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Changed brand of Losartan

Posted , 15 users are following.

MrsO-UK_Surrey
MrsO-UK_Surrey

Hello everyone

I've been on Losartan Potassium 50mg for over a year now - always the same brand manufactured by TEVA UK and collected from Boots.  Today, my husband has picked up my prescription from a different branch of Boots which is manufactured by Laboratorios Liconsa in Spain and distributed by Sandoz Ltd (the name on the pack).

I know that the pharmacies have to supply the cheapest available at the time, but I thought it a bit strange that I have always had the same supplier for such a long time and suddenly it has changed now for the first time.  However, owing to my side effects from so many different pills, I'm a little concerned about switching manufacturer, and would be interested to hear what others think.

0 likes, 40 replies

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  • derek76
    derek76 MrsO-UK_Surrey

    Posted

    With my variable BP I never know if different makes make any difference. I have a bit more confidence in Teva as they are made down the road from me!

    This month the ones I have were made by KRKA in Slovenia. Other months other makers.

    When I was taking Securon SR (Verapamil) I always went to Boots as that was what I got whereas other pharmacies dished out generic versions that I felt did me less good. I did once challenge the makers and then MHRA who tested them and said that the ingredients were within the specified range.

    It could be that the binding agents, lactose etc. used vary and I did read somewhere they are what cause side effects in some people.

    Losartan , other ingredients include: microcrystalline cellulose, sodium stearyl fumarate, croscarmellose sodium, colloidal anhydrous silica, polyoxyethylene stearate, hypromellose and titanium dioxide (E171) whatever they may be:-)

     

  • Fisherman
    Fisherman MrsO-UK_Surrey

    Posted

    Hi Mrs O. I think Derek is right, its the binding/bulking agents in pills that are more likely to cause problems not the actual active ingredient which must pass strict EU rules. Having said that and being a self confessed cynic I suggest that the rules could be considered by some countries to be guidelines! You could always kick up a fuss and demand the make of pill you have always had and see what the GP and Boots can do for you.
  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey

    Posted

    Derek and Fisherman, thank you so much for your replies.  There is a slight difference in the ingredients in both brands, so I have 'phoned the pharmacist, explained my problems with pill side effects/kidney disease and she is going to change those supplied yesterday to my original TEVA brand.  She told me to request the TEVA one in the future and if it isn't in stock she will get it in.  After being a nuisance, my renal consultant will probably switch me to a totally different pill in a couple of months time!!
  • mollymac
    mollymac MrsO-UK_Surrey

    Posted

    Derek and Fisherman are correct in what they say about the different brands - at present I take Candesartan for high blood pressure and find exactly the same - my gp is rather sarcastic and tells me I must be over sensitive but will still not name a brand on prescription - exactly the same thing with my thyroid medication and the chemist tells me that they have to purchase the cheapest brand on offer to them at the time of buying. I think it would cause doctors less problems if they were to prescribe a brand that agreed with their patients.
  • OAP20
    OAP20 MrsO-UK_Surrey

    Posted

    Hi,  I am very interested to read this.  I've been on TEVA for months but a few weeks ago was given SANDOZ which has all kinds of side effects resulting in having to go back to my GP for another prescription.  My GP insists that all Losartan should be exactly the same but I know it isn't.    Has anyone else any comments?

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey OAP20

      Posted

      Although the main ingredient is the same in the different brands, the fillers and coatings can be different. This could be why someone might find a change in brand doesn't suit them.

    • OAP20
      OAP20 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Hi Mrs O, thanks very much for taking time to reply.  I always use my local BOOTS who assured me they could order in 75mg TEVA but first it came in 100mg SANDOZ and the re-order came as 50mg SANDOZ (which caused my legs and ankles to swell and raised my blood pressure) and 25mg TEVA.  They said they couldn't get TEVA!!    I'm changing to a different Pharmacy!!   They ordered it yesterday and it will be available to collect from 10.30am today!   I am so thankful that, even though my GP said all Losartan was the same, she agreed to give me another prescription.

       

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey OAP20

      Posted

      I still ring my pharmacy (also Boots) just before my next repeat prescription is due and ask if it is the TEVA brand before I collect it.  if it isn't, then they quickly get it in.  An easier way, of course, is to ensure that the GP notes TEVA on the original prescription, and happily it seems that our GP has already done this. This is the only BP pill out of about 8 different brands that hasn't resulted in instant ankle/leg swelling or other nasties.  It can produce itching, or did in me when Doxazosin was added and triggered the itch, but now take just Losartan 50mg am and 50mg pm, with only the tiniest hint of an itch still around.  Not sure whether this is reducing my blood pressure though - have yet to check it....aaargh!

    • OAP20
      OAP20 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      MrsO   Thank you so much for all this info. You have been extremely helpful.

      ​OAP20, N.Ireland

  • milco
    milco MrsO-UK_Surrey

    Posted

    Can I just say this discussion has been so very useful to me -- I am almost lost for words.

    Let me explain:

    ?I picked up my prescription of losartan (50mg) from the chemist a couple of weeks ago. I noticed that it was a different brand from my normal Teva brand, but thought nothing of it. Within a few hours of taking the first tablet the following day I started feeling a bit strange -- sort of tired and groggy with a feeling of pressure behind my eyes. cognitively I felt slow and fuzzy and had to 'rummage around' in my head to remember simple things. Later that evening my wife said to me 'you look really tired'. I knew what she meant -- I felt rubbish.

    ?This carried on for about three days. Buy this time I had had enough so I contacted my GP via Patient Access and asked for a repeat prescription. I used every letter of my 150 character entitlement in the message box to describe why I felt I needed to go back to my normal brand. My request was refused. I was devastated. I would have to go three months before I could request a new prescription and feel that everything was back to normal. In the meantime I would feel completely rubbish -- tired, lethargic, no spark...not myself.

    ?Then I read this conversation. Someone suggested going back to the chemist to request that the medication be changed for the normal brand. I hadn't though of that. I had assumed that they would require another prescription before they could issue any more medication. Anyway, I gave them a ring. I got the usual 'all brands are the same' response, but they checked that my normal Teva brand was in stock and said to bring the remaining tablets from my previous prescription in and to my enormous delight they swapped it for my Teva brand! They can only swap unopened boxes, so I only have two month's supply, but I can order my next prescription a bit early so that shouldn't be a problem.

    ?I feel like the weight of the world is lifted from my shoulders. I actually sang 'hallelujah' from the 'Hallelujah chorus' in the car most of the way home!

    ?Thank you so much to Mrs. O. and everyone else who has contributed to this conversation, for this incredibly good piece of advice. The moral of the story is if you're not happy with what the chemist has given you talk to them first and try and explain your reasoning as best you can.

    • derek76
      derek76 milco

      Posted

      All of my prescriptions change almost from month to month as pharmacies buy the cheapest available.
    • OAP20
      OAP20 derek76

      Posted

      Hello Derek,   I have difficulty every 3 months with a repeat prescription.  Trying to get the same brand is part of the cause of my high blood pressure!!! 

        Eventually I had to leave Boots and go elsewhere.

    • derek76
      derek76 OAP20

      Posted

      I eventually found Boots impossible. It is a big busy branch where there is a long line of people waiting for prescriptions or to hand them in. They then go to check whether they have it and are away for ages. If  you are lucky they bring it back and lay it down to be checked and tell you it will be twenty minutes. You go away and come back and join another long line.

      Very often they don't have an item or don't have enough so you have to go back the next day.

      I now go to a small pharmacy opposite the surgery where they have about six mainly East European pharmacists and am in and out if five minutes but seldom get the same brand.

      Like you I prefer Teva products.  . 

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey milco

      Posted

      I wouldn’t be impressed with a GP who was so uncooperative, happily ignoring the side effects you were experiencing from the different brand Losartan you were given.   The GP’s job is to care for their patients and keep them well and out of pain wherever possible.  And they are paid to do just that.  Have your side effects resolved now back on TEVA?  I do hope so.  These forums have their uses, don’t they - glad you found us and it helped.
    • Twidge
      Twidge milco

      Posted

      So glad to see your post about feeling poorly after your pharmacy changed losartan (50mg) from Teva to a different manufacturer.  I recently picked up my prescription and noticed that the pill was different from the one from Teva; but I like you, thought nothing of it until a week after taking the new pill I experienced tiredness and skipped heart beats that is still kicking my butt as I write this.  I suffer from arrhythmia's and am on medication for it and have not been bothered by them for a number of years now.  Arrhythmia symptoms are entirely different from skipped heart beats (PVC's) as the heart tends to flutter and race with arrhythmia's, so I am attributing my tiredness and PVC's to the new brand of Lorsartan that I picked-up.  My husband say's it's my imagination, but I disagree, because I never had this problem with the other brand.  I did not speak to my Cardiologist about this yet, but I will try and contact my pharmacy to see if they could get me the Teva brand back.  I did not take my pill yesterday and my symptoms improved and my PVC's settled down.  Today, because I did not want to skip another dose, I took the pill and have been having PVC's ever since.  I know that the PVC's aren't life threatening, but very, very scary to deal with.  The tiredness and lack of interest is also very disheartening.  Thank goodness for this discussion board.  Hope all works out for you and all on this discussion.  

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