Starting levo tips please?

Hi guys, finally got some levothyroxine 50mg after many years trying to get somewhere with my subclinical hypothyroidism. Anyway, I was just wondering is there any general tips when starting please? How long do I have to wait before the morning coffee, biscuit, I read some people say 30mins, some an hour and some 4 hours haha! And hypothetically if I had an emergency and missed a dose do I double up next time, take it when I remember or just leave it and carry on as normal the next day?

Thanks so much and huge thanks to everyone previously for their tips, encouragement and advice!

[Litatamon]

Hi,

The general advice for timing is four hours of digestion, take the pill and then nothing for an hour.

That is why many people take it when they wake up in the night or as soon as they wake up. Some people take it before they go to bed but that is for those who do not eat late or don't snack at night.

All the best with it all.

[Hidden in reply to Litatamon]

Thanks so much, I wake a few times in the night so could definitely do that.

[ICE187]

I set my alarm for 4am to take my levo, then I go back to sleep. I get back up at 6am for coffee and breakfast. If your emergency is hospital related, tell the nurses what brand and dose of levo you are on. They should be able to give you a dose. I don't see missing 1 dose as hurting anything. I've messed up by double dosing due to me not remembering if I took a pill or not. I solved that with a weekly pill box.

[Hidden in reply to ICE187]

Awesome, very helpful, thank you so much!

[Anthea55]

Have you found the Thyroid UK website? Plenty of useful info there. thyroiduk.org

In particular look at this page which answers some of your questions.

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-hy...

There are different views on taking levo. I saw Dr Peatfield before he retired. He advised me to take levo with meals. Other doctors advise this too. I split my daily dose and take with breakfast and lunch. This makes things so much easier. However I do keep coffee well away from levo and have recently changed to taking decaff.

Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield is the author of the excellent book 'Your Thyroid and How to Keep it Healthy'. I bought the paperback, but recently discovered the kindle version which makes it easier to search for things. Dr Peatfield also suffered from thyroid problems himself so understood our problems.

Here's another link which suggests taking thyroid meds with food. See the section headed 'Timing of Dosing'.

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Thyroid...

What is really important with taking thyroid medication is to have a plan and stick to it.

Hope that's helpful.

[Hidden in reply to Anthea55]

Very interesting, thanks a lot for all that, will check it all out today! Much appreciated!

[JAmanda]

I’ve never heard the four hour thing! Take on an empty stomach and wait an hour before eating and drinking is the usual advice. I take mine when I wake up but others at night. Yes double up if you miss a dose. Note it will take weeks to feel any effect and ensure you get a blood test after 8 weeks and get a dose increase if it is indicated.

[Hidden in reply to JAmanda]

Thanks mate, much appreciated!

[Hedgeree]

Hi jkyhnm884,

Some on the forum find they are much more able to tolerate levo if they split their dose.

If you have a search on the forum you can find posts discussing that option. Some take it in the middle of the night then later in the day for example.

I beleive I'd been hypothyroid for many years prior to being prescribed levo in August and have found splitting works well for me.

Also make sure to start looking at your vitamin levels as you need them to be good to help with taking levo. You had great advice on your first post discussing this.

Everyone is different you'll just have to find what routine works for you.

Best wishes 😊

[Hidden in reply to Hedgeree]

Thanks mate, much appreciated. Agreed, just a matter of finding what works best and easiest for me. How you feeling now? Hope things have been improving!

[Hedgeree in reply to Hidden]

Thanks taking things slowly but doing alright.