Terrible side effects from the generic liothyronine is cytomel better?

Posted , 14 users are following.

I had a total thyroidectomy almost two years ago and was placed on synthroid then unithroid and was still experiencing exhaustion, shortness of breath, weight gain, etc.. I finally found an endocrinologist who was willing to prescribe T3. I was feeling wonderful for the first two weeks (like my old self) then started to experience, terrible headaches, stomach aches, high blood pressure. My dosage was 5 mcg, 1 tablet and 1/2 a day. I cut back to one tablet...still headaches. Came off the generic and now am returning back to my exhausted self.

Has anyone else had this experience? I want to try cytomel (the name brand) but am unsure if I will experience the same side effects. I've love to hear from any one who may have had the same experience.

Thanks.

2 likes, 44 replies

44 Replies

Prev Next
  • Posted

    Hi sue, I had a thyroidectomy (3) weeks ago and was put on a high dose of Levo 88mcg and the side effects are horrible.  A bit worse than yours I might add. My side affects includes; hair loss, insomnia, fatigue, muscle & joint pain. It's the worse feeling ever. I'm trying to find a better med, this isn't working for me. Do you take T3 T4 combination or just T4 alone? Is the new dosage working for you?

    I need a new solution, I'm not my old self anymore and I was pretty heathy prior to taking Levo. Lt. me if you can suggest anything. Thx!

    • Posted

      The problem with all of the prescription meds is that none are bioidentical. So of course, there are side effects. Unfortunately, the side effects increase with dosage. So for those of us who need the meds because of severe thyroid disease, this of us who need help most, wind up with massive side effects. Gads!
    • Posted

      Catherine, Im understanding more about the meds as I go along. As well as the side effects because I'm living with it. I just wish I can find something natural that my doctor will be willing to prescribe, that'll actually work well for my system w/no side effects of course. I hope that they come out with a miracle pill because I need it!  What's is bio identical? Again I'm still learning. Thx so much Catherine. 

    • Posted

      Yes, I've received an email yesterday which responded to. However, I didn't receive anymore. Did u send me another one today? If so its not there dear. 

    • Posted

      i agree with you that we are all individual and need an individual approach to our medication, not this 'one size fits all' attitiude that we have at the moment.  We also need Doctors to be trained better in thyroid problems as it seems to me they just look at the blood tests and don't listen to what the patient is saying at all.  We can be feeling really awful and out blood tests are saying we are fine, so that's it we're fine!!!!!   I feel totally frustrated with all of this, yes we need to get the NHS to accept alertnative medications and pay for them, we are all supposed to be under the NHS not just those who fit into what they think.   I don't know how we can change this, I want to start a petition but my techno knowledge isn't good enough.

    • Posted

      Hi Rosie, We simply need better trained & understanding doctors to take a better approach to determine & diagnose the thyroid decease properly. Majority of them doesn't have a clue regarding the horrible side effects and what's works best for the patient. Actually my doseage was determine based on my weight which sounds very far fetched to me. 

      I dont know know why most doctors have a hard time prescribing the pig thyroid, from what I've read in many articles it was the first med given in the U.S. since the late 1940's. Seems as if they only go by blood work to determine the dosage. However, with my experience on Levo for a short period, I think that it goes far & beyond that.

      Bottomline- when we are feeling awful or over medicated most doctors pretty says- deal with it! Not fair! Unless they experience the side effects themselves, they're purely clueless. It seems as if they don't realize that most of us has to deal with this for the rest of our lives.

      Yes a petition sounds like one of the answers. Thx so much for your comment. Good luck to us!

    • Posted

      I researched Levothyroxine a lot, same as Synthroid in the US.  What I found was horrifying.   A lot of it is being manufactured on the cheap in India and China where the quality control isn't what it should be.   I believe that this is at least one reason why people are having problems with it.   I read that the US Government took one company to court when they found out that quality control was poor, amazingly though they carried on using them, they were just fined.

    • Posted

      Wow, that's horrifying! So scary! And, the awful thought that I'm administering this terrible drug on a daily bases. The U.S. Government do protect their citizens when it comes to factors such as this. There's got to be way through this. 

    • Posted

      Same here. Every time on generic of all meds from India or China send me sideways and not in a good way 

    • Posted

      What does our Gov. USA do

      about generics to stop these companies?

      How do we tell them?

      Frantic here.

    • Posted

      Rosie, you’re right.

      I believe I got parasites from these meds.

      There are no required water tests for parasites.

      Now many clinical studies are done overseas, and the subjectsgrand. Ag  are highly motivated, as they make their living as test subjects. So they aren’t necessarily motivated to be honest.  Theyoften participate in multiple drug tests at the same time.

      Synthroid was grandfathered into the existing FDA system. Do a search for NYT .

      The way the FDA works is that generic efficacy is based on comparison of the brand name drug. Generics must be within a certain percent efficacy of the brand name. Since Synthroid was grandfathered in based on its prior use, you basically have a whole class of drugs Who’s efficacy is based on a brand name drug that was never tested.

      I can attest to this, as I tried Synthroid, generic, compounded... none worked and I kept getting sicker.

      You could argue that it didn’t work because I was misdiagnosed, however the giant cyst on my thyroid gland indicates an obvious diagnosis.

      I’ve noticed quite a few people post flue like symptoms here at the onset of use of these meds. I suspect these sy,proms are likely due to to parasitic contamination.

      By the time you get yourself together enough to figure things out, you’ve got so much going on, you can’t tell. What’s what.

       

       

  • Posted

    Yes!!!

    Depression lifted??????

    Then came the rash, headaches, itching, eyeballs look like they are bleeding, feet etc swelling.

    PD ordered brand name Cytomel but fight RX company.

    I went off generic and everything went away.

    Went back on generic and all are back.

    Nobody wants to talk about this on here except singing praises of Armour. 

    My PD? Armour Not gonna happen and he’s great about trying anything (which we have that didn’t help) to keep dark depression away.

    • Posted

      Hey Tooterbug, are you still in this forum?

      I've been on generic liiothyronine (cytomel) for 4 months and have battled with sudden weight gain of ten pounds. I'm battling to keep it from going higher.

      My doctor has ordered brand- fighting my insurance and finally said to heck with it, I'll pay out of pocket- and I'm going to! That generic cytomel is awful. I'm convinced that's why.

      Thoughts?

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.