Forgot to take thyroxine

[Tikaneko]

I have had such a busy time recently and just realised I forgot my thyroxine for 2 days, should I take it now? At the moment I feel so cold and shivering inside!

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Tikaneko

The cold and shivering inside is unlikely to be down to forgetting your Levo. It is a storage hormone and not quick acting.

You can take today's dose now but make sure that it's one hour before food or two hours after and take it with water only, no tea, coffee, etc, for an hour, then tomorrow just go back to normal. The one missed dose will not be of any particular relevance.

[Caroline888]

If I were you I would just start taking my normal dose again and forget about the 2 missed days but someone more knowledgeable than I am might come along and advise you differently.

Hope you feel better soon.

Best wishes

Caroline

[shaws Administrator]

Levothyroxine is also called T4 and is an inactive hormone that has to convert to T3 (liothyronine) and T3 is the Active Thyroid Hormone and it is needed in our millions of T3 receptor cells, brain and heart have the most. Our body cannot function without thyroid hormone replacements.

We take a daily dose so that our body can function normally. Our brain and heart need the most T3.

If you get into a routine, it becomes 'normal'. ie. The majority take their tablet when they get up with one full glass of water and wait an hour before eating as food interferes with the uptake of the hormones. Some prefer a bedtime dose, and if you decide to do so, miss this bedtime dose if having a blood test next a.m. and take after test and night dose as usual the same day.

When having a blood test, which should be at the earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and don't take levothyroxine until after the blood test. Coffee also interferes with the uptake, so take it later on in the day and not near levo.

[Tikaneko]

I have read many explanations but yours is the easiest to understand, it is really helpful. Thank you.

[haggisplant]

T4 has a half life of around 7 days so takes 7 days to fall to half of what you first took in your blood. Therefore a missed dose isn’t a huge deal. This is also why it takes around

4-6 weeks to reach an even level, hence waiting for blood tests between changes.

One missed dose every week could be like dropping a full 25 after a few weeks though so best to try to make sure it doesn’t happen often.