? about levothyroxine

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2007
? about levothyroxine
18
Mon, 04-09-2007 - 5:37pm

hello everyone anybody take levothyroxine for underactive thyroid..just started the drug it will be a week today did any of you feel hot alot and also sweaty? i ache all over and i am tired dont feel like doing nothing sleepy most of the day too..please reply soon..

hugs sherry

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-26-2006
Mon, 04-09-2007 - 8:31pm

Hello!!

The med you are taking is generic..I would call your Dr and tell them you want a script for a branded name thyroid medicine. Generic meds do not have the same amount of medicine in each pill. The FDA allows some variance in their drugs. The pharmacy might have changed your med to generic without asking because they get a bonus if they give generic. Ask for either Levoxyl or Synthroid. It might help.

Good Luck
Dyan :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2006
Wed, 04-11-2007 - 4:37am
I have been taking Lenothyroxine for about 3 weeks now. I don't believe that the name brand or generic are any different in the medication dosing. Example, Synthroid and Levothyroxin are chemically the same main ingredient and if the pill dose is 100 mcg (my current dose) then whether it is the generic or the name brand, the same amount of the active ingredient has to be in each pill, so I don't see the difference between a generic or a name brand other than cost.
I will agree with the tiredness, boy do I agree! I have slept the better part of the past several weekends and I tire very easily. I work 10 hour shifts at work that wipe me out. They don't seem to understand that the 10 hour shifts EXHAUST me right me now. Wish I didn't want to curl up and sleep at the drop of a hat....LOL...
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2007
Wed, 04-11-2007 - 12:23pm

i read your reply thanks for letting me know that the generic is just as good as the name brand..so you have the tiredness too hah do you also ache all over in your mucles and joints because i have that too..iwill be glad when the meds kick in so i will fill better and i hope that for you too..this is awful to feel like this..well again thanks..write me anytime i have only been on the med for a little over a week now no change yet but i was told it takes 3 to 6 weeks to c a difference..well gotta go for now..

hugs to ya sherry

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-26-2006
Wed, 04-11-2007 - 8:54pm
Hate to say this but you are wrong about the generic brand. FDA does not require them to make sure that every pill has the same dose in each pill. I am a pharmaceutical sales rep and know this for sure.. Ask your dr. As for your dose, if you are on the generic, you might not be getting 100mcg in each pill. THe FDA allows for up to a 45% error rate in each pill. So for example, you can be getting 100mcg one day but only 95mcg the next day. Not so with Brand names. You will get 100 mcg with every pill. I am on Levoxyl and would NEVER take a generic for my thyroid. Maybe an anti biotic but never for the thyroid. Just food for thought. Also the brand names are very inexpensive even without insurance. By the way, pharmacists get bonuses if they can get someone to take generic..
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2006
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 10:55am
Did you say you were a pharmacist? I will be sure and check with the FDA....As with all things controlled by the FDA it is illegal for a producer of anything under their control to state that a product contains X amount of ANYTHING if it doesn't (this includes food labels and most certainly covers prescription drugs). My generic contains 100 mcg of levothyroxin, the same as Synthroid. The brand name may contain other inactive ingredients, and of course, you are paying for the brand name (which ultimately only makes that drug company richer, not the pharmacist).
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-26-2006
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 12:31pm
Read my post again...I said I was a pharmaceutical sales rep not a pharmacist....however...you continue your generic and let others pay the extra 10 dollars for a better product...I know I will and being on thyroid med for 7 years and a thyroid cancer survivor...My research has been thorough...good luck to you and your generic... glad it works for you but it doesnt for everyone...just out of curiosity...ask your pharmacist about the bonus....it really does exist...
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2007
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 4:30pm

hello dyan2006
i read your post i have been on the generic and i went back to the docotr and now i am on the name brand starting tommrow morning synthroid i have questions for you when you first started taking meds for your thyroid how di you fill at first?because i am feeling really bad at this point i am aching all over sweating all the time and the last 2 or 3 days i have been sick at my stomach and my allergys are really kicking into high gear is this from the medicine? and how long before the med really starts to work to show an inprovement...i also fell like i have somthing in my throat all the time almost like indigestion..please reply soon as you possiably can..

thanks sherry

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-26-2006
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 7:07pm
Hi Sheri..so sorry to hear you are feeling so bad but I promise it will get better... glad to hear you are going to be on synthroid..it takes about 6 weeks for the meds to start working and then you will go back for blood work to see if you need more or less meds. everything you are feeling is normal and hopefully will get better with the right dose. as far as the feeling that something is in your throat..do you have a nodule? Are you seeing an endo or regular dr? can I ask how old you are? hope this helps... lots of hugs... Dyan
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2007
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 9:24pm

hello dyan
read your reply my age is 42..well since i posted i called my doctors office and he has taken me back of synthroid buy the way my phyicitrist well i can not spell tonight i hope you understand what i mean he is the onewho put me on it my pc doctor done the blood work but my other doctor put me on the meds but anyways i am going to get me a appointment with a specialist who knows what they are doing i think he put me on to high of a dose to start me out with 100mcg my mom and motherinlaw said he shouldnt have started me out on the high of a dose..well i guess i have bored you enough thanks again for your reply..

sherry

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2007
Tue, 04-24-2007 - 3:47pm
hi there....I will be starting on levothyroxine tomorrow morning.....How have your side effects been lately? I am really scared to death...I hate taking pills. I am on a verylow dosage and I told my doctor if I get mood swings or gain weight I will smack him!! He's a great dr.....I am always such a happy person and my weight has always been normal for me ..... I will hate it if my personality changes....can you let me know how you are making out on the pill....thank you

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