Re: Blood Test. Do I have this right please? - Thyroid UK

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Re: Blood Test. Do I have this right please?

Ellie-Louise profile image
16 Replies

This time I’m going to do it properly, 😊 (I always used to just miss out my Levo the night before the test).

Sunday as per normal at bedtime.

Forget Monday nights tablet/s.

Take my Levo on Tuesday morning @ 8:20

My blood test is on Wednesday @ 8:20. Thank you

Edit: Yes, I did stop my biotin a week ago.

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Ellie-Louise profile image
Ellie-Louise
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16 Replies
greygoose profile image
greygoose

If I've understood this correctly, that means you'll be missing a dose. That can't be right. Why forget Monday night's dose? Take it as normal Monday night, then on Tuesday, take it in the morning, instead of in the evening. And, Wednesday take it either just after the blood draw, or back to normal taking it at night. Missing a whole day's dose isn't going to give accurate results.

Ellie-Louise profile image
Ellie-Louise in reply to greygoose

I was going by what Seaside Susie advised another member some time ago. I had taken a screenshot of it as a reminder.

Timings
greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to Ellie-Louise

OK, well, you'd better take that up with SeasideSusie but it doesn't sound right to me.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

your correct ….if you reword it slightly

Rather than say forget Monday nights dose…..

You delay Monday nights dose until Tuesday morning

Delay Tuesday night’s dose after blood test Wednesday morning

Take Wednesday nights dose levothyroxine as per normal

Ellie-Louise profile image
Ellie-Louise in reply to SlowDragon

Thank you SlowDragon, delay isn’t a word that comes naturally to me. You made it sound much clearer. I never even noticed that word on the screenshot. 🙃 xx

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to SlowDragon

But, that still means that you're missing a day's dose, because you won't be taking anything on Monday.

Ellie-Louise profile image
Ellie-Louise in reply to greygoose

But surely that ‘lost’ dose would be made up by taking 2 lots on Wednesday.

One after the blood test and the other that same night…so no loss at all in the end.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to Ellie-Louise

OK But what difference would missing a dose two days before the test, make to the blood test results ? I doubt if that has ever been investigated. Why not just take Monday's dose Monday morning instead of Monday night? Or, rather, Tuesday's dose in the morning rather than Tuesday night? And take Monday's dose as normal.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply to greygoose

because that risks high Ft4 result

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to SlowDragon

How? Why would it? You're still leaving a gap of 24 hours between the last dose and the blood draw.

Ellie-Louise profile image
Ellie-Louise in reply to greygoose

I have no idea, hence the request for advice.

Lalatoot profile image
Lalatoot in reply to Ellie-Louise

Ellie-Louise. If you want to take your last dose 24 hours before your test then take it around 8am on Tuesday morning.

Take your Sunday dose as usual.

Take your Monday dose either at night as usual or take it in the afternoon if you want to space it out a bit further away from your 8àm Tues.

Take no dose on Wednesday until after your blood test or later that day to get back to your usual routine.

You need to take your dose every day.

Ellie-Louise profile image
Ellie-Louise

I think that is quite a sarcastic reply greygoose, because it sounds very much as if you think you are right and no one else is!

I would like this thread closed please SlowDragon.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to Ellie-Louise

Sorry, it wasn't meant to be sarcastic. I was only trying to help you. I didn't understand SlowDragon's reasoning and she didn't explain. What she was saying wasn't making any sense. Lalatoot did make sense. But, I will delete that remark. My apologies once again.

Lalatoot profile image
Lalatoot

Ellie-Louise nobody is right when it comes to the blood test protocol. You have to devise your own protocol based on what you think and stick with it every time.

I am uncomfortable with with any rigid ideas that testing must be early in the morning and that the last dose of levo must be 24 hours before and the last dose of lio 8 - 12 hours before as this makes folks think that they have done it wrong if they do it any other way - and there are lots of other ways to do it as long as you are consistent.

Folks go for early morning as TSH will be slightly higher - but, if you do not need to worry about TSH levels or if your surgery will not do early morning blood tests for thyroid then afternoon tests are fine - no need to fast.

It is better in my opinion to measure thyroid hormone levels when they are low rather than when they are at a peak as the peak is short-lived and we operate with less than peak levels for most of the day. Peak happens 2 to 4 hours after a dose so avoid testing in that time frame.

The lowest point in your t4 level is likely to be just prior to your next dose time. If you dose with levo once daily ie every 24 hours then by having a gap of 24 hours between dose and test you can assume that you are measuring T4 at its lowest.

However, if you split your daily levo dose, then 24 hours is too long a gap to leave, because in reality you are letting your T4 drop lower than it normally would. For example I dose levo at 6am and 10pm. So I have a gap of 16 hours and 8 hours. So the lowest point of T4 I experience is 16 hours after my dose before I take my next tablet and it starts to build up again. So I choose to leave a gap of 16 hours or thereabouts between my last levo dose and my blood test.

Ellie-Louise profile image
Ellie-Louise in reply to Lalatoot

I had always just left out the night befores dose, making it probably around 36 hours or thereabouts.

Some time ago it was brought to my attention that the delay ought to be 24 hours, that is the reason I was trying to work out the ‘correct’ timings of it this time, and was the reason I asked if I was right in what I had worked out.

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