How to obtain levoxyl: Success Stories
I wanted to share a success story from a commenter on my blog. Bonnie has posted a lot throughout the Pfizer levoxyl shortage. I am happy for her that she was able to obtain her levoxyl thyroid medication and wanted to share the comment she left in case it can be of help to you too:
“I was able to get my Levoxyl about a week ago. I called the customer service number at Levoxyl.com after seeing that all strengths were available on the FDA drug shortage website. I wanted to verify the March 3rd date and I was told Levoxyl was finished being produced and was shipped out to the wholesalers. Your...
Source: Everything Changes - February 13, 2014 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized cvs duane reade rite aid walgreens Source Type: blogs
Levoxyl Shortage – February 2014 Update
UPDATE: As of 2/7/2014, a commenter on my blog states they were able to obtain 100 mcg pills of levoxyl at their Rite Aid pharmacy in Pittsburgh. They placed the order in the morning and pharmacist had them ready at the end of the day. Great news. Scroll down to see the full comment and please leave your comments below once you have obtained levoxyl in your area too.
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Rumors are flying that levoxyl is now back on the shelves and available for patient purchase. I want to clarify this speculation and provide the most accurate and up to date information that I am able to find. Here is the information ...
Source: Everything Changes - February 3, 2014 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Cancer and Emotions 101: How to Feel Fear and Not Freak Out.
The Cancer Knowledge Network is a smart online resource for cancer patients and their caregivers. Their articles for young adults really stand out to me as different. Their tone is raw and honest without trying to be gritty, cool, sexy, hip, or in your face. They tackle concerns that are on so many people’s minds and they do it without a shtick, without pander to us being young survivors.
I was excited when they recently asked me to write an article. It was published today and is title “Cancer and Emotions 101: How to Feel Fear and Not Freak Out”. I hope you’ll have a read and share...
Source: Everything Changes - January 30, 2014 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Reading with Cancer
The fatigue of cancer treatment made it hard for me at times to watch a movie let alone read a book. I also often suffered from cancer brain fog and a racing mind from thyroid hormone replacement. I interviewed in my book, Everything Changes, young adult cancer patients who have ADD like symptoms from chemo brain. Each of these circumstances can make it hard to follow the content of a great non-fiction tomb or a long novel, and lend themselves well to the cyclical, mind-numbing loop of facebook, youtube, and super trashy reality TV. At first these can feel like a great salve. Cancer brings so much stress and chec...
Source: Everything Changes - December 3, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized chronic illness memory loss autoimmune disease Source Type: blogs
Do you give thanks for your illness?
I dug into the archives of my own blog for this post. The first time I posted it, on Thanksgiving four years ago, I received a lot of comments. I thought it might ring true with some of you this year as well:
Before diving into their turkey, most families take time to go around the table and say what they are thankful for. Not my family. We are all about the food in the Rosenthal household and we always have been.
This doesn’t bother me. I come from a very demonstrative family. We express our gratitude on a regular basis, when it hits us in the moment. We don’t store it all up for a once a year gratitude fest...
Source: Everything Changes - November 25, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized thanksgiving cancer survivor Source Type: blogs
Flu shots 101 and why YOU need one
I think everyone should get a flu shot, and if you haven’t had one yet now is the time. The more people are vaccinated, the fewer chances everybody has of contracting the flu and passing it along to somebody who has a compromised immune system. If you know and love a young adult cancer patient, get a flu shot. If you don’t know one of us, do it for your elderly grandma, your infant nephew, or just because you care about the well being of a stranger. Flu shots are not just about protecting yourself, they are about helping to protect your community.
Lots of myths about flu shots prevent people from gettin...
Source: Everything Changes - November 12, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Coping with odd symptoms?
I recently switched to a new thyroid medication that made my body and mind feel like they were being pressed through the holes in a metal cheese grater. That was the closest I came to describing this odd sensation. I had no burning, sharp pain, or ache. I could not point to a specific part of my body that hurt, nor could I parse out my body from my mind. When someone runs fingernails down a chalkboard, what is it that actually hurts? Your ears, your spine, your mind? This was the same kind of thing.
I have become familiar with the crazy making experience of feeling symptoms for which there are no accura...
Source: Everything Changes - September 16, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized doctor does not believe me doctor patient communication imagined symptoms phantom symptoms strange s strange symptoms going crazy Source Type: blogs
How to learn about prescription drug ingredients?
Due to a recent recall of the thyroid medication levoxyl, my blog has been a buzz with detailed comments about pharmaceuticals. A few of these comments centered around allergies to inactive ingredients. I am learning what a hardship this is for many cancer patients and others suffering from chronic illnesses, including those who need gluten free products because of Celiac disease. I began to wonder where patients can find reliable information about the content of specific drugs.
I love sharing new resources I’ve found and this is a good one: Daily Med. It contains a database of FDA approved inserts found in pr...
Source: Everything Changes - August 12, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized young adult cancer thyroid cancer medical research advocacy drug reactions drug side effects Source Type: blogs
Positive Strategies for Coping with Levoxyl Shortage
From young adult thyroid cancer patients, to those suffering from Graves’ Disease, Hasimoto’s, and other hyperthyroid and hypothyroid conditions, I have been receiving many emails from distressed patients coping with the recent shortage of levoxyl. Pfizer says it will resume production of levoxyl in 2014, and until then many of us are coping as we try to adjust to new medications like synthroid or generic levothyroxine.
As with any medical issue it is often the challenging and horrific stories that we hear about the most. So I wanted to take the time to present some positive experiences I have encounte...
Source: Everything Changes - July 1, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
What can patients do about the levoxyl recall?
In response to Pfizer’s voluntary recall of levoxyl, I have received many comments from young adult cancer patients and others living with thyroid health issues. Many have asked what patients can do to urge the company and FDA to resume production of levoxyl prior to the target date of 2014. I believe patient pressure on Pfizer and the FDA will have no impact; unfortunately we must instead experiment with other thyroid replacement hormones, like synthroid, and manage the burden of their potential side effects. Here’s why:
King Pharmaceuticals manufactured levoxyl in their Bristol, TN plant until 20...
Source: Everything Changes - June 18, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Why routine matters when you are ill or caregiving?
I am allergic to routine. The mere mention of the word ‘schedule’ makes me nervous. I thrive on procrastination, such as writing a chapter or manuscript when the timing is right for me instead of by the calendar. While my fly-by-night timing sometimes worries others, I know how I work best; under pressure I always meet a deadline.
But what happens when life itself becomes a tremendous pressure under the constant burden of illness or caregiving? For me it is too much and routine becomes my salve.
Recently, a family member was in ICU. It was scary. I wanted to meet with the doctor on each of his round...
Source: Everything Changes - May 21, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized caregiving coping with cancer hospitalization stress Source Type: blogs
Cancer Burden: How close can you live to a highway?
My husband and I have moved twice in the last two years. Both times our housing searches included ruling out apartments and houses in close proximity to a highway. My man is an environmental attorney who enforces and defends the Clean Air Act. He knows a lot about environmental carcinogens and together we have figured out how to make logical choices about potential environmental harms.
Numerous studies show a connection between highway pollution and cardiac disease, pulmonary disease, childhood leukemia, and lung cancer. Benzine, butadine, and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic carbons are some of the carcinogens...
Source: Everything Changes - May 14, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Levoxyl Shortage for Thyroid Patients
I recently tried to refill my prescription for Levoxyl and learned I cannot due to a recall by the manufacturer Pfizer. I called Pfizer this morning and spoke to a robotic, though pleasant, customer service representative in India. She provided little useful information. Between my own research on the FDA and American Thyroid Association websites I learned the following:
* Pfizer has suspended production of Levoxyl, which is manufactured at a plant in Tennessee. Chemical contamination is the reason for suspended production. Emission of a strong odor was reported by pharmacists when opening 100 and 1000 ta...
Source: Everything Changes - May 9, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized thyroid cancer levoxyl papillary carcinoma synthroid Source Type: blogs
Reducing Your Exposure to Carcinogens
Studying the link between cancer and the enivornment is complicated. Richard Acker, a young adult colon cancer patient and environmental attorney explains in my book, Everything Changes, the kunundrum of studying the hundreds of chemicals found in the blood stream of the typical American:
“Each chemical is thought to individually pose a minimum risk, but what if you have 150 things that are each individually minimal risks, but perhaps 3 or 4 of them together might cause a greater risk than we have ever learned about? It is difficult to isolate variables of chemical exposure because we are exposed to so many chemica...
Source: Everything Changes - April 16, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
How The Cancer Community Can Learn From History
As an oncology patient, it is easy to think that cancer is the center of the scientific and medical universe. But as Laurie Edwards describes in her new book, In the Kingdom of the Sick, “Now more than 133 million Americans live with chronic illness, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all health care dollars.” I believe the cancer community can learn a lot from patients, advocates, and activists living with other types of disease. So, I was thrilled when Laurie wanted to interview me on this topic for her new book, which describes through research and stories the social history of chronic illn...
Source: Everything Changes - April 9, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Kairol Rosenthal Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
