Anyone experienced joint pain and muscle weakness with Mylan medication? I had been taking 175 mcg from Sandoz labs for years. Then switched insurance carrier (Kaiser) which provides Mylan levo and since then have experienced muscle cramps in legs, primarily in the hamstrings and then slowly increasing joint pain/stiffness in hip joints and knees. Walking has become challenging. Realized these symptoms seemed to coincide with the switch in medications.
thanks, Laura
Hi, the active ingredient in both medications is identical to the hormone T4 generated by the human thyroid. Other ingredients are mainly bulking agents, antioxidants, and colouring agents.
Inactive ingredients:
Mylan: butylated hydroxyanisole, colloidal silicon dioxide, crospovidone, magnesium stearate, mannitol, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, sodium lauryl sulfate, sucrose, colour additives
Sandoz: magnesium stearate, cellulose, microcrystalline, silicon dioxide,
sodium starch glycolate type a potato, colour additives.
Absorption of orally administered T4 from the gastrointestinal tract ranges from 40% to 80%.
Did your TSH and FT4 remain the same after switching to Mylan levothyroxine? If you take the same daily dose of T4 but absorb the new medication better you could end up (borderline) hyperthyroid. In that case, your bone turnover rate increases and you bone mass decreases while Calcium is dumped into your blood stream and eventually eliminated via the kidneys. The surplus of Calcium might cause calcifications e.g. in the kidneys or the urinary tract. Too much thyroxine can also cause muscle wasting.
On the hand, if you absorb less than your required dose of thyroxine you could become hypothyroid. This can also lead to joint and muscle stiffness and pain.
The most important thing is to make sure that your long term thyroid hormone level is within your optimal range. To mitigate side effects of surplus Calcium I would recommend applying Magnesium oil to your legs. Magnesium is absorbed through the skin and reduces the precipitation concentration of Calcium. Alternatively, have regular warm baths to which you add a few cups of Magnesium salts.
Note: If your hypothyroidism is of autoimmune nature then you are at a higher risk (compared to the general population) to develop rheumatoid arthritis. Did you ever have this checked?
The last TSH while on 175 mcg of Sandoz levo was 0.08 (indication of hyper) and Free T4 was normal range. Three months later after switching to Mylan brand at 150 mcg, my TSH was 13.21!(Kaiser doesn’t always order tests beyond TSH so have no idea what other numbers are/were ). And it was about a month after switching brands that I began experiencing leg cramps. And then things got progressively worse..severe joint stiffness in hips and knees. I had read that HRT might interfere with thyroid medication so I thought I had figured it out so I stopped my estrogen patch and gradually increased my Mylan levo back to 175mcg by cutting my pills appropriately because I thought my body needed more T4. This may have helped my TSH level which on 10/16/18 were 0.67 (maybe slightly hyper but basically normal) but I still feel like shit. So am going back to Sandoz and hope this makes a difference.
I have tested for RA and don’t have that. I will report back after have been on new meds for awhile.
thanks, Laura