Supplements with levo??

[Minimouse1]

Hi all, I'm currently taking D3 sublingual spray, B12 sublingual, B complex, magnesium, k2-mk7, cod liver oil & will also shortly be adding Vit A & Boron by way of Vit D protocol advice. Can anyone tell me which of these vitamins should not be taken at same time or near to my Levothyroxine please??

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Minimouse1

Can anyone tell me which of these vitamins should not be taken at same time or near to my Levothyroxine please??

Nothing should be taken at the same time or near to Levo.

Levo should be taken on it's own and no other medication or supplements for at least 2 hours. The following need 4 hours:

Vit D

Magnesium

Calcium

Iron

Oestrogen

As the sublingual sprays are absorbed through the mucous membranes and bypass the stomach, theoretically you can take those at any time but maybe err on the side of caution and leave an hour between those and Levo.

I don't know anything about the Vit D protocol but do know that Vit A in excess will cause toxicity. Like Vit D, Vit A is fat soluble so any excess is stored in the body. Cod liver oil generally has high levels of Vit A and you also mention that you are going to add a Vit A supplement shortly. Hopefully you've looked into this and know that the tolerable daily upper limit from all sources (supplements and food), to prevent toxicity, is 10,000iu or 3,000mcg.

[Minimouse1 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes I was thinking one or the other in terms of cod liver oil & a Vit A supplement. Thanks for highlighting this.

[humanbean in reply to SeasideSusie]

Nothing should be taken at the same time or near to Levo.

I was under the impression that vitamin C was considered to be okay, and possibly even good to take with Levo?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to humanbean]

Hi HB

Yes, some people have said they do that, personally I don't know.

There is this study about taking Levo with Vit C in patients with hypothyroidism and gastritis

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/246...

I prefer not to upset the status quo so will continue with just water, I take it about 4-5am anyway so only have water on my bedside cupboard.

[humanbean in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks Susie. I'm taking my Levo in the middle of the night too now. I also have a history of gastritis so was interested in your link.

Having read your link it seems that vitamin C has far more of an effect on TSH than it does on Free T4 and Total T3.

I found the full paper here :

sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/...

TSH dropped by 69.2%

Free T4 rose by 18.2%

Total T3 rose by 15.7% in those that got it measured. (They didn't test Total T3 in everyone.)

Since doctors use TSH as the "gold standard" measure for determining the success of treatment, I suspect in many cases the first thing a doctor would do if they saw TSH dropping by nearly 70% is reduce dose of Levo.

I think I'll stick to taking my vitamin C during the day rather than move it to middle of the night. No doubt it will still have some effect, but perhaps not so pronounced. Reducing my TSH is not a desirable outcome as far as I'm concerned, even though I treat myself and no doctor ever sees my TSH and thyroid hormone levels.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

You probably don’t need vitamin D and Cod liver oil

Cod liver oil is high in vitamin A

nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-...

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

Important to regularly retest vitamin levels, at least annually

Vitamin D ideally twice a year

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

If/when also on T3, make sure to take last third or quarter of daily dose 8-12 hours prior to test, even if this means adjusting time or splitting of dose day before test

Is this how you do your tests?

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Thriva Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins By DIY fingerpick test

thriva.co/tests/thyroid-test

Thriva also offer just vitamin testing

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

Also vitamin D available as separate test via MMH

Or alternative Vitamin D NHS postal kit

vitamindtest.org.uk

[humanbean]

Just as a general rule of thumb...

I have no official link saying this, but I was told years ago that vitamins are "energising" and minerals are "relaxing". So vitamins should be taken earlier in the day and minerals should be taken later in the day.

How you interpret "earlier" and "later" is up to you. I have discovered that if I'm late in taking my vitamins I do find it harder than usual to get to sleep.