levothyroxine and when to take?

hi i've been reading so many different things about taking thyroxine i just wondered when is considered the best time? just incase i'm doing something wrong. I have always taken them at 6:30am every morning without fail. thanks in advance xxxx

[hypodi]

i think thats fine as long as you have breakfast after 8, i take mine with my breakfast and ive been told that wrong.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Agreed - I'd guess that 6:30 is fine, but don't take it on the day of a thyroid test - wait until after the test.

I take mine at bed-time - which suites me. Seems to actually help me to sleep better. Though it is always difficult to be sure. Some papers suggest that this more closely follows the normal thyroid hormone release in humans.

Rod

[hypodi]

hmmm i might try taking mine and bedtime then

[Muffy]

Latest research suggests you take your thyroxine at bedtime.

[Hidden]

hi

so i've taken mine this morning if i wanted to try them at bedtime would i be able to start tonight? i've never been told to not take my thyroxine before a blood test?

thankyou

sharon xx

[shaws Administrator]

This is a link:-

thyroid.about.com/od/thyroi...

but Mary Shomon recommends taking your blood levels before any change from a.m. to p.m. I suppose to see if there is a benefit.

I think, too, that you would have had to have had enough time between eating so that there is no interference.

[RedApple Administrator]

Sha39,

You need your blood test to show what your thyroid levels are at their lowest, not at their highest. The blood level of thyroxine peaks at about two hours after taking it. So, if you take your thyroxine before a blood test it will give a high reading for the T4 level. If this reading took you out of range on T4. your dose might get lowered.

So, if you take thyroxine in the morning it's better to get your blood test late afternoon. If your test is booked for the morning, then don't take any thyroxine until after the test.

Most doctors don't know much about thyroid at all, so it's unlikely anyone would have told you about this. And if you were to ask your GP, he/she would probably say it doesn't matter... but it does!

[Hidden]

oh my !!! they always have me in for bloods first thing in the morning soooooooo the chances are my levels are pooped anyway because i've had my thyroxine, this makes me mad too as the docs have never said anything, the strange bit is i can have really really good days and days when i feel death is close so it even could be down to when the blood tests have been done, thankyou !!!!

[maggie1111]

Dr p told me to take armour thyroid in the am as it can keep you awake at night, which seemed to help me. How long should one wait before one eats or drinks ?

[nanniejan]

Hi , I take mine in the morning and have my breakfast not long after and other than sweats and painful joints feel ok , can't say i feel like death thank goodness , but think I will try to take them at night

<b>Updated on Jan 16 2011 3:29PM:</b> I'm going to take them I think the same day I don;t think it would matter to much ,hopefully, I have read somewhere they say it would work better , but who knows ,if the doctors dont really know I think its trial and error !!! I just hope one day someone will know for sure xx Jan xx

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Armour, and of course the other desiccated thyroid products, contain T3 which tends to take effect more speedily than T4 - and to fade more quickly as well.

There are arguments for split-dosing desiccated thyroid - maybe in two or three doses through the day.

It seems to be the T4 that is most prone to having its absorption affected by food. Suggestions are usually one to two hours between taking T4 and eating. However black teas or coffee seem to be fairly OK after around half an hour. (That is, if you haven't been put off anything with caffeine in it. I haven't.)

Rod

[maggie1111]

thattts v true with regard to the t3 and t4. I am thinking of trying to split the dose. I think one has to play around with these thing to see what feels best. I still crave coffee etc but really shouldnt as not good for adrenals ! What are the other dessicated thyroid products apart from armour, how good and accessible are they ?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Nature-Throid from RLC (USA), 'Thyroid' from Erfa (Canada), a couple of oddities from Thailand - and that seems to be your lot!

Someone not very far away from me seems happier on Nature-Throid than on Armour (old or 'new').

Accessibility is difficult to ascertain - Nature-Throid can be obtained in the UK through prescription - but might take some effort from your pharmacist, and Erfa Thyroid can be obtained mail order using a UK prescription.

We both consume coffee. Strong Lavazza black coffee - sometimes black, sometimes with goats milk - neither of us has noticed anything untoward about doing so. But that is not to say that will be true for everyone.

Rod

[Chippysue]

Some people prefer taking their levothyroxine at night. Most take it first thing in the morning and with water only and leave it for half hour before anything else.

Our tsh is at it's lowest around 3am so it always makes sense to have blood tested as early as possible, hospitals start at 8am, if we don't take meds until after blood is taken then as long as we do this each time we will know where we are.

Doctors wouldn't suggest this, we patients know much more about thyroid disease, we all learn much more from each other, we actually want to get better whereas most doctors are more concerned a out the tsh result

[oldman]

Thats a bit awkward for me as some times I'm on nights so just take in the morning.Does anybody take a higher dose on the weekend ?

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

Most people find taking it in the morning is fine for them. It's only if you have remaining symptoms that you need to look at different ways of taking it.

There are various ways of taking the levothyroxine - some people take different dosages on alternate days ie 100mcg one day, 125mcg the next because there is no 12.5mcg tablet. Taking a higher dose at the weekend is just a variant of this.

We do find that some people actually need a higher dose than they are taking, if they still have symptoms and are above 1.0 in the TSH range. Dr Toft wrote an article in Pulse magazine stating that many people need to be very low in the TSH range and very high in the FT4 range before they feel better.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Lyn,

Do you have a link to that article?

Rod

[Janet-Hargrave]

I have been taking Levothyroxin for 5 years or so and never have i been told that there's a best time of day to take it. i don't feel well at all but my GP keeps telling me my test results are fine. i am so fustrated i wish my GP would try to help.