Do Thyroid meds have to be taken in the morning

[Cat___]

I'm 55, lifetime sub-clinical hypo, on meds since age 10. Currently on 150mcg Levo and 10mcg Lio. Stable and bloods optimal. There is always inconsistent advice about when to take meds, GP puts on prescription that it should be taken at least one hour before any food or drink in the morning, my Endo said it wouldn't make any difference if consumed at same time. I've read somewhere recently that before bed is better. For years I took it before bed, felt OK, but then Endo said morning better. I take it in the morning but don't wait 2 hours before drinking tea and breakfast, it's too inconvenient. Is the fact that my bloods are OK evidence that meds are being absorbed at a cellular level. Does anyone have any experiences to share about best time of day to take medication?

[Lalatoot]

You take your levo and lio when it best fits into your routine. For them to be most effective they should be taken on an empty stomach and away from any other medications. You can take levo and lio together though. Some folks do take them with a cup of tea and breakfast and manage to keep their thyroid levels ok but many on here need to maximise the effectiveness so leave 1 hour between tablets and breakfast.Some have found their levels are better if they dose at night. I split my doses. I take one dose of levo and lio when I wake and the other at bedtime. Some folks find that splitting daily doses improves things

There are no rules. It's just trial and error.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

I take my levothyroxine at bed-time - and always have done so!

helvella - Bed-time dosing of levothyroxine

Discussion about taking levothyroxine at bed-time.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[SlowDragon Administrator]

I find it more convenient and more effective to take levothyroxine at bedtime

I changed to taking at bedtime on the advice of leading thyroid specialist endocrinologist

I split my T3 as 4 x 5mcg ……roughly every 6 hours

[Sweeneythyca]

I also take mine at bedtime, have since I had thyroidectomy. Added bonus is I can't snack in the evenings, so no food after dinner at 6-7pm.My sister sets her alarm and takes hers at 5am then goes back to sleep for an hour which seems crazy to me. But we do what works for us I guess.

[arTistapple in reply to Sweeneythyca]

I like the discipline of the no snacking taking my levo at bedtime. It’s made no difference to my weight but I do get better sleep on a ‘less full’ stomach. Makes me feel a bit more virtuous. Starts my day better somehow too and no worries about when to take my supplements. Most importantly I do think my levo works better!

[Sweeneythyca in reply to arTistapple]

Same for me, no concerns about spacing out other meds/supps. Also feel it's better for my body to give digestion a break for at least 12 hours. Absorb meds properly. Win win. X

[tattybogle]

hi Cat___

i take my Levo first thing when i wake, with a cup of tea .

i've always taken my levo with tea with a little milk & sugar (the tea is Rooibos which is naturally caffeine free) and i then wait an hour before eating breakfast.

So it's a reasonable assumption there will be a small reduction in the mcg i absorb from my prescribed dose , due to the milk...... (calcium has been shown to reduce absorption of levo via the gut) ~ so my 'actual/ absorbed' dose will be a bit lower than it would be if taken on an empty stomach .

However , since i always do the same thing consistently ,my 'actual' dose is consistent , and so my blood tests have always been a true reflection of my 'actual' dose (rather than my 'prescribed' dose)

my [prescribed dose has therefore always been adjusted based on how much i actually absorb ,rather than how many mcg i swallow .

Consistency is the key .. if you have tea sometimes , water sometimes , and strong coffee sometimes .. then the 'actual/ absorbed' daily dose would be a bit different each day making it harder to keep dose adjusted properly.

If you are also eating breakfast with levo , then (unless you always eat the same thing for breakfast) this introduces another variable into your 'actual' dose , (because it's reasonable to assume some types of food will lower the amount you absorb more than others will).

If your bloods are ok, and more importantly , if you feel well and function ok , then it's really not a big deal if you absorb a slightly different 'actual ' dose each day ....... but when there are problems with symptoms / or blood results , then taking a consistent 'actual' dose is the first thing to sort out .

So if you have tea with morning levo , always have it and your blood test will reflect how much to you actually absorb ~ if you prefer to go back to having levo at bedtime so you can eat breakfast straight away ,then try to leave a similar gap from evening meal to levo... (preferably a good 3/4 hrs)

Once you know your 'actual' daily dose is consistent , then you can be sure blood tests reflect the amount you actually absorb ,.... and when it's not enough / too much , then your prescribed dose can be increased / lowered .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm doing some shameless early morning plugging of this thyroid research petition ~ (it's asking the govt to give some of the £84Million CMA fine from the price hike of Liothyronine T3 to thyroid research) .

Please consider signing and SHARING this petition if you haven't already done so .. if you have signed already THANKYOU

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Direct link to petition ~ petition.parliament.uk/peti...

"Give more funding for thyroid research and patients after price hike"

[debra_bill]

Bedtime for me and it did seem to be better.