On my patient info. sheet Atvis 50 mcg. I cannot see any info. about not eating grapefriut or waiting for several hours before a meal.

[siskin]

I am sure I have read about milk not to be taken either. Can anyone tell me the source of this info. as I love my grapefruit and my tea, with milk.

My chemistry is now a bit stale, and info sheet says no calcium carbonate, (Adcal?) but doesn't milk contain calcium only?

Pharmacy instructions are in the morning befor food, but no time limit.

Advice please.

[helvella Administrator]

The version I can see does, however, say:

Swallow the tablets with water, before food.

medicines.org.uk/emc/pdfvie...

The leaflets for Levothyroxine are not particularly good.

This is a link to one study on grapefruit and levothyroxine:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

It suggests the effect is small but nonetheless it exists.

Milk does indeed contain calcium and there is every reason to believe that consuming milk near levothyroxine impairs absorption to some extent.

If you want to get up in the morning and have grapefruit and milky tea, you could consider taking the levothyroxine at bed-time to ensure separation without delaying breakfast.

Rod

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

Rod - Your answer is much better - have deleted mine! lol x

[helvella Administrator in reply to Hidden]

I didn't even see your answer!

[siskin in reply to helvella]

Thanks Rod. Will follow your links.

I have just completed my 1st 4 weeks on Levo. Have been taking of morning as evening not so good for me as I need a full tum, to enable me to get to sleep.

Agree, my directions on box are as you say above, but how long before food.

[helvella Administrator in reply to siskin]

Ideas vary - I suggest two hours unless the food is particularly heavy on calcium, iron or whatever.

[siskin in reply to helvella]

Thanks Rod, it was this time lag which concerns me. I have RA and the anti-inflametry drugs have to be taken with food. Pain levels are worse a.m. anyway, but it is compounded by the fact that anti inflamatories are at their lowest from the evening before.

Why isn't anything simple in life anymore? (

[Fruitandnutcase]

Gosh Rod, you are so right with that observation! I know you can't take grapefruit with simvastatin. Another reason I was more than happy to give it up. I just absolutely love my pink grapefruit in the morning. I did ask my pharmacist about it when I started Carbimazole and he said that there was no problem with grapefruit and Carbimazole then when I started the levo I didn't see anything taking it with about grapefruit so i carried on doing what i normally did. I take my levo with loads of water the minute I wake up then I get up / have breakfast an hour and a half later or so later. I used to take it at night but my doctor and consultant both said to take it in the morning with the Carbimazole. I also take Zestril for HBP at the same time and the vitamin C that my pharmacist told me to take way back when I started the Carbimazole and I take Co-Q10 as well then much later in the day ( assuming i remember it)I take an A to Z multivitamin that has calcium and iron in it