If you drink coffee or tea and take Vit D/ iron/ B12 or thyroid meds can you share your schedule?

[Terrifiedofwastingmylife]

I'm almost in tears (of frustration, not sadness) trying to figure out how i can take thyroid medication and all my supplements. And still have coffee and tea in the mornings and afternoons?

My head is so fucking foggy. I have low ferritin, folate and B12 and borderline vit D.

I take my thyroid meds first thing, so 6am on a work day, and then drink my first cup of coffee half an hour later.

I just take the vitamin D after dinner as supposed to be taken with some form of dietary fat, and so far so good it seems to be lifting my levels at a modest pace.

Think I will start injecting the B12 as one less thing to worry about?

But where can I fit in the folate, and then some sort of iron to raise my ferritin? Can't remember (aforementioned foggy brain) all the rules but pretty sure these are best taken on empty stomach - but not within 4 hours of thyroid medication?

Then Jesus Christ I know some people will just suggest giving up coffee and tea but I'm just not able to do this. Hot drinks that taste nice are so comforting to me. I mainly stick to herbal teas after 5pm but earlier in the day I need plenty of tea, obviously I'm going to have to change it up a bit but dread more restrictions.

What is your schedule if you are low in these and supplementing?

125mcg Levothyroxine with small cup of weak tea, first thing

BP meds, statin, Vit D, Vit C, about 45 minutes later with breakfast & strong latte

One cup of tea and one coffee, sometime later in the day

I have annual blood tests at the GP's; just had this done and all is well, so presumably everything is being satisfactorily absorbed.

OP I hope you get sorted out and can feel better soon.

I drink 2 spatone sachets not the vit c ones, the plain ones, before I brush my teeth in the morning. I wait an hour before having coffee with milk. Sometimes I take iron in the evening if my dinner had no dairy and I don't have caffeine past 6pm anyway.

Try switching to drinks without caffeine after lunchtime, not only will it help with your scheduling issues, but it should improve your sleep thus your fatigue. I found past about 30 my body cannot metabolise caffeine easily resulting in all the symptoms you describe, I'm on annual thyroid tests as mine is borderline (family history) no meds yet. Redbush tea is a game changer for me

I just take mine all together on a morning after my coffee. Should have I not be doing that?!!!

I take my thyroid meds at 6.15 in the morning to allow time for absorption before breakfast. I set an alarm and just go back to sleep afterwards.

I'm in the US and nobody has ever told me not to drink tea or coffee with any medication. I take thyroxine and a couple of blood pressure meds maybe 30 minutes after my first cup of tea.

I take my thyroid meds when I get up, at 7, then usually wait at least an hour before drinking tea (I usually do my workout and have a shower in this time, or do housework as if I sit down I'll want a cup of tea straight away). When I was taking iron as well I took that late afternoon, after I stopped drinking normal tea (I have herbal tea in the evenings) or evening. Iron is definitely more of a pain to plan around as you have to avoid tea and dairy and there's not many hours in the day that I'm not consuming either tea or dairy (cheese)!

My dad sets an alarm an hour before he usually gets up and takes his thyroid meds then (keeps them by the bed with a bottle of water) then snoozes for another hour until his normal alarm goes off.

For everyone who sets early alarms, etc., there's some research that indicates thyroxine is best absorbed at overnight, which might be worth having a look at if you're feeling like you're struggling at all.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/776486

I’m wondering this too, I just take all mine just before getting into bed with a cup of tea!

I only have iron every second day (have raised my ferritin from 16-70 in three months this way).

I take it with a vitamin C tablet when my alarm goes off at 4.30am so that I can drink my coffee at 6.30am.

@Glame iron is restricted by the polyphenols in tea and coffee (it's nothing to do with caffeine so even decaf has the same effect).

You are perhaps overthinking it all, OP!
I’m a retired doctor, and I have swallowed my thyroxine tablet and my vitamin D tablet with a cup of coffee, accompanied by my porridge and berries, every morning for the last thirty years. My annual blood check is always fine.

The best way to get iron is through diet.

Eat more red meat.

Lucky you.
us mere mortals who fail to absorb enough iron through diet have to occasional rely on tablets to boost us. Or risk neurological damage and heart failure.

fyi it is not poor diet but part of the physiology of having a poorly functioning thyroid.

Yep same and being a vegetarian 😂

Terrible combo but I'm so bad with absorbing iron I feel the veggie aspect doesn't make much difference!

Coffee hinders your absorption of iron...so dont take it when you had coffee. I would also check about drinking all that tea, as it might do the same as coffee. I think herbal is fine.

I take my thyroid meds and vit D before bed (have no caffeine after 2pm) and floradix (iron) in mornings.

I take my Levo at night as I'm going to bed.
Vit D and Methylfolate with dinner.
Iron was a struggle (low ferritin) so I had an infusion but was advised 1 ferrous fumarate per day if I needed it again - taken an hour before lunch with orange juice (or I used to have a clementine - basically Vit C).

@Flossiemoss unfortunately people with autoimmune disease often don't absorb enough vitamins through diet

@Flossiemoss sorry that was for @Aphrathestorm !

I take my levo when i get out of bed. Have coffee 15 mins later. Never had problems with it, quite stable over the years.
At night i take my vitamine D and calcium. I was told the calcium should be 4 hours apart from the levo.

Yep very true. Assume from your username you are a Hashi's person (as am I). I found my absorption of, well, anything was very poor. Have had to boost stomach acid and that's helped.

I take my levothyroxine (75mg as still finding right dose) last thing at night as told to by my doctor. Vitamin d around 11am so after breakfast but before lunch

That’s very interesting!

I feel like I’m being hit with a sledge hammer on thyroxine whereas on thyronine I felt normal! I did query that surely your thyroid doesn’t make hormones that are unnecessary but cubsumtabt wouldn’t be swayed.

That is interesting, I want to try taking it at bedtime now, though I worry I'll forget because its so ingrained in my morning routine. I drink herbal tea until bedtime, is that an issue or does that not count as not having an empty stomach?