Water and levothyroxine

[morena]

I have heard from a few places how important drinking alot iof water is when taking levo. I take mine at night with nothing and it does the job. Am i missing something?

[Clutter]

Hopefully, Morena. The main reason to wash drugs down with plenty of water is to prevent the tablet or capsule from sticking in your gullet and causing ulceration. Levothyroxine is absorbed via the gut so slooshing it down gets it nearer the gut and the water helps soften the tablet so it breaks down and is absorbed.

[gabkad in reply to Clutter]

Clutter, I've taken your advice on board now. I used to just pop the pill first thing in the morning, no water. Then recently one morning I woke up a bit too early, so took the Cytomel and the Levo. Woke up 2 hours later and the Levo was sitting on my tongue partly dissolved. So much for swallowing while asleep.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to gabkad]

It is especially important for those taking makes such as Levoxyl which swell when they get damp. The USA FDA issued urgent guidance a number of years ago because of the dangers of the tablets swelling up in the throat.

No UK makes swell up like Levoxyl.

Rod

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to helvella]

Dear Healthcare Professional:

Jones Pharma Incorporated™, a wholly owned subsidiary of King Pharmaceuticals ®, Inc., would like to inform you about new additions to the labeling of Levoxyl® (levothyroxine sodium) regarding safety.

Some patients have reported choking, gagging, tablet stuck in throat and dysphagia while taking Levoxyl®. This has been reported, predominately when Levoxyl® tablets were not taken with water.

In order to communicate this product information to health care professionals, the following Information for Patients section of PRECAUTIONS, ADVERSE REACTIONS, and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION have been added to the package insert with respect to use of Levoxyl®.

Information for Patients

Levoxyl may rapidly swell and disintegrate resulting in choking, gagging, the tablet getting stuck in your throat or difficulty swallowing. It is very important that you take the tablet with a full glass of water. Most of these problems disappeared when Levoxyl tablets were taken with water.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

In addition to the above events, the following have been reported, predominately when Levoxyl tablets were not taken with water: choking, gagging, tablet stuck in throat and dysphagia.

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

Levoxyl should be taken with water (see Information for Patients and ADVERSE REACTIONS)

fda.gov/downloads/Safety/Me...

Rod

[Clutter in reply to gabkad]

Gabkad, I've never been able to dry swallow tablets. Always had a feeling of something stuck in my throat prior to thyroidectomy and needed lots of fluids to convince me the tablet wasn't stuck.

[morena]

Interesting. I did read a thyroid publication that said that water was important to get it down to the right place as quickly as possible, bypassing other places. The idea of it swelling in my throat isnt very nice; but i have to say that it seems to be fine the way i take it; which i copied from a friend who does the same (no water)

[greygoose in reply to morena]

It's fine until one day it isn't...

[Fruitandnutcase]

I once worked with someone whose husband worked for a large pharma company.

One afternoon I watched her taking antibiotics before going to the dentist and I have never seen anyone drink so much water with a pill - I used to regularly swallow pills without any water - when I asked why she drank so much water with them, she said it was her husband who had told her to do that and that he used to wash pills down with a pint or so of water because he wanted them washed right through his gullet so that it didn't cause ulceration like Clutter says.

[shaws Administrator]

You only need to take a glass of water, not 'a lot' of water.

[Aurealis]

Well I took mine for years without water with seemingly no adverse effect. I wonder if it becomes more risky as you get older (and dryer?). I aways take with water now.

[Ali1101]

Very old thread ... but important subject!!

Levo is very sensitive to heat and moisture, the longer it takes to travel to the right place and get absorbed the less potency it gets. So, sticking in your throat will not only make its potency less, but it will be dangerous for your body to absorb as the medication will be unstable.

[Sweats_Cramps]

As all this info about the hormone supplement and Levothyroxine needing to be taken with water because of the fact that it swells and disintegrates fast I'm sure it's probably true but I will say coming from my primary my specialist my pharmacist and my body itself I know that I need to drink plenty of water because I'm affected by a few of the common side effects. Such as extreme sweating which can lead to dehydration, sensitivity that heat causing thirst, and cramping in my sides and calves that can always be helped with water. So like I said even though I'm sure all the other information probably correct most people who take this medication suffer from the side effects and if you find yourself suffering especially from the sweating or cramps then I would definitely make sure not to only take it with plenty of water but you drink plenty of water throughout the day.