What should you do if you're sick and taking levo?

[momo33]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anybody knew what to do if you catch a sickness bug and are taking levothyroxine? I know it sounds totally paranoid, but I have two small school aged children who are often picking stuff up at the school. I guess since the medication is taken orally I'm just worried about feeling unwell again if my body hasn't had time to absorb the levo?

If you're unwell, should you just miss that dose and take it as usual the next day? Is it okay to miss a day now and again? Now that I'm in a routine with taking it in the morning, I'm finally feeling a bit better and am terrified of getting sick again. Any advice?

Thanks so much!

Momo x

[greygoose]

Why would you miss a dose? If you have a cold, or something, just keep taking it as normal. It will be no better and no worse than when you caught a cold before your started levo, from my experience.

[momo33 in reply to greygoose]

hi greygoose, sorry I meant a sickness bug, (as in vomiting!). There is a virus (novovirus) going around my children's school just now and I'm worried. I would always take my levo, but I'm not sure if I'd absorb it properly if I caught this bug.

[greygoose in reply to momo33]

Ah, ok! It's always best to be precise, because sick can mean at least two things.

The levo is out of your stomach within an hour. So, if you can manage to hang on to it for that long, vomiting won't affect your levo. But, if you should happen to lose it a couple of times, just take double the next day. It's a storage hormone, it doesn't have instant action, so it won't matter that much.

[momo33 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for the reassurance, greygoose! That's good news: I'm really relieved to hear that it'sout of your stomach within an hour. I didn't know that you could take double the next day either; I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks again for your help (which is always appreciated)

[greygoose in reply to momo33]

You're welcome.

[Flecmac]

I guess you mean throwing up and the dose taken being lost?I would say it won’t make much difference, keep taking as normal?

Someone will come on and be able to advise.

[momo33 in reply to Flecmac]

Yes, I would have thought to just keep taking it as normal too. I'Thanks for your reply.

[momo33 in reply to momo33]

Hi mcdermott, I'm less worried now and will just take it as normal I guess. I didn't know it was a storage hormone, so I think missing the odd dose won't affect me too much. Thanks

[Flecmac]

This post may help.....

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[momo33 in reply to Flecmac]

Thanks for the link! It has helped

[Ellie-Louise]

Last week I had food poisoning and spent hours during the night throwing up in the bathroom, my poor husband stood there watching with mop in hand not knowing quite what to do to help, and our two cats who had both been woken up by the commotion were hanging around wondering what was wrong with me.

If I hadn’t felt like deaths door was upon me the whole thing would have been quite hilarious.

But to get back to the point, my Levo tablet was the first thing to come up, little partly digested white pieces lay on the floor. I wasn’t concerned though and didn’t take another or double my dose the following night because on rare occasions I do forget to take it.

[momo33]

Poor you! Thanks for your reply. That sounds awful and exactly what I was worried about! Okay, well I won't panic if that happens to me then. I guess I'm relatively new to taking levo and don't feel I'm quite in the swing of things yet.

Thanks again for your response. Hope you're feeling better!