Levothyroxine

[willsie01]

I know I’m slow on the uptake but just to clarify: Levothyroxine is to be taken 2 hours before and after any food or drink. Including water? Does time of day matter? Sorry for being so dense.

[jimh111]

Some foods such as bran or coffee can reduce absorption of levothyroxine. In general it is better to take levothyroxine on an empty stomach with a glass of water. However, I take it just before breakfast and have no problems.

It might be simpler to take it at bedtime since most people don't eat or drink coffee just before going to bed.

[humanbean]

You can drink water at any time. It won't affect absorption of thyroid hormones. In fact it is a good idea to take thyroid hormones with enough water to make sure it reaches your stomach.

Time of day doesn't matter. It is best to take thyroid hormones with an empty stomach so that food and drink (except water) doesn't interfere with absorbing them. Most people have an empty stomach two or more hours after eating.

Once you've swallowed the thyroid hormones don't eat or drink anything other than water for another hour.

[HashiFedUp]

Take first thing in the morning with water and wait 45 mins before eating and drinking anything. It recommends 30 mins on the levothyroxine guidance but I find I need 45 mins for full absorption. You may be fine with 30 mins.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

We have people who take their levothyroxine at all sorts of times. In general, it is not a particularly important factor but there is some evidence that taking at bed-time results in slightly better absorption.

I take mine at bed-time and always have done so.

There are few circumstances in which avoiding water, when thirsty, is a good idea. (Yes, there are some.)

[Harmitage]

I take mine on a evening as I find this better for me drink water as on a evening you won’t have food but.each person takes them differently I find this is ideal as I used to forget taking them on a morning I hope this helps

[Midnight_Voice]

I take mine last thing at night, with my warfarin (coumadin) and my statins. Sometimes I forget, in which case I take them first thing next morning.

if I forget even then, I postpone the doses to last thing, and take the catchup does the next morning. I never take a double dose at once, as warfarin averages out in the long term, but not in the short term; so I’ve never had to look to see what a double dose of levo or statin might or might not do.

[Kimkat]

Do you take any other medications?

[willsie01 in reply to Kimkat]

A few!

Morning: Bisoprolol, Lansoprazole. Breakfast: Balsalazide, Finasteride, Tamsulosin & aspirin.

Evening meal: Balsalazide

9:00pm: Atorvastatin

10:00pm: Levothyroxine

[Kimkat in reply to willsie01]

The reason I ask is that I have to take Gaviscon Advance immediately before bed and Omeprazole first thing in the morning, which means that I take my Levothyroxine during the night, i have water and my tablet on my bedside table and I set an alarm to take it because both of my meds interfere with absorption. I was advised on here and have stuck to that regime, seems to be working well for me.

[willsie01 in reply to Kimkat]

I had thought of an alarm to take it during the night but it would probably wake the wife up!

[Kimkat]

Yes it does wake my hubby but he goes back to sleep and so do I now, at first I had trouble getting back but now it’s just routine 🙂

[willsie01 in reply to Kimkat]

It occurred to me that I could set an alarm on my mobile to vibrate under my pillow with the sound off so I tried it last night. Worked a treat without disturbing my wife. So I’ll carry on with this and see how it goes.

[Kimkat in reply to willsie01]

Great idea I didn’t think of that!