Re: Thyroxine trial... what to expect?

[Guest guest]

Hi

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Regarding starting thyroxine, everyone is different in how they respond to

thyroxine, some do well on it, some don't and some do well initially only to

find their symptoms return after time.

It might be a good idea when you start on the thyroxine to jot down in a

notebook at the end of the day how you feel, and what your symptoms, if any,

are. Then after a month you can look back through and see if anything has

changed. It would probably be best to take the thyroxine at night as it's not

advisable to take thyroid meds at the same time as iron. You can then continue

to take your iron at breakfast with your other supplements.

Lastly, do you have any symptoms of adrenal fatigue? If your adrenals are

compromised, which they might well be if you have thyroid issues, they should

ideally be treated PRIOR to taking any thyroid meds. There is lots of

information, including a questionnaire in the " Files " section here regarding

adrenals.

Hope this helps, and good luck..... Gill

>

> I saw a Dr here in Brunei today and explained all my symptoms, the family

history of hypo, and showed the blood tests results from December (among them

ferritin 58; B12- 219 (ref range 185 +); Free T4 13.5 (9-25); Free T3- 4.2 (3.5

- 6.5)). > Thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello ,

Congratulations – given what we usually have to put up with, this IS a step in the right direction. Well done you !

So.... can anyone tell me what's a reasonable expectation over the course of a month in terms of improvement in symptoms,

I hate to tell you this.... but very little. 25 mcg Levothyroxine is a baby dose. You probably won't feel any major improvement until you have exceeded 100 mcg Levo, but 25 mcg is a start and you should feel a little better all along the way! If Levo suited you, you should feel some improvement after a few weeks on it, even on a low dose.

and any potential side effects?There should be none.... last famous words, but I honestly don't think that there will be any, unless you react to any of the fillers in Levo, which is possible, but rare. There is, however, always the risk that you might not be converting T4 (levothyoxine) into T3 (the active hormone)... still, let's be optimistic. About 80 % of people do convert and feel all right on Levothyroxine.

Also, is there anything I shouldn't take with them?

Yes – take some Vit C and 200 iu of Selenium in addition. That helps the adrenals and with the utilization of thyroid hormone.

Am I ok to continue with all the vits and the high iron I am taking, all at the same time every day?

Just make sure you take the iron at opposite ends to Levothyroxine and do take at least 500, better 1000 mg of Vit C with it to avoid constipation.

She said I should take the Thyroxine 1/2 hr before breakfast, which is when i currently take the iron, with the rest of the supplements following with brekky - is this all ok?I would prefer a 1 hour wait to half an hour... thyroxine binds with iron and calcium and that can reduce its efficiency by up to 40%. Breakfast often has calcium and iron in it, so I'd leave it for one hour just to be on the safe side.

I feel on the one hand today was a major result but on the other hand I am left feeling very anxious, so any info will be great reassurance

Rightly so – you have been put on a trial of Levo and that is a great result... you are half way there.

May I just add something else.... you said you do feel apprehensive about taking pills every day.... please do not look upon thyroid hormones as "drugs" . Thyroid hormone is not a "drug" in the conventional sense, it is a hormone that you have to replace, because your own body is no longer able to produce it in sufficient amounts. Thyroid hormone is something your body needs to stay alive and well. Although it may take many years, decades even, to die from a lack of thyroid hormone, Hypothyroidism is nonetheless a killer.... and an unassuming one as such. A lack of thyroid hormone will lower immunity and open the flood gates and invite other illnesses in like cancers, heart disease, diabetes, infections... you name it - and on the death certificate you will not find "untreated hypothyroidism"- you will find diagnoses of diseases that could easily have been prevented in the first place.

Here's to hoping that this is the beginning of a better life for you !! A small beginning, but a significant one - and please let us know how you are getting on.

With best wishes,

[Guest guest]

, Thanks so much for your reassuring words!! I hadn't thought of

Thyroxine in that way and I do feel better about trying it now! I'm living in

Brunei where it's hard to get hol dof decent supplements and ilegal to order

them online - all packages have to be collected from the P.O. where customs

officers open them in front of you and confiscate anything 'suspicious', so I

doubt if I'll manaage to get hold of Selenium till I holiday in Aus in June.

Vit C I have in high doses, though, so that's ok.

Breakfast is my only routinely timed meal, so if I take the thyroxine an hour

before that, and then take my other supplements at midday or whenever I eat,

then the iron before my evening meal, would that be ok? The pharmacist said I

had to take the Thyroxine in the morning and it had to be on an empty stomach...

getting up an hour before brekky is not something i will look forward to, btu I

can if I have to! It would be easier for me to take it on an empty stomach

before I go to bed - do you know if there is any reason why it has to be

morning?

Thanks again for your encouraging email!

>

> Yes – take some Vit C and 200 iu of Selenium in addition. That helps

> the adrenals and with the utilization of thyroid hormone.

>

> Am I ok to continue with all the vits and the high iron I am taking,all at

the same time every day?

>

> Just make sure you take the iron at opposite ends to Levothyroxine and do take

at least 500, better 1000 mg of Vit C with it to avoid

> constipation.

> I would prefer a 1 hour wait to half an hour... thyroxine binds with

> iron and calcium and that can reduce its efficiency by up to 40%.

> Breakfast often has calcium and iron in it, so I'd leave it for one

> hour just to be on the safe side.

>

> May I just add something else.... you said you do feel apprehensive

> about taking pills every day.... please do not look upon thyroid

> hormones as " drugs " . Thyroid hormone is not a " drug " in

> the conventional sense, it is a hormone that you have to replace,

> because your own body is no longer able to produce it in sufficient

> amounts.

[Guest guest]

Hi Gill, thanks for replying! Unfortunately i acnnot get anything by mailorder

as all packages here in Brunei have to be collected from the P.O. and opened in

front of Customs officers who confiscate anything that looks like a pill or

supplement, even if it's only a vitamin... crazy but that's how it is! I will

be on holiday in Aus in June so I will be doing a major shop of 'contraband'

then! (Much easier to bring in in a case than by mail).

Re timing - the pharmacist specified that I should take the thyroxine before

breakfast ( " thyroid things better in morning " was the phrase!)- you suggest at

night which would suit me far better so i can stick with my current routine. Do

you know if there is any reason why it would make a difference taking it at

night or in the morning?

Thanks again!

>

It would probably be best to take the thyroxine at night as it's not advisable

to take thyroid meds at the same time as iron. You can then continue to take

your iron at breakfast with your other supplements.

[Guest guest]

Hi

, your doctor should get up to date. It is recommended that you take

L-thyroxine at night, when you go to bed and trials have shown patients sleep

better, and wake up feeling much better in a morning. Show her the following

and help in her re-education so she in turn can help her other patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17201800

CONCLUSIONS: L-thyroxine taken at bedtime by

patients with primary hypothyroidism is associated with higher thyroid hormone

concentrations and lower TSH concentrations compared to the same l-thyroxine

dose taken in the morning. At the same time, the circadian TSH rhythm stays

intact. Our findings are best explained by a better gastrointestinal uptake of

l-thyroxine during the night.

http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroiddrugstreatments/a/bedtime.htm

But two important studies -- a 2007 study

published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology, and a follow-up larger

randomized trial reported in the December 2010 issue of the Archives of

Internal Medicine -- have found that taking the same dose of levothyroxine

(i.e., Synthroid) at bedtime, as compared to first thing in the morning, may be

better.

Luv - Sheila

Re timing - the pharmacist specified that I should take the thyroxine before

breakfast ( " thyroid things better in morning " was the phrase!)- you

suggest at night which would suit me far better so i can stick with my current

routine. Do you know if there is any reason why it would make a difference

taking it at night or in the morning?

Thanks again!

[Guest guest]

Hello ,

You're very welcome ;o)

I'm living in Brunei where it's hard to get hold of decent supplements and illegal to order them online - all packages have to be collected from the P.O. where customs officers open them in front of you and confiscate anything 'suspicious', so I doubt if I'll manage to get hold of Selenium till I holiday in Aus in June.

Ah, ok....- how about Brazil nuts then? Can you get hold of them? Brazil nuts are full of Selenium and actually the best way to take in Selenium is with your diet... but I don't know how many you'd have to eat per day. Perhaps some clever people here will be able to work it out from the following link? How many nuts are in one ounce ???? (sorry, I'm German, can't think in ounces.....)

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/selenium/

It would be easier for me to take it on an empty stomach before I go to bed - do you know if there is any reason why it has to bemorning?Nope, no good reason at all.... On the contrary... good thinking on your part ! Taking Levo at night is actually much better for the body - it gets better utilized. So forget what I said before and what your doctor and pharmacist said, and take your levo last thing at night, but on an empty stomach (it might help you sleep better as an added bonus). Then swap around the iron intake and take iron with Vit C during the day – morning or lunch time – whatever suits best. It just has to be at least 4 hours away either side from any thyroid hormone.

However.... when it comes to your first blood check about 4 weeks after taking 25 mcg Levo (or any blood check dates thereafter).... on the evening before the blood draw do not take your Levo dose – take it after the blood draw (on that day only) and then get back into the evening rhythm by taking your dose at night. The reason for that: if you take your T4 (which is what Levothyroxine is) less than 12 hours before the blood draw, it will show an up to 10% higher FT4 than the true value ... and you want to show as low an FT4 (and FT3, if they do it!) as possible at that stage in the game, because you want to achieve an increase in your dose. The TSH will not be influenced by that, btw. The TSH moves in a matter of weeks rather than hours (which is why doctors think it is so wonderfully reliable – bollocks!).

This is exciting ;o)) - Let us know how you get on, .

With best wishes,

[Guest guest]

Fantastic, ! I'll stick to the iron etc in the morning and take the

thyroxine before bed... much easier. I haven't seen brazil nuts here at all,

but I can get some sent out - Customs can hardly confiscate those as suspicious,

now, can they! Thanks for telling me about holding off on taking the T4 the

night before my next test... I wouldn't have thought of that.

And Sheila, thanks for the links re timing - I will pass that onto the dr when I

see her next month!

Will let you know how I get on!

Cheers,

> Ah, ok....- how about Brazil nuts then? Can you get hold of them? Brazil

> nuts are full of Selenium and actually the best way to take in Selenium

> is with your diet... but I don't know how many you'd have to eat

> per day. Perhaps some clever people here will be able to work it out

> from the following link? How many nuts are in one ounce ???? (sorry,

> I'm German, can't think in ounces.....)

>

> http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/selenium/

> <http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/selenium/>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

RE BRAZIL NUTS-

I'm no expert but was told the other day by a nutritionist friend that 1 brazil

nut a day has all the selenium requirement needed and that eating too many can

cause depressive mood.....i buy a bag of them from n Graves, cheaper and

more natural than tablets!

hayley x

>

> Fantastic, ! I'll stick to the iron etc in the morning and take the

thyroxine before bed... much easier. I haven't seen brazil nuts here at all,

but I can get some sent out - Customs can hardly confiscate those as suspicious,

now, can they! Thanks for telling me about holding off on taking the T4 the

night before my next test... I wouldn't have thought of that.

> And Sheila, thanks for the links re timing - I will pass that onto the dr when

I see her next month!

> Will let you know how I get on!

> Cheers,

>

[Ed]

[Guest guest]

I thought for sufferers of hypothyroidism it was essential to

eat at least 5 Brazil Nuts. Possibly the 1 Nut a day is the recommended daily

dose for maintenance levels.

Luv - Sheila

Hi ,

RE BRAZIL NUTS-

I'm no expert but was told the other day by a nutritionist friend that 1 brazil

nut a day has all the selenium requirement needed and that eating too many can

cause depressive mood.....i buy a bag of them from n Graves, cheaper and

more natural than tablets!

hayley x