Discussions that mention synthroid

Hi Bmd,

For those of us on thyroid hormone replacement like Synthroid or Levoxyl, we are supposed to wait 4 hrs. after taking iron supplements, before taking the thyroid med.

If you take your thyroid meds first thing in the a.m. on an empty stomach with a lot of water, give it an hour or so before taking the vitamin with iron.

If the iron-containing supplement is taken first thing, you might have to wait til close to lunch to take the T4, to be sure you're getting all you can out of the med.

Some people on the board here take their meds when they get up in the night, and then I suppose they're ready for whatever in the morning. Not a bad plan if it works for you.

I haven't heard anything specific about iron being bad for thyroid sufferers. Certainly, if one is anemic, as some hypothyroid individuals are, iron supplements might be a fact of life to work around. Occasionally you will hear of people who are at risk for iron overload, which might also be a concern, but not, as far as I know, one that is linked to thyroid disorder.

Best wishes.

I've been taking my synthroid tablets at night, before going to sleep. I was never told to take it with alot of water. Does anyone know if it makes a difference? Also, I do take it with lipitor. I'm now wondering if that might also present a problem. What would the advantage be of taking the pill when one wakes up during the night...............what if one can't count on always waking up?

Would appreciate any feed-back.
Thanks,
Betsy

My pharmacist said that this type of medication works best on an empty stomach first thing in the morning with plenty of water. I keep a glass of water on my nightstand and I take the pill first thing in the morning even before my feet hit the ground. You should wait to eat for one hour after taking the medication. So I do everything else I need to do in the morning (shower, get dressed, feed the baby, make coffee) by the time I am done one hour has passed and I can have my breakfast.

I don't take my calcium supplement until noon, my endo stressed the fact that I should take those at lunch and dinner to make sure they are spaced out and don't affect the thyroid meds. I also take a super-duper multivitamin at lunch. :)

Could you take your Lipitor at night and take your Synthroid in the morning?

Lyse
p.s. I'm not sure if this is the reason, but I notice that the thyroid meds disolve quickly if I put it in my mouth and don't swallow it with water right away, maybe that is why you need to take it with a lot of water.

The advice to take selenium (100mcg) is right on. I was on a hypo rollercoaster until I beefed up my selenium intake. My multivitamin was providing some but I added 100mcg per day and 3 or 4 days after starting it the ups and downs were gone! I've now had 4 nap-free days in a row!

I've still got the hair-falling-out thing going and have been retaining fluid but at least I can make it through the day without a hypo crash.

Be careful, though. Selenium can be toxic when you take too much for long periods. I've seen recommended doses on here ranging from 100-200 mcg but I'm happy at the low end of the range, a dose that provides about 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance. Also, take it with vitamin E.

One more thing--about the time I added the selenium I started waiting for several hours after taking my Synthroid to eat and take my vitamins and supplements. Even though the instructions say to wait at least 30 minutes I believe a longer wait helps.