I just found out that I’ve been taking one of my prescribed drugs wrong. I’ve been taking this drug for years and years (like over 20 years, so go ahead and add some more years and years on there), and nobody ever thought to tell me how you are supposed to take it.
So I thought I’d give you a little PSA, because this is a pretty common drug.
I have been on levothyroxine (aka synthroid) for fucking ever.
Fat people are often checked for thyroid conditions – because … fat. (You might be surprised the number of medical tests fat people are subjected to simply because they are fat and doctors live to find something to blame – because much of the medical profession cannot believe fat people simply exist in nature; yes, Virginia, there are wild fatties.) Anyhow, because of all this testing, I personally believe that fat folks are diagnosed with conditions that our less fat counterparts aren’t, simply because we are tested more often and they are not. Just saying.
But I digress.
I was today years old when I learned that you are supposed to take levothyroxine on an empty stomach (preferably in the morning), and not with any other medication – and it is supposed to be left unaccompanied by food or other meds for 30-60 minutes, so it is fully digested before anything else is introduced to your tummy.
WTF?
So for over 20 years I’ve been taking this drug wrong. And now I am expected to find a way to take it correctly.
I take a shit ton (the precise medical measurement) of other drugs. I take most first thing in the morning, and I take a few when I go to bed. And then I have an after breakfast and dinner drug (which I sometimes forget because I am lousy at keeping track of my pills other than the morning and bedtime drugs). And then I have my bedtime drugs because one of my drugs does not play well with these particular drugs.
So now my doctor wants me to find a time when I can take one stupid pill when I have not and am not going to be eating within an hour (you know, like swimming), all by its lonesome without any of my other meds.
How the fuck am I going to remember that?
The suggestion is that I wake up early (yeah, that’s going to happen – I HATE GETTING UP AT ALL, MUCH LESS EARLY), take the pill and then go back to bed for an hour; and do this the rest of my sodding life.
Then I go to lunch and find out that all of this is not news to my sister Linda! She knew all about it. So I expect to have lots of comments from people telling me how this was clearly explained to them and it is common knowledge that somehow I was never in on.
Jesus wept.
Thoughts from a Fat Old Lady 
I’m looking at my lineup of scrip bottles (including levothyroxine) & can understand your mistake – when you take all this stuff it’s nearly impossible to keep track – kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Look at it this way: you took the pills the wrong way but you lived to tell the tale. Huzzah! Put it under don’t sweat the small stuff.
LikeLike
Thank you! Although, I don’t admit to it being my mistake. I swear nobody ever told me this about levothyroxine. Also, in case you didn’t know it and it applies to your lineup – levothyroxine and atorvastatin do not play well together! Of course, if I had been taking the levo correctly, this would never have been an issue. But I can’t take my atorvastatin at night (like they want you to) because it also does not play well with my eltrombopag. ARGH! Yeah, I guess I’m just feeling my age and I don’t like it one bit! Let’s hear it for the joys of denial!
LikeLike