# Armour, Divided Doses: When to take the 2nd dose of the day?



## bwhughes (Aug 11, 2013)

Hello!

I've just started today taking a divided dosage of Armour Thyroid. 90mg in the morning and 75mg in the....... when?

If I take the first dose at 8:00 am, what would be the best time to take the second dose? I'm unclear whether it should be in the afternoon, before dinner, or at bedtime.

Also, my sleep schedule is pretty erratic. Sometimes I'm awake all night and sleeping during the day, sometimes it's closer to normal, and everything in between. I know I'd probably feel healthier if my schedule were more consistent. But in the meantime... should I make sure that I take my thyoid at the same _times _every day, regardless of when I'm sleeping? Or should I take my doses based on when I'm actually awake?

My hunch is that it would be better to focus on the actual times, and get as close to that as possible on days that my sleep pattern is "off." But is there an actual good reason for that, other than helping me to remember to take both doses?

Thanks for any insight any of you can offer!


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Sleep is of paramount importance to hormones (amongst other things). I don't know if that's just a personal preference for you, or due to work or other obligations, but the better the quality of sleep you receive, the healthier you will be for it. It affects thyroid, cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, you name it.

TSH actually spikes in the middle of the night, when your body is at rest. As far as when exactly to take the Armour, just be aware that taking thyroid meds at night can make them _more_ effective, due to the slowing of the GI tract where they are absorbed. There was a study or two done on this a few years ago.

So 90 mg and 75 mg both taken in the day might be roughly equivalent to 75 mg taken at night and 75 mg taken during the day. I don't know of any hard and fast rule or equation, but it is something to keep in mind when changing doses and timing around. The more consistent and steady you can be, the better. You will probably have to play around with when you take the doses, to see what works best for you.

For example, I take a 1 grain (60 mg) of Nature-Throid at night around bedtime, then the remainder 1/4 grain of my dose in the early morning upon waking. The only reason doctors and pharmacists tell patients to take their thyroid meds in the morning is due to compliance -- many folks would forget to be consistent otherwise.

Also, take care to not take thyroid meds within a few hours of taking calcium supplements, or eating dairy products. IIRC, this applies to iron supplements, too. You want to take the thyroid medication about a half hour or one hour before eating. Otherwise, take it 3-4 hours after eating.

I was rambling a little there, but hopefully that answers your questions! Any more, just fire away...

hugs6


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

bwhughes said:


> Hello!
> 
> I've just started today taking a divided dosage of Armour Thyroid. 90mg in the morning and 75mg in the....... when?
> 
> ...


Maybe this info can help you decide what would work for you. You don't want to stare at the ceiling all night.

Liothyronine (T3)
is almost totally absorbed, 95 percent in 4 hours.
http://www.frx.com/pi/armourthyroid_pi.pdf


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## bwhughes (Aug 11, 2013)

Andros said:


> Maybe this info can help you decide what would work for you. You don't want to stare at the ceiling all night.
> 
> Liothyronine (T3)
> is almost totally absorbed, 95 percent in 4 hours.
> http://www.frx.com/pi/armourthyroid_pi.pdf


I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be reading at this link. I don't see anything related to my questions.


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## bwhughes (Aug 11, 2013)

Andros said:


> Maybe this info can help you decide what would work for you. You don't want to stare at the ceiling all night.


What would prevent that from happening??


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## bwhughes (Aug 11, 2013)

bigfoot said:


> TSH actually spikes in the middle of the night, when your body is at rest. As far as when exactly to take the Armour, just be aware that taking thyroid meds at night can make them _more_ effective, due to the slowing of the GI tract where they are absorbed. There was a study or two done on this a few years ago.
> 
> So 90 mg and 75 mg both taken in the day might be roughly equivalent to 75 mg taken at night and 75 mg taken during the day. I don't know of any hard and fast rule or equation, but it is something to keep in mind when changing doses and timing around. The more consistent and steady you can be, the better. You will probably have to play around with when you take the doses, to see what works best for you.
> 
> ...


Thank you for all the suggestions. My sleep patterns are half by choice and half not. My "other half" is actually the reason for the half not. I've struggled with him for years with him needing the exact perfect conditions for him to be able to go to sleep and get a good night's sleep. He has mellowed considerably over the years, but it's still much easier for me to just sleep alone! It doesn't help that I have sleep apnea. For years the associated sounds kept him awake, and he kept waking me up to stop what I was doing. It was REALLY frustrating! At least now I have better equipment and mask. But now HE'S snoring and keeping ME awake! No, we do not have another possible sleeping arrangement. Unless we get a room addition, this is where we both have to sleep.

But I'll tell you this. The night before yesterday, I had been awake all night. I went to sleep around 12:30 (noon) and slept until 7:30 pm, when he got home from work. We had dinner and then I was tired enough that I wanted to go to bed at 12:30 AM (just 5 hours awake). I slept SOUNDLY and woke up at about 8 AM this morning. And I've been tired all day. It's now about 3:30 PM and I've been in a brain fog all day -- haven't been able to do any work.

I'm just completely fatigued......no matter how much sleep I get. When I stay awake at night, it almost feels like I am running on adrenaline, often _so exhausted that I can't sleep!_ I can't tell you how many times I have felt really tired when hubby goes to sleep, tried to go to sleep with him, and stayed awake for hours.... agitated, stomach growling, completely unable to sleep. So I get up and call it a night. And try to make up for it during the day. Then I'll have days like the last two, when I can sleep all day AND sleep all night!

I'm also hungry ALL the time. It's extremely rare for me to NOT eat something just before bedtime. The worse possible thing is for me to try to sleep when I'm hungry. So to take the thyroid dose at bedtime would mean I wouldn't have eaten for 3-4 hours..... and I can tell you, that's not at all likely. So maybe I would have to take my second dose half an hour to an hour BEFORE dinner. That would be several hours before going to bed.

I'm not familiar with IIRC, what does that mean?

I'm not sure that I follow you when you say, "So 90 mg and 75 mg both taken in the day might be roughly equivalent to 75 mg taken at night and 75 mg taken during the day." Why would that be equivalent?

I just read a doctor (not sure if I'm allowed to mention his name) who says that Armour should be taken just 10-20 minutes after eating! He says,
"...half is ideally taken twice a day, 10 to 20 minutes after breakfast and dinner. If you have trouble remembering to take them, then take the entire dose before breakfast. It is also ideal to chew the tablet before swallowing. _Taking it after meals also helps to reduce volatility of the blood-level of T3_."​
Chewing? 10-20 minutes after eating? Does taking it soon after eating really help the T3 to stay around longer in your system? I've never heard this advice before. Does anyone here have anything to say about it?


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## StormFinch (Nov 16, 2012)

Straight from the horse's (Forrest's) mouth:



> Pharmacokinetics - Animal studies have shown that levothyroxine (T4) is only partially absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. The degree of absorption is dependent on the vehicle used for its administration and by the character of the intestinal contents, the intestinal flora, including plasma protein, and soluble dietary factors, all of which bind thyroid and thereby make it unavailable for diffusion. Only 41 percent is absorbed when given in a gelatin capsule as opposed to a 74 percent absorption when given with an albumin carrier.
> Depending on other factors, absorption has varied from 48 to 79 percent of the administered dose. Fasting increases absorption. Malabsorption syndromes, as well as dietary factors, (children's soybean formula, concomitant use of anionic exchange resins such as cholestyramine) cause excessive fecal loss. Liothyronine (T3) is almost totally absorbed, 95 percent in 4 hours. The hormones contained in the natural preparations are absorbed in a manner similar to the synthetic hormones.


You don't have to wait 3-4 hours though. 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal is sufficient. If you know you're probably going to be hungry at 3 am then take the night's half dose at 2 am and then chow down an hour later.


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