[FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="Navy"]Levothyroxine is the generic name for the T4 hormone used in treatment of hypothyroidism. Synthroid, Levothroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid are brand names containing levothyroxine. By law they each need to meet certain standards for each pill of same advertised strength. If you stick to the same brand you have the best chance of receiving a consistency of the med and, once leveled, it is generally considered best to stick with the same brand, whether that be the Synthroid you were taking, the Levothroid I take or another brand.

The major problem with allowing the pharmacy to substitute is the variance is likely to be greater from refill to refill, definitely not good for us thyroid patients. The pharmacy may not only substitute the generic for the brand prescribed, but the generic you receive one time may be made by a different company than the one you receive the next time.

Try to get your doctor to prescribe a specific brand and to state on the prescription "No substitutes."[/FONT]