution.
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