Medication etc prior to blood draw

[Blu-cat11]

Hi,I’m having my blood draw next week for full thyroid and vitamin profile as well as full female hormone profile. Please can someone advise me of when to take my last NDT and vitamin supplements prior to this? I also take ashwaganda and DHNT, not sure if these will affect my levels?

Thanks in advance.

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Stop your B complex or any biotin for 5 days before... I don't know about the other bits

[Blu-cat11 in reply to TiggerMe]

Thanks Eeyore.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to Blu-cat11]

Had hoped someone else would enlighten us 🙃

[samaja]

If you are menopausal you can do the full hormone profile on any day but if still cycling it it's best to split them up on specific days in the cycle.

As with any T3 medication, it would be best to leave a gap from your NDT but it depends why you are doing the test (for yourself or your doctor), what your absorption is like and what you want to find out.

[Blu-cat11]

Thank you Samaja. I am post menopausal and on HRT so it will be interesting to see what my levels are and if I am on the right dose.

I’m keen to know if the dose of Armour is sufficient for me and I’m hoping my Endocrinologist will advice me on that.

[humanbean]

Usually, this is what is suggested for people on NDT :

1) Stop any supplement containing biotin 5 - 7 days before the test. That is probably rather over-cautious, but it does no harm to stop taking it for longer than necessary, whereas biotin taken too close to the test might interfere with the test results.

2) If getting iron or ferritin tested stop any supplement containing iron 7 days before the blood draw for testing.

3) If taking NDT, last dose should be taken 12 hours before blood draw for testing.

4) Fast, except for water which can be drunk freely, for 12 hours before blood draw.

5) Do not take medicines, hormones, and supplements for 12 hours before blood draw for testing.

There are people who have decided that different timings work better for their circumstances, and some who deny the need for fasting. But the plan above usually works for anyone on NDT. Timings for Levo and T3 are a bit different.

The advice on stopping iron supplements for 7 days originally came from a website for people with suspected haemochromatosis. People vary enormously in their ability to absorb iron from their food and supplements. Leaving 7 days between iron supplements and test caters for everyone, whether they absorb iron well or badly.

This is worth reading :

healthline.com/health/fasti...

[Blu-cat11 in reply to humanbean]

Thank you humanbean. That’s very comprehensive and useful. Thanks again 😊

[humanbean in reply to Blu-cat11]

Do not take medicines, hormones, and supplements for 12 hours before blood draw for testing.

When I wrote the above I should have said :

Do not take medicines, hormones, and supplements for 12 hours before blood draw for testing, as long as it is safe to do so.

It might be dangerous to stop some prescribed medicines even for a few hours, but it depends on what you take (and I'm not qualified to say what is safe and what isn't).