I'm grasping at straws, so I thought I'd better ask the experts here. (yes, you're experts to me!)
8 months ago, my FT4 & FT3 was at 30% & 0% of the labs ranges. Thanks to finding a new PA, she's slowly increased my Levo & Lio, so my ranges are now 50% and 63%.
You'd think I'd be bouncing off the walls, feeling much better, but I actully feel worse. She's checked everything (well, almost everything) but can't figure out why I'm not feeling any better. (After my last dose increase, I developed breathing trouble... I'm kinda skeered)
Is there a possiblity that the name brand -vs- the generics, would be better for me?
I'll never know why, but once I got to my right dose, it still took a while to feel right on thyroid meds. I also switched off of generic (my insurance now provides name brand for the same price so it finally worked out in the long term), because I didn't like that the brands of generics were constantly changing.
For some reason I do better on the name brand.
The Following User Says Thank You to Reece For This Useful Post: LPD (11-26-2012)
Thank you Reece. I've been reading through the forum's past messages on generic -v- name brand, but couldn't find the exact reasons why the name brands worked better for most folks.
May I ask which symptoms improved for you? (I'm hoping energy and breathing!)
No one knows why different brands work for different patients. Frustrating, but definitely so. If you ever feel any certain brand doesn't seem to be doing quite the whole job, don't be afraid of asking for a different one. Even though the active ingredient is the same, the differences in inert ingredients can definitely disagree with your particular physiology.
A consortium of three large thyroid associations issued a joint statement a few years ago regarding this very subject. They didn't explain it, but did recognize it by saying that a patient who has stabilized on a certain brand shouldn't be switched off that brand for insurance or any other reason.
__________________ "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln
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No one knows why different brands work for different patients. Frustrating, but definitely so. If you ever feel any certain brand doesn't seem to be doing quite the whole job, don't be afraid of asking for a different one. Even though the active ingredient is the same, the differences in inert ingredients can definitely disagree with your particular physiology.
A consortium of three large thyroid associations issued a joint statement a few years ago regarding this very subject. They didn't explain it, but did recognize it by saying that a patient who has stabilized on a certain brand shouldn't be switched off that brand for insurance or any other reason.
I believe it has to do with the proportion of inactive ingredients in the medications, as well as slight variations between manufacturers in formulations. The same guidelines are in place for insulins, and I know from personal experience and anecdotal evidence that for oral birth control pills, people feel different on different generic brands, despite the active hormone constituent being the same. It's just one of those things having to do with every body being different.
The Following User Says Thank You to alliebeth88 For This Useful Post: LPD (11-28-2012)
No one knows why different brands work for different patients. Frustrating, but definitely so.
Thank you so much midwest. {{{one of my 's}}} My wonderful PA just called in a script for the name brands, so I'm hoping this will help me feel as good as my levels say I should be feeling!
