What is Liothyronine: Uses, Warnings & Interactions

Follow all the prescriber’s instructions.

Take only one dose daily in the morning.

Take each day’s dose on an empty stomach 30–60 minutes before breakfast.

Swallow the tablet whole with a drink of water.

Store liothyronine tablets in a closed container at room temperature protected from light, heat, and moisture.

Ask the prescriber how to handle missed doses.

Prescribers typically advise that a missed dose be taken as soon as possible.

• Some may suggest a time frame in which the missed dose can be taken.

Do not take a missed dose if it’s the next day. In that case, take the next dose as scheduled.

If doses are missed two days in a row, contact the prescriber.

Do not take extra medicine to make up for a missed dose.

This medicine is not right for everyone. 

Do not use it if you have had an allergic reaction to liothyronine or if you have uncorrected adrenal gland problems. 

Do not use this medicine to treat obesity or to lose weight.

Tell any healthcare provider or dentist who treats you that you are using this medicine.

Liothyronine treatment requires regular check-ups and blood tests to monitor treatment. Keep all appointments.

Before and during liothyronine treatment, tell the prescriber if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding, or if you have:

• Heart problems

• Diabetes

• Kidney problems

• Blood clotting problems

• Adrenal gland problems

This medicine can cause serious side effects. Most are caused by overdosage, underdosage, or use in the elderly or people with pre-existing conditions. These side effects include:

• Heart problems, including chest pain, fast heartbeats, abnormal heart rhythms, and heart attack

• Hyperthyroidism or thyroid hormone poisoning

• Elevated blood pressure

• Elevated blood sugar levels in people with diabetes

• Osteoporosis

• Adrenal gland crisis in people with adrenal gland insufficiency

Liothyronine can cause hair loss in the first few months of treatment. The problem should be temporary.

Do not stop using this medicine without asking your doctor, even if you feel well. You may have to take this medicine for the rest of your life.

As a thyroid hormone, liothyronine has a number of potentially hazardous drug and food reactions.

To avoid potentially hazardous drug interactions, tell the prescribing healthcare provider about all prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and supplements regularly used, particularly:

• NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen

• Blood thinners 

• Aspirin and drugs like aspirin called salicylates

• Birth control pills

• Estrogens

• Male hormones

• Corticosteroids

• Blood pressure medications called beta blockers

• Cholesterol treatments called fibrates

• Diabetes medications 

• Drugs that treat depression

• Drugs that treat seizures

• Drugs that stimulate the involuntary nervous system like epinephrine, phenylephrine, or pseudoephedrine

• Amphetamines

• The heart rhythm drugs amiodarone or digoxin

• The anticancer drugs mitotane, tamoxifen, asparaginase, or tyrosine-kinase inhibitors

• The diuretic furosemide

• The antibiotic rifampin

• Cocaine, heroin, ketamine, methadone, nicotinic acid

Liothyronine should not be taken with calcium supplements or antacids.

• Liothyronine doses must be separated by at least four hours before or after taking a calcium supplement or antacid.

Liothyronine cannot be taken with cholesterol medications called bile acid sequestrants.

• Separate the doses by at least four hours.

Some foods may cause problems. These foods should not be eaten four hours before or four hours after taking a liothyronine tablet:

• Soy products or soybean flour

• High-fiber foods

• Walnuts