Help!

[Oscar11]

I have Graves Disease and while I feel well at the moment I am concerned about weight gain and losing hair. Does it stop with medication or is it medication causing it? I am on Carbimizole (probably spelt wrong).

[hotfeet]

hello i was diagnosed with graves last feb and initially on carbimazol now ppt

i was on 6 tablets daily initially which were then reduced to 2 a day

at xmas i noticed a lot of hair loss and reduced my tabs to 1 daily

hair now seems to have stopped disappearing

i also gained weight but think with graves it was because i had a massive appetite and could nt get full

i ve been fine for the past week and have just started to lose some of the weight but have been able to cut out all snacks and just have breakfast lunch and dinner

my legs/hips ache if i ve walked for a bit and i do get tired some days

back to see endo today

hope you start to feel better soon

hotfeet

[kashka]

Hi Oscar

I put wieght on whilst on Carbimazol,but i think it's because i was so thin and ill with Graves.That when i started to get better thats when the wieght went on .I have been off the meds for 18months now and am 2 stone heavier than i was before my illness. I look at it this way..I would rather have this wieght than be ill with the Graves any day.Ive not had any loss of hair though so maybe if you get those symptoms it may mean you have gone under active as i know thats a symptom of Hypothyroidism,And not neccesarily Graves.Maybe you should check wuith your endo just to be on the safe side.He/she may lower your dose of carbimazol.

[greenginger]

Hi

Actually hair loss and weight gain are common for hypers.

Being very hungry is not uncommon and it is to do with malabsorption of the gut and a speeding up of the system (hyperactivity). I found I was starving all the time but this has calmed down now after 2 years on carbimazole. I am told that the meds make weight gain more likely too. I was one of the 1 in 10 hypers to put weight on initially instead of losing it. I am now 4 stones overweight in total. However I do not each much now and cannot shift it easily. Plus I am often so unwell or tired that I find exercising hard and should do more. However muscle weakness is also a very common problem as is joint problems.

As for hair, hypers tend to have fine straight hair anyway according to research and it does thin due to the carbimazole. Some people do get alopecia but it is not common whereas thinning is. Not lost mine yet but it is a lot finer than previously. It is a common error for people to think they have been over treated of gone hypo just because they feel less warm, have thinning hair or are putting on weight. Hypers undergoing treatment or who are classed as eurythroid can have similar problems to people who are underactive.

Hope this answers your queries even if it does not solve your probs. All the best Bev

[carefulkate]

I have fine thin hair and to date what little I have remains unchanged weight varies but up about 1 stone since diagnosed 2 years ago Good luck x