I have just returned from my endo appointment. I am not feeling better after a dose increase despite optimum TSH levels. He says my T3 conversion is not low enough to be considered a bad converter. Therefore, he wants to first check whether taking levothyroxine at night (same dose) will help my symptoms. (I feel extremely tired in the morning- and a bit better in the afternoons. Although I am always low energy and have hypo symptoms) I am wondering whether anyone has had any success with taking levo at night? So far, I've always taken it in the morning on an empty stomach.
Endo did say that if I don't feel better after 1 month, he wants to re-test my bloods and cortisol now too. He wants to make sure it isn't something other than my thyroid. (Although I had a full blood work done a month ago- albeit not cortisol!) If none of this works, he said he will trial me on T3 or NDT. Anyone been through this? What worked for you?
Ps. If anyone has any experience with cortisol tests, please advise: Endo says that all cortisol blood tests are the same. Is this true?? I asked him about whether I should get a 24hr cortisol tests with DHEA (e.g the one from regenous lab)
Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it. I am getting fed up of how long it takes to finally feel better….
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thyroidqueen12
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Hi I take my thyroid medication before I go to bed every evening 100mcg T4 and 10mcg T3. I have my evening meal early (6pm) and then don’t eat anything afterwards. I have a steadier flow of energy throughout the day. I wouldn’t go as far as to stay ‘stamina’ but it’s heading in that direction. Hope that is of some help to you.
Is eating early crucial to this? I told my endo that I usually eat quite late (my partner works late) but I often don't go to bed till around 11pm, he said that this is completely fine even if I eat late.
I often take mine around 3am, toilet time. That way its got at least 4 hours before I have a coffee. It suits me better than taking it during the day and having to wait for a hot drink or food. Plus as I'm on HRT I don't have to faff about trying to time other meds or supplements.
I believe you have to leave two hours (longer if you can) after eating before taking medication to ensure full absorption. I know I should take the tablets at the same time every day but there is sometimes a small variation particularly at weekends when I’m not in routine. I’m learning every day from all the wonderful advice on this forum. It’s where I got the idea from to try my medication at night. It’s definitely worth trying for a few months to see how you feel. I always take mine with a big glass of water. It’s helped me a lot!
It is often suggested that bed-time dosing results in slightly better absorption. It also seems slightly closer to the pattern healthy people have.
I have always taken my levothyroxine at bed-time.
For that reason, I cannot compare with taking in the morning.
Before diagnosis, my sleep was badly disturbed. Typically, I would fall asleep fairly easily. Then wake up after something like half an hour to two hours. Once woken I'd be unable to get back to sleep - often till dawn, or at all.
Once I started on levothyroxine, my sleep slowly improved. By the time I was taking an adequate dose, bad nights were unusual - just an occasional night where I might wake up for a while. Now, after years, I sleep very easily and deeply and rarely wake at all. If I do, I get back to sleep quickly.
We have some who prefer it; we have others who prefer other times. See our poll:
Hi, I used to take Levothyroxine in the mornings, but after some strange blood tests where my TSH was high, T4 was high but T3 low, I swopped to taking a slightly lower dose of Levo in middle of the night, then a small dose of T3 in morning. I’ve hit a good place with this and it works for me. It could be because I had slow stomach emptying and taking the Levo in the middle of the night means it absorbs better. It’s worth experimenting.
Yes, I do, I've been taking it at night for years, currently on 125mcg Levo. Does it make any difference? Well, I don't convert very well, no matter what time I take it, I still have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, just not as bad as not taking any at all.
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Help with adding levo to T3 only
Cortisol more tests to come
Anyone change back to levo. from NDT.
