I’m on my 6th week of 25mg of levothyroxine and was diagnosed with an under active thyroid.
I have my first blood test on 30th August at 09.30 and after reading some of other people’s posts it seems I should not take levothyroxine until after bloods have been taken is this normal ?
Iv had no information from my Dr as to what to avoid food wise ( I didn’t know I that some food and drink effects levothyroxine) Just by chance I found out yesterday that all brassicas should be cooked if only for 5 minutes as they affect the thyroid, (iv been eating broccoli raw in salads) also I started to use soya milk as I have very high cholesterol so gave up dairy and now I find out soya milk effects the way levothyroxine works so I wait an hour after taking levothyroxine, I did check this with the Dr and they did not know anything about this problem until they looked it up as well.........
I’m desperate for levothyroxine to work for me as I have another autoimmune condition as well, so want to do everything i can for it to work.
can help with what food and drink to avoid ?
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Knit1pearl1
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First of all you have found that doctors know little about how best to treat.
Second a dose of 25mcg is small and is usually and incremental dose unless you have a heart problem.
All blood tests have to be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose and test and take afterwards. This helps keep the TSH at its highest as doctors usually only look at the TSH and if it is 'somewhere' in the range think we're on sufficient - not so we need increases of 25mcg every six weeks after a blood test until TSH is around 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of the ranges (the latter two are rarely tested).
Always get a print-out of your results - we are entitled by the Law to get copies/print-outs and some surgeries charge a nominal sum for paper ink - mine charges 30p per sheet.
Make sure the ranges are also stated as members cannot respond with ranges and the reason is that labs differ in their machines and so do ranges.
Higher cholesterol level is due to hypothyroidism because our metabolism has become so low but it will reduce as your dose is increased so don't worry too much about it yet.
You take levothyroxine - usually when we get up - with one full glass of water and wait about an hour before eating. Some prefer a bedtime dose, in that case you'd miss this dose if having a text next a.m. and take after it and night dose as usual the same day.
Ask GP to test B12 Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate as everything has to be optimal.
It is a learning curve but we learn and most on this forum are here because they didn't recover due to doctors/endocrinologists not really understanding how best to treat patients to recovery.
The aim is a TSH of 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of the range. Many doctors think when TSH is somewhere within the range that we're on sufficient whilst ignoring our symptoms. The aim of thyroid hormone replacement is to restore our hormones to a level in which we don't have clinical symptoms.
Levothyroxine is an inactive hormone and it has to convert to T3 (liothyronine - Active hormone) and it is T3 which is needed in our millions of T3 receptor cells and heart and brain need the most.
Levothyroxine or other thyroid hormones are not 'drugs' but hormone replacements. We need an optimum dose but can only be done gradually.
Doctors know nothing about any of that, and we tend to keep it to ourselves, but what we recommend is getting the blood draw as early as possible - before 9 am - and fasting over-night. Leave a 24 hour gap between your last dose of levo and the blood draw.
Don't worry about the brassicas. If you like raw broccoli and it agrees with you, then eat it. What people are referring to, when they say that, is goitrogens. But I'm sure you eat an awful lot of goitrogens - because the list is long, not just brassicas - without even noticing it.
On the other hand, with soy, even if you wait an hour before consuming it, it will still affect your levo. It stops the hormone getting into the cells. So, best to give it up completely - which means giving up all processed foods because they usually contain soy in one form or another - soy protein, soy flour, soy oil, etc. You should also avoid artificial sweeteners and seed oils like sunflower seed oil. Apart from that, eat what you like.
The high cholesterol is normal when you are hypo. Your diet will have very little effect on it. But, it will decrease as your FT3 gets higher. High cholesterol is a hypo symptom. But not a problem in itself.
Thank you for you reply, it’s a mind field with food, when you think you have got it right you havent so I will stop the soya and go back to milk, I don’t use much, but was worried about my cholesterol, but again you have put my mind a rest somewhat. Thank you.
Milk contains 5 gm cholesterol for 100 gm. That is a drop in the ocean compared to the cholesterol produced by your liver, and really isn't going to make any difference to your cholesterol level if you cut it out.
Best not to eat any soy unless fermented (natto, or tamari sauce). The usual starting dose for an adult who is not frail or a heart disease patient is 50mcg. Often a low dose makes you feel worse. You need a blood test after 6 weeks (now) and an increase of 25mcg until TSH is under 1 and free T4 and free T3 are in the top quarters of their ranges. Your doctor does not sound very knowledgeable
Do you have Hashimotos ? Have you obtained copies of your test results with ranges ? - always request them as they are legally yours - you can then monitor your progress and check what has been missed ! It also makes posting here easier when you have results with ranges to include so members have more information and can replace the information lacking with your GP
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