[timbuktu]

I was on Synthroid for years after first trying a generic and experiencing serious issues. So I demanded brand, after reading that we should ONLY be on BRAND.
Well my new insur thinks BRAND is stupid apparently so I got all freaked out at time of needing a new Rx from doc that I got the Rx (it was enough she wanted to lower my dose from 100 to 88 because of my tsh; and I was now showing more HypO symptoms since last appt,), and I went ahead, after reading on here that many do WELL with GENERICS, that I got the generic.

Questions:

1. Which is it? People are best with BRAND (per Mary Shomon), or GENERIC works just fine for many---per who?

2. I called two pharms asking what their generic is and it is Mylan the one I am now finding is ok but not acceptable due to palpitations I'm experiencing mostly at rest. So how would I try a different generic. One that others say works great. Like Levothroid, Unithroid. Special order from my pharm or different pharm??

[Lakelover]

The key point with "generics" is to test 6 weeks after you begin taking them and to remain on the same brand of generic.

I have been on Unithroid since my surgery - it is considered a generic by my insurance company. The positive of being on it is I am usually the only patient taking it therefore I have my own bottle on hand in the pharmacy and it's alot cheaper than Synthroid - costing me $7-10 per month supply. The negative is you have to keep ahead of keeping your prescriptions filled as not to run out but most pharmacies can order a bottle and have it within a day or two.

Quote

2. I called two pharms asking what their generic is and it is Mylan the one I am now finding is ok but not acceptable due to palpitations I'm experiencing mostly at rest. So how would I try a different generic. One that others say works great. Like Levothroid, Unithroid. Special order from my pharm or different pharm??

Are you having palps since changing brands? Have you had any labs since changing brands? I would imagine there is an adjustment period while changing brands due to how your body processes the different fillers.

[timbuktu]

Ok, I called my pharm and it appears they CAN order Unithroid, and he said some insurers do consider it a generic, so I can possibly get it cheaper as well over Synthroid ($20per #30).

So yes I started the Generic 11/3 and I checked my posts here and it appears I had palpitations within a week, so thats why I blame the new generic. I do everything else as before. And yes its still going on, mostly at rest (i figured out that it must go on during day, but since I'm laying on back I can hear/feel the palpitation more easily as its closing to chest wall).

Anyway my labs from August (when I felt great; hi ft4, no ft3), show explanation for change, not sure if since generic or since my fatigue started immed after the August appt, my ft4 of 2 wks ago is lower from 1.7 to 1.4. Which I consider low mid range, and historically I don't think is good for me. So thats why I'm convinced I need an increase because the fatigue, and other symptoms (all seeming minor mind you), started while on Synth anyway.

I did start taking prenatals, citracal again, I had become lax after delivery of baby, but I am nursing so it is important to take additional supplements, and after taking more I feel there was an improvement. But thats doesn't resolve the thyroid concerns; specifically sluggish bowel which had become very regular just before this fatigue, etc started, early Sept. Its not constipation, thats why I say all my symptoms seem minor, except for the palpitations, which I just don't think are healthy, they remind me of arrythmia.

[SusieQ]

Unithroid is a fine brand of generic. It gets so confusing as to whether to call it generic or brand, but it is considered generic regardless--most of time.

IF you can not get Uni's, one thing you can do is to ask the pharmacist to fill your rx with Brand Whatever each time. Like my pharmacy carries Sandoz brand generics, others might carry Mylan, etc...

The main thing is to stick to one manufacturer, whomever that may be. It can be a pain in the butt and I've had some pharmacists cringe at the sight of me walking up (oh here come Miss Fussypants, duck!, hide!) but it is your body and you have to live in it.

Okay, so having said all that, I take Levoxyl, which is also considered a generic by many insurance companies.

But I do want to make sure you are aware that lots of times, paying cash for your T4 can be more cost effective than running it through your insurance company. Also, sometimes, the price difference between insurance co-pays and the cash price is negligible and the thought of less hassle and more control over what you are getting each month is worth the extra few dollars you might have to pay by not running it through insurance.

Not sure if we covered this with you in the past, but another thing a lot of us here do is to ask our dr for a rx of a bottle of 100 pills. This way it is sealed from the factory (you will have to let the pharmacy know you want the sealed bottle) and pay cash for it. If you ask for Unithroid, or Levoxyl a sealed bottle of 100 pills is not expensive at all--paying cash. Most insurance companies will not go for the sealed bottle of 100. This way you also have the benefit of truely know the exp date of your meds and you also know that it is factory fresh, not stale by having been opened a dozen times by the pharmacy staff.

My insurance has changed this year for the worse and I will have to be paying cash for most of medications until at least November if not for the whole year (high deductible) and I plan on seeing my dr to let him know this so I can get back on the bottle of 100 program again. Plus it's easier. You don't have to be running back to the pharmacy counter every month.

Hope that helps.

PS if you can swing it, you know you have to get labs done whenever you change out your T4 meds, i.e., new brand, generics, dosage at 6-8 weeks after the change. Having the same reference range on the series of lab tests will tell you a more accurate reading of how you are assimilating the change up in the medications. I hate it when the ref range changed on me during a change like that because you can't really tell what's what now.

Susie

[SusieQ]

I forgot to mention the vitamins. Assuming your are post-TT you should be fine taking those. Since you are breast feeding it is very important to keep up with the prenatal vitamins and make sure you are taking the calcium daily, plus a little magnesium and vitamin d to make sure you are absorbing the calcium.

I breastfed for four years; two babies two years each and it does take a lot out of your body when you are nursing. With the first baby, I continued taking the prenatal vitamin while nursing but I did not know at the time to also take calcium and it's friends. My baby had all sorts of dental weaknesses with her baby teeth such as them actually crumbling out of her mouth at a few years of age. Had to put caps on all remaining teeth they were so weak. Between the pediatrician, the dentist, the oral surgeon, my own dr, we all concluded that it was because I was a Graves person to begin with having depleted calcium stores of my own and could not pass on the needed calcium to the baby. Had I taken calcium daily, it would have likely been a much better outcome for my baby's teeth.

For baby #2, I knew better this time around and took the prenatal vits plus calcium daily and her teeth were rock solid and gorgeous. Still are at age 12 now.

Just find the supplements that agree with your body and don't make you feel funky or poorly and you know to take them with a large meal for tummy comfort. If you are feeling out of sorts after a short time of taking a supplement, discontinue it and try a different one. With Graves were are so trained by our drs to disregard the messages our bodies are sending us (it's all in your head, that is not possible, can't be, that's not true, all those statements drs have told us over the years) that sometimes we can ignore the signals our body wants us to listen to.

Good luck.

[timbuktu]

thanks so much susieQ. I sooo appreciate your answers. If you could help futher...

I was made aware of the 100 count previously so I am requesting now. Although I had been fine on Synthroid, I am dealing with this insurance company that doesn't accept it as necessary, so after reading info that many are ok on generic, I thought well maybe I can give generics a go (one more time). I am fine except for these palps that I get which I feel certain are because of the generic Mylan. I can special order Unithroid. I learned that some insurers call it brand but most call it generic, so it does seem to be a "better" one and to avoid the "extra" costs, I thought I should try that. I did call another pharm and they use Sandoz. I'm not sure which generics are better. I'm aware that I need to stick with one, but when dealing with generics and Rx policy changes, it seems we are forced to research and make the best all around choice, including letting our body decide. So I have to try another one. I can stick with Synthroid again, but with child now, it seems I am being careless to pay extra if I can find a good generic for $10 less per #30 bottle. So with #100 bottles Synthroid $60-75 (cash), generic $15-30 (cash/insur). I refilled Mylan for now as I was out, and I will need my doc to order "another" scrip that "allows" generic, since the recent scrip I requested was specifically for Synth (b4 I realized I could get Uni). I'm inclined to stick with Synth but again, since I'm changing, wonder if Levoxyl may be an option too. I thought Levoxyl was a brand? It was my 1st supplement after RAI but Endo had me stop (what a mistake-he was watching tsh, while I slowly went hypO cause I stopped seeing him months later cause I wasn't conceiving as he had "promised"). Well anyway, I can't remember why I went with Synth when I heard it caused bad hair loss problems. Yet I went with it because it was brand. Just don't remember why didn't do Levoxyl.

My doc has not ordered any special vitamin levels which is very discouraging now that my DD is 17mo. I do not know if I am deficient in anything. Yet because of Graves and because of past history with mild anemia, and the fact that we can't have dairy, I suspect something must be out of whack. End of August after feeling great post delivery and it was my last appt., I became very fatigued. So I did restart 3mths ago-walmart prenatals (I had orig.stopped cuz I didn't have an Rx anymore), and restarted citracal. I believe I felt better from fatigue because of those. However, nursing is so draining and without any real guidance this is so sad that I haven't been able to receive info to maintain my pregnancy levels for the health of my child. Her pedicatrician hasn't asked me if there is anything I am not taking, yet she is low in weight since birth. I also suspect that with hair loss and dryness and fatigue that my dosage was too low so that I had GP increase to 112 from 100.

I added my labs to see if that helps you with my ?s; you'll notice that 4/07 while on 112 for few months my ft3 was the highest, it has never been this high again, but during pregnancy I felt great with these numbers I have now, though my dose was higher than now too. I'm guessing the hormones made me feel great. But it's peculiar that my ft3 has never been high enough except for that one period.

My main continuous symptoms that continue regardless of dose and brand is hair loss and fatigue/insomnia-just in ability to sleep early but able to sleep 8-10hours.

TSH (.35.5.5) Ft3 (2.3-4.2) Ft4 (.8-1.8)
1/11/10 .06 2.8 1.45 after starting generic from Synthroid 11/3
8/24/09 .02 1.7 one year post delivery, while also on 100mcg Synth
3/2/09 .13 1.48 new GP
12/16/08 .36 1.4 final labs after reduced from 150 to 100 per Rep Endo
10/8/08 .02 1.32 after delivery 8/21, on 150mcg Synth since Mar 08
5/28/08 .03 2.5 1.32 ****same as previous***
2/29/08 .03 2.7 1.56 4wks after incrsd to 150mcg, preggers
1/25/08 .69 2.2 1.17 4wks after incrsd to 112mcg, preggers
12/28/07 3.32 1.3 days after positive pregnancy 88mcg
10/29/07 .15 2.9 1.43 while on 88mcg Synthroid 2m post m/c *****TSI 310%******
4/12/07 .011 3.8 1.52 this was the last time I was on 112 no pregnancy pre/post

3/2/09 calcium 9.5 (8.6-10.3)
4/13/09 ferritin 27.8 (6-155)

So now I'm just waiting to make the decision with the right scrip order than hopefully I can be normal again.

[SusieQ]

Hi Timi,

I will try to help you out here.

I notice that your ferritin is low. This needs to be considerably higher in order to feel well, be well and not suffer fatigue and hairloss among other things. Some women need to be taking a higher dose of iron supplement in order to raise the iron stores in the body to an acceptable level. Iron deficiency can be overlooked or downgraded as a cause to many ills, but I do stress that if your iron stores are not high enough for your body's needs, a myriad of problems occur. My daughter who has heavy and frequent periods has to take 36mg of iron daily along with at least 500mg of vit C in order to have ferritin levels that are acceptable. I am not saying that you need that much iron, but it is something for you to look into. The vit C is essential as without enough of it, the body can not absorb iron.

Your calcium levels are good, however, still take a calcium supplement daily along with it's friends, magnesium and vit D. Also important, especially while nursing.

When nursing, your diet is crucial as it can influence the quality of your milk and you want baby to have the best possible. What I used to do was eat a lot of homemade fruit salads with a variety of fresh fruits and I would make batches of homemade beans and eat a lot of that along with some meats and veggies here and there. I don't know what it was about the fruit salads and homemade beans but my goodness, I had very ample milk supply when I would eat a lot of that kind of stuff. We used to joke that I could have nursed half the babies in town when I ate like that. Canned beans and canned fruit salad did not have the same effect on me. Just fyi.

You can get a better prenatal vitamin by ordering on-line at places like Iherb.com or vitacost.com. A good one is the Just Once prenatal by Rainbow light. Now brand also makes a good product. Those on-line stores above usually have pretty good prices. Nothing against wal-mart products, but these two brands above are famous for high quality ingredients. You are worth that investment.

Back to the generics/brand confusion. It is so confusing as to what it what and which is which and blah blah. The main thing is to stick to one product/brand/manufacturer. I think the semantics of the subject throws us off since we don't really have a good solid term for what is considered brand and what is generic in some of these meds. Yes, Levoxyl is considered generic by some and brand by others. Same for Unithroid. What is going to be important is that you pick one whether it is true generic or one of these kind of sort of might be brands like Lev or Uni.

The hairloss and other symptoms you mention likely are from low ferritin but also not being at your perfect setpoint for thyroid levels can do that to. Moving thyroid levels can make this happen also. I wouldn't really blame the Mylan t4 pills so much for this. But one of the reasons why we suggest to pick one, any one and stick to it is that each manufacturer will have a slightly different amount of t4 in each dose of their product. For example, let's say manufacturer X makes a 100mcg tablet. If it was to be broken down and analyzed, it could actually have 109mcg per tablet. Completely legal by fda guidelines for generics. Then, let's say manufacturer Y also makes a 100mcg tablet. If we broke that pill down and analyzed that, it might have 93mcg in it. Once again, legal. However, usually, each manufacturer will pretty much stick to their formulation and create the same pill strength consistently. Thus, if you stay on manufacturer X's pills of t4, you will adjust to that pill, get labs done and re-adjust your dosage accordingly to how that manufacturer produces their product. It's when one month you get manufacturer X's pills, then the following month you receive manufacturer Y's pills that things can wrong for you because one month you were taking 109mcg of t4 and the next month you were taking 93mcg of t4. Not a big difference, but a lot of Graves people are sensitive enough to notice that something isn't right and they will have symptoms and problems. This is all while your bottle says 100mcg. I hope that makes sense. I know it's a hard concept to convey and to grasp. Stuff like this is why some drs are adamant about writing the rx for Brand WhatIsayisbestforyou and they mark the script as DAW which means dispense as written. Doing that makes the pharmacy fill it with Brand WhatIsayisbestforyou each time and they are not allowed to give you generic--which can be from any manufacturer that provided the pharmacy with the lowest wholesale cost.

So, I used to take Uni's and they were great. Now I take Lev's and they are great also. However, a 100mcg of Uni is not the same as a 100mcg of Lev's I found. I had to adjust my dosage after the switch out. Fyi. It's going to be okay and you will get this sorted out. It just takes time once you settle on which t4 pill you are going to taking. If you are near a Costco, they have a cash patient program that is helpful. Wal-mart has their $4 a month program for generics but I don't think you get the freedom to ask for manufacturer X all the time. I suspect with Wal-mart you get what they have, period. But Costco does carry Levoxyl and charges a very fair price for it. Their website does not list the 100 count bottle in their price list, but you phone the staff and special order it. I don't think they carry Uni's though. You'd have to ask to make sure.

Another thing to remember is that as long as you are nursing, your hormones are going to be fluxing and that does influence thyroid levels whether on replacement thyroid or your own. So getting super stable with thyroid doses can be challenging until your baby is weaned and your body is back to normal. I think the key is to just find your one manufacturer, stick to it, and then fiddle slightly with your t4 doses as your labs warrant, then once you are at a place that looks good on paper, stick to that dose and give your body a chance to get used to it. Big changes make our bodies unhappy then we feel like cr@p.

Looking at your thyroid labs you list, the ones that would have me feeling the best would be the April 2007 labs. You might need a tiny dose of cytomel in the near future to get your ft3 back to where you feel your best. Maybe 5mcg split into two and see how that works out. I know that for me, I have a small spot inside the normal range where my body does best. The normal ranges are very big places and only at the set point, which your own special small spot inside the normal range is where you will do best also. But before you ask for cytomel, see what your new thyroid pills do for you, whatever you end up using. Some people can't convert Synthroid well into ft3, but once they get on Sandoz generics, they are doing fabulous. Like night and day. That is just one example and it doesn't mean it will happen for you, but you will need to give yourself the chance to see what happens.

Like I used to overconvert Unithroids. Ugh. My ft3 was too high when I took those, so I switched to Levoxyl and I didn't have that problem anymore. But eventually I needed to go on Cytomel as I don't convert Lev's well at all. But it's my choice as a stop gap measure to stay on the Lev's as insurance to not go back to sky high ft3. Other people convert Lev's into a good amount of ft3 great. We are all different.

I hope that helped. Best of luck to you. Susie

[ldaniel]

I am on PTU, 200 mg/day. My pharmacy recently switched brands on most of my prescriptions. I am having huge issues with the changes. My PTU isn’t as effective. I have noticed my symptoms slowly coming back and I’ve been feeling great for almost a year. My birth control pill switch has my body constantly cramped, hungry and super moody. My migraine pill takes an hour and a half to kick in now rather than the 45 minutes of the previous brand. Yes, I timed it. I’ve timed the medication every time I’ve taken it. I’m sure they all have the same active ingredients as the brands I was using previously, but I noticed many changes since my pharmacy switched. If they will not go back to the previous brands I’m looking for a new pharmacy.
I’m a firm believer of pick a brand and stick with it. Little things like dyes or fillers can change the way your body reacts to the medication. I’m finding out first hand right now.

[timbuktu]

First off SusieQ, your replies are so spot on for my needs, thanks so much for your time and experience.

Ferritin: I agree it might be too low, but since it's in range how does one get a doc to see that, and if I must bypass doc then how would I know how to dose it. For example I've been taking PN with 28mg Iron (If I recall that is the min req. in PNs). So if thats not enough, I could start with Slow FE in addition to the PN.

PreNatals: Am I only taking PNs while nursing

Testing: I've tried several sites to ask what kind of tests I should be requesting that encompasses all these deficiencies. All I ever get is the thyroid panels. It would seem a doc should have me testing periodically for these other things while nursing. Do you have a name of a round of testing (like CBC panel) that I can request.

Calcium: I'm taking Citracal petites (400calc/500vitD) once a day. In the ingredients it mentions magnesium. Is this sufficient or should I try drops with the triple.

Foods: I'm just starting to make beans weekly and brown rice. Could you give me your fruit salad ideas, I get dumbfounded when it comes to fruits.

Lt4: I have no problem sticking to a brand/generic. I was on Synthroid up to last Oct. only because my BlueX (new policy) decided they would charge $60 per #30. Well at that time I forgot I could pay out of pocket, which I had done in the first year of taking it-so I went generic. Well now after all my posting, I realize that since this generic from Walmart-mylan doesn't work best, I can try another like Uni or Levoxyl. I will call my insurer about both. I don't want what happened to idaniel as posted here, which is to have a generic that the pharm discontinues and have to run around looking for a new pharm. Though I have done that now with 4 diff pharms but it was always Synthroid. Now I will choose my most convenient pharm (becuz of baby; current walmart I feel is limited and too busy; same w/the other that has Sandoz), and a most common "brand". And yes, I'm familiar with dosing inferiorities, so I will plan to get tests 6-8wks. I waited too long this last time (3m). Again because baby really occupies me. No one else to help me with this stuff. So I think that really helps me focus on Uni or Lev now. Lev is a brand I'm familiar with so I'm hoping insurance is a go.

Misc: I do understand there are fluctuations w/nursing, so I won't be discouraged, I think I just trust my instincts more nowadays, that I need a different now or never or just go back to Synth, also either way at a higher dose, atleast for nursing. Cytomel may or may not come into play.

Hair loss is a big issue, and I just recently discovered or correlated that low ferritin can cause this. So interesting that I will try to improve that now. Still wondering if you might know is one brand worse for loss than another?

Palpitations, more evident at bed, are the main reason I am not happy with Mylan-not the hair loss. You seem very aware of things, might you know if there are any other stand out reasons outside of Mylan for my palpitations. I drink Sweet Tea daily, as a water substitute.

thanks so much again.

[SusieQ]

Hi again Timi,

I realized I didn't answer the palpitations question. That one is tough. It could be from any number of things. Could be from low iron stores, or a vitamin deficiency. Perhaps your thyroid levels moving, or being in the wrong place for you. Could also be from a filler or colorant in one of your meds or vitamins. Could be a food sensitivity. Maybe too much caffeine. Even lower estrogen levels while you are nursing. It could be that the current t4 pill you are taking simply does not agree with you. It is near impossible to pinpoint what is causing that.

The dosage you list for the PN for iron is a good amount, however, it's not enough for you at this time. Once again, you get dorked by the normal range since you are inside the normal range on your ferritin lab, but it's a low number. This normal range is a veery wide one. But, even so, many people will feel fatigued and have hair loss issues--and even palps when their ferritin level is where yours is. One thing you can do is to increase your vitamin c amount to at least 500mg a day. Nursing alone can burn through that much before noontime. Factor in your own needs...at least 500mg of vitamin c. You could purchase a seperate iron supplement (the slow fe you mention is good) and take that in addition a few times a week and see if that helps. The thing with iron supplementation is that you don't want to overshoot your goal. But it's really hard to overachieve in the iron dept if you are in childbearing years (periods), or nursing or not on a birth control pill (which limits your monthly flow). Anyhow it's not likely your dr will rx something to help bring up your levels since you are inside the normal range, albeit at the lower end, so you will have to do that on your own.

The citracal is fine. I would recommend taking one in the a.m. and then one more in the p.m. You can add a vitamin d capsule to that (1000iu is a good starting dose, but many people take at least 5000iu a day if living in a northern climate) and making sure that you are managing the mag to cal ratio to at least 1 part mag to 2 parts cal. I take a higher amount of mag myself, but I have a parathyroid that needs some help. Anyhow, the added mag will have the added benefit of speeding up your bowels whereas the added iron usually slows them down. So you will have a neutral outcome if you can manage your dosing as such. So much to think about! lol

I think a lot of us can have a palp issue upon going to bed. Not sure why, but maybe because we finally still and the stress of the day either melts away or backfires on us and bubbles up thus bringing on palps. Again, hard to say, but you are not the first who notices them especially when going to bed. Maybe it's just a Graves thing if not from anything mentioned above.

Fruit salads....I used make them like this: half a cantaloupe, half a honeydew, a large apple, an orange, one or two bananas, a cup of grapes, a kiwi if you can find one, peaches (either fresh or canned), maybe a pear if you have one, and then a sprinkling of brown sugar if it's winter (the fruits might be kind of sour in winter), then a little bit of lemon juice to keep it all from turning brown with oxidation and almost a tablespoon of ground cinnamon so your blood sugar doesn't get too high eating so much fruit (safe for baby). Cut those up into small bite size pieces and mix together in a large mixing type of bowl then cover it (I used a dinner plate to cover) and put in the fridge. For a few days you will have that to munch on. Eat it with some of the homemade beans...easy meals that are made ahead of time giving you more baby time or needed mommy time.

I didn't have any help either with my babies so if I didn't make the food, I was hungry. Hubby was always working and exhausted when he got home. The make ahead kind of stuff can be a lifesaver, plus you get so tired nursing on demand and having no time for yourself. La Leche, the nursing support group also told me at the time that half a beer will bring on milk flow. Just don't overindulge though! It's something about the hops or barley if I remember what they told me. Anyhow, it did work.

As for a round of testing, um, you know how hard it can be get testing done. If you can swing a cbc complete panel then that is good. But in the end, if your thyroid levels are good, your diet is unquestionable, you are hydrated at all times, you should be good to go. Getting enough sleep is important too, but it's so hard to get with a baby.

Hope that helps. Susie

EDIT TO ADD: You can top the fruit salad with some chopped walnuts or almonds, which I highly recommend. That will give you another small protein source which is so important when nursing or for those with Graves (whether post-TT or not) and also help keep a cap on your glucose levels. The protein helps to balance out a glucose increase from the fruits. I personally can not stand nuts of any kind. Yuck. But I force myself.

[timbuktu]

Susie thanks again for all the info. I feel your right on.

I just thought of something new (btw, I will gladly try your fruit salad ideas, I always feared buying too much fruit for wasting it, but if I do it this way where I prepare half of all the fruits, saving the other half, I can have ready made for several days then finish the rest of the fruit and feel that I've had a good amount for the week; also I think I will go ahead and take some slow FE for a little while, I'm not sure how it works-does it increase my stores and then I can stop or is it forever supplementing?),

so anyway, I hope you don't mind this question about my sluggish bowel. My fatigue started late Aug while still on Synthroid (before the generic Nov3), and I'm pretty confidant I recall the bowel changes then too, so as to explain that these may be new HypO symtpoms and that I may need an increase in dose. However, I started the Prenatal and Citracal around Sept. Is it possible that those may have caused a change in my bowel habits and that maybe I need something else to offset those?

[SusieQ]

The sluggish bowels can be from the lower than optimal ft3 of yours and or from the prenatal vitamin due to the iron in it and also the calcium tabs. All three can cause the bowels to slow down. Getting your thyroid levels to your set point is best as the body simply well there. For the iron and calcium, both of which you need at this time, taking the magnesium often helps speed up the bowels. 2 parts calcium to 1 part mag is a good place to start. You can also try equal parts mag to cal and see if that does the trick if the first formula wasn't enough.

Eating enough fiber and drinking enough water help too.

You will likely need to supplement your iron intake until at least you are done nursing, perhaps longer due to the monthly cycle. It's a common health issue among pre-menopause women.

I too used to worry about wasting the fruit when making the fruit salads, but if you wrap up the fruits not yet make into the salad and refrigerate, you have a fairly long shelf life on them and you can then make a 2nd fruit salad later in the week with the leftovers.

Take care,

Susie

[timbuktu]

DUPE

[timbuktu]

Hello. Well I need some more help after research.

I have to get another refill and it will have to be generic Mylan again, cause I'm not prepared to get the Synthroid I had my doc write me a month ago yet.

I thought I had found out that Synthroid was on a "maintenance list" with my insurer BlueX so that I could get many with one copay. However, talking with them again, the next lady says its not the case. What a joke these companies are! This is the pain of RAI, being forced to need LT4.

*So anyway, for the generic Mylan I get charged Walmarts price of $4. If I go to RiteAid it's $20 for 30, same drug.
*Is it true that the Mylan from one place to another is the same? Cause the problem I had was palpitations at rest, and occasionally during the day, which I am almost confidant has started since I began the generic in Nov (after years on Synthroid).
*So I'm wondering if these palps are a big issue? I really don't want to pay $20 per 30 if I can get it for $4. I have a baby now, and with this economy it just doesn't make sense to spend more if I can deal with this Mylan. I would prefer Brand but as I stated.
*I could get access to Sandoz and Unithroid (i think), but I'm sure the costs would be higher.
*However I must say, Walmart concerns me. As in, where do they get their meds from? Its all about cheapest for them.

Please give insight.

JUST ADDED: I was just told that I can get Myla"m" from Rite Aid for 8.99 with discount card vs 15.99 w/out (no insur) thats for 30 count. I also called Meijer there's is Sandoz. I can get for 30 for 8.99(i think) OR pay $76 for #365 (I said really? how? 'just have your doc write for 365)). And my doc had mentioned that she never knows what to write for count.
And I just called again to BlueX to ask if there is a "maint list" I can look into. And my drug is there but its all the same with my plan, I can do mail order (2 copay for 90d) OR get 90/100 from scrip at any pharmacy (what a bureaucracy this has become). The price for 90 would be 45.99 generic/160? brand 90d. So its all the same!! Better without the insurance either way. Why is that. Why would we have this on our plan? I have to see if we are paying for it and have it canceled by my small biz President, cause it's better to go "no insurance". Gheez. Any adlibbing appreciated.