Best Way To Include Thyroid Meds In Diet

[max9505672]

Hi!

I've been prescribed a small dose of Synthroid and I've been told that I should take it at least 2 hours before I eat my first meal. The thing is 2 hours is pretty long... I'm already hungry when I wake up in the morning so waiting 2 more hours before I eat doesn't seem optimal and kind of puts a additional stress on my body.

Any advice/opinion on the best time to take thyroid meds?

Max

 

[sweetpeat]

I agree that 2 hours is a long time wait for breakfast. I use a similar product (mine's generic), and I find it works just fine taking it with a meal. Everyone's different of course, so you could experiment with timing. I've read that many people find they sleep better if they take it at bedtime or even sometime earlier in the evening. Forum member marsaday has shared quite a bit about how he uses t4 so you might look for some of his posts.

I think what's going to affect your thyroid status more than timing is your high estrogen (I'm basing this on your other post where you shared lab work). It could be what's blocking output from your thyroid gland, as well as blocking conversion of t4 to t3. So it's a double whammy. This will also affect how well your body can utilize the Synthroid.

There are lots of posts here about decreasing estrogen, but you could start with something as simple as the carrot salad Peat recommends. It's cheap and easy to try (as long as you don't have a problem with carrots). I think it's also important to keep your bowels moving along and the carrot can help with that too. If you tend toward constipation at all, the estrogen doesn't get eliminated as efficiently but instead keeps getting sort of recycled back into the body, clogging up the liver and slowing down metabolism.

 

[marsaday]

Standard practise is to take the thyroid meds in the morning before eating.

A much better way of dosing is to take the meds at bedtime or 3-4h's before normal sleep. This better replicates when we produce our thyroid hormones (in the first part of the nights sleep).

I find it much better if i take my T4 at bedtime or 4h's before sleep.

Some people put on weight when taking T4 and Dr Blanchard reckons this is due to the T4 switching on hormones in the stomach which stimulates hunger. So all his patients who have this problem take the T4 at evening meal time. The weight issue is not a problem after this.

Best practise is to mess around with the timings and see what suits you.

 

[max9505672]

I agree that 2 hours is a long time wait for breakfast. I use a similar product (mine's generic), and I find it works just fine taking it with a meal. Everyone's different of course, so you could experiment with timing. I've read that many people find they sleep better if they take it at bedtime or even sometime earlier in the evening. Forum member marsaday has shared quite a bit about how he uses t4 so you might look for some of his posts.

I think what's going to affect your thyroid status more than timing is your high estrogen (I'm basing this on your other post where you shared lab work). It could be what's blocking output from your thyroid gland, as well as blocking conversion of t4 to t3. So it's a double whammy. This will also affect how well your body can utilize the Synthroid.

There are lots of posts here about decreasing estrogen, but you could start with something as simple as the carrot salad Peat recommends. It's cheap and easy to try (as long as you don't have a problem with carrots). I think it's also important to keep your bowels moving along and the carrot can help with that too. If you tend toward constipation at all, the estrogen doesn't get eliminated as efficiently but instead keeps getting sort of recycled back into the body, clogging up the liver and slowing down metabolism.

Thanks for your answer!

I think I'll try to take it before going to sleep, it fits my schedule better.

Also, I've started the daily carrot salad (with balsamic vinegar and salt) about 2 weeks ago. Hopefully this will have a positive effect on my estrogen levels. Next blood test in about 2 weeks, I'll update here!

I don't think I tend toward constipation, but it could be a good idea to monitor how frequently I go to the bathroom.

 

[max9505672]

Standard practise is to take the thyroid meds in the morning before eating.

A much better way of dosing is to take the meds at bedtime or 3-4h's before normal sleep. This better replicates when we produce our thyroid hormones (in the first part of the nights sleep).

I find it much better if i take my T4 at bedtime or 4h's before sleep.

Some people put on weight when taking T4 and Dr Blanchard reckons this is due to the T4 switching on hormones in the stomach which stimulates hunger. So all his patients who have this problem take the T4 at evening meal time. The weight issue is not a problem after this.

Best practise is to mess around with the timings and see what suits you.

Thanks for the advice! I'll try to take the meds at bedtime since it fits my schedule a lot better. I'll make sure I don't have an issue falling asleep.

 

[marsaday]

If you are on T4 this should be fine. It actually helps a lot of people fall asleep, so try using it at actual sleep time and also a few hours before to see if you prefer one over the other.

If using T3 as well you should take this in the morning, but take the T4 at bedtime.

You can also split the T4 doses a bit as some people do better on a split dose (i do, but take 150 T4). If on a little dose it might not be worth it.

The main message about using thyroid hormones is the timing and dosing schedule can have a big impact on how effective the hormone works. Trial and error is the best way forward.

Let us know if bedtime dosing helps, or generally what works. Feedback is always good

 

[max9505672]

If you are on T4 this should be fine. It actually helps a lot of people fall asleep, so try using it at actual sleep time and also a few hours before to see if you prefer one over the other.

If using T3 as well you should take this in the morning, but take the T4 at bedtime.

You can also split the T4 doses a bit as some people do better on a split dose (i do, but take 150 T4). If on a little dose it might not be worth it.

The main message about using thyroid hormones is the timing and dosing schedule can have a big impact on how effective the hormone works. Trial and error is the best way forward.

Let us know if bedtime dosing helps, or generally what works. Feedback is always good

I'm on Synthroid wich is Levothyroxine here in Canada, so yes, it's T4.

I'm currently at only 0.05mg/day which is not alot, so might not be worth it to split for now. Depending on next blood tests, I might have to take more and I'll evaluate the option of splitting.

As for now, I've been taking it for about 5 weeks. I didn't notice any major change yet (maybe a little less anxiety, but I'm not sure if it's related to the meds or other lifestyle changes). Maybe the change in shedule will help!

I'll give feedback!