Berrocca and levothyroxine

[Skinnyneck]

Does anyone know if taking daily berrocca prevents absorption of levothyroxine?

[Judithdalston]

It’s good practice to only take water with levothyroxin, then leave at least an hour before you eat/ drink anything else. If you have Hashimoto’s hypo then you’d be better to take a good B Complex with B12, as Berocca doesn’t seem to have much of that!

[Skinnyneck in reply to Judithdalston]

I had a total thyroidectomy. Unsure if that means Hashimoto hypo?? Sorry I’m new to the terminology

[Judithdalston in reply to Skinnyneck]

Ok, I am not very familiar with vit/ min needs of folks who had Thyroid out! If no one else replies and you are interested put another post on asking if you need any special supplements like the Autoimmune Hypothyroid sufferers. But the advice don’t take Berocca, and anything else, near thyroid hormones still stands. The logic of this is that some elements/ compounds like iron and calcium ‘wrap around’ molecules in medicines, hormones, supplements and even foodstuffs. Iron/ferritin has a 4 hour gap band before taking T4 or T3.

[MaisieGray in reply to Skinnyneck]

Regarding your Total Thyroidectomy, it may have been necessary because you had thyroid cancer, or benign but obstructive nodules or a goitre, or you had hyperthyroidism and/or Graves' disease, or less commonly, Hashimoto's disease. So your condition now, depends very much on the reason for the TT. If you have an autoimmune condition, you may have particular issues that impact your general health, your thyroid health, and your nutrition; that people with non-autoimmune hypothyroidism may not experience and which may require different lifestyle approaches. So it is important to understand the exact nature of your thyroid condition. Taking Berocca may not be the optimal way of addressing any nutritional deficiencies you may have - testing first for deficiencies and then supplementing individually according to need, is the better way - but generally, the ingredients of Berocca, especially the Berocca Boost which has caffeine, require it to be taken away from your thyroid meds. I can't find a definitive list to say for sure, but definitely 2 hrs apart, and may be 4 hrs, depending on its exact ingredients.

[Skinnyneck in reply to MaisieGray]

Many thanks. It was due to benign goitre.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Skinnyneck

Berocca is a pretty naff supplement. It's basically Vit C with some B vitamins and a load of flavourings, sweeteners and other unnecessary rubbish. It also contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil and we should avoid soy in all forms when hypo.

Here's what's listed on Boots website

Citric acid

Sodium hydrogen carbonate

Vitamin C

Magnesium sulphate

Mannitol

Calcium carbonate

Magnesium carbonate,

Favouring

Sodium carbonate

Niacin

Sweeteners (Acesulfame K, Aspartame)

Sodium chloride

Zinc citrate

Colour (Beetroot red, Beta carotene)

Pantothenic acid

Maltodextrin

Riboflavin

Thiamin

Acacia gum

Vitamin B6

Partially hydrogenated soybean oil

Sugar

Trisodium citrate

Anti-foaming agent (Polysorbate 60)

Folacin (Folic acid)

Antioxidants (DL – alpha tocopherol, Sodium ascorbate)

Biotin

Citric acid

Vitamin B12

If you want Vit C then just buy some Vit C powder that contains nothing else, don't put all that muck in your body.

You'd be much better taking individual supplements that you might find you need after testing the following:

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

If you post results with ranges and units of measurement when you have them, members will be appy to suggest what you might need.

[Skinnyneck in reply to SeasideSusie]

Many thanks. This is very helpful.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Skinnyneck]

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested.

Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw). This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Is this how you do your tests?

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

[Angel_of_the_North]

Well, it's not worth the money you pay for it - low quality ingredients and low dose - not all B vitamins included, plus maltodextrin and aspartame. Made by Bayer who now produce glyphosate. Better to get tested and buy good quality brands of the vitamins you actually need in decent doses.

[Canta]

I'd be worried about the effect on my tooth enamel drinking Berrocca every day, Skinnyneck.