I recently moved up to 75mg, I used to not eat breakfast, wake up take my thyroid in the morning with my wellbutrin, 100mg caffeine, b12, fish oil and theanine.
Recently I started having breakfast about 10-15 minutes after , and the same set of supplements.
I feel like I am more underdosed than I was when I started 75mg.
Please let me know if having breakfast would significantly alter absorption and if I need to make adjustments with this morning routine.
Ok thanks.Yes i'd rather be consistent from now on, as I haven't got my dose straight and its been years.
do you happen to know
If I take my caffeine and anti-depressant first, how long should I wait until taking the thyroid?
Thyroid meds should really be taken on empty stomach, before anything else.
Levothyroxine MUST be taken on its own
No other supplements or medications at the same time
Read the instructions inside the packet
50mcg levothyroxine is only a starter dose
How long have you been on 50mcg levothyroxine
Which brand of levothyroxine was 50mcg?
Which brand of levothyroxine is 75mcg
Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet. So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half
Are you currently taking Teva?
Teva, Aristo and Glenmark are the only lactose free tablets
List of different brands available in U.K.
dropbox.com/s/6h3h0qi4eqwi6...
Teva poll
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.
Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.
academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...
Physicians should: 1) alert patients that preparations may be switched at the pharmacy; 2) encourage patients to ask to remain on the same preparation at every pharmacy refill; and 3) make sure patients understand the need to have their TSH retested and the potential for dosing readjusted every time their LT4 preparation is switched (18).
Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime
verywellhealth.com/best-tim...
No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.
Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away
(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
Ok thanks. I struggle with sleep sometimes . I'm not sure if taking at night woulld affect this...
What about supplements and wellbutrin when I get up (6-8) and thyroid at 11? If I don't eat anything until 1pm
I think this would work for me
Poor sleep is often due to being under medicated
Levothyroxine is a storage hormone, it shouldn’t make slightest difference to sleep. It takes 3-4 days to convert into active hormone
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking
If you must take levothyroxine in morning, best to take levothyroxine first thing and wait minimum of an hour before cup tea/coffee and breakfast
Take Wellbutrin after breakfast
I take uni pharma, is that a bad brand?
I'd rather not leave any chance of interactio NS but still take my morning stuff, as wellbutrin definitely is for morning
If I take it at 11 am at least 2 hours after and 2 hours before lunch would that be good?
I didn't realise it led to poor sleep. I couldn't get my thyroid dose right for this university term I've just had. As it was very low just as I started. And I bumped to 75 and that was a bit low 4 weeks later. I changed a lot of my routine and was under more stress but had way less energy in December, then when initially starting at 75.
I'm lucky now as I've got 4 weeks off so I'm hoping to move up to 100mg if a blood test confirms. And get at the right level. But I may have mucked around with absorption by being inconsistent.
Let me know about taking it at 11am as that suits me best. I really want to get this right. At the end of the term I had so little energy for exams
Yes as long as you take on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after any dose change or brand change in levothyroxine
Or in your case, after starting to take it correctly
Come back with new post once you get results
Bloods should be done as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
ok thanks a lot !Yes I will probably move up to 100mg as 75 mg I was still pretty low :
My results were:
TSH: 1.18
Free T3: 3.68 (3.1-6.8) pmol/L
Free thyroxine 14 (12-22) pmol/L
this was 4 weeks ago when i had been at 75mg for 4.5 weeks. Ive felt weak recently been inconsistent with dosing with my recent exams.
im thinking of now going to 100mg at 11am, 2 hours after other meds and 2 hours before lunch.. Im going to be super healthy for the next few weeks and stick to 100mg.
ill let you know in 5 weeks what my results are
Suggest you wait and stay on 75mcg getting bloods retested after 6-8 weeks
Taking levothyroxine on its own will be much more effective and equivalent to dose increase in itself
Ok thanks so much. Just to be clear. I am taking my levo at 11, a minimum of 2 hours after wellbutrin and caffeine.
This won't affect absorption right? I know the half life of caffeine is 4 hours.
I take mine at night, I never have an issue with sleep, I have pills I have to take when I first get up so taking it in the morning was not an option, generally eat dinner around 4 or 5, take levothyroxine about 11, and go to sleep, no issues..Much better absorption too my numbers are much better. Plus there is the added bonus of not mindlessly snacking in the evening..
I take my levo in the night when I wake to go to the loo. (Usually around 4am) I put my tablets in a pot on my bedside cabinet. Doesn't interfere with sleeping at all.
I set my alarm for 05:30 take mine then back to bed, that way I can enjoy a healthy breakfast which is very important for your thyroid and metabolism. Maybe try this but aviod caffeine so close it can effect absorption upto 25%. Stay safe
Have you thought of having your Levo last thing at night on an empty stomachs?
I always take my thyroxine in the middle of the night when I get up to use the toilet.I find it the best time as my stomach will be virtually empty and it will be at least 3 hours before breakfast.I like to have a cup of tea as soon as I get up and would hate waiting around.
Thanks all for your comments—I'm now thinking of taking at night. I do worry about sleep, but I think maybe I just misunderstood how it worked, if it does really take 4 hours to even start converting it to T3?
I think I have felt crap for quite a while because of my inconsistent caffeine breakfast, which probably inteferes with absorption.. So i am going to try at night, and if not at 11am.
Does anyone know if mint tea affects absorption as I do like to drink that before I go to bed.
Difficult to know. Firstly, some mint tea is tea PLUS mint, and some is just mint.
Tea definitely is thought to affect levothyroxine. (The published papers all concentrate on coffee but many are written about caffeine - tea contains quite a bit of caffeine but I never trust the papers to have separated out the effect of caffeine from the rest of coffee. Including milk, sugar, etc.)
If it is just mint leaves, the answer would have to be that I have no idea. So many substances do interact with levothyroxine, it is unsafe to assume anything doesn't. And we simply do not have the evidence.
I have always taken mine at bedtime!
"I think I have felt crap for quite a while because of my inconsistent caffeine breakfast, which probably inteferes with absorption."
Caffeine reduces the amount of T4 that is absorbed through the digestive system from the dose you take, so if you have different amount of caffeine you get different amount of T4 each day, so not helpful for finding the correct dose (,and means you need to take a larger dose to have the same effect.) Removing your caffeine from the picture will in effect give you an increase in dose.
.
"maybe I just misunderstood how it worked, if it does really take 4 hours to even start converting it to T3?"
.... Are you meaning SlowDragons earlier comment that..." Levothyroxine is a storage hormone, it shouldn’t make slightest difference to sleep. It takes 3-4 DAYS to convert into active hormone" ?
Conversion of T4 to T3 is a continuous process within the body's Cells.
Levo (LT4) dose just tops up the blood reservoir that is used for this. (there is also some T3 released from your thyroid if you still have one)
Even 24 hours after your Levo dose there is still T4 in the blood to convert to T3.
p.s on the breakfast front... i do contravene the 'take with water' instructions, by taking it with a cup of roibos tea (no caffeine /tannin) with half a sugar and a splash of milk. I still wait an hour before breakfast though.
I am aware that the milk will reduce absorbtion by a small %,, however , since i ALWAYS do exactly the same thing it doesn't cause me any problems , because i absorb the same % each day, so my Blood results are from a consistent dose. and my dose is adjusted accoordingly.
I just decided that a morning brew was too important, and once i understood the science behind it, i know it's all about consistency.
Thanks for your responses that is helpful. So it's 3-4 days for a dose of T4 to have an affect or 4 hours. Say if I randomly took 200mg one day, it would take a few days to notice the affects.
Oh ok. I am finding the timing quite hard to come up with. Everyones saying take at night, but I drink green tea, and sometimes have supper late.
I'm not sure how different roibos would be, to mint
Yes it seems taking an hour before breakfast is good!
Do you know if taking it 2 hours after my morning supplements and caffeine is ok? I do sometimes take large doses of caffeine in one go in the morning, so don't know if this would affect the T4 dose absorption, 2-3 hours later.
I really want to get this straight as I think I have been up and down so long.
My plan is to wake up at 6-8, take my wellbutrin b12 , caffeine(up to 150mg), theanine, then take the T4 at 11, eat lunch at 1pm?
I do not know for how long afterwards Caffeine would have an effect on absorption of Levo . All the research studies done used caffeine taken at the same time as Levo, and i think ? they used actual coffee ? but i could be wrong. Sounds like you are talking about an actual dose of caffeine in a supplement rather than a morning expresso ?
What you are after when deciding on your routine for Levo is partly pragmatic, ie;
......you need to find a routine that fit's your life, one which maximises the chances of you taking it every day without forgetting , and which makes it unlikely that you end up taking it at varying proximity to other 'variables' that you ingest.
The potential problem with taking at 11am might be it is easy to forget, or to end up without tablets with you at that time of day.
It's easy to 'not remember' if you've taken that days dose unless you have a good system, and missing a days dose will have effects you notice not just on that day , but also spread out over the next week (ish )
The 'half life' of T4 once in the blood is about 7 days.
"So it's 3-4 days for a dose of T4 to have an affect or 4 hours ?. Say if I randomly took 200mg one day, it would take a few days to notice the affects.? "
This is not simple to answer. Yes you would probably notice the same /next day if you took 200mcg , i would , and i do notice within a few hours if i forget a tablet or take an extra one ..... But some people would not.
However if you didn't then adjust the rest of your weeks doses to compensate, at the end of the week you would have had a week of too much hormone every day , and probably would be feeling 'not right' .
Nothing about thyroid hormones is simple , there are no black and white answers.
The body has a complex balancing system for thyroid hormones , and this is what we are interacting with.
Sorry if that's just confused you more.........
Thyroxine has to be taken on an empty stomach, with water, not milk or juice, first thing in the morning, at least 30 minutes before food, please check all on line, very helpful.
Hi I’ve been struggling with my levo for years never the right dose but after 25yo of ups and downs finally feel balanced. As take 100mcg of levo and 10mcg of liothy. But the brands make all the difference. My levo is Mercurypharma and my lio Morningside. You need try out all the brands to see what suits your body. But as everyone on here are saying empty stomach is a must soon as you wake up take your levo then wait hour or so it'll go quick if you've got house work to do. Lol. Then brekky and then your vitamins. Hope you find your balance.
I feel for your science experiments you’re conducting on your body. There was a lot for my injured brain to absorb in all of people’s responses, suggestions, tangential stories and concerns.
I engaged in a lot of self experimentation with levothyroxine and I would like to save you from some exciting suffering. I’ve conferred often with a sympathetic and recently trained pharmacist who has focused closely on hypothyroidism treatment for personal reasons. I’ve also read Lowe on thyroid, and numerous medical/endocrine textbooks.
The pharmacist would blanch at your ingestion of so many substances with levothyroxine. They’ve likely interfered with absorption of the levothyroxine and skewed your test results.
I have met a cavalier psychiatrist who follows the same regimen of corrupting his levothyroxine with other substances, caffeine, drugs. His attitude was that he adheres faithfully to this routine so it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t do that, but if you never ever change what you do, it could work.
Taking multiples of the dose to which your body had acclimated can produce alarming cycles of tachycardia lasting most of the day after ingestion. I’m speaking of five or ten minutes of feeling fine followed by 20 minutes with your heart racing like you’ve just sprinted up a steep mountain for 20 minutes.
The only way to know if taking your levothyroxine at night will keep you awake is to try it once. If you already have difficulty sleeping, watch closely for comparison. Brain injury has corrupted my sleep cycle, so I sympathize with you.
Good luck
Because I get migraines, which usually come on over night, I take my thyroxine an hour before my lunch.I tried taking my thyroxine first, but if my head is iffy then I get a full migraine which I can’t control.
So, I take my migraine preventative - if needed - always first. Then have to leave a minimum of 3 hrs and can take my thyroxine.
This is why I take my thyroxine regularly an hour before lunch. I usually have a hot mug of water afterwards.
I have never had any issues with this, but this suits me and is not for everyone.
I take a probiotic before my breakfast and b complex with breakfast.
I also take some T3 an hour before lunch.
I either take sublingual vitD with k2. Or sometimes a vitD capsule with my evening meal. I then take magnesium about 7pm.
Then it’s the other dose of T3 as I’m about to settle down to sleep.
Anything is possible. You just have to get used to the timings and what suits you. But you must be as consistent as possible too.
Good luck, I hope you sort it.
You should take levothyroxine on an empty stomach and nothing else for an hour afterwards.
\"Interactions that result in changes of levothyroxine binding in blood\"
cbd interaction with levothyroxine 
Morning or evening - Levothyroxine
