Best time of day to take NDT if you have trouble sleeping...

[Tony63]

Hi everyone, my name is Tony and I have a friend on this site (Edysia) who is quite ill and is unable to come online and be involved in the forum and get answers for her questions, so until she is able to she has asked me to join up and to ask some questions on her behalf.

Edyta doesn't have a normal sleep pattern normally falling asleep at 4 or 5am, then the sleep she does get is broken and she will get up around 1 or 2pm.

She has been prescribed NDT by Dr S and is going to start on a 1/4 grain dose, she will probably have the same sleep pattern tonight and is wondering when she should take the NDT, I gather it is usually taken early in the morning one hour before food. Is this how it has to be taken? Edyta would take it when she gets up tomorrow at 1 or 2pm? or would she have to wake herself at an earlier hour?

Edyta feels she cannot talk to Dr S and therefore doesn't have anyone to advise her on this.

Thank you for any advice you can give us,

Tony

[helvella]

Tony,

Welcome in your own right.

I do not take desiccated thyroid so am the last person to answer. But I did want you to know that your post is being seen and someone will probably respond soon.

Rod

[Tony63 in reply to helvella]

That's good to know, thank you Rod.

[PinkNinja]

Hi and welcome

I'm sorry to hear that Edysia is so unwell today.

I take NDT and am currently taking 3.5 grains so I take it in 3 split doses. Edysia may find she is better to split the dose if the tablets can be split if she finds she is very sensitive to it. I would be surprised if taking it all at once causes a problem because 1/4 grain is a very small dose.

Dose timing is very much an individual thing. To start with, if it were me, I would probably take this whenever is most convenient for her and go from there. Perhaps when she wakes up would be the best time for now. It might help with her energy levels in the early part of her waking day. With such an unusual sleep pattern it is difficult to know what is for the best. Is she hoping for a more normal sleep pattern? I have found that since taking NDT I sleep much better than I used to.

I take 1.5 grains first thing, another 1.5 grains before lunch and then 0.5 grains at bed time. I find this bed time dose helps me sleep. Many other people say the same thing but others find it doesn't help them sleep.

The most important thing about taking it is not to eat for an hour afterwards (as with other thyroid replacements) and to keep any iron or supplements well away (preferably more than 2 hours).

I hope she starts to feel better soon. There is hope. Many of us who thought we'd never feel well are now on the road to recovery.

Take care and please pass on our best wishes to Edysia.

Carolyn x

[Tony63 in reply to PinkNinja]

Thank you for your reply Carolyn, I think it would be best if Edyta treated 1pm as 'first thing in the morning' and go from there. I hope that her sleep pattern will improve.

I wasn't aware that you weren't allowed to eat for an hour after taking NDT, when I ordered them all the pharmacist told me was that they are to be taken at least 20 minutes before food.

Is that correct? At least 20 minutes before and an hour after? Should she take it as soon as she is awake and then wait an hour before breakfast?

I will pass your kind wishes on to Edyta.

Thanks again

Tony

[PinkNinja in reply to Tony63]

It is best absorbed on an empty stomach (2 hours after food is fine). If it is first thing in the morning, 30 mins may be ok. I usually take mine first thing when I wake, then I shower, dress, get my packed lunch ready and get the kids' breakfasts. By the time I get my breakfast it is about 45 mins.

I may be wrong here, if so I'm sure someone will clarify. It is what I do and works for me, but I do have a rather sluggish digestion at the moment. Others may not need to leave so long after food.

[Tony63 in reply to PinkNinja]

Thank you Carolyn, sorry for the duplicate messages i'm still finding my way around!

[Tony63]

Thank you for your reply Carolyn, I think it would be best if Edyta treated 1pm as 'first thing in the morning' and go from there. I hope that her sleep pattern will improve.

I wasn't aware that you weren't allowed to eat for an hour after taking NDT, when I ordered them all the pharmacist told me was that they are to be taken at least 20 minutes before food.

Is that correct? At least 20 minutes before and an hour after? Should she take it as soon as she is awake and then wait an hour before breakfast?

I will pass your kind wishes on to Edyta.

Thanks again

Tony

[Sam75]

This query of when best to take thyroxine is such a puzzle to me...I have started to take mine around 10,30 at night....but I have usualy eaten a bowl of porridge at 9,30 which is when hunger kicks in, it shouldnt, having eaten main meal at 6pm, ....so now Im thinking ,meybe thats why I have such difficult sleeping ....its all trial and error, meybe I should revert to morning dosing....any thoughts anyone ..?

[PinkNinja in reply to Sam75]

Night time dosing doesn't suit everyone. If you were happy with taking it in the morning then perhaps that is the time for you.

As I was explaining to Tony about NDT dosing, it is a matter of trial and error. This seems to apply to all kinds of thyroid hormone. Some people have to multidose; some can take it all at once. Some do better having it during the day; some need a dose at night. It really does seem to be an individual thing and you should go with whatever works best for you

[Sam75]

Thanks for your reply, I think I will revert to the morning, at least my tum will be empty .X

[Hidden]

Hello Tony63,

Firstly, welcome and what a great friend you are. I jumped at the chance to answer this because I had EXACTLY the same sleep pattern. It is a form of insomnia which is very common with hypothyroid. I battled this for years. Firstly tell Edyta to stop worrying about not having a NORMAL sleep pattern because right now it is normal for her. When I was first put onto NDT I had the same issue. When do I take it?? My afternoon is the morning??

Here's how I did it.....

If I woke at 1pm (ie.my morning!) I would set my alarm for 11am, take quarter of a grain and go back to sleep. But I also added another quarter of a grain about 5pm. So to begin with I was taking half a grain a day. That is a very small dose and she may tolerate it. I am very sensitive to all medication and I tolerated it which was a miracle.

I then set my alarm for 10.30am...took a quarter, went back to sleep and then took another quarter 6 hours later.

I continued this pattern until I was setting that alarm at 8am.....

VERY slowly my circadian rhythm began to change. I started to wake earlier. But it was very gradual. The journey back to health is a slow and patient one.

It will not change her sleep pattern immediately but it will get some thyroxine into her system far away from food and begin the healing process.

We are very depleted without thyroxine and WE NEED SLEEP TO HEAL!!! Doesn't matter when we sleep and at what time of day. This is a long journey and must be approached sensibly without putting undue pressure on ourselves.

THYROXINE+SLEEP = GOOD!!

It does improve...... Promise.

Xx

[RedApple in reply to Hidden]

I second everything you've said Joesmum. This makes so much sense and the fact that you've written from personal experience makes it all the more helpful

[Tony63 in reply to Hidden]

Brilliant! Thank you so much Joesmum! I'm sorry that people on this forum have the health issues that they have but it's very reassuring when there are others who have gone or are going through the same thing.

Thank you so much

[Hidden in reply to Tony63]

This is a great forum Tony63. I have found so much support and comfort here. Please send Edyta my best wishes and we all look forward to the day that she feels well enough to join us. We're a friendly bunch!!

Xx

[Tony63 in reply to Hidden]

Brilliant! Thank you so much Joesmum! I'm sorry that people on this forum have the health issues that they have but it's very reassuring when there are others who have gone or are going through the same thing.

Thank you so much

[Tony63]

Can't get the hang of this posting lark! Noob.

[PinkNinja in reply to Tony63]

Don't worry. The site's been a little slow this weekend and sometimes posts twice when that happens

[electrica77]

I haven't started taking NDT yet, but I just thought I'd add that my sleep pattern became very disrupted (it split into 2 or 3 chunks instead of 8 whole hours) and similar to that described above when I started on Levo. I found that as I reached the right level of Levo my sleep became much less broken and deeper again. It can take a long time to get there though, so tell your friend to hang in there, and just sleep when she can. It will right itself eventually as she gets nearer to her optimum dose.