Guide to Taking Medication Before Labs

It matters. Lots.

As a Thyroid Expert and the founder of Modern Thyroid Clinic, I've learned the nuances of thyroid management ARE EVERYTHING. There is a science to managing thyroid medication and when it's managed properly and with a lot of care, people get their lives back. Sound science is based on good data. To get good data, we need to know how your thyroid medications are working while you're actually on them and at their PEAK. This varies with different forms of medication. For you to really understand where your thyroid is you need to capture your labs at particular times after taking your medication. The following is a guide to help you figure out the best timing. McCall McPherson PA-CFounder of Modern Thyroid ClinicChief-Hope-Giver at Thyroid Nation

Labs You Need

If you would like to know more about optimal labs information, access our free Thyroid Lab Guide: What Labs You Need and What They Mean:  CLICK HERE.

A proper workup for hypothyroidism must include the following labs:

• TSH
• TSH
• Free T4
• Free T3
• Reverse T3

To rule out Hashimoto’s, these labs must be ordered:

• Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies
• Thyroglobulin Antibodies

If your clinician will not order these labs, head here for deeply discounted cash pay prices: CLICK HERE.

Normal Isn't Optimal

I get into this deeper in our thyroid course but, in short, regular lab ranges have expanded over the years and are simply way too wide.  As a result, individuals can suffer for years (or decades) with thyroid symptoms before drifting outside of most lab’s “normal” ranges. So the lab ranges you’ll find here are within optimal (not ‘normal’) ranges, developed after analyzing hundreds of thousand of pieces of data, and may be very different than the ones you’ll see on your commercial lab report.  Some practitioners who are not specialists in thyroid care over rely on the reference ranges commercial labs  use - leading some doctors to tell you your results are “normal”.   But within these ranges, people thrive and are truly able to get their lives back. Let’s dig in ...

T4 Based Medication

These include:

• Synthroid
• Levothyroxine
• Tirosint
• Unithroid

When to take them: 

• Any time during the morning of lab day. Of all thyroid medications this is the most flexible due to its extremely long half life. You can simply take it in the morning as usual and have labs drawn any time during the day.Easy enough, right?

NDT - NATURAL DESSICATED THYROID

These include:

• Armour thyroid
• Nature-throid
• NP thyroid
• Adthyza

When to take them: 

These drugs are composed of pig thyroid gland and part of their components peak and trough in about 6-8 hours. Because of this, you want to take them in the morning, and have your labs drawn 3-4 hours later, when your free t3 is peaking. That will protect you from becoming overmedicated and actually show how your thyroid medication is working while it's on board, as opposed to getting labs drawn fasting from medication. At that point a lot of your medication won't even show up on the labs. So how are we supposed to know how it's working?

T3 Based Medication

T3 meds include:

• Cytomel
• Lothyronine

When to take them: 

These are taken 2-3 hours before you have your labs captured. Easy enough!

In Closing

Thank you.  Becoming better educated is the fastest way to recovery and managing your thyroid symptoms. Patients like you, who are reading and learning how their thyroid works, are leading the thyroid revolution. Spread the word that #ThereIsNoReasonToStillHaveThyroidSymptoms