My bad.. I thought levoxyl was also a generic form of name brand synthroid synthetic T4..
With that said.. I have had better results as in lab and symptom stability on name brand synthroid than with name brand levoxyl OR with any generic form of synthetic T4 med..
The way you find out if you are converting is by comparing your symptoms to your labs.. The only reason i know that i can convert well is because my labs and my symptoms dictate the results.. it's the only way to know.
Some misconceptions here...
First of all, you cannot confuse Levoxyl with levothyroxine. Levoxyl is a brand name drug. If you are prescribed Levoxyl, you get the same drug from the same company (King Pharmaceuticals) just like you get Synthroid from Abbott Labs every time if you are prescribed Synthroid. If you are prescribed levothyroxine, you get the generic version from whichever manufacturer your pharmacy feels like buying from Note the brand names it the following link:
http://www.medicinenet.com/levothyroxine_sodium/article.htm
When I started seeing my endo, he insisted on a brand name drug. I was switched from generic to Levoxyl on the exact same dose. My labs went down that month, and I needed a slight increase in Levoxyl to have the same effect as the generic I'd been on.
What's really important in determining if you convert well or not is the balance of FT4 to FT3. FT3 should be higher in its range (as a percentage of range) than FT4 is in its range. If on T4 only meds, once FT4 reaches midrange, a lagging FT3 will indicate slow conversion. Bruce's FT4 is so low, 0.5 (0.8-1.8), that there is very little T4 available for conversion, so no conclusions can be drawn regarding conversion until FT4 levels are higher.
well you have to post your most recent lab results to get any idea of what's going on? do you have your most recent labe?
well right now nothing is converting into anything so its hard to tell anything LOL
Yes i did eventually adjust to the changes.. If i was on levothyroxine then i had to bump, bump, bump.. until i felt better and saw any improvement in symptoms.. I found that when i switched to "name brand synthroid" i felt better and no bump bump bump..
I was on name brand synthroid for 2 years "symptoms free" when my insurance switched me to generic levothyroxine" my labs and my symptoms went crazy and this is after i was stable on synthroid for 2 years.. I am now back on name brand synthroid "with a lot of fighting my insurance" and just now getting back on track..
All of my symptoms came back and my labs went crazy "coincidentally" after being stable on synthroid and then switching to levothyroxine.. My doc didn't believe me until she saw the sudden change in "labs" that proved it..
I have to be bumped on Synthroid now "which i believe would have happened anyway due to "female" hormonal changes anyway.. but i again have to conclude that i have been more stable with less symptoms on name brand synthroid than any other T4 med..
I'm currently at 137mcg of synthroid and i'm heading towards 150mcg due to my symptoms appearing again.. But for me personally, i will never try to change synthetic T4 again just because of my personal experience..
I think if i was on a generic i could feel good but i would need a higher dosage to feel that than with generic.. It's the quality of the brand..
It's like laundry detergent.. If you buy always save laundry soap then your clothes don't get clean and smell good unless you use twice as much, but if you buy TIDE you use like half a cup and you get the results you want..
It's the same with me personally with T4 meds.. name brand synthroid is like TIDE and levoxyl or any other generic form is like "always save"..
This is my personal experience with T4 meds and i hope this helps you...
this comes from your labs.. What i found is that my TSH, FT4 ad FT3 are in perfect harmony.. If my TSH is high than my FT4 and FT3 are low.. When my TSH is low than my FT4 and FT3 are high.. This is "normal" circumstances and tells you that you are converting well...
If your TSH is low and your FT3 levels are low then that means you might need to supplement with T3 meds as well as FT4.. "this is not the case for me" which is why T4only meds work for me.. That is the first step...