Armour Thyroid, Synthroid, and Other Meds for Hypothyroidism

momo_t90
momo_t90 Posts: 288 Member
edited March 2016 in Chit-Chat
I take 30mg of Armour Thyroid and my endocrinologist told me to take it in the morning and don't eat anything with calcium in it for 40-60 minutes because (as he explained) the medicine binds with the calcium in the stomach and nullifies the effect the medicine is suppose to have. I asked my pharmacist about this and she said that it doesn't matter and I can eat with it. I'd sooner believe my endocrinologist, though.

Anyways, this messes with my morning routine. I either wake up an hour earlier and take the medicine and go back to sleep, or I just don't take it so I can have my breakfast. It doesn't take me an hour to get ready and eat and I'm usually out the door as soon as I am ready.

What I'm wondering is if anybody else taking Armour Thyroid has been told to wait 40-60 minutes, or do you take it with food. If it's the latter, have you noticed if the med still works for you?

This also applies to anyone on other types of hypothyroid meds. I'd like to hear from you too.

Replies

  • idecidemylyfe
    idecidemylyfe Posts: 4 Member
    I take cynthroid an hour before I eat! DO NOT take it with food. You can die without taking that pill it's that serious. Your thyroid controls all the organs in your body and without your organs working properly you won't feel right. It's imparative you take that pill! Everyday an hour before you eat!!
  • momo_t90
    momo_t90 Posts: 288 Member
    edited March 2016
    It's like the smallest dosage you can be on. My thyroid works fine, it's just a little bit slow. I know I should take it, but I've gone months without taking it and haven't died yet.

    I understand how important it is for some people to take their thyroid medicine, but that's not the case for me. If I don't take it, worse case scenario is I get pimples and lose a little bit more hair in the shower (which I have very thick hair so it's not noticeable).

    My biggest problem is trying to fit it into my morning routine.

    But I appreciate the info. It sounds like my endocrinologist was right. (No big surprise really. I was just curious.)
  • mscuriosity
    mscuriosity Posts: 13 Member
    I take levothyroxine, and I'm supposed to take it on an empty stomach and wait 30 minutes. I may or may not have a protein shake with it.
  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
    I've been taking armour thyroid for 8 years. I've never listened to the "take without food" thing. I take mine right after eating breakfast and with all my other supplements (including a calc/mag supplement). I started on 180mg and with a lot of work at healing my thyroid I'm down to 90mg, so apparently it hasn't hurt me too much. ;-) But truthfully, since we're all very different body wise, all you can do is try shifting yours around and see if taking it with food affects you. It does take about 2 weeks for the body to adjust to changes in armour so you'll need to pay attention for a few weeks to see if taking it with food drops its effectiveness. Some might notice it right away, others may not notice it for weeks. But for me, I've never had issue taking it with food. HTH
  • TK6299
    TK6299 Posts: 502 Member
    mscuriosity wrote: »
    I take levothyroxine, and I'm supposed to take it on an empty stomach and wait 30 minutes. I may or may not have a protein shake with it.
    I also take this. I take first thing when I roll out of bed and eat a protein bar on my way to work an hour later. If for some reason I do not take it, I eat as normal and set a timer for an hour after so that I can take it.

  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 700 Member
    I take Armour. I take it first thing in the morning and get ready for work and an hour later I have my coffee. Its better to wait a little bit to eat a little rather than skip it just because you want to eat breakfast. Don't skip your meds it could be effecting you in ways you are not aware of.
  • assetrecoverygroupllc1
    assetrecoverygroupllc1 Posts: 16 Member
    Your endo. Is %100 correct. You can take it with food but get minimal results. The only way to accurately judge where your dosage needs to be is 14 days of consistent empty stomach dosing x2 daily. If he recommended 25 mcg per day you need 12.5 mcg every 12 hrs.
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 700 Member
    OP are trying to lose weight. Because if you aren't taking your meds properly, it maybe hindering your weight loss.
  • momo_t90
    momo_t90 Posts: 288 Member
    Char231023 wrote: »
    OP are trying to lose weight. Because if you aren't taking your meds properly, it maybe hindering your weight loss.

    Yeah, I am. I've started taking it again. It's just really annoying to have to disrupt my sleep to take it because I'm already not sleeping well.
    assetrecoverygroupllc1 wrote: »
    Your endo. Is %100 correct. You can take it with food but get minimal results. The only way to accurately judge where your dosage needs to be is 14 days of consistent empty stomach dosing x2 daily. If he recommended 25 mcg per day you need 12.5 mcg every 12 hrs.

    My bottle says 30mg and he said to take it once daily in the morning.
  • Badger_Girl99
    Badger_Girl99 Posts: 2,220 Member
    Wait an hour before you eat anything - I think that's the norm with thyroid meds. And you aren't going to die if you don't take it, so don't listen to that nonsense. Listen to your doctor.
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 700 Member
    momo_t90 wrote: »
    Char231023 wrote: »
    OP are trying to lose weight. Because if you aren't taking your meds properly, it maybe hindering your weight loss.

    Yeah, I am. I've started taking it again. It's just really annoying to have to disrupt my sleep to take it because I'm already not sleeping well.
    assetrecoverygroupllc1 wrote: »
    Your endo. Is %100 correct. You can take it with food but get minimal results. The only way to accurately judge where your dosage needs to be is 14 days of consistent empty stomach dosing x2 daily. If he recommended 25 mcg per day you need 12.5 mcg every 12 hrs.

    My bottle says 30mg and he said to take it once daily in the morning.

    The reason they don't want you to take it with food because with food it doesn't absorb into your body like it should. Were your levels in the normal range the last time you had them checked.
  • KiwiAlexP
    KiwiAlexP Posts: 186 Member
    I'm on 100mcg of levothyroxine - I take it first thing in the morning with a big glass of water then go out for whatever exercise I have planned for the day, either cycling or walking/running, then come home and eat breakfast and take my contraceptive pill (which is also not supposed to be taken at the same time as thyroid medication)
  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
    I take synthroid and cytomel when I first wake up very early, then go back to bed. Sometimes if I'm starving I have a cup of coffee with it but no food. Some meds are meant to be taken on an empty stomach and thyroid meds are in that category.
  • tiffkittyw
    tiffkittyw Posts: 366 Member
    I take 50 mcg's of levothyroxizine and I've read all kinds of things about not taking it with food, other medications or caffeine (my primary care doctor told me nothing BTW) so I decided on my own to take it in the middle of the night when I wake up to pee.
  • momo_t90
    momo_t90 Posts: 288 Member
    Char231023 wrote: »
    momo_t90 wrote: »
    Char231023 wrote: »
    OP are trying to lose weight. Because if you aren't taking your meds properly, it maybe hindering your weight loss.

    Yeah, I am. I've started taking it again. It's just really annoying to have to disrupt my sleep to take it because I'm already not sleeping well.
    assetrecoverygroupllc1 wrote: »
    Your endo. Is %100 correct. You can take it with food but get minimal results. The only way to accurately judge where your dosage needs to be is 14 days of consistent empty stomach dosing x2 daily. If he recommended 25 mcg per day you need 12.5 mcg every 12 hrs.

    My bottle says 30mg and he said to take it once daily in the morning.

    The reason they don't want you to take it with food because with food it doesn't absorb into your body like it should. Were your levels in the normal range the last time you had them checked.

    Probably not because I wasn't taking the medicine at the time, but I don't know for sure. My doctor has a way where I can look at the results online, but I can't seem to log into it.

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