Carmabizole and propanolol

[Lauren85]

Hi,

I am new to this site and not long been diagnosed with an over active thyroid.

This is all new to me and I don't no much about it but I have been given 20mg carmabizole, and I have been on 40mg propanolol for 3yr for anxiety,

Can you take both tablets ? I'm a worrier. Replys would be much appreciated thanks x

[flizzie]

Hi yes you can take both together, the carbmabizole is to try and reduce the overactive thyroid and the propranolol protects the heart from working overtime. So it's good you have been on that before it was discovered you were overactive. Once your thyroid levels calm down you will feel much better. It takes a bit of time for body to adjust so be patient. Hope you feel better soon.

X

[cuteyoungchic]

Hi Lauren85,

Sorry to hear you've joined the rest of us who have/have had a hyperthyroid problem.

I'd find out as soon as possible, from either your pharmacist, or your doctor, if it's safe

to take both your drugs at once.

Hyperthyroid is caused by anxiety, so you may be taking two drugs for the same thing.

Google "Cause of Anxiety", also "Anxiety, natural cure", & keep reading more & more

articles til you find one that feels just right for you.

I taught people to give up smoking for a few years, ages ago, & one thing that we

hammered into our clients, was that "80% of worry never happens, 15% can be solved,

that leaves 5% to worry about." The 15% can be solved by fixing the problem as soon

as you can, don't leave it dangling. The 5% you need to work on to solve - and you can,

it just needs your attention to work out how to do it.

A big hug for you Lauren

Cheers,

Liz

OZ

[Pushka in reply to cuteyoungchic]

Is this true that hyperthyroidism is caused by anxiety? I've never heard this before and have been hyper for about 8 years now

[Clutter in reply to Pushka]

Pushka,

No. See my reply to Liz.

[cuteyoungchic in reply to Pushka]

Hi Pushka,

Yes it is true! I've never been an anxious person, til 2013 & I had the worst year ever! It was so stressful I actually wondered how people survive such stress.

At the end of that year, after my life settled down, I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism - I felt just dreadful, & the racing heart was scarey.

I'm a Google person when it comes to health. I'm 70, still run a business, & refuse to be ill, so try to find cures for any little health issue that may arise, & mostly with success But hyperthyroid, I couldn't fix that on my own unfortunately.

I Googled til the cows came home, most sites advising there's no known cause, but the others all state that a hyperthyroid state is caused by anxiety.

You yourself will know if you're an anxious person, regardless of other people's opinions.

Cheers,

Liz

[ling in reply to Pushka]

hi pushka, u've been hyperthyroid for 8 years - wow. do u have graves?

I have graves with the diagnosis given about 2.5years back. I am considering RAI since the carbimazole doesn't work so well for me any more after 2years, in terms of controlling the symptoms, plus i'm now experiencing the side effects of the medication as well so overall, I haven't been feeling altogether well.

could u share your 8-year experience with me?

i'm not too keen about RAI but do not think I have much of a choice

many thanks!

[Bebo0608 in reply to Pushka]

No. Hyperthyroidism causes anxiety. Im hyper too.

[Clutter in reply to cuteyoungchic]

Liz,

Hyperthyroidism isn't caused by anxiety but anxiety may be caused by hyperthyroidism. Around 50% of hyperthyroidism is due to autoimmune thyroiditis - Graves Disease. Carbimazole is an anti-thyroid drug which blocks the production of T4 and T3. High heart rate is caused by high thyroid levels and Propranolol reduces heart rate as well as reducing anxiety. When Carbimazole starts working Propranolol can usually be weaned off.

[lori]

I have Graves' disease and have been on carbimazole and propranolol for about 7 years. My levels have been steady for years. At first they wanted me to have my thyroid out or have RAI treatment but as I also have thyroid eye disease I refused, as I know it could have made my eyes worse. I am on a maintenance dose of 5mg carbimazole every other day and have been classed as euthyroid for several years.

[ling in reply to lori]

hi lori, thank you for sharing your experience!

I too have thyroid eye disease. I read that its caused by the thyroid antibodies attacking the eyes. I figured if this is the case and I had the RAI, that should eventually get rid of the antibodies and hopefully my thyroid eye disease would not worsen. my right vision is pretty diminished.

do u also have a fast heart rate and palpitations?

do u have your bone density and heart function monitored?

many thanks!

[lori in reply to ling]

Hi

My understanding is that RAI only kills off the thyroid itself. You will still have the antibodies and once the thyroid has been killed those antibodies can turn on the eyes instead. Killing off or removing the thyroid doesn't get rid of the antibodies. I did have the racing heart, shakiness etc until my levels stabilised and now the maintenance dose of carbimazole and the propranolol keep everything on an even keel

Hope that helps

[ling in reply to lori]

thank you lori. i'm going to see the ophthalmologist and will see what he/she says. i didn't know the antibodies can turn on the eyes once he thyroid is destroyed, tho i did read that the antibodies level will eventually come down after the thyroid is destroyed, so in the mean time the antibodies could continue to cause problems for the eyes and need to be treated with steroids which have their own side effects

may i ask how your eye condition has been through these 7 years?

thank you very much.

[Nat107]

Hi Lauren

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis of hyperthyroidism

I was diagnosed with overactive thyroid 28 years ago, possibly had it a lot longer before it actually presented in my blood tests though. Possibly as far back as childhood.

I was on both carbimazole & propranolol and as flizzie rightly says yes you can take the two together and definitely a good thing you have had the protection of propranolol before your heart went into overdrive like mine did.

It is not good for your heart to stay overactive. I was on carbimazole as far as I can remember for 18 months then came off it for a good while to see if it had corrected it, mine was stable for a bit but then came back with a vengeance and had to go into other things till eventually I turned underactive myself which I will be for life so dont worry you are safe to take both tablets.

Hope this helps

Nat

[ling in reply to Nat107]

hi nat, so you became hypothyroid without an RAI?

thanks!

[Nat107 in reply to ling]

Hi ling, I was committed and welcomed the option to have the RAI instead of a thyroidectomy. it was a consecutive 2 day apointment. 1st day was a lot of tests measuring my thyroid lots of bloods then a injection & a tester amount iodine drink they then told me the next day I would have the full treatment of RAI, but afterwards I wouldn't be able to go within a certain distance of my children or anyone pregnant for a while, this made me very upset as my children were all so young at the time, I cried all night. Anyway I went next day ready for full treatment had few more tests to be told very by a mystified consultant but unsurprisingly they didn't no how but my thyroid had stabilized itself overnight!! I felt really ill so was in shock at this. In meantime of what I can remember, a while after I still felt awful & was going worse & worse like I was on verge of collapsing and many other symptoms that I took myself off for blood test as had a blood form I hadn't used within 2 days I had a phone call from my doctors receptionist asking me to come see doctor straight away. It turned out I was in need of thyroxine treatment very urgently I had somehow turned very underactive. Everyone is different though ling so what happened to me may not happen to anyone else, I would not know but that was my history if it helps

Nat

[ling in reply to Nat107]

thank you so much nat for sharing your experience. I am grateful ... thank you very much

[Alexkjones]

hi. You need to find out your levels of tsh, t3 and t4 from the doctor. Do you have Graves' disease which is the most common cause of hyperthyroid? Yes you can take the 2 tablets together. The carbimazol will bring the thyroid hormones down and the propanadol will protect the heart while that is happening. Alex

Ps. Nat. What caused you to go underactive in the end?

[Paolafeesh]

Hi Lauren,

I have Graves' disease (overactive thyroid) and was prescribed Carbimazole and propranolol together - it's fine to take both. As others have said the drugs do different things. But, if you want to talk to someone about it a pharmacist should be able to advise you, or your GP / endocrinologist.

It took me about 2 months to start feeling better, so be patient - it's a slow process.

[Caesard]

I can confirm too, give it a few months (between 2 and 4 in my case) and you'll improve very well. After that you'll have the time and he clear mind to consider further options.

Dosage also looks legit, you'll learn to adjust it yourself when/if needed; keep monitoring your hormone levels though, it will help calibrate.

Oh, and the anxiety, tackle that with your own strengths, it will also help (learned from experience too...)

[glo42]

Sadly there is no easy fix to resolving any thyroid condition but your medication will help you to feel a little better but it all takes time and you will need to be patient and learn to listen to your body. Some days will be better than others but you must pamper yourself and rest when you can. Eat sensibly and generally be kind to yourself until your medication kicks in.

Ask for the results of your routine blood tests and others much more knowledgeable than I

am will help and guide you through the roller coaster times a thyroid condition gives you.

It will improve, but you need to help yourself by recognizing good and not so good days. xx

[hypno1]

Hi I have been overactive for the past 7 7 years. And I am still on carbimazole. It is safe to take with propanolol. I was so angry at my body for doing this and a big part of this was learning to accept the condition. I have found meditation incredibly useful to help with the anxiety. Alsothe supplement lemon balm. X

[SewingBee]

I was also offered propranolol and I find that it is best taken when I need calming ahead of a certain task. 10mg is all I take and very occasionally as it too has it's problems. When your thyroid treatment is stabilised you'll find the anxiety is easier to handle. It really isn't so easy for some of us but the last thing we want to do is create additional problems.

Good Luck!

[SewingBee]

Oh MY! I'm so sorry but I failed to see that you were over and not under. A whole different ball game so take as prescribed.

[kiefer]

Yes, you can. They work by different mechanisms of action.

Propranolol inhibits the conversion of T4 to T3, dropping your T3 blood levels which overstimulate tissues. It increases Reverse T3, which blocks the receptors from receiving T3. It blocks beta 1 (and beta 2 in the lungs and arteries in skeletal muscles) receptors in the heart, which ultimately reduces both the rate and force of heart contraction. Your blood pressure will go down and you won't experience heart palpitations to the same degree.

Carbimazole is a pro-drug that is converted to methimazole, which works to inhibit thyroid peroxidase from producing T4 and T3 within the thyroid gland.

[Lauren85]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the replys you have all been very helpful.

I hope each and everyone of you get better and live life to the full.

I am glad Iv found this site and don't feel like I'm alone in this. I will continue to come on this site and try and give good advice to other people who are going through thyroid problems.

Thanks ,

Lauren x

[Ngaire]

Hi Lauren welcome to the Graves disease club. Only special people get graves, usually the caring sensitive types.

I can't help you with medication doses however I was diagnosed approx 8 years ago and still have my thyroid in tact. Worrying is part of having Graves disease so don't beat yourself up.

My suggestions are to find a good naturopath who will help change your diet , remove gluten/wheat, give up alcohol, take Vitamin D. I have found meditating really helps, I also do jigsaw puzzles if you are into them. I have also had counselling to talk about past traumas to rid any deep seated stress.

Good luck.

[Caesard in reply to Ngaire]

"Hi Lauren welcome to the Graves disease club. Only special people get graves, usually the caring sensitive types."

Where did that came from?!?

Nevertheless, it's quite true in my case, but would like to hear more what is behind your reasoning.