Liothyronine Sodium 25 mcg

Liothyronine is a tablet that contains a thyroid hormone. The thyroid is a small gland in the neck, and the hormone it makes controls the speed at which your body works: your heart rate, your temperature, your energy and your weight. If your thyroid does not make enough of it, this medicine replaces what is missing. Your doctor has prescribed it for you and will use blood tests to get the amount right. It is prescription-only and must never be taken by someone it was not prescribed for.

Getting the amount of thyroid hormone right takes time and blood tests, so read this section and keep every appointment your doctor gives you.

Warnings and precautions

• +Talk to your doctor before using liothyronine if you have any heart problem, angina, high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. Your doctor will usually start you on a small amount and increase it slowly, and may check your heart.
• +Talk to your doctor before using liothyronine if you have diabetes. Thyroid hormone can raise blood sugar, so your diabetes medicine or insulin may need adjusting and you may need to test more often.
• +Talk to your doctor before using liothyronine if you have a problem with your adrenal or pituitary glands, as these must be treated before thyroid replacement begins.
• +Talk to your doctor before using liothyronine if you have thin or weak bones (osteoporosis), or are past the menopause, because too much thyroid hormone over a long time can weaken bones.
• +You will need regular blood tests to check the amount is right for you. Do not skip them, and do not change the amount yourself, even if you feel well or unwell.
• +Tell your doctor if you get a pounding or racing heart, sweating, shaking, weight loss, diarrhoea, difficulty sleeping or feeling very anxious. These usually mean the amount is too high and needs adjusting.
• +Tell any doctor treating you that you take liothyronine, especially before an operation or before a thyroid blood test.

Other medicines and Liothyronine Sodium

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken, or might take any other medicines, including ones bought without a prescription, herbal remedies and supplements. It is especially important to mention blood thinners such as warfarin (medicines that stop the blood clotting so easily), because thyroid hormone strengthens their effect and can cause bleeding; diabetes medicines and insulin; digoxin and other heart medicines; medicines for epilepsy; amiodarone; and some antidepressants. Iron and calcium tablets, indigestion remedies containing aluminium or magnesium, and cholesterol-binding medicines such as colestyramine stop liothyronine being absorbed, so they must be taken several hours apart; ask your pharmacist to plan the timing with you.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant, or are planning to have a baby, tell your doctor. Thyroid hormone is needed for a healthy pregnancy and treatment is normally continued, but the amount you need can change, so your blood will be tested more often and the amount may be adjusted. Do not stop taking this medicine on your own if you become pregnant; speak to your doctor first. Only a very small amount passes into breast milk and you can normally breastfeed, but tell your doctor so your treatment can be followed. An untreated underactive thyroid can itself make it harder to become pregnant.

Driving and using machines

Liothyronine is not expected to affect your ability to drive or use machines when the amount is right for you. However, if the amount is too high you may feel shaky, anxious, sleep badly or notice your heart racing, and if it is too low you may feel very tired and slow. In either case, do not drive or use machines until you feel normal, and tell your doctor.

Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure. It is a tablet that you swallow whole with a drink of water. It is usually taken on an empty stomach, at least half an hour before food, and at the same time each day; your doctor or pharmacist will tell you what suits you. Your doctor decides the amount, adjusts it using blood tests, and this medicine is often needed for life, so never change or stop it yourself. If you forget a tablet, take it as soon as you remember on the same day; if it is nearly time for the next one, skip the missed one and carry on as usual. Do not take a double amount to make up for a forgotten one. If you take more tablets than you were told to, contact your doctor or go to the nearest hospital straight away, and take the pack with you.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Other possible side effects

• +A fast or pounding heartbeat, or feeling your heart flutter
• +Sweating more than usual, or feeling too hot
• +Shaking or trembling
• +Losing weight without meaning to
• +Difficulty sleeping
• +Feeling restless, anxious or irritable
• +Headache
• +Muscle weakness or cramps
• +Diarrhoea or being sick
• +Flushing of the skin, or a rash and itching
• +Irregular periods
• +Hair loss, which may happen in the first months of treatment in children

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children. Store below 25 degrees Celsius in the original pack, protected from light and moisture; some packs may need to be kept in a refrigerator, so follow the storage instructions printed on your carton. Do not use this medicine after the expiry date shown on the carton and the blister foil; the expiry date refers to the last day of that month. Do not use the tablets if the blister is damaged or the tablets look broken or discoloured. Do not throw medicines away in your household waste or down the toilet. Return medicines you no longer need to your pharmacy. This helps protect the environment.

Each tablet contains liothyronine sodium as the active substance. The other ingredients are the fillers, binder and lubricant that form the tablet; the full list is printed on the carton. The tablets are small, plain, uncoated and round, and are supplied in blister strips inside a cardboard carton, in packs of 10 to 100 tablets. Not all pack sizes may be available in your country. Each carton carries a printed square barcode (a GS1 DataMatrix) and a verification code that you can enter at ergopharm.net to check that the pack is genuine. Manufactured under GMP conditions by Ergopharm, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.