Levo taken at night

[Jelita]

Need to book with Medichecks...last test with them I was taking my Levo 100mg in the mornings.

Some months ago I changed to evenings...it suits me better as I can take it at a certain/the exact time as previously it sometimes became a bit haphazard.

Question...last test I had to miss the morning one until I had the blood test...can i still take it the evening before...how many hours before please?

Thankyou.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

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

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription

What vitamin supplements are you taking

[Jelita in reply to SlowDragon]

Not very good working my way around forums posting replying etc so thank you to all who replied.

Have read through suggestions a few times ...things take a while to 'sink in/understand' lately...first TIA didn't make a great difference but this second one seems to have affected my memory...old age (76) or TIAs I'm not to sure but I feel a lot like I felt when first diagnosed overactive although I had a goiter and had symptoms of both over and under!

All Thyroid tests from Drs. come back 'within range'. over fifteen years now since I was treated with Radioactive iodine treatment.

By switching to night time Levo I feel quite normal ( whatever normal is ) in the mornings...previously I was more tired in the mornings than evenings so seems to suit me except as the day goes on it's more overwhelming tiredness yet not tired enough to sleep just no energy to even move sometimes.

I take Amlodopine in the mornings now then Magnesium ( helps with cramps) with breakfast.

Clopidogrel after dinner.

All fresh meat veg and fruit daily so no problems with diet.

Same brand Accord levo 100mcg before bed.

Sorry about the long post but thankyou all for replying may I ask what Medichecks tests would be the best to book please.

Edited to add Last Drs. Thyroid test results.

Serum TSH level

2.3 mIU/L

0.4 - 5

Normal

19 Jan 2024

Serum free T4 level

14 pmol/L

9 - 19

Normal

19 Jan 2024

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Jelita]

Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing

thyroiduk.org/testing/

Medichecks Thyroid plus BOTH TPO and TG antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/testing/thyro...

Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test

support.medichecks.com/hc/e...

Medichecks and BH also offer private blood draw at clinic near you, or private nurse to your own home…..for an extra fee

[jimh111]

If you have the blood taken 10 hours after your last levothyroxine tablet instead of 24 hours it will make a 5% difference to your fT4 figure. This is trivial, so I wouldn't bother changing anything.

[Capan24 in reply to jimh111]

I agree with that. I think it messed up your body more to be switching the dose back and forth. Synthroid (levothyroxine) has a long half life. The half-life of is typically around 7 days. This means it takes about 7 days for half of the medication to be eliminated from your system.

[tattybogle]

i normally take half my Levo on waking and the other half at bedtime ,and i don't change the bedtime dosing before my blood tests (i do delay the morning dose till after the test) .

i do keep a consistent gap of 12 hours between last dose and all of my blood draws . That is long enough gap to miss the peak in fT4 levels .. by 12 hrs after a dose the fT4 level is near as dammit back to the same level it would be after 24hrs .

( depending on time of your test and time of your bedtime you may need to take that nights bedtime an hour or so earlier than usual to get a consistent 12hrs .. so you may need to eat a little earlier than usual to ensure an empty stomach)

So as long as you are aware that doing it this way will give you marginally higher looking fT4 levels than when leaving a 24hr gap , then in my opinion it's reasonable to continue your bedtime dosing the night before bloods. it's much more simple and therefore avoids the potential for messing things up by forgetting / getting confused with the more complicated schedule to get a 24 hr gap .

See the middle graph in the image below .

The top line on that middle graph shows fT4 levels over the hours following a dose .

By 12 hrs you can see the fT4 level is pretty stable and only marginally higher than it is at 24hrs . the first 6/8 hrs are what you really need to avoid as levels are rising and falling rapidly during that time.

.

[jimh111 in reply to tattybogle]

Notes that the fT3, fT4 graphs do not start at zero, so the actual fluctuations are less than they appear pictorally. The important point is not to take T3 or T4 within four hours of having the blood taken.