I started symprove a few weeks back. I take it first thing with my thyroxine. Reason being that symprove goes straight into the gut,without being digested, therefore in theory it shouldn't impact my thyroxine. I know there are posts on this, but I don't think the detail of how symprove works (it isn't digested) have been considered?
However, I'm now panicking I've made a mistake because of this lack of thorough testing (from symprove) over thyroxine absorption. I'm going to test my thyoird next week just in case.
What are your thoughts? Should I abandon? If it has impacted my thyroid, shall I up my dose for 2 weeks to help it recover or just stopping symprove may help?
Thanks in advance
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Suzanneharb
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It has nothing to do with digestion - and you're probably not digesting much, anyway. It's about coming into contact with levo - which isn't digested either - in the stomach or gut.
This is the first time I've heard of Symprove and I'm not quite sure what it is or what it does. No list of ingredients on their site that I can find. And the thing too know is: does it contain anything likely to bind with thyroid hormones.
As you are hypo, you probably have low stomach acid, so most of what you put in your stomach is probably going to sit there for a while before passing into your gut. This is where they are likely to come into contact with each other, so any binding will take place there.
I'm not saying Symprove does contain anything that will bind with thyroid hormone, because I don't know. Just wanted to say that digestion - or no digestion - is a bit of a red herring and that's probably why it has never been discussed.
I think I'll stop taking it in case. I think my thyroid has been impacted (just getting symptoms, which is why I have looked it all up). So what do I do now? How can i get my thyroid back to normal. Shall I increase my dose for 2 weeks, or will it just resolve?
Sorry - I'm in a bit of a panic as you can tell. So I'm wondering what we do when something has interacted with the thyroxine, other than stop taking the thing. Thanks!
What appears the obvious course of action - to me - is to avoid taking Symprove with levothyroxine. And see how it goes. No change of dose. Any changes due to taking them together should resolve over time. Might start to improve quickly, but might take a week or two or three.
Just take it some other time. While they seem to recommend first thing in the morning, it seems unlikely that there is any actual problem taking Symprove later.
Other options would be to switch to something like bed-time levothyroxine dosing. But the last thing you want to do right now is add other changes and complications. Get yourself back on course and reevaluate.
I have not looked at their instructions but it is poor if they do not mention anything about taking alongside medicines, and especially medicines which are common and most often taken at exactly the time they suggest for Symprove.
Thank you! I'm going through cancer treatment at the moment, so the thought of my thyroid being off is stressful. I feel reassured that I should be okay - thanks! But I'll test my thyroid soon just to check, And I'll just take symprove at night. It was given to me as a free trial anyway, so no money lost.
Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime
So you could try moving Levo to bedtime or middle of the night
Ideally you would then wait 6 weeks before testing thyroid levels Work
No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.
Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away
(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
How much levothyroxine are you taking
Which brand
Do you always get same brand at each prescription
Exactly what vitamin supplements are you taking
When were vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin last tested
Thanks! I'll stick to morning as I also take T3 too (always same brands). I usually take an hour before everything else but I just had been told symprove was different. You live and learn. The rest of my body is a mess as I'm having a ton of Chemo (oesophagael cancer), so I can only do my best right now with supplements and levels. After cancer treatment (assuming I can be cured) I'll go back to testing and improving vitamins 😄. I thought symprove might help, but I'll just take it later in the day and ignore their empty stomach thing for now - or go back to biokult. Thank you.
I took Symprove when it first came out for 4 months. Sad to say (and expensive) it showed no appreciable improvement to my symptoms. I was then on Levothyroxine. I am now on NDT, which has shown an improvement to my blood levels.
It sounds like a very expensive type of Kombucha! I make Kombucha at home and it is extremely cheap to make.
All that is needed is a SCOBY (purchased for about £10 online, my SCOBY is nearly 3.5 years old!) SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts. Six tea bags and 170grams of sugar.
I use a large kilner jar; weigh out the sugar in the jar, put in boiling water to dissolve the sugar and add the teabags, leave to go cold. When cold, remove the teabags and add the SCOBY, cover with a cloth and elastic band to keep things out of it. After about 7 to 10 days the Kombucha is ready to be strained and bottled.
You can then use the SCOBY over and over again; you actually know its live, you can see the carbonation occuring and the sweet tea goes from just being that to a highly, rich in bacteria drink! The SCOBY feeds off the sugar, so the longer you leave it the more tart it will become!
We have done the same on and off for a few years. You can add fruit etc to flavour it, I think the acidic nature is beneficial as well. It takes a bit of time but is way cheaper than buying made.
Came across this thread looking for info on Symprove - all seems a bit smoke an mirrors to me!
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