Trust me I'm a Dr... Research....

Thanks! I take cod liver oil high strength and it is supposed to prevent retinopathy in diabetics.

Thanks for the heads-up, @donnellysdogs .

I recently worked out that my sudden problem with absorption of my thyroxine tablets coincided with the cod liver oil I had started taking (at the same time as all my other tankers - doh!)! I don't now take the cod liver oil, and my TSH is now spot-on again.

I'm interested in the 'effective vs waste of time' question - my grandparents all swore by the stuff, but for the time being my nearly-42-year-old brain and body will have to do their best without it!

Had a quick look but there is only one study to volunteer for at the moment; Fish in Liverpool.

Does anyone have a link to this study?

Snapsy said:

Thanks for the heads-up, @donnellysdogs .

I recently worked out that my sudden problem with absorption of my thyroxine tablets coincided with the cod liver oil I had started taking (at the same time as all my other tankers - doh!)! I don't now take the cod liver oil, and my TSH is now spot-on again.

I'm interested in the 'effective vs waste of time' question - my grandparents all swore by the stuff, but for the time being my nearly-42-year-old brain and body will have to do their best without it!

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You could take Them at different meals one in the morning the other at night

Ah - not being in Liverpool could be a problem, then.....

donnellysdogs said:

Thats interesting ref fish oil and thyroid.

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I had put two and two together after I realised that the dramatic sudden rise in my TSH and correspondingly low T4 coincided with when I started taking the oil capsules!

Had totally forgotten that I am supposed to take my thyroxine on an empty stomach and with nothing else...... oooopsie!

(Disclaimer: not giving medical advice, just passing on what I've noticed!)

Thanks @Freema ! Might be a good plan to wash the cod liver oil down with my bedtime Cadbury's Highlights!

Snapsy said:

Thanks @Freema ! Might be a good plan to wash the cod liver oil down with my bedtime Cadbury's Highlights!

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I have the same problem as only lately started to eat fish oil.... and this morning I took them in the same meal.... so I learned something from you today ....

Snapsy said:

Thanks for the heads-up, @donnellysdogs .

I recently worked out that my sudden problem with absorption of my thyroxine tablets coincided with the cod liver oil I had started taking (at the same time as all my other tankers - doh!)! I don't now take the cod liver oil, and my TSH is now spot-on again.

I'm interested in the 'effective vs waste of time' question - my grandparents all swore by the stuff, but for the time being my nearly-42-year-old brain and body will have to do their best without it!

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Snapsy,

Can you tell us any more about this cod liver oil / thyroid/thyroxine thing, please?

Hi @LucySW - I don't have an active thyroid gland thanks to having had radioiodine treatment for Graves' disease in 2001.

Back in the summer I had a TSH result of 21.33 - way out of range. My T4 was correspondingly low. I take my thyroxine every day at the same time so was quite offended when the hospital suggested the way-out result might because of 'non compliance' - ie not taking the tablets - but because my cholesterol was also up they reckoned it was an 'absorption issue'.

They reminded me to take my thyroxine without anything else. That got me thinking - I take all my tablets together.

Between my previous thyroid function test (January - all in range) and my July one (bonkersly out of range) I had started taking a cod liver oil capsule daily - at the same time as everything else. It struck me that maybe my thyroxine tablets and my statin were struggling to be absorbed because of the oil. 'Absorption' was the thing they were going on about.

So I decided off my own bat to just stop taking the cod liver oil, in case it might be mucking up the absorption. I mean, I can imagine a chalky tablet dissolving quite well in acid or in water, but not really in oil, which was kind of what I was thinking. In August and September when they retested my thyroid function my T4 had gone from 21.33 to 15 to 11 to 4.5.

Amazing!

Now, during this entire time I have been extremely unwell due to a kidney infection and its lingering after-effects (in fact I am now on antibiotics AGAIN as of yesterday evening), and the high number and its lowering might conceivably be to do with that.

Do note that I am talking about replacement thyroxine tablets rather than the function of a working thyroid gland. I don't have a functioning thyroid gland, so the connection I have personally made between thyroid test results and cod liver oil is purely to do with the ability of tablets to be absorbed, and has nothing to do with naturally-produced thyroxine in people with a functioning thyroid gland.

Am just reporting my own assumptions and experience - please don't view this as any kind of medical recommendation on my part!

Thank you so much. So full and helpful - thank you for taking the time. I get exactly what you mean, and you cleared up my misunderstanding.

Thanks again,

Lucy

Snapsy said:

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My gland has been killed too. Even milk can hinder the absorbtion so we are told to eat the tablets 30 minutes before food

donnellysdogs said:

Thought it was 2hrs for anything containing calcium though. Thats reason my hubby gets up at 4am.. I take an injection and he takes his thyroxine so we can have cup of tea together at 8.30.

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Sounds cozy your time in the night together thanks for the information... well I dont eat much calcium in the mornings now... but when I´ve lost what I want to in weight then maybe cheese and some kind of milk will be a first choice again