Generic Version of Cytomel -- Thyroid T3 Drug -- Approved

Is the generic form of cytomel as good as the brand name.
I had problems with generic Synthroid and had to switch back (I have problems with sythroid period but I have not been able to find an endo who will even consider Armour or Nature-throid).
I also take Cytomel and want to know if the generic is as good.

Thank you

I was shocked when I tried to pick up by Cytomel prescription over the weekend and was told it would be $53. I usually pay $15. When I questioned the pharmacist, he indicated there was a generic equivalent and the insurance company would no longer pay for Cytomel. Times are tight, so I asked him to give me the generic. I took the first one Tuesday morning, got to work and for several hours I felt like I was going to pass out. Took another one yesterday morning, same result, but a less intense. Same result today. I assume the negative reaction will lessen over time, but if it doesn’t, I’ll have to switch to the Costco pharmacy to get Cytomel at a reasonable cost.

I was given the generic version of cytomel when I last filled my prescription. It doesn’t work for me. This time I asked for and received cytomel, and I’m back on track. The problems with the generic were the same as without the cytomel: no energy, wanting a mid-morning nap, general malaise, tiredness, low mood. My thyroid was removed last fall, and generally I feel better than ever, except for the cytomel replacement.

I have been on the generic brand for about a month. I have not noticed any difference. It works fine for me.

I buy from Costco and they gave me the generic without asking. To SRoll – I called Costco for the price of these drugs, for 60 25mcg cytomel it cost $65.00 plus cents, for 60 25 mcg generic by Paddock it cost me $54.58. I called my Ralphs store (supermarket in so. calif.) and their price for 60 25mg Paddock generic was $44.19. I will be going back to Costco to get my Cytomel for $11.00 more until I hear more about the track record for the generic brand. But do shop around price wise if you don’t mind the generic, you never know who will have a better price.

I was given the generic Cytomel from Rite Aid Pharmacy. I am on both Synthroid 50 mcg/day and on Cytomel 12.5 mg daily (split dosage half in the morning and half at night). I noticed my heart racing more and skipping beats after less than a month on the generic. I went back to brand specific after discussing this with my endocrinologist. I am concerned with this new health bill going through whether we will still be able to get brand specific medication.

Thanks to others who have tried generic & shared finding it inferior to brand name. Will try generic soon for price break, but do share concern that it might not work as well. Am on blend of Armour and Cytomel- which is the ONLY thing I have found to somewhat normalize my metabolism from hypothyroidism. Would be 200# without it!

I have been taking the generic for Cytomel since it became available. I don’t think I have noticed any differences, but am still waiting. I have noticed my heart racing for what seems like more than usual, but it is hard to tell if it is the generic drug, or the typical fluctuations in TSH. I’m thinking that as long as I stay on the brand specific Synthroid, things should be fine.

Since I mentioned the brand specific issue, I would like to share what I have recently learned about the generic. I started taking the generic in November, and by February I had gained 9 pounds. There were no changes in diet or exercise routine, yet I continued to gain weight. Thinking it may be due to the generic, I had my doctor prescribe Synthroid with no substitutions allowed. However, I continued to gain weight. This really threw me. I met with my doctor and discussed my TSH and doseage. She explained to me that there are tougher regulations now for the generic (which is good news), but that in the past, the generic could fluctuate between 20% more or 20% less than the dosage. The.112 I was taking could have 20% less or more hormone than I needed? When she told me that, it made sense to me that switching back to the name brand didn’t help. The generic I was taking either had too much or too little. In my case, there was not enough because we adjusted my dosage to .125 and things are getting back to “normal” for me.

As for “normal,” I would like to add one more comment. People are continually questioning whether they need an endocrinologist. Well … I allowed the endocrinologist who originally treated me for hyperthyroidism and performed my surgery to monitor my health after my surgery. After two miserable years under his care, my primary care physician now monitors by thyroid levels and I feel better than ever. She listens to my concerns about weight, hair, and skin, where as he would not. Any problem I was having was something I was doing and in my former endocrinologist’s opinion, never had anything to do with his treatment. Replacing the function of a thyroid with a pill is not as easy as he tried to make it sound. There has to be open conversation and room for the patient’s opinion as well as their own. Just a little food for thought.

Hopefully this information will be useful to someone. I had a complete thyroid removal in June of 2005, and this forum has been incredibly helpful for me! Thank you all for continuing to post.

I finally found an endocrinologist who would listen to me and consider all my health problems connected to hypothyroidism. He is letting me stay on the Synthroid dosage I’ve been taking, although my TSH tests show I should be getting a lower dosage, since I show no physical signs of too high a dosage. I told him of my fears of weight gain and constipation that occured when my Synthroid had been lowered before.

I asked the doctor about using Cytomel if my Synthroid was lowered. He said people misunderstand Cytomel, that it only is needed if a hypothyroid patient is depressed. I would really like other opinions on this.

The reason some could possibly find the generic not working as it should is the company that manufactures them is under investigation for poor quality testing.

The reason the generic may not be working is that the company who manufactures is under investigation for poor quality testing.

hi i was put on the generic a little over a month ago my heart has done nothing but skip beats since its making me crazy its scary and my doctor could get me on the name brand if he wanted to like hes done before but hes dead set on me giving this a try but im so ready to stop taking it im sure it may work for some and maybe even me but the skipping is hard to live with

Hi Chryshal,

I have been taking Cytomel with Synthroid generic for 3 years. An endo prescribed the Cytomel for me when I was not happy with the Synthroid, still had symptoms, and was absolutely unable to lose weight. With the Cytomel I think I am as close to ‘normal’ as one can get with pills rathern than natural hormones.
I was not depressed when the Cytomel was prescribed – just still tired and couldn’t lose weight – sometimes even gaining weight while on a diet.
I did have depression before I was diagnosed with a thyroid problem, but once I started Synthroid the depression went away.
I take half the Cytomel in the morning, half in the afternoon. I will NEVER again go without it.
Obviously doctors don’t always agree, but the endo who initially prescribed Cytomel for me didn’t do it for depresssion, and I have had wonderful results.
I also now am treated by my family doc rather than an endo since I am stabilized I don’t think I need an endo any more, and the family doc is pretty good at listening to me and tweaking the meds and not relying 100% on the blood tests results.
A more understanding and doc might be good for you?

I’ve never heard that Cytomel is prescribed for patients who are depressed. That’s interesting. It seems to help me with dry skin and hair issues.

Thank you Jynx for posting about the company manufacturing the generic Cytomel. I will check into that! I too have had heart palpitations and experienced a lot of anxiety.

My endo said I could have the Cytomel but then he would have to lower my Synthroid. That scared me. I do fatigue easily and can’t lose weight. I was afraid lowering my Synthroid would make me gain another 10 pounds, plus make me constipated again.

This endo isn’t my first. I was so thankful he let me stay on my present level of Synthroid, as long as I show no symptoms of hyperthyroidism, that I put Cytomel out of my consideration.

My choices of endocrinologists in my area are limited. The last one was worse and I told him I wouldn’t be back. My general practioner insisted I either go to an endocrinologist or she would lower my Synthroid. Obviously, I may be getting too much, but it isn’t transferring over to the hormone I need. What a catch 22!

Hello fellow thyroid patients. I have several comments today. Hopefully they will be helpful.

1- Nancy: I have been back on the name brand Cytomel for five days now and have not experienced any more heart palpitations. None! That is a wonderful feeling. I had two mild panic attacks and experienced extreme anxiety and heart palpitations when I was taking the generic form. Now my energy is back, my attitude is more positive, and feel like I did when all my horomone levels were where they should be. So – no more generic Cytomel for me.

2 – The price for brand specific Cytomel: On 08/08/09 I paid $85 for a 90 day/month supply at Kroger. (grocery store chain) When I first started taking Cytomel 3 years ago, the price was $55 a month, so this is fine with me. I also have to take brand specific Synthroid. I don’t like having to pay the higher price, but I find a way to budget it for peace of mind and body.

3 – Cryshal: When I was being treated by an endocrinologist, he told me he would have to lower the dose of my Synthroid if I started taking Cytomel. He also tried to convince me that it was a waste of money and would not benefit me in any way. While doing this, I weighed 256 pounds, and he said I needed to exercise!!! Talk to your internist/primary care physician/family practitioner. I am treated by my primary care physician and she listens to what I have to say about the dosage of my medication. When I switched to her and stopped seeing the endocrinologist, we increased the dose and guess what? I have lost 70 pounds and feel so much better. (weight, hair growth, less dry skin, no more period irregularities) It’s not all medication – I walk my dogs twice a day every day of the week – but at least I can lose weight now – and I don’t feel miserable. We agreed that as long as I was healthy and did not show symptoms of hyperthyroidism, we could maintain our current treatment.

4 – Crissy: Find a doctor who will work with you! You know your body and deserve to have your opinion heard.

5 – “Normal Thyroid Levels.” We all know that “normal” is not the same for everyone. Some doctors use the range of .30-3.0, and some use .50-5.0. That’s a wide range for “normal!” I take 5mcg Cytomel twice a day and .125mg Synthroid. My TSH stays around .40-.70. That may sound like I am getting too much horomone, but I am not. I don’t know if not having a thyroid contributes to this, but as long as I stay around .50, I am healthy and very happy. (my doctor keeps a close tab and agrees)

6 – Pam: It is so good to read about someone with a similar story to mine. I would gain weight when I would try and lose – and that is a miserable and frustrating feeling. If the levels aren’t right for a person’s body – then they just aren’t right – and doctors must be willing to work with patients. My internist is wonderful. I just wish that other women with these same frustrating problems could have a doctor as open-minded and in touch with patients as mine. (and it sounds like yours too)

7 – Mary: Thanks for keeping this site full of information we can use.

I have a typo about the price in the above post.

Correction I paid $85 for a 90 day supply. 180 pills. A 3 month supply of Cytomel.

I just picked up my generic Cytomel prescription and it’s the first time i’m using straight T3. The brand name cost triple the price of the generic so I opted to give it a try. Before I found this blog I read on some other sites that the generic can have a different absorption or potency so the doseage might be different and that could be why others that started on Cytomel did not do well on the generic….they probably needed a higher dose of the generic. I’m starting at 25Mcg dose.

I was switched in July by my prescription company (MEDCO) to the generic Cytomel (5mcg) when I renewed my 90 day subscription. I am also on 50 mcg of Synthroid. After about 2 weeks on the medication, I started experiencing heart palpitations mostly at night when I was ready for bed. By week 3, I started noticing the irregular heartbeat during the day. I also began having swelling in my feet/ankles and had some of the most painful leg cramps I have ever experienced. I called my endo and said that I wanted off the generic Cytomel. Even after a week of being off of it, I am still having the heart palpitations. I will be having more lab work done in about 1-2 weeks to see if I could have become hyperthyroid and if not, I’ll probably switch back to the Cytomel since it helped curtail the weight gain, dry skin and mental and physical fatigue I was experiencing. Right now, I just want the irregular heartbeats to go away. The other symptoms I can learn to deal with.

I have been on Cytomel(5mcg 2x a day) for about 2.5 yrs along w 137mcg of levothroid. (yes, i pretty much have no thyroid function left thanks to going 5-6 yrs w/o being diagnosed correctly and not reaching the right amount of meds until those 2.5 yrs ago)

i just started the generic Cytomel about 2 days ago. i have been feeling a little more tired, but i’m not sure if that’s from the current meds or my having to stretch out the Cytomel until i could get more over 2 or 3 days since my doctor, for some reason, closed out my prescriptions! i’m going to see what happens w this month’s worth. if i feel like it’s making me worse, i will ask to be put back on brand. i consider myself lucky that i have ins which allows me to get brand for $20 tho i wonder now that since they have the generic, if they’ll charge more. right now i pay $10 w ins for the generic.

i will say though, that Cytomel has been my life saver. I practically had to beg to be put on it, but since i’ve started taking it, i don’t require 3+ hour naps to get through the day!

I have been taking Cytomel for about a year. My heart used to race and palpitate, but no longer. It kept my numbers really low, but I also lost 4 sizes. I recently experienced a rapid weight gain of over ten pounds. My guess is my T3’s are off again. That is the reason I was prescribed Cytomel in the first place. It took me over ten years and two Doctors before I finally went to Internal Medicine who found a whole host of problems including anemia due to heavy menstrual flow. My previous Doctors always had the same answer, your tests are normal and that was that. No matter that I still had all of the classic hypothyroidism symptoms. The fact that they did not listen is more typical than having someone who will.
Is there anyone else out there that has to be over medicated just to feel somewhat normal and maintain normal weight? That has been my ongoing experience with this disease. Very few Doctors are willing to prescribe a higher dosage than test results will allow, but it the only way I will be able to fit into my clothes again.

I just started taking Cytomel5mcg yesterday. I have been very fortunate with my endo. He has been very aggressive in treating this. I have gone undiagnosed for years until this past December when I signed up for the Lindora weightloss program. It is a medically based program out of Southern California. Their doctor found my thyroid problem in the blood panel they require. She also found that my thyroid was enlarged. This led to the discovery of a nodule on my thyroid and that I had Hashimoto’s Disease. Since January I have gone from 50 mcg of Synthroid to 125mcg. My endo let me decide if I wanted the try the Cytomel. I end up sluggish and that deep down to your core tired by the afternoon. No amount of sleep changes that. He did tell me that I should be feeling a bit of hyper symptoms when we finally hit the correct dosage until my body adjusts.
Has anyone else noticed when changing dosages that their moods are all over the place? Depending on the dosage, I am depressed and “emo” or hyper and happy. Then the dosage levels out ion my system and I am back to tired.

Because of the Armour shortage, my doctor switched me to 50mcg of Cytomel a day. I was taking 75 mcg of Armour a day. I don’t take any T4 now. I began this 3 weeks ago. The first week I lost 3 pounds, but nothing since. Also, I would get some chest pains off and on the first 2 weeks, but now they are gone. I am constantly warm, almost to the point of swetting when I am sitting! Should I call my doctor now or wait until my first blood test at 6 weeks? Also, should I be taking some kind of T4 replacement?

please someone tell me where I can find a doctor in san bernadino county who will prescribe cytomel.I am so desperate for help.

Thanks

Kathleen, it might help if you call some endo’s around you and ask. You might be able to find out over phone before you make an appointment.

My doctor just recently started me on Cytomel. I was on Synthroid 225 and he was about to raise it to 250, but then decided to try the Cytomel. He lowered my Synthroid to 150 and prescribed Cytomel 50.

I dont think I am adjusting well. The pharmacist recommended that I cut the pill in half for the first couple of days so I could get used to it. Then I read somewhere online that it is good to take half your dose in the early AM and the other half in the early afternoon. So that first day I cut the pill in half, and then took half of that half in the AM and the other half of the half in the early afternoon. I felt pretty good during the day but when I went to bed I thought I was going to die. Heart palpitations that turned into a massive anxiety attack (havent had one like that in years!). I literally had to have someone come into my room and hold my hand like a little baby so I could go to sleep. Since then I have only been taking 1/4 a pill early in the morning. (Well, one other time I tried to take a second 1/4 pill and the same thing happened that night). I was hoping to slowly increase my dose to get up to the full pill, but every time I take almost half the pill the same thing happens. I am terrified to take more than 1/4 of this pill. I have experienced mild palpitations intermittently and random headaches. My heart rate is 90, but it is normally in the 80s because of my weight anyway. My blood pressure has only gone up a tiny bit.

I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. I do like how the pill makes me feel for the first 6 or so hours after I take it. But then around 8 hours later I start to feel REALLY exhausted, and that’s when I notice some palpitations. I want to go to bed at 8pm. (If I take almost half the pill it’ll be midnight and I’ll still be having a panic attack). My roommate suggests that I should take the whole pill. He seems to think that is why I am so exhausted at night. I am afraid that if I take that whole pill I’ll have a heart attack!

Linda, the ratio of T4 to T3 naturally released in the blood by a healthy thyroid gland is roughly 20 to 1, per Wikipedia article titled “Thyroid Hormone.” The ratio prescribed for you is 3:1. It sounds as though your T3 has been majorly over-prescribed.
My internist recently prescribed Cytomel 5 mcg for me to take along with Levoxyl. Levoxyl is levothyroxine, same thing as Synthroid. He did tell me to decrease the amount of Levoxyl I take with it. However, I am incredibly fortunate in that I have an internist who lets me decide how much of my medication to take. He prescribes 75 mcg of Levoxyl, but I have cut that back to a little under 60 mcg by cutting and crushing the pills and weighing them using a milligram scale. I have to calculate the amount of Levoxyl I am getting, because the pill contains a lot of filler. A 75 mcg pill weighs 147 milligrams, so I calculate that the weight I have been taking, 115 milligrams, is equivalent to 58.67 mcg. That is 115 / 147 * 75.
I have not yet gotten the Cytomel filled, but when I do, I plan to begin it at the level of one fourth of that 5 mcg , or 1.25 mcg per day, and cut my Levoxyl to 54.59 mcg (107 milligrams by weight). After a couple of weeks at that level, I will try increasing the Cytomel to 2.5 mcg per day and decreasing the Levoxyl to 50 mcg, or 98 milligrams by weight. That is the plan, anyway, to try to reach the goal of a 20:1 ratio in the meds I am taking.
All that to say, regardless of what they say, there is nothing wrong with playing with your dosage. You know when you are overdosed, because of the symptoms. And you also know when you are underdosed, because of the symptoms. And there is also nothing wrong with taking a dosage in between what the established pill sizes offer, if that is what you need. Invest in a pill crusher and a milligram scale, and get your doctor to prescribe an amount that is the upper limit of what you might need (or find a doctor who will) and measure down. A side benefit of taking less than the amount prescribed is your total out of pocket costs can be lowered.
Now admittedly, the pills are filled with filler, so the amount of actual meds you get each day may vary when you do this. But if you make sure you finish one pill completely (even if it takes 2-3 days to do it) before you start another pill, the amount you get will even out. So you should probably not try this with your 50 mcg pills. Instead, see if you can get your doctor to prescribe the 25 mcg Cytomel pills or maybe even the 5 mcg pills for you.
And if there really is that much variation in the potency of generics as others here have said, then you definitely want to stick with the brand name if you are doing this, because you don’t need to add that uncertainty to your measurement.
Thanks to all of you here for the information about generic versus brand name Cytomel. You have helped me to decide to go with the brand name when I get my prescription filled.

I have taken .0625 Synthroid two days a week and .050 the other five days. I also was taking Cytomel .5 every morning. I began the Mylan generic for Synthroid this summer. The mail order company automatically switched me to the generic Cytomel when it came out without asking me. I’ve been extremely tired ever since.Although my doctor told me that she has never seen my numbers look so good, I’m about to ask her for a brand name prescription for Cytomel. I’ll let you know if it makes any difference.

I recently refilled my Cytomel (brand). My pharmacy called before and tried to switch me to generic. I told them no before I could confer with my doctor. My pills say ‘KPI” on one side and “115″ on the other. I have taken Cytomel with Synthroid for years. This is the first time that I have suffered from heart palpitations. And, it is severe. I thought that my heart would jump out of my chest. Have gone to the doctor and my thyroid test in range. Why am I having a reaction to the Cytomel? I tested that this is what it is by not taking the 2nd pill in the day, and no heart palpitations. By the way, the one that I take in the a.m. does not seem to bother me. Can anyone help?

After seeing a highly recommended endocrinologist in Denver 5 months ago, my wife and I added generic T3 by Paddock Labs to our long-standing Levothyroxine scrips. We both experienced major improvements, some of them unbelievably dramatic.

Our pharmacy switched from Paddock to Mylan’s generic T3 a few weeks ago, and our symptoms have been gradually returning. After researching other people who’ve had problems with Mylan’s T3, it appears our experience may be just the tip of the iceberg.

We’ve located a local pharmacy which still uses Paddock’s version and will switch back to that tomorrow. Our Walgreen’s told us that their entire chain still uses Paddock’s T3, so this might be the best option for switching pharmacies if you can’t get the Paddock product from your regular pharmacy.

My pharmacy gave me the generic form of cytomel in July. First I had a panic attack so severe……..My throat swelled, I could not breathe, I paced, My heart raced…..I felt like I was choking. I have been on cytomel since 2002, I always felt good. I am going back to CYTOMEL ONLY. Thyroid medicine is nothing to play around with. Your heart is the major organ that reacts the most to thyroid hormone. All lierature shows that hyperthyroidism will cause a panic attack. I will never let a pharmacy , insurance company or MD play with my well being. THEY COULD HAVE KILLED ME! Never again, well these groups play around with my doses.

The idea that you always need to reduce Synthroid (T4) intake when adding Cytomel (T3) is a bit misgiuded due to people only looking at the TSH number. The Free T4 and Free T3 numbers should also be gathered during the blood labs. The Synthroid and Cytomel can then be dosed to keep you in the upper half of the Free T4 and Free T3 ranges where you will feel the best (there are several good web articles on this topic). Cytomel only affects the Free T3 number. Synthroid primarily affects the Free T4 number and then secondarily affects the Free T3 depending on your body’s T4 to T3 conversion capability. In a nutshell: Use Synthroid to get your Free T4 into the upper half of its range, then suppliment with Cytomel to get your Free T3 into the upper half of its range. Your TSH is not the driver, your FT3 & FT4 are.

I just started generic cytomel 25 mcg yesterday. I used to be on 90 Armour. Never felt well on Armour, felt like I was on death’s door while on Synthroid. So far, no usual headaches or extreme fatigue, but we shall see. Any thoughts about the dose of 25mcg cytomel only – with no t4?

Heather, like you I never felt well on Armour or Synthroid. I’ve been on Cytomel only (NO T4) for over a year. I am up to 100 mcg now and planning on asking the doctor for a 25 mcg raise. Seems to be the answer for me.

I’ve been feeling more depressed and tired lately though and now am wondering if it is due to the generic T3?? Maybe I don’t need a raise?

3 years ago my doctor prescribed Cytomel for weight loss along with adipex to reduce my appetite. I lost 40 lbs in 5 months. After stopping the medicine, I gained it all back over a 2 year period. I have a normal thyroid. Has anyone else been prescribed this med just for weight loss? I am thinking about going back to this doctor and taking it again to lose this weight but I was scared that it would mess up my thyroid.

I am on 50mcg of Cytomel and .088 of Synthroid. My appetite has increased a lot. It seems like all I want to do is eat. Is this typical?

Hello everyone, thank you for your stories about t4 and t3. I just saw my endo this week and my t4 levels were 20 and my tsh was 2. I take 117 micrograms of t4 each day. I have never felt well on levothyroxine alone and I had to argue with my endo to let him prescribe t3 for me… and he finally did. I started on taking 10micrograms yesterday and 10 today. Yesterday I felt really well after about 30 minutes of taking the pill but 2 hours later I had heart palpitations and now I have palpitations and a headache. Should I lover my t4 or is this just normal reaction to the t3? Do you think this is to much of hormones? What is the ideal t4/t3 ratio?

I started taking Levothyroxin and had a bad reaction to it, so my Dr lowered the dosage and had me gradually built it back up over the course of a month or so. after a while, I started getting hives and what looked like acne on my sides and arms. after numerious trips to Skin Dr’s and creams of all sorts, I decided to stop taking the thyroid medicine. after about 6 days my skin cleared up. I told my Dr. about what I had discovered, that I am allergic to Levothyroxin. He put me on Cytomel 50mcg one tab a day. So far, I think I’m good, I don’t think the rash or hives are coming back. I’m just not understanding the different ways people are taking T4, or T4 with T3. It seems like I should be taking my dosage differently.
Has anyone else had these strange side affects?

Here is my story. After messing around for years for the right combination, we finally found that Name Brand Synthroid works better for me (I knew earlier, but the doctor didn’t) and when she added Cytomel I finally felt better-ish for the first time in years. Then, I wasn’t aware of the generic cytomel and my pharmacy (mail order, insurance related) subbed in generic. In addition, the next order of synthroid came to me generic. Yes, I should have realized it, but I didn’t read the bottles–I assumed it was as normal.
Because they’re 90 day prescriptions, this was over the last two and a half months as one was refilled, then the other. Slowly over those last months my health deteriorated. Primarily I was so beyond tired, and so I was piling pounds back on after successfully and slowly losing 35 pounds last year. I don’t know what, but intuition maybe, lead me to look at the bottles and realized not one, but both were generic. Today I was picked up new name brand prescriptions and hope it resolves the problems I was having.

I know some people feel that the brand doesn’t matter and that it’s a placebo, but I disagree. I had no idea I’d been substituted so I didn’t just make up those new symptoms. Be very careful with you prescriptions and really avoid the generic cytomel unless you have no other options. I’ll be paying out of pocket for it, but it’s worth it.