On Thyroxine- how do you manage breakfast?

[hellymelly]

starting the tablets tomorrow and am v.scared as had a bad reaction last time I tried thyroxine. Anyway I'm confused about breakfast- all the leaflet says is "On an empty stomach" but I've read here that you can't have food for an hour (or is it two?) and no dairy products for two hours (or is is three? )
I'm usually starving when I wake up, so how do you manage waiting ages to even have a cup of tea, and then in fact no tea as no dairy? I usually have gluten-free muesli for breakfast, with milk, and a cup of coffee, with milk. Soya milk is out too isn't it? And I can't have oatmilk because its not gluten-free. Am vegetarian too. What can one eat? And how soon after the tablet?
My GP mentioned that some people take their pill at night- is that an option then? (says morning on the leaflet)
Ta!

Another who takes them in the morning and eats probably straight after and certainly I don't avoid dairy. This is news to me but I'm going to find the bits of paper from the boxes in the recycling later and read them proper

You can take it in the morning or in the evening, whichever suits you best, but you MUST take it on an empty stomach, if you want it to be effective.

I take mine as soon as I wake up and wait at least 30 mins. By the time DH was woken up, crawled out of bed and made me a cuppa and it?s cool enough to drink, that?s pretty much it.

A friend on levo has been told by her doctor that she cannot have an increase yet, but must take it on an empty stomach and wait before eating/drinking anything but water, to see first if that improves her levels.

D

Ah ok, realistically it probably is 30mins ish then as I take them when I get up then usually shower and faff around for a bit...

Anither person who didn't realise about the dairy / waiting to eat. Seems to work OK for me...

Another, even

Sorry, not read whole thread. But I take my thyroxine at night now (as can't manage with a wait for my early am caffeine). I lost a huge amount of weight when I started on thyroxine, about a week in (was started on low dose, 50mcgs I think), sweated like a pig and was all fired up. Then it settled down. weight went back too, grr. It is supposed to be on empty stomach, no milk, caffeine etc - mine isn't always though. i am thinking of trying this again, more strictly, as very tired at mo(though i do have other health problems and thyroid function doesn't seem to be a problem now - on 200mcgs per day). A bit of a bore trying to find the right way to do it, but it is worth it as I feel so much better than i did.

There are some good books and websites on Hypothyroidism - can't think of any at mo (lingering brain fog. grr). And tis a shame so few docs seem to have read them as this is so common.

Watch out for high fluoride toothpaste as that blocks more absorption than dairy, ESP those whitening toothpastes.
My dentist warned me about fluoride and levothyroxine and recommend BioRepair or a basic kids 0-3 toothpaste.

I don't eat breakfast the first thing. Wake up, take the pill, then shower and get ready and only then eat.

I googled a study last year which showed that you can take toxin at night - was a better time of day for elderly patients iirc. I take mine with first black coffee of the day, then usually take breakfast to work with me. So prob 2 hours later? Dairy inhibits uptake and soya does too. Good news is that eggs are a good source of selenium which helps body convert t4 to t3. Which is why Brazil nuts are a good mid afternoon snack if you're in a slump...

Thyroxin, not toxin. Gah.

Well this thread has been very interesting for me, I've been taking Thyroxin (currently on 150mcg Levothyroxine) for 27 years (since I was 19). I obviously never bothered reading the litereature cos' I've been taking it when ever I remember at any time of the day or night, with or without food. I would say that this has been successful for me but maybe I wouldn't start craving my bed at 10pm and would miraculously lose a couple of stone if I followed the guidelines!

I have just had my Thyroid removed can you manage without Thyroxin? I have felt wonderful since surgery and wondered if it was worth a go.

Frosty, I'm no expert by any means but I think that having no thyroid and not taking thyroxine would lead to problems: excessive weight gain, sluggishness to say the least. I don't believe that it's desirable and I don't know of any alternative.

I've been taken 150mcg levothyroxine for about 15 years now and I have never been warned about dairy or emoty stomach - or perhaps I din't listen to the doctor...! I have to go for bloods this week so it will be interesting to see if the doc says to up it or reduce as I feel like I am in a fog and could sleep for Britain just now. Does anyone else get really dry flaky skin on the palms of their hands and feet at all with an under active gland? Also I cannot shift weight no matter how much I try and I wonder if its down to the time I take the tablets....

frosty, you had your thyroid removed and your doc didn't talk to you about thyroxine? That's somewhat odd. It takes a while for the body to use up the hormones you still have in your blood, so initially you would be fine, but in case of total thyroidectomy, yes you need the hormones. Otherwise you will have the symptoms of a massively hypo person, not pleasant.
Why would you even want to manage without?

I have to say though that I'm a bit jealous of some dosages mentioned here, 150, 200 even..I'm on 125 but the thing is that I'm not just hypo, but also had my thyroid removed, so no natural hormone any more. Have been starving myself and working out like a madwoman, but not losing any weight, so I'm convinced that 125 is not enough, but the doc said that my initial dose of 100 was just a bit low, wants to increase it slowly, next check in a month..I'm a size of an elephant already

Yes doc did mention it, its just that I am now on week four without it and feel super. I live in cyprus and they willl not put me on medication until they have the biopsy reports back.

It was just that I heard of somebody recently who had theirs removed and because it had not been working for so long their body had got used to being without it so they have not taken any medication since.

I've been on thyroxine for years too & never heard about avoiding dairy.

I did once hear about not eating for a bit afterwards so I take it when I get up to let the dog out for a wee, then by the time I'm dressed etc I reckon enough time has passed.

Ferris, I get the dry flaky palms too & trouble shifting the extra weight, think it would still be there if I ate nothing but fresh air!

I think it is the calcium which affects absorbtion, but my theory is that if your bloods are stable on whatever level you are on with your usual routine taking them whenever I remember then that reflects how much is in your system. Then again I have been on a madly low dose (75mcg), for 5 years with a short spell on 100 when pg, so not sure if it makes much difference certainly not to my weight . Interesting about the flouride though.

I have been on thyroxine for 7 years and have never been told to take at a particular time or on an empty stomach. I am currently on 112.5 (100 one day and 125 the next), but my TSH is now too high so dropping back to 100. I will try the no food thing and see if it stabilises.....

Been on thyroxine for 18 yrs. never read anything about it. Eat it whenever I remember. Don't see how it can instantly make u hyper since it takes weeks to build up in your system. Think too much analysis is a dangerous thing. Currently on replacement dose of 225 mcg/day and feel totally ship shape. Think some posters should just chill out and forget about it, they are(hypo and hyper thyroidism) a minor thing that shouldn't have that big an impact pn your life(unless thyroid was removed due to cancer in which case you have a right to be a tad uptight)Have sometimes forgotten to take for over a week- neither up not down. Family riddled with thyroid abnormality and no-one ever died of anything related to it. so.....relax!

I take mine first thing and wait half an hour.
I have a new routine which involves doing useful things before coffee, like dw, and putting washing in.
I found it very hard to wait for my coffee at first. It is very difficult remembering to pop a pill the minute you wake up. I keep mine by my bed, and try it do it when I very first stir. No toothpaste for half an hour either.
Found my energy levels and mood have dramatically improved since taking 100mcg a day. Have Hashimoto's, which is auto-immune thryoid disorder, only recently diagnosed.

Other suggestion is to take it last thing, but I found then any snacks later than 8pm impacted on bedtime. But that was an incentive to stay off the

Stickle mine was too high too, for a short time,so I dropped back to 50mcg at weekends; I noticed I became very emotional when it was too high, just as I had been too emotional when it was low. It is quite an art to get it just right.

And I've been able to lose lots of weight since I've been on the pills, possibly just to do with having energy to exercise, and willpower to resist, rather than any metabolic change.

stickle, I think you got something mixed up. TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone and if this is too high then it means your thyroid hormone levels are actually too low, and you need to take more thyroxine, not less.

I have the auto immune type. Don't know why I had a fairly instant reaction to the meds when I first tried them three years ago- but the day of the second dose I felt faint, weak, as though I was about to collapse, and couldn't sleep at all. Took a few days (after stopping the meds) to feel back to how I had been. My Doctor thinks it could have been the T3 as I was taking Armour (Amour? ) thyroid extract, it contains a range of hormones not just T4. I am now trying the levothyroxine. Have 25mg tablets but am taking half a day (could do one every other day) as I want to go very gently having had such a scary reaction last time.