[nathanburgess775]

#1059647

Hi everyone, I’m now hypo after 5 months of receiving the RAI-131 treatment and was prescribed 100mcg of Levothyroxine; just was wanting some input on whether it is better to take Levothyroxine in the morning or before you go to bed? I’ve read some research online that suggests better absorption at night but still am not sure what is best.

If taking it before bed, I already don’t eat anything after 7pm and usually go to bed around 11pm which is when I would take the pill.

If I do mornings, I set my alarm at 5am take the pill with a glass of water and eat breakfast at 9am. I wait 4 hours to eat breakfast because I take my Muscle Milk/Vitamins in the morning which contain calcium and iron, so they won’t interfere.

I feel it is easier for me to take at night before bed, but want to do whatever is best for the medicine to work correctly. From what I’ve been reading online it seems that the most important thing is to take the medication consistently and to take on an empty stomach.

Would appreciate some thoughts and/or experiences with this.
Thanks, Nathan

[snelsen]

#1176503

I don’t think it matters THAT much. Since you have your routine of vitamins, muscle meds, etc., in the morning, that seems a good reason for you to take the synthroid at night. The important thing is realize that vitamins, minerals, etc., interfere with the bioavailability of the thyroid hormone, and you already realize that. Then, you would not have to set the alarm, and you can eat breakfast whenever you darn please!
My two cents!
You know the important stuff. I think I heard something about this at the last conference, but I can’t recall the details. One of the facilitators will jump in on this, too.
Shirley, who takes Synthroid in the morning with water, then has coffee with cream around 20-30 minutes afterward. But I always do the exact same thing, every time.

[adenure]

#1176504

I think that as long as you take it on an empty stomach, 4 hours apart from any iron or calcium supplements and wait to eat for 30 min. to an hour after- it should be fine. I take my Synthroid (112 mcg) first thing in the morning and wait 45 min. to 2 hours to eat- depends on the day and how busy the morning is! I haven’t had any problems with absorption (that I know of) doing it that way. My labs have been normal and stable for the 7 months that I’ve been on Synthroid. I just got labs done this past weekend, so I guess I’ll see if all still looks well. I feel well enough I think. It’s not perfect pre- Graves me, but I’m much healthier now than when I was sick, that is for certain!

You could always try a month or 2 in the AM, get labs done, and see how you feel. If it doesn’t seem to be working that way, you could try the evening. But, I think that, in general, if we take Synthroid as prescribed with our timing, regardless of time of day, it should work either way. I think sufficient iron is important for absorption so I take a multi Vitamin, but I take that in the evening, plenty far away from Synthroid.

[Kimberly]

#1176505

Hello – There was actually a small study a couple of years ago indicating that taking thyroid hormone replacement at night might even be *more* effective than morning dosing:

(Note on links: if you click directly on the following link, you will need to use your browser’s “back” button to return to the boards after viewing, or you will have to log back in to the forum. As an alternative, you can right-click the link and open it in a new tab or new window).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21149757

Since you have a 4-hour gap in between dinner and bedtime, this could work well for you. Although the abstract doesn’t go into specifics, I suspect that patients who eat a late dinner and have an early bedtime would have issues with proper absorption of the replacement hormone if taken at night.

Take care!

[nathanburgess775]

#1176506

Thank you for the quick advice, I really appreciate everyones input and suggestions!

I think I may as well stick with the bedtime regimen, as it’s more practical for my day-to-day routine; granted I’ve only been on the medication 5 days, I will be anxious to see what my lab results are toward the end of February.

I’m not sure how long it takes for the meds to build up in your system, but I can honestly say I feel more alert when I get up out of bed in the mornings since taking the pill. I could definitely tell over the last few weeks I was slowly experiencing hypo symptoms; especially feeling cold, tired and at times unmotivated, like I was dragging a heavy suitcase around with no sleep for 24-hours! I was still able to push myself to stay active and workout, but I could tell I was becoming increasingly sluggish and having that ‘not want to do anything’ feeling throughout the day.

Hopefully, in time, I will be back to feeling like my normal self. Thanks again everyone for your responses…

[adenure]

#1176507

I had a dose change (increase) to 112 mcg from my 100 mcg. My numbers reflected normal hormone levels 2 weeks later, but it took 2 months for me to feel better on it. I think it takes about 6-8 weeks for Synthroid to build up in your system fully.

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