Has anyone taken Melatonin 6 hour extended release with their Levothyroxine dose at night?

[naturegirl3434]

I have been suffering with insomnia for months and have been trying everything and nothing works. I take my Levothyroxine at night at about 9pm and then usually off to bed. I have read that Melatonin can effect thyroid hormones so I was taking it in the middle of the night a few hours away from the Levothyroxine. I have taken it like that for a few nights and it did nothing. So, last night I took the Levo and Melatonin together at the same time and I think I slept pretty well. Is this ok? I don't want to mess my thyroid up anymore than it already is. I just called and asked a pharmacist and they said not to take anything with Levothyroxine. Is anyone educated about this? Please share and thanks in advance.

[naturegirl3434]

I just called and asked a pharmacist and they said you are not supposed to take anything with the Levothyroxine because it will mess with it. Maybe it was just a coincidence that I slept better?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

I have tried melatonin 3 times altogether. I found the 3rd brand has helped more than the first two.

Levo should be taken on it's own, 2 hours away from other medication and supplements.

Melatonin is supposed to be taken about half an hour or so before going to bed. So you'd be better taking the melatonin before bed and the Levo in the middle of the night or early morning.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Your previous post showed low vitamin D and low B vitamins

Good info on insomnia connections to both these

drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...

Are you now supplementing magnesium as well as vitamin D

Or taking a good vitamin B complex?

[naturegirl3434 in reply to SlowDragon]

Yes, supplementing magnesium and Vitamin D.

[naturegirl3434 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for the wonderful information!

[fortunata]

Weirdly, taking melatonin made me feel

wired but tired. The thing that helped me most was taking soluble

Magnesium citrate. I sleep like a log on a small glass of that at bedtime.

[Grundywhiffs01 in reply to fortunata]

Can i ask the dose of magnesium citrate?

[fortunata in reply to Grundywhiffs01]

I think the measure scoop is half a gram.

[Grundywhiffs01 in reply to fortunata]

Thanks

[Phantom007]

Hi! I have been on Levothyroxine for ten years and take Melatonin each night. Firstly, I would suggest taking the Levo in the morning if you can as it will give you energy. I have a glass of water by my bed and just take the levo as soon as I wake up about half an hour before breakfast. I take Melatonin at night for sleep and it has been a godsend, especially when struggling with the right dosage for levothyroxine. I do not think that taking the two is a problem at all. Some supplements such as iron and calcium interfere with levo absorption, so I take these later in the day. Hope this helps. All the best.

[SilverAvocado in reply to Phantom007]

Phantom007, in the past the advice was to take Levo in the morning. More recent research suggests it may be even better to take it at night. Both are good options.

Unlike T3, Levothyroxine is very slow acting, so it won't make any difference to your energy levels when you take it.

[e186]

Hi

You’re supposed to take levo 30 min before breakfast, caffeine containing drinks and other medicine according to pharmacy instructions on my medicine. So if you take it in the morning you’re free to take other meds in evening!😊

[deetree50]

I take 3 x5mgs of the strawberry melatonin . The disolovable one from i herb . I take this every night and thyroid meds in the early morning. I dont know if you can take them at the same time. That dose of melitonin is the only thing that works for me. .ive tried everything.i tried kava. Retavit.....nothing worked as well.

[bessygo in reply to deetree50]

I'm in the U S. Where do you get this type of melatonin? Can you state the brand? The ones I've tried don't work. I was taking 2 mg and 3 mg. Some extended release. Was told to take lower dosage. Perhaps it's not strong enough. Melatonin effects hormones or is a hormone ..cant remenber.

[Susanpv1 in reply to bessygo]

I take the dissolvable ones as well - two 5 mgs. I'm also in the US, and I buy them at Costco.

[Essence49 in reply to bessygo]

He key that I found to melatonin working well is hydration. If you are well hydrated you may not need take a full dose. If you are not hydrated it may not work or work the opposite. I use a liquid by Enzymatic. Found for me that if I'm well hydrated I only need take about 1/5 of recommended dose.

[SilverAvocado]

Nature girl3434, I've taken melatonin for years, and find it helps a lot. For anyone wanting details, I take Now brand, which I can buy on iHerb. I take two of the 3mg tablets. I started off taking only one tablet, which I'd recommend, and then slowly transitioned to two.

I've always taken them well away from my thyroid hormone, though, and it means I take my evening dose of hormone around 8pm, so I can take melatonin and whatever else I want around 10/11pm kind of time. And I'm also free to have a snack before bed if I want. Not so important now, but when I had adrenal problems I find it helps to eat something v late (so adrenals aren't dealing with low sugar in the early hours).

[Andtired]

You can take up to 30mgs of melatonin but I would not take them at the same time. you may want to have labs done because under medication can cause insomnia.

[ranornan]

Hi naturegirl. Drugs.com says there is no known interactions between melatonin and Levo, but it also says check with your doctor. I will say, as a fellow hypothyroid, Levo taking gives me energy. I also have bouts of insomnia. I have to stop all forms of caffiene by 3pm. I take calcium, magnesium and rotate my sleep aids before bed. I say rotate because I have my favorites...dipenhydramine, melotonin, sleepology, and Nyquil, but I have to change them up when they become ineffective. Im a house cleaner so physical exercise should help me sleep....but it doesnt. Lastly, I set my alarm for an hour before I actually get up, take my Levo, and go back to sleep for an hour. On a side note....if you are low in calcium and magnesium it might cause your mind to race and muscle twitches at night. Hope this helps.

[naturegirl3434 in reply to ranornan]

Thanks for the information.

[naturegirl3434]

I have always had trouble sleeping.

[ranornan]

I have had problems sleeping even before thyroid problems.

[Greekchick]

Hi Janey,

I have sleep apnea and developed it when my goiter became very large. It has improved since my TT and I will go for another apnea test later in the year to see if I can get off the machine. Hope this helps! 🤗

[DebTex in reply to Greekchick]

I hope that you can get off of that machine, can you get any sleep with it on? I can only imagine trying to sleep with it, I don’t sleep well in the best of conditions as it is.

[Greekchick in reply to DebTex]

Hi Deb,

In the beginning it was very hard because I was initially given a mask that didn’t work for me. Thankfully, I had a good sleep tech who recommended the right mask and I sleep like a baby. I don’t even know it’s on and I don’t feel the air either. I wake up refreshed and with more energy than I have had in years!

It would be nice not to have it - I’m with you - and thanks for your good wishes for me not to need it anymore! I will keep my fingers crossed that I can ditch it but I’ll be OK either way.

Sorry you have trouble sleeping though - my husband has terrible insomnia and I really empathize. But he has apnea too and his insomnia has improved a lot with the machine.

Wishing you all the best.

[DebTex in reply to Greekchick]

Wow, it’s great that you found the right mask and have adjusted so well to it. My Dad and Step Mom wore one and they were just awful looking, but they have probably come a long way in design and functionality. And thank you, I am dealing with my insomnia the best that I can, but sometimes it does feel like a curse. Take good care.

[DebTex]

My insomnia started alongside my hypothyroidism many years ago,and I’ve always thought that it was thyroid related. One of the things I sometimes take for it is the herb ashwagandha, and sometimes it helps but I’ve tried many things over the years and none of them help a lot, lately when I get up during the night to go to the bathroom I can’t go back to sleep. Good luck to all of you insomniacs out there. 💤

[SilverAvocado]

Yes, I'd say it's a very common symptom. It seems counter intuitive, but the body needs energy to get to sleep and for muscles to relax. Just like so many other things, not having the energy available makes sleeping hard.

Adrenal problems also cause difficulty sleeping. I think a lot of the waking up feeling very alert and wired is adrenal related. Particularly waking up around 2-4pm feeling hungry is adrenal, and seems to be a very common pattern among thyroid sufferers, sleeping for a few hours, then waking up unable to sleep again or unable to sleep after toilet trips.

This is caused by the low blood sugar once all the food from the day is used up. The adrenals are supposed to step in and release stored sugars to keep us going till breakfast. But when they're tired out they get a bit rubbish at doing this, waking us up instead.

[DebTex in reply to SilverAvocado]

I do all those waking during the night and not being able to go back to sleep scenarios that you just described on most nights😞 I knocked my water over on my nightstand during the night last night so that really helped with the sleep but luckily I didn’t get electrocuted because my nightstand has an edge on it so the water was standing on it and I picked my electric alarm clock up out of the water without thinking, that would have been a jolting way to come awake.

[SilverAvocado in reply to DebTex]

Its such as horrible thing to wake up like that Mine has improved a lot over the years, as my dose has got better. Making sure your thyroid dose is optimal and basic nutrients good is the first thing to figure out, I think.

You were mentioning you've tried loads, so I won't mention too much things I've tried. For the waking up hungry I keep oatcakes by the bed so I can get a few into my mouth without opening my eyes. Sometimes I drop off very easily after eating. If you wake up v reliably you could also try taking your thyroid hormone then, too, especially if you take any T3.

[DebTex in reply to SilverAvocado]

You are right, I know my thyroid dose isn’t optimal right now, I just did labs for it and I’m waiting for the results, and the only nutrients that my Dr. would test that were on my list were Vit D, B12 and Selenium. I’ll post my results, I’m like many on here that figure them out so well. Thanks!

[DebTex in reply to DebTex]

Meant to say that I’m like so many on here that DON’T figure them out so well!!

[SilverAvocado]

For anyone looking for insomnia advice generally, the other big thing that helped my sleep is meditation /mindfulness. I started it for the other health benefits, but its had a huge impact on sleep.

Other minor things are: magnesium spray on my restless calf muscles, and audio books and podcasts. Excellent to feel like I'm still accomplishing something and am not too stressed about not sleeping if I've got something to do. I queue up 8 hours of material on my phone before bed, so I know if I have trouble I can get it playing with a couple of button presses.