What's Levothyroxine made from?

RE: What's Levothyroxine made from?

Hi Leah,

For detailed information on how levothyroxine is made, your best bet is to phone the manufacturer. They have specific information phone lines for these types of question.

Having said that, I would certainly not advise stopping taking your tablets however they are made. Thyroxine is a hormone which you need in your body for a large number of medical reasons, with no other medically viable option to replace it other than taking levothyroxine.

There are complementary therapies that will help balance out your normal rythmns, including various blends of essential oils. Also things liuke reflexology, accupuncture etc would be beneficial, although not necessarily a total substitute for taking these tablets.

Let us know what you find out, I'm sure there are a few people on the forum who would be interested.

RE: What's Levothyroxine made from?

Hi, just googled it. Levothyroxine sodium is a synthetic, man-made, chemical that imitates the natural hormone. Hope that helps put your mind at rest.
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RE: What's Levothyroxine made from?

here are a few web sites to check out for it

[link= http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682461.html ]http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682461.html[/link]
[link= http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,385%7CLevothyroxine,00.html ]http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,385%7CLevothyroxine,00.html[/link]
[link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levothyroxine ]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levothyroxine[/link]
[link= http://www.medicinenet.com/levothyroxine_sodium/article.htm ]http://www.medicinenet.com/levothyroxine_sodium/article.htm[/link]

good luck...PM me if you want about hypothyroidism...

Ada

RE: What's Levothyroxine made from?

Hey Guys, this is great thanks :)it sure has put my mind at rest.

Thanks again

Leah

RE: What's Levothyroxine made from?

Hi

I am also Vegetarian and take Thyroxine. I asked mypharmacist whether it was still made from animal ingredients, he assured me that it is now synthetically made.

RE: What's Levothyroxine made from?

Levothyroxine is synthetic,and flipping useless. ! IMO

Levothyroxine

Hi!
I was wondering if some of you could tell me what brands you've been buying from? I'm from Sweden and I'm trying to find a medicine with Levothyroxine, which is not containing anything from animals. Unfortunately, they've only got two brands in Sweden available, and both are made with gelantine from either pigs or fish.
I would appreciate it a lot if you could help me out. Maybe I can get my doctor to help me if only I know another brand och company which makes them.
Best regards!

Are you concerned about ingredients like lactose (from milk)?

If so, Levoxyl from the USA. Contains:
Microcrystalline cellulose
Croscarmellose sodium
Magnesium stearate

Or Levothroid from the USA. Contains:
Microcrystalline cellulose
Calcium phosphate dibasic
Povidone
Magnesium stearate

Or liquid Evotrox Oral Solution from the UK. Contains:
Citric acid monohydrate
Glycerol
Sodium methyl parahydroxybenzoate
Purified water

There might be other brands that are acceptable to you.

In the UK we get generic levothyroxine - made and marketed by several companies. There is only one proper 'brand' here - Eltroxin. (UK Eltroxin is different to the same brand in most other countries.)

Rod

Thanks so much Polygonum!
Milk aren't that big of concern, I am vegan, but being healthy is more important. At least no animals are being killed for this.
Thank you so much again, this is really great!

Thank you so much Polygonum!
I'm not that concerned about milk, even though I'm vegan, but being healthier is much more important I think. At least no animals are killed for this, that I can't stand.
Thanks again Polygonum, this was great news!

RE: What's Levothyroxine made from?

Levothyroxine is synthetic,and flipping useless. ! IMO

Lyn,
I am interested to hear the basis of your opinion that Levothyroxine is useless as I have an infant son that has been prescribed Synthroid. I have a gut feeling that this prescription is not necessary, but his mother believes otherwise.

Lyn,
I am interested to hear the basis of your opinion that Levothyroxine is useless as I have an infant son that has been prescribed Synthroid. I have a gut feeling that this prescription is not necessary, but his mother believes otherwise.

You're unlikely to get a reply - the post was 8 years ago.

That explains why a topic I would have a huge interest in passed me by!!!! Actually a lot of people feel synthetic Thyroxine is not as effective as natural Thyroid (which is of course derived from animals) I have answered lots of queries over the years from vegetarians about the content of tablets.......Gelatin is a common ingredient but your pharmacist will be ablle to advise you

Lyn,
I am interested to hear the basis of your opinion that Levothyroxine is useless as I have an infant son that has been prescribed Synthroid. I have a gut feeling that this prescription is not necessary, but his mother believes otherwise.

It's been awhile since you posted, but I can maybe speak to this.

Levothyroxine is molecularly identical to the T4 produced by the thyroid. In the thyroid, this chemical is then converted into T3, which is involved in metabolic signalling in your cells.

Armour thyroid is a natural thyroid supplement made from desiccated pig thyroid. It contains T4 and T3.

For people who absorb and assimilate T4 from Synthroid and other oral synthetic thyroid replacements, AND are able to convert T4 to T3 effectively, Synthroid et al work great to replace the T4 their bodies are unable to produce, regulate lab values and improve symptoms of hypothyroidism. This is what I take, and I feel much better on it. I'm also at a relatively early stage of autoimmune thyroid disease. There is very likely going to come a time when Synthroid alone isn't enough, and I'll need to re-evaluate at that time.

For those who are not as readily able to assimilate T4 from synthetic tablets, or who are not able to convert T4 to T3, Synthroid isn't going to be sufficient. They may need to add a synthetic T3 replacement called Cytomel, or they may use Armour Thyroid as an alternative.

No one of those drugs is worthless or useless, although no one of them is the best option for every hypothyroid patient, or for every hypothyroid patient at every stage of their disease.

I'm not sure of your son's diagnosis or how old he was at the time, or why you thought it might have been unnecessary. Hypothyroidism in infants isn't uncommon, but left untreated, it can cause intellectual disabilities, and inhibit neurological development and growth, so it is definitely worth treating. I hope that he is thriving now. 🙂