Writer, did they tell you about how to take it? How you take it on an empty stomach and then wait a certain amount of time to eat? That was my biggest annoyance with it. I had to take my BP meds WITH breakfast, so I had to kind of work my morning schedule around when to and not to take pills. Fun. I hope it works for you.

I've never been told to take my Synthroid (Levothyroixine) on an empty stomach, however I do have to take my Armour/natural thyroid that way.

I set it out the night before and anytime I wake up after 4 am (just a time I set for myself), I take it, then go back to sleep. That way I never have to worry about taking it away from food and I can drink my coffee first thing in the morning without having to wait.

Writer ~ you might even be able to find a GP who is willing to prescribe natural thyroid for you ~ it doesn't have to be an endo.

MF, why would you have to wait to drink coffee?? I take my Naturethroid when I first get up in the morning and then have my coffee right away. Am I not supposed to be doing that?

The following labels are on my Synthroid bottle:

*Take on an empty stomach.
*Medication should be taken with plenty of water.
*Take a single daily dose before breakfast.
*The dose of this med will likely need adjustment if you become pregnant. When pregnancy is confirmed, contact your prescriber for adjustment.
*Do not take antacids or products containing calcium or iron within 4 hours of taking this medication.

I know some people who choose to take their thyroid meds at night or their vitamins at night, but never together. I stay away from calcium fortified orange juice and if I want cereal, I have it for lunch instead of breakfast.

I still put milk in my coffee. It's just a concession I make for myself but am aware that the calcium could work against my meds.

I was told to take the Levothyroxine on an empty stomach with plenty of water and then not eat for at least an hour. No one said anything about not taking anything with calcium in it for 4 hours. I always eat cereal for breakfast. Is it okay to drink milk an hour after I take the medicine? I love milk and drink at least 2-3 glasses a day. I also take a calcium supplement at night.

I heard that iron [multi vitamins] was bad to take with thyroid meds because it "attaches" to the thyroid meds and passes out without being asorbed.

I take my meds on an empty stomach but I also drink coffee right after my morning dose. I wonder if that is a problem?

I don't know about Naturethroid, are you supposed to take it on an empty stomach? If so I believe even coffee can interfere with absorption.

When they say Calcium I think they mean in a supplement, not the small amounts you get in food.

I don't take any vitamins so I don't worry about that but I do take calcium and magnesium, I just take them away from my other meds.

Taking them when I wake up in the early morning eliminates all of this trying to plan when to take my meds. It works for me.

I just read over some of the possible side effects, and one that concerns me is mild hair loss. I was already losing lots of hair before I started taking the medication (one of the reasons I suspected I was hypothyroid in the first place). It seems to me that replacing the missing thyroid hormone in my body should make the hair loss better, not worse, but if hair loss is a possible side effect of the drug, this may not be the case. If hypothyroidism causes hair loss and taking Levo causes hair loss, how in the world do you keep from going bald if you have hypothyroidism?

I'd never heard that Synthroid can cause hair loss ~ that seems crazy seeming hair loss is usually a symptom of hypothyroidism!

P.S. I have very thick hair and one of my symptoms recently (before I upped my meds) was thinning hair...it's completely stopped now that I have upped my meds.

MF: It's listed on the info page for levothyroxine. It doesn't make any sense to me either. It also says taking levo with a T3 replacement (natural thyroid) can help alleviate the hair loss. I'm thinking of calling the endo back and seeing if I could get her to prescribe natural thyroid along with the levo.

Is the natural thyroid replacement more expensive than the levo? Is it generally covered by insurance? Is there some reason doctors don't like to prescribe it?

I don't have a GP that I really like. In fact, right now, I don't have one at all. I've had a lot of problems finding good doctors where I live.

ut oh, you are right!! I have been taking it all this time in the morning when I get up and drink coffee. I called the pharmacist and she said nonononono!

And she also said it is a BAD IDEA to split the dose throughout the day. She said your body needs exactly THAT MUCH in one dose.

So I guess I will take it all before I go to bed or at 4am.

I'm on both, maybe that's why it's never been a huge problem for me...slight when my meds got too low but never severe. It's never caused great worry.

It's about the same I believe,depends on what kind of natural you get.

Long story but the gold standard in natural thyroid replacement used to be Armour ~ last year they changed the formula and most of us on it no longer felt good so we've had to find alternatives ~ one of them is Naturethroid (what Mel is on), another is Westhroid, some people have it compounded and others (like me) are getting Erfa's dessicated pig thyroid from Canada.

You can do your research on that website I linked and ask your doc to prescribe one...or, if he's already familiar with natural thyroid replacement he may have on he prefers. However if that is the case he probably would have already prescribed it ~ I have a feeling you are going to have to go back armed with info (printouts from that site might be helpful)and plead your case.

You might check into that ~ I know with the dessicated pig thyroid it is best to take it in two doses ~ it has a short half life so by the afternoons what I took in the morning is just about out of my system. I really need that afternoon dose.

You know, the whole time I have been on thyroid meds, i have taken it with my coffee in the morning! I wonder if thats why they are not doing much good?

Could be, have you had your labs drawn yet? That will help you to know how you've been absorbing it.

My labs haven't changed. I have been going mostly by how I feel and my body temp. I still feel very tired and sleepy all the time.