New medication regimen, need some advice please.

[Teada]

Hi guys. It's been a while since I felt I needed some helpful information so I've mostly just been reading other posts. I was diagnosed by my endo with Grave's back in October. He said that he could tell it was that just by looking at my eyes. However I haven't ever had a definite diagnosis nor have I had my thyroid gland scanned. I have been on Carbimazole 20mg daily since my diagnosis. Just over a month ago the endo added levothyroxine 50mg daily to my regimen.

I had started to feel better before the levo's were added. Now I just feel tired all the time again. My thyroid also seems to be swelling again. Should I be asking my G.P. for further tests to confirm what the endo said? Should I have the endo check my dosage?

[elderflower2016]

You don't need to have your thyroid scanned to confirm Graves'. If your T4/T3 levels were above range , and you had symptoms of Thyroid Eye Disease (I suspect so if you say that your endo said he/she could tell by looking at your eyes), then that is a confirmed diagnosis. Sometimes they also measure your thyroid antibodies when they diagnose Graves'.

I think it would be good if you could get a new blood test to know what your thyroid levels are now. Work with your GP if they are helpful or go directly to your endo.

[Silver_Fairy]

Also you should be referred to an Ophthalmologist if your eyes are affected.

[elderflower2016]

And you should also look at selenium supplementation for your eyes.

[Teada]

I take a multivitamin that has selenium in it. The only thing I experience with my eyes is some dryness. I've been given hypromellose drops for that. To be honest, the endo just glanced at my face across his desk, so I sort of felt as though he couldn't even be bothered. I was keeping track of my blood tests for about six months but all of a sudden my surgery said they didn't have copies of my blood tests any more. I'm having a blood test done next week and will see the endo again after that, at which point he hopes he can just put me on the register and that I won't have to see him again.

I suppose I just feel as though my questions are not being answered by my doctors.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Teada]

Teada,

In my view, hypromellose drops are a waste of time or, if they are ones that contain preservative, far worse than a waste of time.

Get yourself some preservative-free, decent quality eye treatment. I liked Visco-Tears (single dose unit - the more common bottles have preservative) though they are expensive. Others have been happy with some other products.

Consider getting something else for night-time use. I was happy enough with LacriLube but supply problems made that unavailable for months and some people hated it.

[Teada]

The hypromellose are fine for me. I work in pharmacy so I knew the choices available to me when I chose the drops. I am using the 1%. They're thick and last for a long time, which means that I rarely need to use them more than once a day.

The thing that I'm really struggling with at the minute is the joint pain. I've been experiencing pain in my hips, shoulders, knees, ankles and fingers. It makes work so difficult at times as I'm on my feet all day and need my hands for small intricate jobs. If anyone has any advice on how to manage the pain, I would appreciate it. Ibuprofen doesn't seem to help, neither does paracetamol. I don't like codeine, it knocks me out.