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Popping your daily thyroid medication isn't as easy as just opening the
bottle and taking the pill...not if you take other drugs (prescription
or over-the-counter), herbs, dietary supplements, and your brain doesn't
function without that cup of extra-strength cappuccino in the morning.
Drug Interactions
Drugs can interfere with other drugs by blocking their action, or reducing
their intended effect, or combine to cause other health problems, ranging
from depression, GI symptoms, central nervous system disorders, and more.
Be sure to inform your doctor about all the medicines you use (both prescription
and nonprescription). As can be seen from the list below, there is a wide
range of drugs and supplements that can interfere with your thyroid medication.
Drug interactions and precautions fall into two main categories:
-
Drugs you should
not take together but can take if they are separated by several hours
-
Drugs that, when
taken during the same day, especially over a prolonged period of time,
can cause health problems
If you are taking any
of the following drugs or supplements, take them at least 4 hours apart
from your thyroid medication:
Aluminum or calcium
antacids
Calcium supplements
Iron supplements
Cholestyramine (Questran), colestipol (Colestid) and similar anti-chloresterol/bile
acid drugs
Sucralfate (Carafate, Sulcrate) mucosal liners/anti-reflux
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate (antacids such as Amphogel, Di-Gel, Gaviscon,
Gelusil, Maalox, Mylanta, Phillips, Riopan, Tums)
If you see more than
one physician, be sure all of them are aware if you have been prescribed
a thyroid medication and are also taking or have any of the following
prescribed for you:
Amphetamines
Anticoagulants (blood thinners)
Appetite suppressants (diet pills)
Medicine for asthma or other breathing problems
Medicine for colds, sinus problems, or hay fever or other allergies
(including nose drops or sprays)
Complicating Conditions
Other health problems may affected by thyroid disease or the use
of thyroid hormones. Be sure to tell doctors treating you for any of the
following conditions that you are being treated for thyroid disease
Diabetes mellitus
(Diabetes II; sugar diabetes)
Hardening of the arteries
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Overactive thyroid (history of)
Underactive adrenal gland
Underactive pituitary gland
For Women Only
Most women don't know - and for some reason most doctors either don't
know or don't bother to tell them - that hypothyroidism can cause or contribute
to a host of "female" problems, including cessation of menses,
abnormally short menstrual cycles (periods coming every 15 days or so),
and cessation of ovulation. In addition, the thyroid hormones play a role
in the libido and so should be looked at in addition to the "sex"
hormones (androgen, DHEA, the estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, etc.)
when exploring the loss of libido and apparent peri-menopause.
Foods That Interfere
With Thyroid Medication & Function
The following foods bind iodine which in turn affects your thyroid function,
whether or not you have thyroid disease. You can take your thyroid medicine
at any time of the day or night - just be consistent with when you take
it. If you take your thyroid medicine in the morning, you can easily separate
these foods by several hours from your thyroid medication. As for quantities
of these foods - go easy on them and vary the ones you eat, as they may
have one or more and varying quantities of the several known goitrogenic
phytochemicals.
Buckwheat
Cabbage
Calcium-enriched foods (juices, cereals, etc.)
Collard
Fenugreek
Flax
Garden cress
Garden sorrel
Kale
Lentil
Linseed
Milk and milk products (cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt)
Oats
Rye
Soybean (tofu, soymilk, edamame, textured soy protein, soy yogurt, etc.)
Kelp
St Johnswort
Prescription Thyroid
Drugs
The following drugs are prescribed in the US:
Armour
Thyroid
Cytomel
Levo-T
Levothroid
Levothyroxine
Levoxyl
Liothyronine
Liotrix
Synthroid
Thyrar
Thyroid Strong
Thyroglobulin
Thyrolar
Triostat Westhroid
In Canada, the following
are also available:
Eltroxin*
PMS-Levothyroxine Sodium
You can look up these
and other drugs,
and information on thyroid tests
and diseases,
at MEDLINEplus.
Overdose
As with any chemical, you can overdose. Symptoms of thyroid overdose
can include diarrhea, irregular heartbeat, headache, tremors, nervousness,
stomach cramps, fever, chest pain, or difficulty sleeping. If you suspect
an overdose, contact your local poison control center or emergency room
immediately.
There are two ways
to overdose. Accidental overdoses can happen in one of two ways: you may
forget you've already taken your medication, or your pharmacist dispensed
a higher dosage tablet than the one ordered by your physician.
The second way to overdose
is iatrogenic: the doctor prescribes too high a dose. Since many of the
symptoms of overdose are the same as untreated or under-treated hypothyroidism,
you may end up needing to see an endocrinologist if your internist or
other prescribing physician is not responsive to your report of continuing
or new symptoms.
Sources:
Thyroid-Info.com
Phytochemical & Ethnobotanical
Database
Thyroid.about.com
Medline
See also Thyroid
Drugs FAQ about Food, Drug and Supplement Interactions
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