Just a quick post looking for any individuals who both consume Huel and suffer from a thyroid condition? With my thyroid being underactive, and being on a daily prescription for Levothyroxine, it leaves me in a bit of a pickle when it comes to Huel.
There are certain do’s and do nots when it comes to food and Levo. It must be taken on an empty stomach (no food 4 hours prior) and you cannot eat for an hour afterwards. It also states no calcium or iron for 4 hours following your medication. For any ‘Hypo Huelers’, what are you doing to navigate this issue? While I’ve always taken my medication first thing of a morning/an hour before breakfast, I believe it may now be easier to try and have my last meal no later than 6pm/7pm and then take the medication at 10pm/11pm
Any opinions or comments thyroid patient or non-thyroid patient welcome!
While I have no experience with hypothyroidism or the medication you mention, it does make sense to take your tablet at bedtime. This seems like the only sensible way to meet all the strict conditions that you mention. From what I have read, it is generally best not to eat close to bedtime anyway. So really, even if you didn’t need to take this medication, having your last meal several hours before bedtime would be a good idea.
Interesting subject. I have Graves Disease and had quite severe hyperthyroidism which was left undiagnosed for some years. Been off medication for just over a year and trying to stay that way.
I just bought a week supply to try and see it works for me…super excited about it though!
Have you tried it yet @Mattioso?
Hi Matt, I too am hypothyroid and on Levothyroxine, but none of the guidance I have received with my meds mentions the restrictions you have. Simply put it is recommended to take the meds 1st thing after waking up with water. No limitations on when to eat or what to eat.
I’ve just started Huel as part of a concerted effort to lose weight. I’m a pretty active guy, but despite eating a reasonably healthy diet, with typical calories of 1600-1800 a day and training in one form or another 4-6 times a week as part of a run up for a charity triathlon last year, my weight just wouldn’t drop below 16st. Fingers crossed, huel will help.
I’ve been on Levothyroxine for years - I take about 225mg a day - I used to take it at night but it stopped me sleeping (it acts a bit like speed) so I have taken it in the mornings when I get up for ever…
I have used Huel last year for about 4 months and this year I have been 100% Huel (except a cheeky shish kebab last night) for a week now, I have never been told by my doctor to avoid eating or anything else like that when taking it.
I certainly don’t have any ill effects from taking it in the morning then drinking a Huel 20 mins later on the drive to work.
I will now google and read the little sheet in the levoT box again though.
I’m going to start taking it at night again and see what happens, as it seems I’ve only been absorbing a bit of the drug each day. Probably why they keep increasing my dose!
Hi, I have an under active thyroid, had it since 1999 I have always taken my medication in the morning with my breakfast, I don’t have any of the the instructions or restrictions as to how or when I take my medication you describe either from my GP or from reading the instruction leaflet !
In the early days they did tinker with my dosage, but I have been on the same dose now for years
I know you have to be careful with certain herbal remedies and antacids when taking any sort of medication.
I have been drinking Huel for well over a month as a lunchtime meal replacement with no adverse effect, in fact it has completely reversed my IBS symptoms.
I am due my yearly blood test so will see if anything has changed.
I think the way it works is that by eating it with breakfast, or drinking coffee within an hour, or all those calcium/iron things just reduces the dose you are actually getting.
So if you have been taking say, 100mgs every morning with breakfast for 20 years, then you may have only been absorbing 50mg - but as long as when you get your blood test done they’re correct then that dose works fine for you at that absorbsion.
For me my blood tests keep coming back under where they should be, and my doctor keeps increasing my dose so I’m up from 125 at the beginning to 225 now. What I’m interested to see is, if I take it at night for 8 weeks and then get my next blood test will that dramatically change my readings.
I’m actually quite shocked that no one at the surgery has ever mentioned any of this - and particularly the bad interaction with my lanzoprozole proton pump inhibitor - which should apparently never be taken at the same time as thyroxine… so we’ll see
How it was explained to me initially was that the levels of thyroxine would increase as my thyroids ability to function reduced until a level was reached.
I was on 225mgs about 6 years ago, this was subsequently reduced to 200mgs. So I am assuming after all this time my thyroxine is at the correct level now as previously explained.
I dont drink coffee Just a slice of toast, sometimes I don’t eat breakfast at all so my thyroxine should not be interacting with anything.
The next time I see my GP I will ask him.
New to Huel, just a few days, loving it so far!! I have been on levothyroxine for years, the only restrictions, as far as calcium I’m aware of is supplements and what’s found in antacids. I have always been told to take dose on empty stomach, don’t take any iron or calcium supplements for 4 hours.
Didn’t want to start a new thread so I’m going to post it here. Got a routine checkup of my thyroid levels yesterday (I have post-natal hypothyroidism, auto-immune form). After 1.5 months on Huel, everything was still fine. I take my L-Thyroxine in the morning with a cup of coffee and milk, 1-1.5h later I have Huel.
Just posting it here for other people with this problem.
I’m also hypothyroid and take my Levothyroxine in the morning when I wake up. I take it with water or sugar free squash. As I do TRE (time restricted eating) my first meal of the day is usually Huel at 12pm. My thyroid numbers are stable and have been for a while, but then I have never taken my Levothyroxine with caffeine or food and always when first waking.
My doctor and pharmacist told me that it doesn’t matter that much how you do it, as long as you always do it more or less the same way And of course, let your blood get checked regurarely.
I read here and there on the forum some messages concerning hypothyroidism and Huel, so I just wanted to share.
Exactly the same as me, 6 years of taking it first thing with water and been stable ever since. Last three months not been eating until noon at the earliest, again stable throughout.
Seconding this. I’ve been on thyroid meds for Hashimotos for nearly 25 years now. As long as you take it under consistent conditions and get your levels checked when you’re supposed to, it’ll be fine. If you do start a new regime, you might need to adjust your dose. FWIW I take my tablets when I wake up, with water, then my breakfast Huel comes a couple of hours later when I’ve finished messing around showering, doing housework, getting kids sorted etc etc
Not sure that any doctor or pharmacist should be telling their patients to not worry about the instructions that come with their medication. It doesn’t make any sense to me that anyone would be happy to be prescribed a higher dose than they actually need simply because their failure to follow the instructions for use means they aren’t absorbing it effectively. Plus how do their patients know which instructions they can safely ignore and which they shouldn’t? What about interactions with other medication.
The instructions are not that restrictive. Take it first thing in the morning on waking with water and wait 30-60 minutes before eating. Don’t take it with caffeine and don’t take iron or calcium supplements within 4 hours.
Personally I keep my tablets in a bedside drawer and always have a bottle of water by the bed. Take the tablets as soon as I wake up and then by the time I’ve had a shower and dressed I’d be pretty much fine to make breakfast if I wanted to. If you need a coffee that badly within an hour of getting up then you might want to consider looking at the amount of caffeine you are consuming and maybe switch that first coffee of the day to decaf.
I didn’t say they told me not to worry and ignore the instructions. I said that they confirmed that if my levels were stable and I didn’t change anything too drastically AND kept my appointments to check my blood, it was fine that I had coffee with milk with my medication and breakfast within an hour.
That’s why you should do this in discussion with your doctor and not just do anything by yourself.
They might not be restrictive for you, but everyone is different. I wake up at 6:15 and am out of the door 45mins later, biking for 14k. If I don’t eat something, I would faint. This was especially true when I was pregnant, I had to eat something and for sure couldn’t wait for 1h.
Such harsh words… Anyway, idk about you, but when my son was a baby and woke me up 5-7 times in the night AND I had to work full-time, coffee was the only thing that kept me on my feet and human. Now as a toddler, it’s better, but I still want a coffee in the morning just to raise my energy levels a bit. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Secondly, I dubbelchecked with my pharmacist and it’s only calcium in dairy or supplements that is a problem if you take L-thyroxine. It competes for binding partners and thus decreases the absorption of L-thyroxine. Caffeïne is completely inert in this metabolic pathway.
Anyway, this is all besides the point. I just wanted to point out to others that take this medication that after 1.5 months of Huel approx. 1h and 6h after my medication (100µg L-thyroxine), my levels were still stable. I was a bit apprehensive at first because of the high calcium levels, but as it turns out, at least for me it didn’t have any effect.
I get that. But then if you have been prescribed medication that you shouldn’t take with caffeine as it interferes with absorption then it’s not that tricky to delay your first coffee of the day surely? The instructions for use state to take on an empty stomach (no food for at least 4 hours prior) and to not eat, or drink caffeinated drinks for at least 30 minutes, preferably 60 minutes after taking the levothyroxine.
Calcium also interferes with absorption so taking it with coffee and milk seems a bit like wilfully reducing its effectiveness.
I guess what I’m saying is that if you can’t wait 30 minutes to have a coffee in order to effectively take your medication then maybe you should be asking yourself why? Or looking at when in the day you can take it.
And of course, let your blood get checked regurarely.