The Most Absorbable Thyroid Medication

If you feel like your thyroid hormone medication isn’t helping you it might be due to poor absorption.  Certain forms of thyroid hormone have been shown to be more absorbable than others. Let’s discuss the most absorbable type.

If you have questions about thyroid medication, click here.

The Most Absorbable Thyroid Medication

Dr. Michael Ruscio: Hi, this is Dr. Ruscio. And let’s talk about the most absorbable form of thyroid hormone.

Now, who might be on thyroid hormone? Well, if you have hypothyroidism, then you’re given prescription thyroid hormone for that hypothyroidism. And the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism are fatigue, depression, constipation, dry hair, skin, and nails.

And hypothyroidism is a fairly common condition. And there are a number of people that will go on thyroid hormone but feel like they don’t really feel any better. Part of the reason for that — not the only reason — but part of the reason for that may be because you’re not adequately absorbing your thyroid hormone.

This is why it’s recommended that patients take thyroid hormone on an empty stomach and away from food or drink because it’s been shown that certain vitamins and certain minerals can block the absorption of thyroid hormone.

Now, there is a different type of thyroid hormone that has been shown to be better absorbed than others. And this is actually liquid thyroid hormone. And there is liquid in the form of gel capsules. There’s also a liquid form known as Tirosint.

And there have been a few studies done that have shown that this liquid form is actually better absorbed. In fact, one study took about 70 patients and had half take this liquid thyroid hormone Tirosint on an empty stomach. And the other half took it along with breakfast. And they found there was adequate absorption in both groups. And I’ll put another link to another study in here that essentially shows the same thing.  So it’s been shown that the interference of absorption that can happen with the pill form of thyroid hormone doesn’t seem to happen with liquid form.

So if you’re someone who has gone on thyroid hormone, and you’re feeling like you’re not improving, or if your lab values aren’t improving or are kind of erratic, it may be because you’re sometimes eating when you don’t mean to or something else is happening that’s interfering with absorption. And a trial of the liquid form of thyroid hormone might be the fix to that problem.

It’s also important to keep in mind the importance of digestion. We’ve spoken with our other patients before who, after treating different problems in their digestive tract, have actually needed less thyroid hormone dose, probably because their absorption has improved. And now, they’re absorbing more of the medication. And now, they need less of a dose.

So in any case, if you have hypothyroid and you’re struggling to get your dose right or feeling like you’re minimally or marginally responsive to it, you may want to speak with your doctor about a liquid form of thyroid hormone often known as Tirosint and give that a trial to see if that helps your symptoms improve or your lab values stabilize.

This is Dr. Ruscio. And I hope this information helps you get healthy and get back to your life. Thanks!

If you have questions about thyroid medication, click here.

What do you think? I would like to hear your thoughts or experience with this.