thyroid help

[sarahlou1983]

i need help .....any underactive thyroid sufferers out there....ive always wondered how long you should wait before eating after taking your tablet...ive heard from alot of people that 1 hr is sufficiant,but i know someone whos doctor is a thyroid specialist and she says half an hour is ok

[Darwin73]

Hi sarahlou, I have been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and my tablets (levothyroxine) simply say 'take with water before food'. My doctor didn't give me any advice at all, but from what I've read, the best time to take them seems to be mid morning.

[sarahlou1983]

so you take them after your food

[Darwin73]

Well, I have my breakfast early (7am), so I class my stomach as being empty again by 10.00:)

---------- Post added at 20:01 ---------- Previous post was at 19:59 ----------

The problem for me is I am also on iron tablets which I am supposed to take twice a day and they have an effect on the thyroxine so I am not supposed to take them within 2 hrs of the thyroid tablets, which is all a bit annoying to work out!

[Geoff2301]

I don't honestly think it makes a scrap of difference when you take it...... as long as you take it every 24 hours. I've been on thyroxine for a few years and even if I forget to take it one day, I don't notice any difference!

[Darwin73]

Goeff, how long did it take before you felt the tablets start working? I've been on them a month now but have noticed no difference yet.

[countrygirl]

I am the one who was an advisor for a thryoid info charity so this is what I used to tell people.

It is best to take your tablet with water at least half an hour before breakfast first thing in the morning. Taking it later in the day say late afternoon or evening can cause insomnia but like drining strong coffee before bed.

If you have just been diagnosed then you should have another thyroid blood test 6-8 weeks after starting the tablets to check your levels. Usually you start off with a small dose that is increased until you get a normal blood result so you may not yet be taking the correct dose. It takes at least 5 weeks for the dose to kick in and affect the readings anyway so if you have only been on them a couple of weeks you will not see any effects yet.

Once your blood tests show you are in the normal range then please have tests every 6 months not the year that Drs recommend as alot can change in a year or even in 6 months.

[sarahlou1983]

thank you for putting my mind at rest country girl

[Geoff2301]

Goeff, how long did it take before you felt the tablets start working? I've been on them a month now but have noticed no difference yet.
My underactive thyroid was picked up on a routine health check........ am on 75mg.......... never felt any different taking it.

[countrygirl]

Snap - mine was picked up 22 yrs ago and sadly taking the thyroxine did not make me lose weight or feel full of energy, I think unless you have had an underactive thryoid for many many years untreated and the effects of this are really kicking in then we do not notice much difference.

Historically before thyroxine was available (synthetic or from pigs) people could live for 20 or 30 years with hypothyroidism, they ended up in lunatic asylums looking hugely fat with round bloated faces and totally blank eyes with little hair on their body. I was taught this in my advisor training including seeing the photos it was fascinating.

So we can all, like diabetics be very very glad we were not born before 1900!

[Darwin73]

I was prompted to go to my doc because I was having several symptoms of underactive thyroid (have previously had graves disease so was told thyroid was likely to become underactive in the future). I am still so cold and lethargic all the time (plus slow heart rate), but have only been put on 50mg per day.

[cathycrumble]

I had graves and I am now underactive as I had 2 radio active iodine drinks within 6 months of each other. that was 15 years ago I now take 75mcg of thyroxine but for the last 14 half years i took 100mcg. last xmas it went slightly overactive as I had a lot of stress and I lost a bit of weight. So gp put me on the 75mcg now I have put a few pounds on lol. Not much though wouldn't let that happen.

I honestly think thyroid illness is related to making people have anxiety probs. especially if it goes a bit off lol

Cathy xx

[sarahlou1983]

exactly!!!!!!!! i feel absolutly awful at the moment ......i feel that my thyroid is being overactive ......Im going to ring my doctors tommorrow and ask for the results .Im praying i have to reduce my dose

---------- Post added at 21:30 ---------- Previous post was at 21:25 ----------

my dad believes that thyroid medication can not cause sickness and i get SO ANGRY at him ,he has no idea as hes not taking the damn things ......,The way people write it off as a "complaint"....

i hate taking this stuff.its evil :(