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Thyroid Diseases

Taking Thyroid Hormone in Different Time Zones

12/06/2006

Question:

I take my thyroid hormone at 8:00 AM here in the US. I am going to India for a three week vacation during Christmas. When it is 8 in the morning here it is 9:30 in the evening there. What should I do? When and how should I take my medicine?

Answer:

The ideal thing would be for you to take the thyroid pill at 9:30 PM every night there. If that is inconvenient, you will not experience any problems if you simply wait until 8 AM the morning after you arrive in India. Thyroid hormone lasts a long time in the body - if you stop taking it completely, a week later your body will still have half the amount in it that was there when you stopped taking the pill. Thus, even if you are twelve hours late to take your first pill in India, the effect will be minimal.

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Response by:

Thomas A Murphy, MD, FACP, FACE Thomas A Murphy, MD, FACP, FACE
Associate Professor of Medicine
School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University