[Anonymous June 1, 1997 at 5:53 pm Post count: 93172]

#1161185

Hi, Lynne:

Check your prescription bottle. If it is synthroid it will say synthroid, which is a brand name. If it says levothyroxine, it is one of the generics. I think the other most common brand name is called Levoxyl, or something close. But levothyroxine is the generic name for the basic chemical that is in all of them.

Dose changes occur about every six weeks or so, if the blood work shows it to be needed. It takes that long for the doctors to believe that the TSH has caught up with the dosage you are on. You might want to ask for copies of your bloodwork so that you can better understand why he is changing the dosage on you. He probably has a specific TSH number in mind that he considers “optimal”, but he may have other reasons.

If you suspect he isn’t paying attention carefully it just means that you have to be more organized and have to be sure to ask him questions about each and every medication.

Bobbi

[Anonymous June 1, 1997 at 8:23 pm Post count: 93172]

#1161186

Thanks Bobbi,
That explains it much better.
When I saw my perscription it said no substitutes.
Would this mean the pharmacy should not have given me a generic
drug??

[Anonymous June 1, 1997 at 9:09 pm Post count: 93172]

#1055534

Nancy or anyone could you please claify something for me…I have read the posts of .137
Synthroid. which is teal colored and you said the yellow one was replaced. I am on o.1
mg of Levothyroxine once a day and it is yellow. Is this Synthroid or something different.
I was on 0.075 Synthroid for about 6 weeeks and then he told me he
was upping my dose a little. Does this make sense??? I am also on Hydrochlorothiazide 25mNOP
for my swollen legs and feet. He took me off Inderal completely. I am just wondering because sometimes
he forgets what he has given me or forgets to tell me I should be off
a medication and I start to wonder if he is really paying attention to me.
Thanks for any input.
LynnthePB from Toronto

[Anonymous June 2, 1997 at 7:38 am Post count: 93172]

#1161187

It is my understanding that if your doctor wrote “no substitutes”, he meant “no generics”, and the pharmacy should NOT have given you one. It would probably be a good idea to mention this to your doctor. It may be no big deal, over all, if you are responding well to whatever you are taking. The chemical base is the same in all of them. The main issue, as far as I can tell, is whether there is enough consistency with generics to keep us off a hormonal yo-yo. I.e. does .1 mg of Generic X yield the same results as .1 mg of Generic Y? Your pharmacy may buy generics from different manufacturers from time to time. Or different pharmacies may use generics from different manufacturers. This is the question that is being debated these days, and I’m not sure that anybody has the answer. There are, for example, different absorption rates between two of the major brand names, and it apparently does make a difference for some folks. I’d also talk to the pharmacist. This was a mistake.

[Anonymous June 2, 1997 at 9:17 am Post count: 93172]

#1161188

Whichever brand of levothyroxine you begin taking, it isn’t wise to change manufactures in mid-stream. They want to keep you on the exact same manufacturers medication. Knoll’s levothyroxine is called synthroid. There has been a lot of juggling by Knoll in the past to gain as much of the market share for this drug as they can. Law suits have been made against Knoll claiming they manipulated results of synthroid drug studies to obtain this goal. Anyway, my replacement is made by Daniel and is called levoxyl. Koll has attempted to prove that synthroid is the only effect replacement there is, and I believe some doctors either support this theory or do not by what they prescribe.

[Anonymous June 2, 1997 at 9:28 am Post count: 93172]

#1161189

From things I have read, due to the variables involved in regulating the thyroid levels, not changing manufactures of levothyroxine in mid stream just minimizes these variables. I posted earlier about Knoll’s attempt to gain the largest market share for Synthroid. All other replacements aren’t necessarily “generic.” Anyway, if you begin on anything other than the name brand Synthroid for levothyroxine or you take Synthroid, you shouldn’t change manufactuers in an effort to be consistent and help obtain the needed thyroid levels. Many people forget the business side of the pharmaceuticals and believe every decision is made based on what is good for the patient, although I don’t think decisions are made irregardless of the health of the patient, business decisions, ie. market shares do come into play.

[Anonymous January 22, 2003 at 3:41 pm Post count: 93172]

#1161190

I remember reading a few weeks ago that someone is taking 2 different doses of Synthroid – one during the week and one on the weekend – does that sound familiar to anyone?

The reason I’m asking is that I’ve been on Synthroid since August, went up to 125mcg about a month ago. I’m pretty sure 125 is too high – I’m feeling hyper again. But 112 was too low, and there isn’t a dose in between (is there?). I’m scheduled with my endo for Monday, so of course I’m going to discuss this with him, but I thought I’d ask you guys too. Is it possible to take 2 doses & hope they average out to the right amount? Or does one of the other replacements have a dose between 112 and 125? I’d appreciate any input. Thanks.

[Anonymous January 22, 2003 at 3:44 pm Post count: 93172]

#1161191

Sure I was on a alternating dose for years. .200 one day and .225 the next. It was kind of a way of fine tuning what was in my system.

According to my endo it is quite common to do this.

Jake
On-line Facilitator

[Anonymous January 22, 2003 at 5:17 pm Post count: 93172]

#1161192

Thanks, Jake. I think I’m going to suggest that to the endo on Monday. Looks like I’ll have to get one of those little pill boxes, like my Grandma!

[Anonymous January 29, 2003 at 9:27 am Post count: 93172]

#1161193

Has anyone had any side effects from Synthroid? I’ve had almost constant headaches since I started it. I see my endo today, but I thought I’d ask here before I went.

Kathy

[Anonymous January 29, 2003 at 1:18 pm Post count: 93172]

#1161194

Synthroid itself (the drug, I mean) wouldn’t cause side effects, unless the dose were too low or too high and you were experiencing hypo or hyperthyroid symptoms. Then the answer would be to adjust your dose — your doctor will be able to tell from your blood test results, hopefully.

The fillers in the pill may cause some reaction, and the good news there is that there are many pills with the generic levothyroxine — in other words, there are other choices for how you can get your thyroid hormone replacement, all with different fillers, and I think there’s even one with none for people who have a really hard time finding one that works for them.

Your endo will have the best information for you. Good luck!

-Ski
NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator

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