Things to Know About Your Thyroid Drugs
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Things to Know About Your Thyroid Drugs

by Mary Shomon

June 2004 -- It's important to know how to optimally care for your thyroid drugs -- including levothyroxine (the generic name for the brand name drugs such as Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothroid, and Unithroid), Armour Thyroid, liotrix (Thyrolar), and others.

Some key pointers...

Thyroid drugs have limited stability, and should not be used after the expiration date. You may want to ask your pharmacist for the expiration date on each batch used to fill an order. Particularly if you get a large order filled, you want to be sure that you won't have a batch that will expire before it's time for a refill.

Optimally you should take your thyroid medicine on an empty stomach, about an hour before food. You should take it at least 3-4 hours apart from any calcium or iron supplements, and do not take with milk, soy milk or soy foods. Be consistent with respect to whether you take it regularly with our without food.

You should be consistent as to your daily fiber intake. If you fluctuate in terms of your fiber intake, your thyroid drug dosage needs may also fluctuate, based on absorption changes.

Levothyroxine is stable in dry air, but unstable in the presence of light, heat and humidity. All other thyroid drugs should be stored be kept in their original container and stored out of sunlight in a cool dry place. (Thyroid drugs should not be stored in the bathroom, due to humidity.)

Note: Thyrolar requires refrigeration.



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The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss, by Mary J. Shomon
Coming Sept. 1, 2004 from HarperCollins, 400 pages, ISBN: 0-06-052444-8

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