? generic drug reliablity

[upagain]

My TSH levels over past 4 months have gone from 1.8 in October to 8.7 on Feb. 4.  I had no changes in diet,medication,supplements or method of taking my meds.  I feel strongly the generic medication is  the culprit.  I contacted the manufactuer and will be sending the remainder of my prescription to them for testing.    Is there a way to test the medication independent of the drug company?  

[stella5349]

I just posted a very in detail look at dosage levels on the poster who's question is about Changing from Synthroid.  wait I'll look again

[stella5349]

authrjenn posted Does anyone have trouble with Synthroid.

I provided links and such to look into that.

Also visit about.com and type a search....... many many articles for research.

[AR-10]

Just skip the generics and pay extra for name brand. Having the manufacturer check what you sent them won't help you.

Your thyroid may have dropped in function, and you need a higher dose.

The generic may be goofing you up because of inconsistant dosage.

Could be either one as the culprit.

But generics have a reputation of being inconsistant.
Neither my GP nor my Endo will allow generics for thyroid treatment.

[kitty9309]

The FDA allows generic medication to contain between 75 and 125% of the active ingredient.
If you need 100 mcg levothyroxine to feel well, the generic may contain as little as 75 mcg and as much as 125 mcg active ingredient.
This would be fine as long as you were able to get the same exact manufactuer of the generic. But there are many companies who make the generic "brands" and each may differ slightly in how much meds is really in the pill.
Getting a different generic brand after the TSH has stabilized can cause the TSH to go out of range again. (too high or too low)

As AR said, go for the Brand name. It is more expensive, but will save $$ in the long run.

There is a coupon available on the Synthroid website that can be used for every refill.

[Thypatient]

My endo says it's best to go with a brand name but also one that is a synthetic like Synthroid, or in my case Levoxyl.  They apparently have the most stability or uniformity batch after batch.  She also says take it the same way everyday.  This way if something is off she can least illiminate that one possibility and get onto investigating other things.  I had a TT, so I have nothing there to offset what med variations might cause.  Maybe that's why she is so adamant about this issue.

Take care.

[Thypatient]

...just want to add that they tried me on a generic at first, things didn't work out as well as after they tried brand names.  The brands work better.