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Is anyone on Levothyroxine and Nexium?

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Thyroid Disorders
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Posted 7/18/2009 12:52 PM (GMT -6)
How do you juggle your medication? I have to take Nexium in the morning and night along with Zantac sad I want to know how do you handle the 4 hour window required along with the required empty stomach? I'm going nuts and starving trying to juggle this confused . Today I slept late (9:45) and I took my Nexium. I had to wait until 1:45 to take my thyroid med then wait until 2:15 to eat lunch. I thought I was going to pass out from low blood sugar with all the waiting.

Joy

Posted 7/18/2009 4:38 PM (GMT -6)
Is there any reason you can't take nexium and synthroid together?? I think when they talk about an empty stomach, they mean no solid food.
Posted 7/19/2009 1:47 PM (GMT -6)
My pharmary said I must wait 4 hours between the two to let my system absorb it. I also have to be careful about calcium, magnesium, and aluminum.

Joy
Posted 7/19/2009 3:51 PM (GMT -6)
Joy,
You may be right about not being able to take them together. I have one med that I can take with my Synthroid, but I cannot take my supplements at the same time as my Synthroid.

4 hours before eating sounds really long. I don't know what you have, but I've been on Nexium in the past & I only had to wait 1-1.5 hours until I could eat. Have you verified with your doctor that you have to wait 4 hours before eating anything?

If you have, I feel really bad for you. That must be so hard to wait half the day to eat or take your Synthroid. I would be so crabby. smilewinkgrin


feel better,
Frances
Posted 7/19/2009 4:14 PM (GMT -6)
Oh my, that really stinks! I probably don't take them properly then.
Posted 7/19/2009 6:45 PM (GMT -6)
Jean,
Everyone is different. There may be reason why someone would take the meds together. People are prescribed Nexium for different reasons so maybe it's okay for you to take yours together. I really don't know. Please check with your doctor before making any changes to what you have been doing

I do feel for you, though. It is all so confusing. I take a notebook in to my doctor's office with me so I can go through my questions with her & make sure I get everything down right. I think sometimes these doctors just assume that we will all interpret "empty stomach" the same, but like I said I found out that "empty stomach" in certain cases just means nothing but water & in other cases means it's okay to take it with other medications/supplements, but not with any food or juice. So confusing..... !

peace,
Frances
Posted 7/20/2009 8:55 AM (GMT -6)
Frances I think you misunderstood me. I take my Nexuim, eat breakfast, wait four hours take thyroid meds, wait 3o minutes then eat lunch. I'm pre-diabetic so my blood sugar drops sometimes with the 4 hour wait to eat. As it stands now I'm eating lunch at 2o'clock. My stomach must be empty of everything but water when I take the synthoid. I can suck on a piece of candy if it gets too bad.

Joy yeah

Posted 7/20/2009 4:47 PM (GMT -6)
This my schedule, I take my thyriod med before I even get out of bed, then I do pt for about an hour (drinking water), and then I take my nexium right before I shower/dress (which takes me about an hour), and then I eat. But being diabetic, I think you really need to talk to your doc about this schedule, it does not sound quite right to me.
Posted 7/20/2009 6:39 PM (GMT -6)
I've already discussed the difficulty of the schedule with him when he prescribed it. He's aware of my pre-diabetes, but he didn't think it would be a big problem for me. So far I've only had one weak spell due to blood sugar drop (it didn't drop very low). I sucked on a piece of candy and it went away and I was able to eat after an hour. Once my work starts back up in a week I can handle it better. I'll be able to take my Nexium at 5:45 and then I can take my synthoid at 9:45 which is early enough that I can eat on time. But he emphases and the website for Synthoid agrees I must avoid magnesium contained medicines (Nexium is one) for 4 hours or else I won't absorb all of the medication into my system.

Joy
Posted 7/20/2009 7:33 PM (GMT -6)
do you mind if I ask what are the dosages you are on?
Posted 7/21/2009 5:31 PM (GMT -6)
I take 40mg in the morning, 40mg at dinner, and a 300mg of Zantac at bedtime. I can spit fireballs if I don't take them regular. However, I'm going to have Esophyx surgery in November or December for my reflux and I won't need them anymore!!! YEAH!!

Joy
Posted 7/21/2009 6:13 PM (GMT -6)
Joy,
I feel so badly for you that you can't take your meds closer together. I can't even imagine that. I am so glad to hear that you are having surgery at the end of the year. Hopefully things will be much easier on you after that time. I know I don't have any issues at all with taking just my Synthroid. I have hypoglycemia & also need to watch when I eat, but taking the Synthroid when I first wake up & then eating just before I leave for work has turned out quite well. Hopefully you will have a similar experience once they get you all fixed up with surgery. :)

peace,
Frances
Posted 7/22/2009 9:17 AM (GMT -6)
Thanks Frances 2008. I'll be thrilled when I won't have to juggle them anymore.

Joy

1st grade teacher
"I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it."
Posted 7/22/2009 5:02 PM (GMT -6)
Joy,
I really hope surgery works for you, and I think your quote is great!
Navy
Posted 8/26/2009 8:23 PM (GMT -6)
Joy I take both, plus several more meds for the different diseases I have. I take them all in the morning except the Nexium, which I take at night before I go to bed. I have to take most of my pills on a full stomach so I just take them all at once or else I would be taking pills all day long. I don't know what the right way is for me to take them but I gues that is something I should ask my pharmacist sometime.

I'm sorry you are having a hard time taking your meds.

Posted 8/27/2009 10:05 AM (GMT -6)
I think taking nexium at night is a good idea then you should be able to take the synthroid first thing in the a.m. Sometimes I will take my synthroid in the afternoon when my stomach is empty. Not sure if this is kosher or not but at least I get it in my system when I forget to take it in the a.m. I am always forgetting to take something since I have so many pills to take. I think it is up to 15 a day now.
Posted 8/27/2009 10:41 AM (GMT -6)
I asked my pharmacist this morning when I was picking up my new thyroid pills and he said taking the nexium at night is a good idea. So I will continue taking it at night and the rest of my pills in the morning.

I was taking 28 pills a day, now I am finally down to just 9 a day. It's still alot of pills to take at once.

If you try it let me know if you notice a difference or not.

Thanks,

Connie

Posted 8/27/2009 4:54 PM (GMT -6)
Well, I'm back at work now and my routine is working great. I get up at 5:30 and take my nexium. Go get my shower and get dressed. Take my other meds (not the synthoid) and eat. Later, at 10:00, I take my synthoid and eat lunch at 11:15. I'm feeling great with the dosage my doctor chose (100mg). I'm laughing and not having my blue moods anymore. I feel more energy and loving life again.

Joy
Posted 9/15/2009 7:44 PM (GMT -6)
That is awesome news Joy, I am glad it is working out for you and you are feeling better.
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