Most Effective Time of Day to Take Thyroid Meds

[Franny2016]

Hello!

Happy Holidays! It's been a while. I recently realized that I am not supposed to take calcium or iron 4 hours after my Tirosint 100mg and liothyronine 10mg.  Um, for the past few years, I've been mostly eating after an hour of taking thyroid meds (coffee with whole milk, etc.).  So it's highly likely that my thyroid meds were not being absorbed properly..no wonder I needed coffee so badly, and felt awful sometimes. Wow.  

My question:  What is a good time range to take thyroid meds to ensure room for eating normally without affecting thyroid absorption?  It seems like I have to take it really early...

I'm trying again to lose weight, and eat right.  I did TT in 2012. It's been a roller coaster trying to get my thyroid meds optimized... I realized recently that I did not do any labs for the year, so will do those soon.  I'm eager to see the results and will share results when available.

Thank you much! I really appreciate your insight!!

[Barb135]

You can eat/drink 30-60 minutes after taking your thyroid hormone medication.   A little bit of milk in your coffee doesn’t provide enough calcium to prevent absorption of your thyroid hormones.   It’s supplements that contain hundreds of mg of calcium/iron that do the damage.  

Taking medications at night is an option, but even doing that means you have to take them medication on an empty stomach, so you’ll have to eat early dinner and no snacks to make sure you stomach is empty.  

[Franny2016]

Hi Barb!  Happy New Year!  Okay, thank you for the information. Good to know... :)

[Barb135]

Happy New Year to you.  

I’m finding that waking up around 5:00 am, taking my Levoxyl, then going back to sleep for an hour or so is working fine.  As soon as I get up, I take me T3 med (which can be taken with/without food), and by the time coffee is ready, I’ve had plenty of time for the med(s) to absorb.  

You should be aware that most of us only absorb around 80% of T4 (some absorb less than 60%), no matter what we do, so you might have to find a doctor willing to accommodate.

[Franny2016]

Thank you, Barb!! I appreciate the info.  I have a functional medicine doctor who has been SO helpful over the years. I had to fire my (then) primary care because the doctor wouldn't listen when I communicated that I was not tolerating Levothyroxine well. I've been taking Tirosint when I get up to use the bathroom at night, so it's been fluctuating a bit. I hope that is not an issue. I've swapped my expresso coffee for Dandy Blend, and I don't miss the coffee at all. So grateful! Thanks again! :)

[Franny2016]

Thank you, Barb!  I somehow missed this comment.