Switching Taking Levo From Morning To Evening

[Gill-56]

I'm considering taking my Levo 50mg in the evening instead of the the morning. Any suggestions and advice would be appreciated. How much time should I leave after eating and drinking in the evening before taking the medication? The only reason I'm considering it is I think it will be easier in the mornings regarding breakfast and waiting an hour first and 4 hours for foods with calcium.

[galathea]

I have been on thyroid meds for over 20 years and have always taken them last thing at night, before i go to bed. there is no hope of my remembering to take anything in the mornings.

Generally i eat or drink about an hour before i go to bed, but am not that strict about it. I realise that this is probably terrible advice, but i've done ok with it.

Xx g

[Gill-56 in reply to galathea]

Thanks Galathea! 😉

[galathea in reply to Gill-56]

Theres some evidence... Well, a paper, which says taking thyroxine at night gives lower tsh and higher hormone levels, because its better absorbed. Heres the link..... ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/172...

Xx. G

[Gill-56]

Thank you again!

[Sophie6969]

I am interested in doing this too and have read that it can be beneficial. I await others' views.

[Joburton]

Me too... It's been a nightmare without my morning cup of coffee! I've recently been setting my alarm early, just to take levo then go back to sleep in the morning.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

I switched on my Endo's recommendation - found it so so much better 😃

Much better uptake.

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

When I was on Levo Thyroxine my Endo confirmed that he was fine with it being taken before going to bed at night.

Now that I am taking Armour thyroid I don't think I can do that ,though I have read that it can be taken with meals.

I'd be pleased to receive any info regrading that .

[Hidden]

I switched to last thing at night 6 months ago with great success. Apparently the gut moves slower at night and therefore the intake of Levothyroxine is at a maximum.

I found some info by using Google.

Best wishes, Peter

[baba]

What do you do then if having thyroid test , usually recommended not to take dose for 24 hours before? Do you miss nighttime dose and take it after morning blood test?

Thanks

[galathea in reply to baba]

Yes... Thats exactly what i do.

G x

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to galathea]

So do I.

[eeng]

I have always taken it at night. No problems at all. Like galathea, I am not even all that fussy about how long I leave between food and drink and the Levothyroxine, but normally I don't tend to eat or drink after 9-10pm and I usually take the pills at 11-11.30pm.

[Taminaone]

I have just begun to take mine in the evening with my new dose of 100mcg (a rise from 75mcg which I had been on for ages). It is so much easier with respect to the morning cuppa but I will monitor and see what changes I might experience.

[phirestar]

I take mine at night before I go to bed. The research I did suggested 4 hours after you eat. I have done it at 2 hours on occasion. There are foods that interfere with absorption, so if I eat any of those , I go to the four hours.

[Pmb57]

Does anybody know if I switch to taking my Levo at night I can also take my antiD? I take my antiD at night as it helps me sleep. I'm on a low does of Citolopram. Thanks.

[Rose54]

Hi

I take a drink of water to bed with me pop my Levo out into dispenser and take it when I wake up to spend a penny in the night .

I am on Preds first thing in morning and these have to be taken with food .

Rose

[Gill-56 in reply to Rose54]

That sounds like a great plan Rose54! Have you ever missed it though, if for some reason you don't wake up during the early hours?😢

[Rose54 in reply to Gill-56]

Yes

A few times but for 14 years I was taking it when I woke up with food and coffee as no one had told me not too.

So the odd times I don't wake up I take it as soon as I get up in the morning never has done any harm .

Rose

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Gill-56,

A while back there was a poll here about when people take their levothyroxine - which received 1690 "votes".

As then, I still take mine at bed-time.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

If you want to be as cautious as possible you could do something like take half a dose in the morning, half or a full dose that night, then full dose every night. But lots simply take their next tablet at bed-time instead of in the morning.

[mistydog]

I swapped to taking mine at night and found I slept better. I believe that you should take it an hour before food or two hours after, so depending on what time you go to bed should be OK. I also found that I wasn't eating for the two hours before bed, stopped snacking, so that was a good thing!

[Twinkle1964]

Hi Gill I changed from taking my Levothyroxine in the morning to night. Much easier and not having to wait after eating as I take it just before going to bed. Just had my recent results back and its been the lowest it's been in 3 yrs so well pleased.

[Gill-56]

Thanks for all the feedback. So far so good although I decided to start at 6pm yesterday because of the long gap since the previous morning dose, as was eating about 7.30pm. Then realised dinner contained calcium from legumes so changed menu! Will be taking last thing at night today but will need to remember if calcium in evening meal! 😝

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Gill-56]

Don't panic! If you ended up being a few percent down due to your dinner on one day, well, so be it. It isn't the end of the world.

The problem really is either consistently getting less than it appears - or going up and down day by day, week by week, depending on diet.