Can't swallow Thyroxine properly : I just take 7... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,765 members161,555 posts

Can't swallow Thyroxine properly

Granwei profile image
24 Replies

I just take 75 mg of or in one and half pill(I'm in china so they use the 50 mg format) but when I take it it sorts of gets stuck on my throat and no amount of water will pull them down so they basically stay there.

my question is, since I cannot eat anything with the pills, what can I take to push them down or in what way can I take them to avoid this problem? Thanks for listening

Written by
Granwei profile image
Granwei
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
24 Replies
humanbean profile image
humanbean

Could you try crushing them into powder and putting the powder into water then swallowing that way?

Levothyroxine is known to swell up in contact with saliva (and water) so it is considered essential to swallow them with lots of water to make sure they make it into the gut.

Granwei profile image
Granwei in reply to humanbean

That's a way, though I wake up specifically every morning at 6 am to take it and continue to sleep, in this way I don't have to wait awake for breakfast and I make sure to take it everyday at the same time, so it would be extremely annoying to have to crush it every time I wake up, difficult to continue sleeping .... is there any other way?

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply to Granwei

Buy a pill crusher and crush it before you go to sleep, then tip the powder into water just as you are about to take it? Would that work?

Granwei profile image
Granwei in reply to humanbean

Interesting, i didn't know there was such a thing as pill crusher. I'll take a look, here in china should be an option. Thanks so much!!! U are awesome

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to Granwei

Depending on the actual tablets, you might find that they disperse fairly easily in water without having to crush them.

How large are your tablets? Most of ours are quite small but some makes are considerably larger than others. Is there an option to switch to a smaller tablet that is easier to swallow? Or a tablet that is easier to crush/disperse?

Granwei profile image
Granwei in reply to helvella

They only seem to have one format here in shanghai, quite small, but I just bought a tiny "pill crusher" in Taobao that even has a small cup for the water haha so I'll try that. Thank u all for ur kind help

humanbean profile image
humanbean

If you need to eat something to push the Levo down then choose something you'll have access to every day and make sure you eat the same thing in the same quantity every day.

Yes, it will affect absorption, but if you do the same thing every day then your blood tests will show what is normal for you and you'll hopefully get prescribed the correct amount to cater for that lower absorption.

Granwei profile image
Granwei

I wonder whether they are supposed to stay stuck near the thyroid at the throat, otherwise why make it so difficult to swallow it down...?

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply to Granwei

They definitely need to go all the way into the gut.

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator in reply to Granwei

The recommendation is to take the pill with one full glass of water and it shouldn't stick in your throat but go into the stomach.

Hather profile image
Hather in reply to Granwei

Hi granwel. That's interesting..as I have great trouble swallowing nightly Senna tablets (sorry a bit off topic ) and I never though the thyroid could be the reason..sometimes it shoots back out of my mouth ..I am ok with the Levo luckily..I just assumed it was reflux problem but it's a nightly battle with Senna.

silverfox7 profile image
silverfox7

If it doesnt get down quickly it can start dissolving so even more difficult to get it down to the right ok e where it can be absorbed so have the water ready first.

Do you have problems swallowing normally? That could mean your thyroid is swollen so you need to get as much as you can to reverse that. Or you could try taking it at bedtime instead. Just make sure it's 2 hours after food. Some says they feel better it they do that and if you need to change you can take the last one in the morning and take your second dose that evening.

Granwei profile image
Granwei in reply to silverfox7

I don't think is swollen, this is an old problem I had from the beginning.crushing the pill I think will do the trick. Before I tried to take it at night but it made me unable to sleep well late evening

silverfox7 profile image
silverfox7

It's a bit of a catch 22 really. If you are adequately treated then you should sleep. But I suspect you aren't getting enough dose into you at the moment to do that. You aren't always aware of swelling as it's often inward and until it presses on something like the airway you may not know. When you are under educated it sometimes hangs into a dose as it's worried it might not get anymore so that can cause swelling. At the moment it sounds as though getting your full dose down is very hit and miss so you may be getting swelling which won't be helping either.

Granwei profile image
Granwei in reply to silverfox7

I guess, well crashing it will definitely solve the problem. Basically like drinking water I suppose

BadHare profile image
BadHare

I find a few mouthfuls of water before taking tablets will stop them sticking in my throat, as well as with, & after swallowing.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to BadHare

Just what I was going to say! :D

BadHare profile image
BadHare in reply to greygoose

GREAT MINDS!!! :D

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to BadHare

:D

foxglove profile image
foxglove

Agree with Badhare, I find swallowing some water before taking any tablet makes for easier swallowing

Sark1 profile image
Sark1

I let my tablet dissolve in my mouth then take a full glass of water. Do so in the evening at least 2 hours after food. I have tried a gazillion ways trick myself into swallowing and this is the only way that works. My Doc just grins at me!

You could use the same trick we used for our dog when we knew she would simply spit out any pills you gave her.

Just cover it with butter, doesn't take much and the dog loved it. Doubt that quantity of butter would be enough to significantly upset the advice of not eating anything at the same time as taking levo.

jw118271 profile image
jw118271

Hello, I'm writing to you from the United States and I ran across the same problem and what works for me is that I go to a dollar store where you can buy anything for a dollar and I purchase a bottle of probiotic capsules and then what I do is simply take a probiotic capsule an empty out its contents and then I put my Levothyroxine into the empty capsule and put it back together and swallow my levothyroxine with it inside the capsule that had the probiotics in it that I emptied out and that allows it to get all the way down into my stomach without dissolving in my throat and that's always worked for me.

Heather-feather profile image
Heather-feather in reply to jw118271

now THIS is thee answer! So smart!

You may also like...

Gagging, coughing, can't swallow

sweaters due to constant pressure to my throat making me gag. I cannot wear a scarf too closely...

Can't find proper thyroid medication

euthyrox), T4 + T3, T3 only, NDT + T4. And no matter what I still have lingering symptoms despite...

Can't tolerate thyroxine in any form

thyroid treatment for years now. Eventually I got sorted a few years ago with the oral suspension...

Doctor can't up my thyroxine

without The specialists OK. But he wanted me to take Beta blockers.

I can't get my thyroxine dose right, can anyone give me advice?

24 and she wanted me to stay on 125. I decided to try taking 112.5 mcg by taking 100 and 125 on...