Is it ok to have a cup if tea straight after thyroid meds?

[Emlico]

I'm new to this so have been taking my levothyroxine every morning when I wake at 6 , I have a cup of tea straight away but I have read not to mix with calcium, is this correct and should I wait 30 mins before having a cuppa ? Many thanks

[Elh1965]

I was wondering the same. Have just started Levo and usually have a coffee and biscuit about 20 mins after taking. If I'm getting up for work at 0330/0400/0500 I need a coffee before going to work and couldn't wait

[Moggie in reply to Elh1965]

I definitely would not be having a coffee and biscuit with only a 20 minute gap. Caffeine can significantly effect absorption of levo and so can food.

thyroid.about.com/od/thyroi...

It really is always best to stick to the two hour rule - have you ever tried taking your meds last thing at night, making sure you haven't eaten for two hours before, with just water.

Moggie x

[Emlico in reply to Moggie]

Hi thanks for the link, it also says not to have any calcium, fibre or iron for at least 3 hours after taking your meds , I have cereal which has all that in about 7am! Gonna have to rethink my breakfast even my brown bread has fibre in ,what do other people have for breakfast ?

[Moggie in reply to Emlico]

O dear - the only thing I can suggest is that you buy a separate alarm clock and set if for say 10pm or 11pm and take your meds then. I can do this and go straight back to sleep but others cant. At least that way you know you'll be doing the right thing.

Moggie x

[Elh1965 in reply to Moggie]

Thanks moggie. Not sure what would work best. I work variable shifts, earlies ie getting up anytime between 3am and 6am, sometimes lates working between 1pm and 3am and sometimes nights between 10pm and 7am so will have a think about it.

[AlasdairM in reply to Moggie]

Two hour rule?? Both my consultants have emphasised two things;

stomach should be empty (hence 'open') and stomach acidity low.

And that you should try to avoid meds getting trapped with food.

(6am) So I have found that taking tabs with 8floz / ~220 ml of cool water and then second drink after shaving etc is sufficient to wash the thyroid replacements onwards. Then I have mild coffee or weak T to no ill effect.

(@7.15am) I eat never less than half-hour after hot drink. Your body needs not only T3&4, but fuel to get going. Taking T3 before bed is likely to produce night sweats unless you have low absorption rate.

[Moggie in reply to AlasdairM]

I think you are failing to see that we are all different and what might work for you will not work for others - if I had anything to eat or drink within two hours of taking my meds my absorption would be compromised - how do I know this - because I have experimented and found that my TSH rises and my FT4 drops and there are a lot of others on here who are the same.

If someone posts a questions saying they still are not feeling well then the first thing you must do is to make sure that they are not hindering absorption - hence the two hour rule. If this makes no difference to their symptoms then they need to look at other issues.

It was my consultant that pointed out the milk issue (as it contains a lot of calcium) and having a drink with milk in it only 30 minutes to 1 hour away from thyroid meds can, and does, hinder absorption.

I used to take my T3/T4 combo last thing at night and NEVER sweated at night so I don't know how you come to that conclusion, as I have already said - we are all different.

Moggie x

[Moggie]

Do you have milky tea?. Milk contains a lot of calcium and can effect thyroid meds - my endo specifically mentioned milk - so I suppose it all depends on how much milk is in the tea.

Moggie x

[Emlico in reply to Moggie]

Hi just a normal cup of decaf tea , not milky at all , I can't take my meds at night as I often fall asleep by 8!!! I saw my doctor this week and mentioned about seeing a specialist and he said no I didn't need one ? Should I insist to see one or not? Got my bloods taken yesterday to check my vit levels too , many thanks

[Moggie in reply to Emlico]

I think if you could leave an hours gap between your thyroid meds and your tea it might be better but if you have always taken it like this and you feel o.k. then leave things the way they are.

You say you had bloods taken yesterday where these thyroid tests as well as VitD and if so at what time where the tests and did you take your levo that morning?

Moggie x

[Emlico in reply to Moggie]

Hi have only recently been diagnosed so now on week three and feeling worse than ever, went back to doc and asked about having my vitamin levels checked and also fasting blood test for diabetes so only took my Levo with a glass of water yesterday morning, I was Tested at 9,30 am, is this ok? Many thanks x

[Moggie in reply to Emlico]

Not really no. Here is a link to a recent question regarding blood tests and taking levo before.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Also another comment I made on someone's else's question may help you understand how your body can react when first starting levo. Have copied and pasted if for you.

What the doctors don't seem to understand is that when you start taking levo your own thyroid, which has most probably been struggling for months, and sometimes years, will have a little holiday and stop producing what little thyroid hormone it was. The very small starter dose of levo you are taking may not compensate for this so you could end up feeling worse than before taking any meds.

Hope this helps

Moggie x

[Walter1234 in reply to Emlico]

I had to switch to armour, the others made me crazy !!! I feel great and follow the hour after and 3 hour before rule

[shaws Administrator]

Don't forget - have a thyroid gland blood test as early as possible (TSH is highest then) and DO NOT take your medication until after the blood test. If taking meds at night, miss out the night's dose. This is from Thyroiduk

Ensure that you are taking your levothyroxine with water, on an empty stomach. Wait for at least 30 minutes before you eat.

Ensure that you do not take calcium carbonate (found in calcium and other supplements and antacids) within four hours of your levothyroxine as this affects absorption.

Ensure that you do not take iron supplements within two hours of your levothyroxine.

Other drugs that have been reported to reduce levothyroxine absorption include ciprofloxacin (Cipro), raloxifene (Evista) and Orlistat/Alli (Xenical) so be aware that it may be better to take these drugs away from your levothyroxine.

Coffee can also interfere with absorption of T4 so do not take your levothyroxine at the same time as drinking a cup of coffee – it’s probably best to wait at least an hour before you drink coffee.

Try taking your levothyroxine at bedtime as there was a small study that showed this benefited some patients.

[fennel]

You could set your alarm to take the levo a couple of hours before you get up. There are two reasons this is beneficial, one is that you are keeping the medicine away from breakfast time, and the other reason is that if your adrenals are weak it will give them a little boost and help you when it's time to get up. If you are not a good sleeper and wake up often during the night, as I do, you could fit it in on one of your wakeup times. For me this is around 6am. I always need a supper to help me sleep so cannot take mine at night.

[Angelblue_79]

I normally have a coffee in the morning after I've taken my levothyroxine but if this affects its absorption it's good to know. Helps me work out my bad/emotional moods

[birdlynn]

But this is peppermint tea, simply herbal tea. I was wondering the same thing.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to birdlynn]

birdlynn,

Many substances affect absorption of levothyroxine. There has been a steady flow of papers identifying issues year by year.

Trouble is, the number of substances tested properly is still very small. What are the chances that peppermint tea has been tested? I suspect it is quite low.

Because so many issues have already been identified, and we have many more suspicions, we really can only do one thing - avoid taking anything along with levothyroxine. Except water.

For many medicines, soemthing affecting a few microrgams fo the active ingredient would be irrelevant. But with thyroid hormones, the quantities involved are already amongst the smallest in regular use. So even that tiny effect can make a noticeable dufference to your dose.

[Smart5353]

T3 is NOT levo!!

[NoeB76]

Hello. I was told by the Pharmacist to take my Thyroxine (in the morning) with water, then wait 20-30 mins before having tea/coffee or food; hope this helps

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to NoeB76]

The majority of this post and its responses is over eight years old - with a few slightly more recent contributions.

It is perfectly acceptable to reply to old posts, but you might well not get a reply. People have a tendency to move on in that many years.

Your pharmacist is contradicting at least one company's Patient Information Leaflet, which says:

The tablets should be swallowed, with

a drink of water, in the morning at least

30 minutes and preferably one hour

before breakfast.

mhraproducts4853.blob.core....

I am not impressed by the advice you received.

[NoeB76]

Thank you for info. I'm still working my way around this App, and didn't realise it was an 'old post'.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to NoeB76]

Sorry I didn't reply to this earlier.

Unfortunately, you fell into another trap! If you click on the Add a comment here... box, you are replying to the original poster.

You need to use the blue Reply button so the person you are replying to can see that, and will get an alert that you have replied!

It takes everyone a while to get used to it.