Thyroid supplement and calcium supplement

[Guest guest]

I'm sure I read somewhere that you shouldn't take a thyroid supplement

at the same time or near the time of taking a calcium supplement. Does

anyone know anything about that?

[Guest guest]

Calcium may interfere with the absorption of the most widely used thyroid therapies , and the two should not be taken together.

This is from my data base;

"Patients and their physicians need to be made aware that calcium can prevent the absorption of thyroxine" and this can be prevented by taking the two six to 12 hours apart, study author Jerome M. Hershman, MD, of the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, tells WebMD. Harshman and colleagues reported their findings in the June 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Patients typically take both at breakfast, with the thyroxine being taken on an empty stomach before eating and the calcium being taken after eating," Hershman says. "Based on our findings, this probably should not be done."

An expert on thyroid therapy who was not involved with this study says taking the two drugs hours apart probably couldn't hurt, but it is not clear from this study if it is necessary. "The authors have shown that there may be an interaction here, but more study is needed to definitively prove this," I Sherman, MD, tells WebMD. "I would like to have seen different kinds of studies." Sherman is the medical director of the Thyroid Society for Education and Research and is associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas MD Cancer Center.

It has been estimated that up to one in 10 Americans have some degree of thyroid problems, although in many, the condition is never diagnosed. It is not known what percentage of people being treated with thyroxine also take calcium, but it is probably high. Underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism, primarily occurs in women at or beyond the age of menopause -- the same group most at risk for osteoporosis or bone loss, and thus, most likely to take calcium supplements.

Hershman and colleagues examined the effect of calcium on thyroxine absorption in a group of 20 people being treated for underactive thyroid conditions. The levels of thyroxine in the women's blood were measured for several months prior to beginning calcium supplementation. Then the levels were retested during a three-month period while they were taking calcium and tested again several months after they stopped. All patients were told to take the calcium supplements daily at the same time that they took their thyroid medications.

The researchers saw a "modest, but significant" effect on thyroid function during the period patients took calcium. Four of the 20 patients had indications from blood tests that their medication wasn't getting into the blood. But these indicators returned to normal when the patients stopped taking calcium.

Suzi

List Owner

health/

http://360./suziesgoats

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

I'm sure I read somewhere that you shouldn't take a thyroid supplement

at the same time or near the time of taking a calcium supplement. Does

anyone know anything about that?

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

This is the situation I'm in at the moment. It's difficult to time

the thyroid supplement and the calcium supplement especially if your

having to take them hours apart. Also, does an underactive thyroid

correct itself after a period of time of being treated?

" It has been estimated that up to one in 10 Americans have some degree

of thyroid problems, although in many, the condition is never

diagnosed. It is not known what percentage of people being treated

with thyroxine also take calcium, but it is probably high. Underactive

thyroid, or hypothyroidism, primarily occurs in women at or beyond the

age of menopause -- the same group most at risk for osteoporosis or

bone loss, and thus, most likely to take calcium supplements. "

[Guest guest]

I can't answer that 100% but I do know of improvement. I also believe we can heal ourselves if we are willing to do all that is necessary.

here are several websites you might find interesting.

http://standing1.home.mindspring.com/thyroid/goodfood.html

http://www.underactivethyroid.com/app/ingredients.asp

http://standing1.home.mindspring.com/thyroid/goodmisc.html

Suzi

List Owner

health/

http://360./suziesgoats

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

This is the situation I'm in at the moment. It's difficult to time

the thyroid supplement and the calcium supplement especially if your

having to take them hours apart. Also, does an underactive thyroid

correct itself after a period of time of being treated?