Secretary of State for Health, Prime Minister, NHS and PrescQIPP: Don’t “DROP” L-T3 from the prescribing list... close the loophole instead!

In the UK, an organisation called PrescQIPP is recommending that the NHS “drop” Liothyronine (L-T3) from the prescribing list, because it has become very expensive and they incorrectly believe that there are cheaper alternatives . It has become so expensive because of a loophole that is being exploited by its manufacturer, and who knows how many other greedy drug companies, where brand names are being removed to get around price regulation! It costs just pennies to manufacture L-T3 but the NHS is now being charged over £900 for 100 tablets, where most of Europe is being charged less than £25 for the same quantity of the same tablets ! Don’t drop L-T3 from the prescribing list… find out what’s going on, close the loophole and get the price dropped instead!

This is not just a situation where the NHS is being ripped off. This situation also threatens to damage the lives of thousands of people in the UK, causing them real harm, as it could leave them without the treatment they so desperately need.

It is estimated that one in four people throughout the world have some form of thyroid disease, and if you have thyroid disease, it affects almost every aspect of your health, and it can literally destroy your life if you do not receive the correct treatment for you.

If you are diagnosed as having hypothyroidism for example, it is generally believed that it is because your thyroid gland does not make enough thyroxine (T4), which is a mostly inactive thyroid hormone. However, this is not necessarily the case. You may have the symptoms of hypothyroidism because you are unable to easily convert T4 into triiodothyronine (T3), which is the active version of the hormone, and this is what your body actually needs to function properly. Liothyronine (L-T3) is the synthetic equivalent of T3, and it is essential for anyone who has conversion problems. PrescQIPP are wrongly claiming that synthetic T4 (levothyroxine (L-T4)) is a suitable treatment for everyone and it will save the NHS money, but it is not suitable for everyone , and people who are given the wrong treatment, are likely to cost the NHS far more money in the long run.

I am an example of someone who has difficulty converting T4 into T3 and my problem was only recently explained through a genetic test. Giving me L-T4 only was the worst thing that could possibly happen to someone like me… and I was on this for nearly four years! After this, I was still given inappropriate treatment for a further six years, and I nearly ended up in a wheelchair! Thankfully, I’m now finally on the long road to recovery.

Thanks to Thyroid Patient Advocacy, which is a small UK charity, I finally got the help I needed, and I am writing this petition on their behalf. They help thousands of people with thyroid problems, and not just in the UK . They campaign for more research, better training and diagnosis tools and for more treatment options to be made available.

Please do not remove this precious treatment option from the prescription list. It is difficult enough to persuade a doctor to prescribe anything other than synthetic T4 as it is, and if anything, more people should receive prescriptions for other options such as L-T3. We call upon the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, the Chief Executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens and the Director of Medicines Optimisation of PrescQIPP, Sajida Khatri to close this loophole, get the price down and keep L-T3 on the prescribing list… where it belongs. Thyroid disease sufferers need more options, not fewer!

For more details, see: http://www.tpauk.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Rebuttal-final.pdf.