thyroid meds and breakfast

Meep

In theory, yes, in practice, that is hard to tell. My advice is that you should avoid calcium rich foods for 4-8 hours before or after meds, if you are swallowing the pills or 30 minutes to an hour if you are dissolving them under your tongue.

If you are dissloving them under your tongue, dont' brush your teeth within an hour of taking the meds, as Calcium Carbonate is a major ingredient of all toothpastes that I know of, and may interfere, too, though this wouldnt' apply if you swallow the pills.

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Danny

I am not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV...

curlyroller

that really puts a damper on the easiest breakfasts in the world, doesnt it? no cereal, no yogurt, no cottage cheese, no cream cheese. arg!! one of the many life changes i'll have to make.

i decided not to dissolve. it takes too long, and at this point, i'd rather go with what's easiest. of course, given the food issue, it might be better to dissolve. nothing's easy anymore.

Concerned Male

Why wouldn't you be able to eat cereal? Is it a certain type of cereal with a lot of calcium in it?

How about mozarella chese on pizza and meats that have iron in them?

curlyroller

well, but the milk has calcium, and the cheese on the pizza would have it too!

LynnHan

Oh...I ran into MAJOR problems being UNAWARE of what calcium would do to the absorption of my thyroid meds...and OH MAN ~ did I learn the HARD WAY! I was taking a calcium suppliment just before I went to bed for a whole month or more...and day by day I was going down hill. Until I went looking for "why" and I read about what calcium does!

Here I was thinking I was doing "GOOD" for myself getting added Calcium like they tell us woman too...and it really effected me bad. Once I quit it, my thyroid meds kicked back in and I was OK? Lesson was learned.

Is it better to dissolve under the tongue? OR is it only for certain thyroid meds? I've not heard of this before. I take synthroid.

Meep

AS long as you take your meds at least 4 and preferably 8 hours from when you take your Calcium, it shouldnt be a problem to take calcium.

I dissolve my Armour and my Unithroid under my tongue, so I have to worry less about when and what I eat. Synthroid also dissolves well, and it shouldn't be a problem to take it that way.

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Danny

I am not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV...

LynnHan

Thanks for your reply Meep. I was taking my calcium at night before I went to sleep, and I take my thyroid med in the morning. I guess, untill I see someone about this that is informative and helpful (Dr.) I'm just going to take a pass on the added calcium supplement. I get some in a multivitamin I take, so I get "some"...but I won't put myself through THAT experience again. Thank you for your advice, none the less.

I will also give that a try in taking my thyroid medicine tomorrow. I don't mind the taste of synthroid, it's rather sweet I think. Thanks! Lynn

nornie

I'd be interested in trying this. Can you explain why dissolving under the tongue works differently than swallowing?

Thanks much
Nornie

JustKoz

I'm new to this... How important is an empty stomach? Now I'm worried if it's not completely empty? Is that OK?

And is it supposed to always be at the same time? I'm having trouble finding a routine. I have to have breakfast, or I can't function. So, I usually take my medicine at night. I will make sure I don't eat two hours before taking it. But, on two nights a week I have school and can't eat dinner until 9 p.m. So, I can't wait two hours after eating. those days, i usually take it before school. Is it OK to have this variance in time of when I take my medicine?

LynnHan

I did this "under the tongue" this morning....and it wasn't a big deal...as I said, synthroid tastes sweet...and it dissolves rather fast.

I too am interested in how it helps absorb it faster? That's what I'm assuming the benefit of it is?

JustKos,

What I do is take it right as soon as I wake up. Now it's automatic. I take water to bed usually the night before anyways....and I just take it before I even GO anywhere! Perhaps this would be good for you IF you then shower and get dressed for the day, and perhaps enough time will have passed before you eat your breakfast. I've never waited 2 full hours....but I do take it on an empty stomach and give it some time.

Hope this helps?

Lynn

JustKoz

Thanks for the reply!
I am too fast in the mornings! Up, showered, dressed, ready and fed in 20 minutes, tops. lol. Maybe I should start taking it everyday before I leave work. We have a long commute, so I'm guaranteed enough time on all days. But I'm sure I'll forget. Hm... complicated!

Bellajoon

I just had to address the calcium issue. It is essential that women get their daily allowance of calcium. I know I read somewhere that thyroid disease patients really need calcium because of the increased chance of the thinning of bone. Maybe someone else can also address this cause I can't remember what it was that I read. I take my calcium at dinnertime and make sure I eat yogurt and cheese.

Meep

When you dissolve it under your tongue, the greater portion of the thyroid hormone in the pill is absorbed directly into your blood by the capillaries under the tongue. Since the hormone is more direcly absorbed, it doesn't have to compete with food and other things in your stomach to make it into the bloodstream where it is useful. Since it doesn't have to compete with the stuff in your stomach, it makes less difference what and when you eat.

To be safe, I like to allow at least 30 minutes before or after I eat and at least that amount of time before or after brushing my teeth due to the high calcium content of toothpaste. Other than that, I have found it to be MUCH easier than having to work around my meal schedule, which is sporadic at times.

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Danny

I am not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV...

JustKoz

Thanks, Meep. I might have to try that. Hope the taste isn't horrible!