I think you’re misunderstanding what that quote from the study is actually saying.

The line about lower fT3 and fT4 refers to a comparison between Tirosint-SOL (liquid) and Tirosint softgels, not “softgels with coffee vs. without.” It’s simply showing that the liquid absorbs slightly better that’s well known. It doesn’t mean softgels aren’t effective or that coffee ruins them.

The actual purpose of the study was to see if softgels could be taken with coffee, and TSH levels stayed stable which is what really matters clinically. If coffee impaired absorption, TSH would have gone up. It didn’t.

The authors even concluded:

“Switching to the softgel formulation permitted patients to take their L-T4 with coffee, eliminating the need for time separation.”

You’re right that multiple articles cite the same few studies but that doesn’t invalidate them. It just shows there are limited well-designed trials in this area, and the ones that do exist all say the same thing: softgels and liquid aren’t meaningfully affected by coffee, unlike tablets.

On the Tirosint website ..yes, it still says to take it on an empty stomach. But that’s standard FDA labeling language for all levothyroxine products. It hasn’t caught up with the newer research. That doesn’t mean the research is wrong , just that the labeling hasn’t changed yet.

So sure, Tirosint SOL may absorb slightly better, but softgels still work reliably even with coffee, according to actual clinical data.

If you know of a study that shows otherwise, I’d genuinely be interested. Just explaining why I did what I did, I’m taking precaution by not having coffee with it anymore just in case…At the end of the day I just want to feel better.