looking for for some information here. I have been on tamoxifen since August last year. I started on Teva brand and it agreed with me for a couple of months then the side effects started getting me down. I’d read on this site that some ladies had found relief from the SEs by switching brands, so I changed to Wockheart. Now the SEs from this brand are even worse, so I decided to switch back to Teva, but my local Boots store are saying that they’re unable to source it. I’m wondering if anyone else is having this problem. I’m up in Aberdeen, so Im wondering if it’s geographical or just unavailable in general. Anyone else having the same experience? I’d be grateful to hear your experiences. Thanks Ann x
I’m having the same problems getting Teva at the moment. I’m in Berkshire, so I suspect it’s a national issue. Has anyone tried ordering through the online pharmacies? Can you specify brands through them?
I really don’t want to go back onto Wockhardt. I rather like not being in constant pain!
I have been on letrozole for three years and I prefer the teva brand and always ask for it on my prescription but lately its been pot luck what I get
I don’t think it is the availability its the cost the chemist tends to purchase the cheapest
You’ve definitely given me food for thought. I thought I’d heard somewhere on this site that Teva had actually been bought over by Wockhardt so was a bit worried that the Teva brand no longer existed.
Never thought of of using an online pharmacist. Are they trustworthy? Hear so much of medicines being replicated by criminal gangs that I would love to try to source Teva this way, but am a bit worried about what I’d be taking. Saying that, can I def trust any pharmacist?? Oh dear, think I’ve just opened another can of worms in my head!! Ha Ha! Will look into this option to see what comes up. Thinking of trying yet another brand if I can’t source Teva.
What a good idea to idea to keep the package inserts to compare ingredients. Never thought of that one either. Will def keep the Wockhardt insert in the pack I have left.
Acting on the online pharmacy sdvice, I have just looked on the Teva website and they have a patient help line to let you know what’s happening with availability of their medicines. Unfortunately, it’s closed at the mo, but I did notice that they have a dispensing pharmacy, so I’m wondering if we can source tamoxifen straight from the manufacturer using an NHS prescription. Might be worth a try for anyone else having the same problem.
I’m having the opposite problem in West Yorkshire. I want Relon Chem but can only get teva. There is a large Teva distribution warehouse locally which is why I guess Teva is the most stocked.
2 different pharmacies have phoned the warehouse and been told it’s out of stock and there is a supply issue.
It’s a complete minefield you finally manage to get a brand that suits and then you can’t continue on it.
It’s very frustrating like you say , when you have found a brand whose side effects you can live with but you can’t get it.This really needs to be acknowledged by Docs and pharmacists as a lot of people have the same issues .
Thanks for all the info. Will def get back to my local boots to find out why some branches are able to supply Teva and some not. Hope we all get the brand that agrees with us in the future. Ann x
I emailed Teva today and got the following response:
“Unfortunately the Tamoxifen 20mg Tablets are out of stock at the moment, we are expecting that they will become available again at the end of the month.”
I also tried a couple of online pharmacies and was told that they only supply whatever is in stock.
Not good for those of us who can’t take anything else. Time to ring round every pharmacy in a 20mile radius. ?
Phoned them myself this morning and they’ve confirmed that Teva is officially out of stock, but they’re expecting it to be available from 21st September. Have requested that Boots give me 1 months supply of Wockhardt and get the rest of my 3 month supply when Teva’s available. Hope you’re lucky and manage to get a supply before you run out! Not so bad for me because I’ve been on Wockhardt for the last 3 months, so will just put up with these awful SE’s for one more month. Take care Ann x x
I’m with you Jill, seems really strange that they don’t have the ingredients for Teva to be produced in this country. Reading between the lines, I think it may well be produced elsewhere then shipped into Britain. I wonder if this is because other countries are preferred buyers and so get the pick of the brands, or it may well be a world wide issue.
I’ve been using Mylan and the gp specifies this on my script so the pharmacy has to provide it, I’m in the Highlands.
I did some research before taking tamoxifen and from what I could gather, Mylan had the least “added ingredients” or fillers so that’s why I choose that one
Thanks for that Seena. Is it available in the Highlands, or does your local pharmacy order it for you specifically? Wish I’d done some research before I started taking the damned stuff. Do you suffer from many side effects, or has it all been pretty plain sailing? I get sweats like you wouldn’t believe on Wockhardt. Pours down my forehead into my eyes and my back is like a river. Yuck!! Makes me feel really unclean so end up showering too often, and even though I use loads of moisturiser (I use doublebase gel) my skin is always dry and itchy. Perhaps I should request that they find some Mylan for me too to see if it makes a difference. Ann
Guys, I have had 2 types of tamoxifen and BY FAR the worst brand was Wokheart. The first one i was put on gave me wasnt too bad. Gave me headaches but no anxiety, panic attacks or palpatations. This one was Genox by Mylan. It seemed to be a good option. I’ll be asking for that one again. I got it from John Bell Croyden, London.
Good news that Teva’s back in stock. Still couldn’t get it when my prescription was up, so I took some advice from one of the lovely ladies on this site and got another brand called Mylan. It’s been brilliant so far, so if there are further distribution problems, perhaps this brand will suit you. My joint pain is improving slowly, night sweats are now a thing of the past, and the hot flushes are much less frequent on Mylan. Take care ladies, and whichever brand suits you, may all your side effects be little ones ? x