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!

Are you in the states? Don't think you can get armour in the UK? The difference is that the armour gives you t3 which is the freely available thyroid hormone - the thyroxine gives you t4, which the body then converts itself to t3.

So don't look for a rapid reaction this time :-)

I've got the auto immune one myself and only know so much as my thyroid was still goingdownhill when I started the thyroxine, so having got down to a tsh of just over 2 after 6 months, it then went back up to 5.5. Which meant even the receptionist giving me the result said 'are you sure you're taking it every day' leading to much suppressed rage and googling...

No I'm not in the States, I saw a private Doctor who prescribed it.
There is so much conflicting info, my private doc says one thing, my GP another, both my thyroid books something else and I've read good posts on here with yet more conflicting information about treatment. That drives me slightly nuts as I want to know "the facts" and act on them, but it seems almost as though there are just opinions and that is much harder to make sense of.

I guess take it slow with the thyroxine and see how your tsh responds. Once you've been hypo, you should aim for a tsh under 2 - you can still feel rubbish at a 'normal' 2 to 5. And re breakfast - almond milk? I don't do dairy free myself (just wait longer) but have df friends and it's the most palatable milk substitute I've ever tried

Almond milk is a good idea. I don't think you have to avoid dairy all day (or am I wrong?) just near to taking the pill. I've been waking at about 6 for some reason, so I've been getting up to take it then, and going back to bed for a bit, having my breakfast at 8ish. I do feel slightly strange, like an exhausted person who has drunk a lot of black coffee, somehow wiped out but wired. The dose I'm on is tiny though.

I don't avoid dairy, just leave a couple of hours till breakfast if I'm having yoghurt. Re the tired and wired, that was me last year. Couldn't sleep more than 6 hours 20 no matter what. And yes, it was that precise :-D

Since about march my levels have been under 1 and I can sleep properly again. One of the GPs at the surgery had previously had hypo thyroid and didn't believe me when I said I actually had trouble sleeping as his manifested with falling asleep during the day

What I am wondering is: does a higher dose but reduced absorption (due to breakfast habits) = a lower dose with better absorption?

My levels are good and I feel well on my high dose despite taking the tablets with breakfast - I wonder is there any advantage to switching?

Can't think of an advantage - if it's working for you right now fgs don't risk it all going wrong!

I am on 200 mcg or is it mg?? i never remember! Anyways I take it at bed time otherwise I forget. I suppose that's an emptyish stomach cos i do not eat after supper.

leonie-do you feel well on the armour? Had you tried the levo at any point? Everything I read suggests that armour is better, but because of how I felt on it last time, even though I only took it for a few days, I am scared of it and so going with the levo. My levels when I tried it weren't as low as they have been in the past few months though, at the time my TSH was about 6.

thewonderfulfanny- that's interesting, I am so exhausted, but then I find it hard to get to sleep as I feel so wired. it is horrible!

Good point Wondefulfanny !

Oh Gawd, I don't want to get worse! My hair has fallen out a bit-voice ok but I sing so if it went haywire that would be terrible. Also the never feeling well really bothers me- is this it then? Will I feel shitty forever now? I had hopes of getting my old self back, is that totally unrealistic?

DH is on levo and, as far as I can tell, is generally 100%!

Leonie have they checked there isn't anything else affecting you? For example a friend of mine never felt right on thyroxine, then they diagnosed her with chronic fatigue syndrome, and she's getting a lot better.
Hellymelly, I think only one poster has said she didn't feel 100% on thyroxine, you do seem to be worrying a bit unnecessarily!

Well maybe I am worrying unnecessarily, but that's because my Mum has never been well on thyroxine and my best friend isn't completely well either. So when i think of how my Mum is, and how she was most of my childhood, I feel sad and frightened. Also I am starting to feel rather horrible now, more exhausted, particularly on waking, but increasingly wired and anxious, feeling full of adrenalin and crying at anything. I feel miserable and worried.

My doctor has never said anything about waiting to eat after taking levothyroxine. I'm going to try this though as a don't feel anything like well. My levels are supposedly ok but I still lack energy, feel depressed and continue to put weight on. My dr was always great till I was diagnosed with this but since then I get the feeling he thinks I just make a fuss over nothing.

I do think (but no medical expert, just my opinion) that people who don't feel well on it may be on wrong dosage. Some doctors are content as soon as you hit the normal range, but I know for me I have to have a T4 of around 20 to feel good.
Hellymelly would your GP refer you to the endocrine clinic if you think you're having a bad reaction to the thyroxine?