Taking water with thyroxine tablet

[Sailing14]

Do I need to always take my thyroxine tablet with a full glass of water for it to absorbed correctly?

Thank you to any advice that anyone may have.

[bantam12]

I just drink enough water to swallow the tabs, never a full glass.

[helvella Administrator]

I'm going to say a little bit more about this.

Some formulations of levothyroxine (no UK formulations) almost "explode" as they get wet and it is essential to drink a decent amount of water to prevent them getting stuck in the throat.

Some formulations are not nearly such a problem but tend to start to disintegrate even before being swallowed. A reasonable amount of water may be required to ensure that the entire tablet does get swallowed.

But "full glass" means little without considering the size of the glass!

You don't need to borrow a pint glass from the pub! But is is likely a good idea to swallow some water and, more importantly, to have some water ready to hand so if a tablet doesn't go down, you can immediately drink some.

I probably drink 150 to 200 ml of water - around 6 or 7 fluid ounces.

[FancyPants54]

I set an alarm for 8am, have the tablets in a pill pot on my nightstand with a refillable bottle of water. I sit up, toss the tablets in, glug some water, go back to sleep until 9am and get up. There is no magic amount of water needed other than to enable you to swallow.

Sometimes, in the car in the afternoon, if I've forgotten water and it's time for my dose, I just swallow it with spit. Magic mantras about full glasses of water are meaningless. Bob's idea of having enough to swallow a bit more if the pill gets stuck is a good idea. I've never had a pill get stuck though.

[greygoose in reply to FancyPants54]

Who's Bob?

[FancyPants54 in reply to greygoose]

Ha ha! Confused. He's on the AF board.

[greygoose in reply to FancyPants54]

Oh, well, good for him! 🤣🤣🤣

[Ellie-Louise in reply to greygoose]

Bob’s yer uncle and Fanny’s yer aunt, she generally keeps quiet because like the rest of us, she knows nothing. 😂

[Stourie in reply to Ellie-Louise]

😂😂😂

[jimh111]

The recommendaton of a full glass is simply to avoid the tablet getting stuck in the throat. I take mine with a small mouthfull of orange juice. As regards absorption fruit juice helps as it is acidic. You only need a little water and if it gets stuck simply drink more.

[FallingInReverse]

I’ve had this same question - always thought the instruction should be accompanied with the “why” : )

Consistent with what Helvella says, I have concluded that the reason we drink the water is to get the whole dose into your stomach - and not stuck in your throat.

The biology behind it is that Levo is most and extremely effectively absorbed in our small intestines, and it gets there most effectively through (an empty) stomach… and so the water is needed to swallow that pill and get it into your stomach all at once.

I have always imagined that when a Levo pill I’ve taken dissolves in my mouth or gets stuck in my throat, I know there is some level of absorption that will happen through the walls of your mouth or throat, but that at least part of it needs to wait to flush into the stomach to work.

Clinically, Levo is absolutely highly effective when it drops into an empty stomach and makes a beeline to the small intestines where it is then absorbed into the bloodstream, and taken to all the essential functions it helps us out with.

So that’s my goal with the water.

[Fruitandnutcase]

I worked with someone many years ago whose husband worked for the drug company GSK.

One afternoon I watched her taking antibiotics before a dental appointment and she swallowed the tablet with a huge glass of water saying her husband wouldn’t take any sort of tablet without washing it down with a massive half to one pint of water for exactly the reason Helvella gives so I’ve done the same ever since and if I’m out and want to take a paracetamol I’ll buy a bottle of water - that’s about 500ml. Keeps your body hydrated too.

[Sailing14 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thank you to everyone’s replies on this and sharing their advice and stories. I have to say I am going to consider the larger drink so that I can see if my symptoms improve from the level they are at the moment. Having looked at all other issues (although some remain still to be trialled), and trying to work this complicated condition out for ourselves, we have to try anything to get better along this journey.

[Obsdian]

Interesting, I take about two sips for anything I take.