Levo Brands/NICE guidelines

[C1949K]

TT two years’ ago from being hypER with goitre. Now on 125mgs Accord Levo. Various ‘symptoms’ but apart from weight gain my main concerns are breathlessness/balance issues/food sensitivities. An interesting consult with my gp this morning and I would like to see what comments the forum might have.

I have been on Omeprazole for a month which has helped with stomach issues. Full blood profile, x-rays etc - all is ‘normal’. I understand the gp’s comment that she can only prescribe within NICE guidelines but she will work with me to come up with a plan to find answers.

Vitamin D - I can stop as my recent result of 76 is fine. ???

Thyroid bloods have to be redone (consultant’s request) as I was on a B complex with Biotin. I now know of the Biotin connection with blood testing. Latest - TSH 0.16, T4 17.1, T3 4.1. Test booked - early morning, no levo for 24 hours and no Biotin!

I now have an appointment with the cardiologist as when I was HypER I had AF episodes - so that is to be checked.

I have an appointment with my audiologist to check are my hearing aids ok/any wax issues. ???

I asked if I could change to a different brand as when I was given TEVA I had a bad reaction - palpitations, sweating, nausea. My research suggests problems with some of the fillers - in particular Lactose and Acacia. I avoid dairy because of sensitivity issues.

Comment by doctor - although there has been discussion about Lactose in meds there is no evidence that the tiny amount has any detrimental effect and should not be a consideration.

I have a consult booked with the practice pharmacist to discuss my medications. In particular, I have asked about the possibility of trying Vencamil which I have researched. Doctor - that is not on my list to be able to prescribe. ? Is this brand available in the UK?

Any thoughts would, as always, be helpful. Thyroids ‘do funny things’ I was once told by an endocrine specialist. I know mine has/does. When I was hypER my weight dropped from 62kgs to 50 within a couple of weeks. Since my TT I now weight 74 kgs. No dietary changes other than I try and eat less/exercise more - which has become difficult because of the breathlessness. Am I a hypochondriac? I do not know what feeling well feels like - I just feel ‘it is what it is’! Thank You!

[TaraJR]

There's a government document advising on different brands. Use this. Give it to your surgery and your pharmacy.

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/l...

[C1949K in reply to TaraJR]

Thank You! Yes I have this and we discussed but my gp could not find Vencamil on her list of available meds. She has suggested I discuss with the clinical pharmacist and I have an appointment with him.

[TaraJR in reply to C1949K]

I think Vencamil is a name given to another brand? helvella please can you advise?

[C1949K in reply to TaraJR]

I have just found this after a search - so I can give this info to the pharmacist when we speak. Thank You.

Info about Vencamil

[TaraJR in reply to C1949K]

Great. Good luck!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to TaraJR]

Aristo no longer supply generic levothyroxine but ONLY as Vencamil. Exactly the same product.

[TaraJR in reply to helvella]

Thank you.

[C1949K in reply to helvella]

Thanks.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to TaraJR]

This is detailed in my UK document. I try very hard to keep that fully up to date.

Some of the comments might be a touch cryptic but it is trying to get a balance between having the full information and keeping its size sensible.

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. There is now a specific world desiccated thyroid document.

I highly recommend viewing on a computer screen, or a decent sized tablet, rather than a phone. Even I find it less than satisfactory trying to view them on my phone.

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - UK

The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrixes for levothyroxine tablets, oral solutions and also liothyronine available in the UK. Includes descriptions of tablet markings which allow identification. Latest updates include all declared ingredients for all UK products and links to Patient Information Leaflets, etc.

dropbox.com/s/bo2jzxucgp9hl...

helvella - World Desiccated Thyroid

Contains details of all known desiccated thyroid products.

dropbox.com/scl/fi/gx6dmz5i...

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - RotW

Contains details of all levothyroxine, liothyronine and combination products - excluding desiccated thyroid products. Details available vary by country and manufacturer.

The link below takes you to a blog page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones. You will have to scroll down or up to find the link to the document you want.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[TaraJR in reply to helvella]

Absolutely brilliant!