What time of day to take thyroxine

[Alli1]

What time do most of you take your meds ? I usually take mine first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. However I was recently reading an article by Dr Anthony Toft in which he suggested taking meds last thing at night as there would be less interaction with other meds and food.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Alli,

It sounds as if you are doing the right thing. But do note that taking things like cereal with milk, medicines containing calcium, magnesium or aluminium and most especial iron can all affect absorption.

There is indeed at least one research paper on exactly this subject which makes that suggestion.

I'd guess it is worth a try - but there is one gotcha. Some people find that they need slightly less thyroxine when taking it at night. So switching between night and morning might take a bit of thought and maybe some extra tests.

Have a read here:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/172...

All the best

Rod

[Alli1 in reply to helvella]

Thank you Rod a very interesting read

Alli

[RedApple Administrator]

If you decide to try taking it at night, bear in mind that it still needs to be on an empty stomach. So that means not having anything to eat for at least two hours before you take it. Not too easy if you're into late evening meals or snacking during the evening!

[Alli1 in reply to RedApple]

Thanks for your advice RedApple - will have a think about what to do. I'm wondering how to change from morning dose to night, would mean a long time in between doses and may have adverse effects - any thoughts?

Alli

[RedApple Administrator in reply to RedApple]

You could try a gradual changeover by splitting the dose. Take your full dose as usual in the morning. That evening, start the split dosing by taking half your dose and the other half the next morning. Do the split dosing for a while and see how it feels. If all is well, take the next step of skipping the morning dose and taking the whole dose in the evening.

Depending on what pill(s) you are prescribed, you might need to get a pill splitter to help with this. Some pills split better than others depending on the ingredients and method of manufacture. There's no need to be too precise, so if a pill doesn't split perfectly don't worry.

You may even decide to stick with the split dosing, some people say it works better for them. Doctors would tell you that's rubbish, but whatever works for you is what counts.

[rosee in reply to RedApple]

It probably wouldn't make much difference, I once forgot to take my meds for 2 days and actually felt better!!

[Annamaria]

i have been on my meds 5 weeks now and take them at 7am every morning with a glass of water I then have a cup of tea and then a half an hour after that my breakfast. I have not been on them long enough to notice any difference whatsoever but i believe with this god awful brain fog i have i would forget to take them on an evening and so find the morning the best time for me

[ally in reply to Annamaria]

hi annamaria,hope your okish. ally here. i've just joined this site last week i think. thank god. my doctor got me charged yesterday! for nothing. ARRRGH. any of you had that experience? ha. take care. ally

[Annamaria in reply to Annamaria]

I take mine first thing in the morning as i know i would forget to take it at night.