Changed brand of Losartan
Posted , 15 users are following.
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
Adnerb13739 MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
I, too, contacted TEVE UK and was asked what strength tablet I was subscribed. After replying, I received the following response today:
"Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your email.
I can see that the Losartan 50mg product is in stock and should be readily available for pharmacies to obtain from their usual wholesalers.
I apologise that we can only provide you with the information that we have, but I have no information to indicate that this product is pending discontinuation."
I have responded to say that all this conflicting information is very confusing for patients who rely on the TEVA product due to bad reactions from other manufacturers.
With Kind regards
Customer Solutions Team
MrsO-UK_Surrey Adnerb13739
Posted
Xebec973 MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
I too use Teva manufacturer I don't have any problem but when I get a different manufacturer it was giving me different sides effect like have this joint pain when I woke up, pain at my kidney area, blurred vision, so right now I need to get back to a Teva manufacturer so I won't have this pain specially having this pain in my kidney area.
Xebec973 MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
I too use Teva manufacturer I don't have any problem but when I get a different manufacturer it was giving me different sides effect like have this joint pain when I woke up, pain at my kidney area, blurred vision, so right now I need to get back to a Teva manufacturer so I won't have this pain specially having this pain in my kidney area.
karen76186 MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
Is teva losartan in the long strip with the days of week on , as iv recently over last two months been given different brands every month and am having all kinds of side effects....iv been on i think the teva brand for years and never once had an issue and felt well on it...im definately not on the recent brands.
MrsO-UK_Surrey karen76186
Posted
Karen, yes, TEVA Losartan is in the long strip printed with the days of the week. I asked my GP to fill the repeat prescription with the name TEVA which ensures that the pharmacist always provides it. Perhaps you can do the same to avoid side effects from different brands?
milco MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
Oh no! Disaster! Went to my usual chemist on Monday to pick up my three-monthly supply of Teva Losartan and they told me that they had none in stock and had been unable to order any for a while. They said other people have been requesting Teva brand but it has been impossible to get hold of.
I tried two other chemists, but neither had Teva. This is the situation you dread and there is basically nothing you can do. My usual chemist only had the Accord brand which I have tried before and gave me the grogginess side-effects I described earlier in this thread. So I went to another chemist and am now trying a brand I haven't used before called Laboratorios Liconsa SA (as described on the foil). The first day I felt the same grogginess, but yesterday (day two) it wasn't quite as bad.
I am hoping that I gradually get used to them and will give them a few days to see how things pan out. If after, say, a week I am not happy I will take them back and see if they will swap them for something else.
Anyway, back to Teva: I looked on the internet and found a news story, dating from 30th November 2018, saying that Teva had issued a worldwide recall for two or three different blood pressure medications worldwide, including Losartan, due to fears that they were contaminated with a potential carcinogen. This may explain the lack of supply.
It just goes to show -- if you insist upon a particular brand of medication it is a world of pain. You really are making a rod for your own back. Most of the time you are OK, but when it goes wrong you are often left completely high and dry. I really have no options at the moment. Persevere with my current brand, or go back to the chemist and try another brand I've never used before.
Anyone else having problems getting hold of Teva Losartan?
MrsO-UK_Surrey milco
Posted
milko, it was Irbesartan, Valsartan and TEVA Losartan Potassium Hydrochlorothiazide (a combined medication) that were recalled, but not TEVA Losartan Potassium. However, I have just spoken to my pharmacist who confirmed that all TEVA Losartan Potassium 50mg is out of stock across the country, adding that supplies of many drugs are similarly affected. I said that we had been warned that we would have difficulty getting drugs in the event of a no deal Brexit but asked the reason for the present situation. She replied that they didn't know but thought the problem was definitely connected to Brexit. Just made me wonder if someone/somewhere is stockpiling! Like you, I will be in a bit of a pickle if I can't get TEVA when my current supply runs out my body is severely sensitive to medication. Sorry I can't be more helpful.
milco MrsO-UK_Surrey
Posted
Mrs. O,
Sorry I didn't reply earlier to your message. I thought I had enabled e-mail notification of any replies to my posts....but obviously not!
Oh dear, it is a tangled web we weave! A quick update: after taking the Liconsa Losartan for a fortnight I couldn't bear it any longer, so I rang my GP reception and requested a telephone appointment with my doctor in order to ask for a new prescription. The day before I had e-mailed my chemist and he confirmed that they were back in supply of Teva Losartan (!) but it was on a 'first come, first served' basis because supplies were short!
Anyway, the receptionist at my GP told me that she wouldn't authorise a telephone appointment because they were not intended for discussing 'repeat prescriptions'. Rather than get into a long discussion about it, I took the easy option of saying 'Yes' when she asked me if I needed the prescription because I was going away on holiday (the start of my tangled web!).
...so I picked up my new prescription, went to the chemist to get my 3-month supply of Teva Losartan..........and noticed just before I went into the shop that they had only given me a prescription for 28 days! When I checked online back at home on Patient Access the doctor, as I feared, had put back the date on which I could re-apply for my next prescription by one month until May!! So, basically I am still stuck with this 2-month supply of the Liconsa Losartan which I can't replace.
Needless to say, I am taking the Teva while I work out what on earth to do with the other stuff. I have booked a doctor's appointment for March 6th (the earliest date I could book online) but to be honest I would rather stick pins in my eyes than sit there bleating about medication brands to my GP while he rolls his eyes and lectures me that 'all brands are the same'.
Anyway, the good news is that there is now some availability of Teva Losartan. Eric, my pharmacist, happily waved about twenty lovely, light-green boxes of 50mg Teva Losartan at me as I stood there waiting for my one-month prescription to be packaged up.
I suppose the Teva shortage could be Brexit-related, but I'm not so sure. The horrible brand I was taking is a Spanish import, so there is obviously still a steady flow heading this way from the Iberian Peninsula.
I hope this whole kerfuffle turns out to be a temporary blip, and I hope you don't have any problems when it's your turn, Mrs. O.