Can stomach bug affect Levo absorbtion?

[SovietSong]

Hi everyone, just wandering if anyone has had problems absorbing their thyroid meds due to stomach bug/ flu like symptoms.Ive been on a steady dose for a while now and for 2 or 3 weeks felt the best I have for some time.Last week everyone in our house went down with a bug(diarrhoea, runny nose, headache,joint pain etc)and since Friday or Saturday it kinda feels like I've taken no Levothyroxine.As usual any advice would be much appreciated thanks.

[thyr01d]

Hi SovietSong, lovely name. We went down with a similar bug, same symptoms as yours, which turned out to be covid and I felt as if my thyroid meds was not working as it should. Slowly and fairly steadily improving now (a month on) and hope you do too.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Anything which affects things like gut transit times could, and very likely would, affect levothyroxine absorption. (As does vomiting, of course.)

The problem is knowing what to do. Your problem being you have no way of knowing whether you absorbed none, a quarter, a half or whatever of your dose. Therefore you have no measured basis for making any adjustments - taking an extra dose or half dose, or a slightly larger dose.

And you have no speedy way of getting tested to provide such a basis. A few days (e.g. for turnaround from GP or by post) might mean you are on the other side of the issue by the time you know the results.