Can any one tell me : Whens the best time to take... - Thyroid UK

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Can any one tell me

lynnhanham24 profile image
36 Replies

Whens the best time to take thyroxin cose i was told at night time not morning

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lynnhanham24
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36 Replies
bantam12 profile image
bantam12

The best time is the time it suits you, some prefer mornings others night. I used to take mine in the morning but then swapped to night and my levels are better since then.

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply tobantam12

,thanks for that I my start take mine at night time code I was take in a morning by 7ish I was feeling like crap

TSH110 profile image
TSH110 in reply tolynnhanham24

Deffo worth a try then

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24

Am on 50 my tablet at moment

jimh111 profile image
jimh111

You don't have to avoid food for four hous, just heavy meals. Levothyroxine needs some acidity in the stomach for optimum absorption, so as long as you haven't eaten a large meal you should be OK.

JOLLYDOLLY profile image
JOLLYDOLLY

I have been on it all my life and told to take it half an - hour before breakfast.

Never understood the evening advice, but what suits one, might not suit another and depends on dose I guess.

Just don't take it with other medication, especially iron or vitamin D - take a few hours apart from each other due to absorption.

Hope this helps :)

NatChap profile image
NatChap

When I used to take it I found it more effective if I took it at night, right before I went to sleep, plus it made fitting in supplements easier x

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply toNatChap

I my try take it at night time

041051 profile image
041051

Hi there, I used to take mine in the morning but the endocrinologist suggested I take it at night. As others have said, it ensures an empty stomach. I had a conversation with my G.P. earlier this year when we were reviewing my medication and he had never heard of it being taken at night. He said he would speak to the endocrinologist that I had seen to find out what the reasoning behind this is and he told me later that an empty stomach was the reason.

TSH110 profile image
TSH110 in reply to041051

It is better absorbed at night leading to lower TSH levels - Helvella posted the research paper a while back, it may have been Chinese research. I am not sure they had a reason for better absorption just proof it was better absorbed from their tests.

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply toTSH110

Thanks for that

Jayneynicks profile image
Jayneynicks

I’m on a 100 so i take 50 in the morning and 50 at night. When I took a 100 in one go in the morning my foot swelled to the size of a football. This way seems to be working for me x

Blossom79 profile image
Blossom79

I take mine at night- because I like coffee in the morning - and the caffeine interferes with the absorption of thyroxine. I also have to take D3 tablets so I take those in the morning (because they too interfere with the Thyroxine)

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply toBlossom79

Thanks for that

FancyPants54 profile image
FancyPants54

I was told to make sure if you take it at night that you haven't eaten or drunk anything other than water for 2 hours before taking the tablet. I was determined to try and see if it helped. From the first moment of the first night time dose I never slept a wink. I stuck to it for a week. Absolutely no sleep at all for a week. Then I went back to mornings before I killed someone.

Also, I like a bit of supper and I like a milky drink before bed and I work late so dinner is late. It wasn't going to suit me. I now set my alarm for 6.30am. Get up, take the thyroxine, spend a penny and go back to sleep for a couple of hours. That way I don't have to fret the clock for the hour after getting up longing for my breakfast and tea or coffee. It's working OK for me.

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply toFancyPants54

I take mine in a morning but by tea time am just want to sleep

FancyPants54 profile image
FancyPants54 in reply tolynnhanham24

Surely that means you need an increase in dose?

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply toFancyPants54

Am going back to doctors tomorrow to see them

FancyPants54 profile image
FancyPants54 in reply tolynnhanham24

Good luck. Remember, the aim of thyroid supplementation is to remove all symptoms and return the patient to euthyroid status. Falling asleep at tea time is not normal.

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars in reply toFancyPants54

I wish more people realized this! So many times you hear about people dragging on for months or years suffering and struggling with many symptoms because they are not on the right type or right dosage of medication. If the meds are right, it only takes a few months for symptoms to be removed and euthyroid status to be returned.

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply toFancyPants54

Am on 50mg

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars in reply tolynnhanham24

That slump in the afternoon could indicate a need for more T3.

FancyPants54 profile image
FancyPants54 in reply toShootingStars

Or simply for more Levo to boost the bodies reserves. 50mcg is a very low dose. A starting dose.

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars in reply toFancyPants54

T4 is short acting, has a long half life, and levels don’t drop off as the day progresses. Whatever T3 is converted from the that a.m. dose of T4 starts to slowly slumps off almost immediately due to the fact that it’s fast acting and has a short half life. That’s why that afternoon slump can happen, especially if a person is not converting well or if they’re on T3 and they just aren’t taking enough or the dosage isn’t spread throughout the day.

FancyPants54 profile image
FancyPants54 in reply toShootingStars

I understand that. But it still stands that if a person isn't on enough Levo for their needs (and 50mcg probably isn't enough) then adding more Levo will help the body to convert more T3 as and when it needs it. Low doses of Levo do wear off. Not all the way, but when you are too low you can feel it wane as the day goes on, leaving you depleted. To assume a person isn't converting well when their dose is so low is doing them a disservice by making treatment harder than it might need to be. Certainly, later on, if there are problems with Free T4 being in the right ball park and T3 being low, then you can assume poor conversion and try to deal with it.

Bob00752 profile image
Bob00752

Works for me. I’m male and nearly 70. I don’t lose any sleep about waking up as it happens naturally. Maybe I should keep a stack of pennies on the bedside table to keep count. Change of dose from 75 to 100 and change in timing brought my TSH from above range (high 4’s) to just in range at the bottom end (0.6). I’ve also given up having a night time milky drink in case that was causing problems even 2-5 hours later.

As someone else said, work out what is best for you, often what is easiest is what works best.

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24 in reply toBob00752

I am take it in a morning but by tea i just want to sleep all the time

Bob00752 profile image
Bob00752 in reply tolynnhanham24

Is that your morning cup of tea or afternoon tea time - I guess afternoon but I like resolving ambiguities too! I seem to iften have a little nap (40 winks in family language) after a meal. That might be blood sugar and not thyroid.....

milkwoman profile image
milkwoman

I take mine at 5:00pm along with my afternoon half-dose Plaquenil (in addition to being hypo, I have lupus and Sjogrens). I don’t worry about whether or not I’m 2 hours from eating/drinking. In fact most days, I eat crackers because I typically don’t like taking my Plaquenil on an empty stomach.

My endo told me that as long as I’m consistent, my blood numbers will reflect and my dose is adjusted accordingly. Currently, I’m on 100 mcg Tirosint daily, along with a compounded T3 cream (which I apply in the morning).

As others have said, finding what works for you is key.

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24

Thanks for that i will look at getting some T3 cream

FancyPants54 profile image
FancyPants54 in reply tolynnhanham24

I've never heard of T3 cream. I'm doubtful you will find that here. As you are on a starter dose of Levo, you need to see your test results and if they are low, you need more Levo. Don't go messing about with adding other things at this early stage.

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars in reply tolynnhanham24

Thyroid hormones are absorbed through the digestive tract. I’ve never heard of it either. What’s the efficacy of T3 cream? Studies about it? That would be hard to gauge exactly how many mcg’s you're getting per application, plus how many you’re absorbing.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply tolynnhanham24

I have heard of T3 cream. But I don't think anyone here has ever reported buying it - or the results of using it.

The only source of it that I am aware of is a company that has let many customers down - not supplying products that have been ordered, supplying a different (very questionable) make instead of Uni-Pharma, replying with unpleasant and/or rude emails, and generally being a company to avoid.

The idea that some almost unknown company (the makers of the T3 cream) has done the research necessary to properly test T3 cream seems utterly fanciful.

TSH110 profile image
TSH110

It is better absorbed taken at night (recent research) but can keep you awake so you need to experiment. Your TSH should go lower if you take it at night. I fall asleep easily in the evening, so could not take it at the same time like I can In the morning so I had to stick with that

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24

Thanks for that advice

lynnhanham24 profile image
lynnhanham24

No i start last year on meds for it

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