Levothyroxine and transdermal products

[Agapanthus1]

I am taking progesterone and magnesium transdermally. I need to apply the bio identical progesterone in the morning. Do I still have to take this away from the oral Levothyroxine (and by how long) or does it not matter? Any replies gratefully received! 😊

[shaws Administrator]

If there's a problem you can take levothyroxine at bedtime (as long as your stomach is empty) and if you've had a heavy meal the gap between food and levo should be about 2.5 to three hours.

[Agapanthus1 in reply to shaws]

Thanks so much for your reply.

I have to use the transdermal cream at night too so what I was wondering was whether something applied through the skin had an impact on taking oral Levothyroxine, or do I need to leave a gap? 😊

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Most reported interactions of levothyroxine that require separation in time are gut-related. For example, iron compounds bind with levothyroxine in the stomach and gut to form a stable complex that just passes through.

There most certainly can be interactions with substances in the bloodstream but I suspect that there is relatively little proper research.

[Agapanthus1 in reply to helvella]

Yes, I thought something similar. I will try and take them as far as possible apart just in case.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, both of you. Hope you are both well 😍

[Hidden in reply to Agapanthus1]

My understanding concerning taking thyroid meds separate from everything else including food is that the problems with ineffective thyroid absorption are based on the meds competing with absorption needed for other meds taken my mouth at the same time. So transdermal routes should not affect thyroid. Many transdermal meds are designed to be absorbed over a 24 hour period and if they affected meds by mouth it would be impossible to take any other meds with them. If I were concerned I would check with my doctor. Take care. irina

[Noji]

If the progesterone is transdermal, I wouldn't have thought it would matter. Transdermally means the progesterone will not bypass the gut or the liver (and that's ideal for hormones) as it just goes straight into your blood stream.

[Agapanthus1]

Thank you everyone for your brilliant replies. Don't know where I would be without this site! Good health to you all 💐😊

[Jedde]

Sorry this is a late reply, I have been away. I use progesterone cream in the morning & although it may be an hour away from me taking my oral thyroid tabs it appears to make no difference to absorption. Creams go directly through the skin avoiding the stomach so there will be no contact with your oral thyroid meds!

[Agapanthus1 in reply to Jedde]

Brilliant! Thank you so much for your reply!

Do you find the progesterone helpful and did you find you needed to lower your dose of levo, as I know progesterone increases thyroid med absorption? I have only been taking the progesterone a couple of weeks but already am feeling very slightly hyper. Would be lovely to hear about your experience of the progesterone. 😊

[Jedde]

Yes, I do find the progesterone very helpful & I have been using it for nearly 3 years at the same time as my thyroid meds. No, I am not hyper but perhaps it has balanced itself our over the years. I started on just T3 but since Jan I have been using NDT(natural dedicated thyroid) which contains all the thyroid hormones, T2/T3/T4. I don't feel so well on this & so may revert to just T3.

[Agapanthus1]

Oh that's so good to hear that you have found progesterone helpful. I am just on levo, haven't tried T3 or NDT (yet), and have only just got my levels optimal. I have felt that I needed something else and was hoping that my residual symptoms were menopausal and progesterone would help!! We shall see.... I have also heard about DHEA, although I wouldn't have the first idea about how to get it in the UK!

[Jedde]

I have also used DHEA & found it really helpful with menopause symptoms & made me feel much more youthful in many ways. I only stopped it because it caused very painful breasts for me.

[Agapanthus1 in reply to Jedde]

That's very interesting to hear, I might look into that. I have heard of women getting it privately but not on the NHS. Are you in the UK and able to get it? 😊

[Jedde]

Yes I am in the UK & Yes, I did get it privately!

[Agapanthus1]

Oh great! Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. Wishing you good health, take care 😊