Hello im just new here . Iv been recently diagnosed with graves and im taking low dose of carbimazole. iv had symptoms 6 months now but recent diagnosed . I have anxiety and panic and sleep problems . I get breathless just going upstairs to the bathroom . my hear beats so fast time i get to the top . Tho when im resting my heart rate is down to 64 beats per min . I have a constant flutter feeling in my chest that gets worse with exercise which would make me panic thinking i had heart failure because just walking about my home i get the chest flutters and feel like i could colapse . Tho had my heart listened to and ecg and was fine . Im starting to not want to go out because of this heart feeling and feeling general body weakness . Iv been on my medication only ten days what i would like to know is when will the medication start to work . I v had these symptoms for 6 months that gradual got worse . When will i start to feel little better . I live alone and have no friends so im getting pretty depressed feeling so poorly . Please no negative horror stories im not mentally strong enough to cope with bad things i panic to much and living alone iv no one to help me . If anyone has any tips please help me
graves: Hello im just new here . Iv been recently... - Thyroid UK
graves
Hi Louiseluo, so sorry to hear your not so good at the moment, it dose get better but it takes time give it another couple of weeks and you should start to feel better, have they given you propanol to help with your palpitations if not maybe you could ask gp to prescribe some for you, these help to slow heart rate down and should help to make you feel more comfortable have you seen an endo yet?
Thank you for your reply . yes was giving some propanol few months back before was diagnosed with graves by endo . Im just bit frightened to take them with having a low resting heart rate its just when im moving about my home my heart rate goes up and i feel like passing out so i feel scared to get up from the sofa only to go toilet and get food . I was giving some anti depressents the other day to take its just i though if i take the anti depressents it might slow down my graves medication from working .
If your worried maybe you should have a chat to your gp about the propanol,i know when I was first diagnosed with Graves I also was prescribed propanol and didn't want to take them but was told I needed to by my gp. I don't know about taking antidepressants with carbimazole as I never took them when I was on carbimazole, I have taken them some time ago after I had radio active iodine therapy for about 2 yrs but am off them now and wouldn't want to go back on them if I could help it obviously it's your choice whether you take them or not but they take about 4weeks before you get any benefit from them.y ou will feel a bit depressed and anxious when you have graves desease until the meds have had a chance to get your thyroid levels back in range.
Thanks again for your reply . I will hold off with the anti depressants and wait to see if the carbimazole works . I just feel so dreadful get so hot too . Is it normal to feel so poorly even with walking about the home like my heart feels like its about to shut down and collapsing and it does scare me a lot . Tho this is all new to me graves i thought it was anxiety causing my symptoms for months because the doctors said so . I went to see another doctor who did bloods and sent me to the specialist . also my eyes are not right . double vision when i look up and so light sensitive . Dizzy and vertigo .
That's a normal response from doctor's they just seem to want to dish out antidepressants and not get to the bottom of what's causing the symptoms, all the symptoms you have are all quite normal in graves desease patients. When I was diagnosed I had the tremors so bad I couldn't write my name, I think I had problems for 5 yrs before I was diagnosed and the gp had put it down to the menopause.a s for your eyes are they going to check them for thyroid eye desease as quite a few of us that have graves can also have this so should be checked out as well.if they feel gritty you could get gp to prescribe lubricating eye drops which helps a bit. Although I've had graves for 20yrs I have only just having problems with my eyes for the last 6 months so am seeing ophthalmologist to see what they can do about the double vision.if you look on thyroid UK site there is alot of good information on the thyroid suggest you read and learn as much as you can. There are alot of knowledgeable people on this forum who will help you with anything you need to know and they are very supportive.
Thanks i will see what the doctor says about my eyes . There not that supportive in my town surgery , The gp who did my bloods has since retired . I dont go back see the specialist till december tho iv got to have a blood test six weeks after taking these tablets . So will see what that reveals . I was mostly worried about this weakness and heart collapse feeling when i walk about and feel calmer that its normal for graves . The anxiety too is hard to control . Thank you for your good advice
Hi, it can take a while for some of the hyper symptoms to subside once you start your meds. There's a few others on the forum who may be able to give advice re propanol / meds for palpitations I can say it's common to have both anti thyroid meds and beta blockers prescribed at the same time you can also speak to the pharmacist as I find them more helpful re how different meds interact with each other than the gp . It's nearly 9 years since I was diagnosed but I do remember the insomnia and stomach problems being the first lot of symptoms to get better and that was after 3-4 weeks of starting carbimazole. If you feel you're not improving don't hesitate to speak to your dr.
Hope you start to feel better soon.
Thanks for your reply . Iv been on the tablets 11 days now so maybe its going to take few weeks . I just hope they do work because i feel no better infact worse . I am starting to feel like vomit too which is making it hard to eat my food . Did it make you feel like vomit up
Hi. I was diagnosed with graves a couple of years back. I felt terrible before I knew I was ill and put it down to anxiety before I felt forced to see a gp because I felt so, so ill. My worst symptom was the anxiety, my heart would pound and race doing anything and when doing nothing at all. I felt dizzy and shaky and weak. All the symptoms increased when doing anything - going into a shop became terrifying and for months I only picked up essentials. Shopping for fun was impossible. Speaking to anyone when standing up had me feeling like I would collapse to the floor! In short, I felt awful and thought I was going crazy. Anyway, I felt miles better within a couple of weeks of treatment. I think perhaps because my symptoms had been so bad I could really appreciate the marked improvement and I really felt overjoyed and better than I'd done in years. I was on beta blockers while waiting for the endo appointment and they did make symptoms more manageable for me and things like picking up a pint of milk from a shop no longer felt like I was going into battle! I continued taking the beta blockers for a couple of weeks after starting the anti thyroid meds and then had no need for them. I had no side effects from any drugs and wouldn't hesitate to take them if symptoms ever returned.
Thank you for your reply and it sounds like it effected us in the exact same way . iv felt like that even standing talking to someone or just standing at the kitchen sink id feel like id collapse i truely tought i was going crazy or dying until now since i read your post .its been 11 days on the tablets but i feel no better yet infact worse but im just praying they will work soon . I will think about the beta blockers im scared to take them with use to have asthma . plus i have always been one to be sensitive to medication . I hope my tablets work . what dose of thyroid medication was you on and do you still take them . im on 5mg
When you took the anti thyroid meds did you mean you stopped the beta blockers because you had no need for them . What tablet worked the best for your symptoms
I was on carbimazole but I developed hives after about 4 weeks so I was switched to ptu in case the carb was responsible. I can't really remember doses but I think I was on the highest dose possible of carb to start with because my t4 was very over range and tsh undetectable. Yes, I stopped the beta blockers around 2, maybe 3, weeks after starting the carb because I felt so calm and no longer felt I needed them.
What is ptu . Im on the lowest dosage or carb heavens i hope i dont get hives . you had a allergic reaction thats what im afraid of with all medications . do you think the carb made you feel calmer or maybe not on them long enough to tell so you was only on carb for 4 weeks so would been hard to tell if this made you feel better or infact the beta blockers or the ptu
Looked ptu up . so you must been lot worse then me in tests because you were put on a lot higher carb so why do i feel as dreadful as you did at the start when iv only been started on 5 mg of carb.
Ptu is the second choice drug and is given if the carb is not suitable. I only had the hives for a few days on my arms and legs (none on face or neck) and I just popped to my gp who called the endo and I was switched to ptu on the hospital advice. The hives were really not a problem and was sorted very quickly. I definitely felt a huge improvement after 2ish weeks on the carb but the beta blockers also helped with symptoms until the carb was underway. The doctors might decide you need a higher dose of carb if you're blood results aren't coming back into range. My levels came down very quickly and then my meds were reduced accordingly. It is early days for you. Best wishes.
Thanks again for your good advice . I really appreciate it x
So sorry to hear about your difficult symptoms Louiselou. It does take time for the anti-thyroid drugs to work but once they do it's great. You could have exercise intolerance, which I realize you're not exercising, but is when the hyperthyroidism causes excessive heart reaction to exertion. I think talking to your doctor is a good idea. My resting he is 56 and only went up to 64 when hyper but when I wasn't even hyper I took beta blockers for a while, 2-3 months daily, and I had no issues. So I think especially at low doses it's not something to fear but definitely speak with another doctor or perhaps a pharmacist that you trust. It could help a lot when you're waiting for the thyroid to use up it's stores of excess hormone. Also check out Elaine Moore's website. She's very positive and no horror stories but useful information. Best wishes
Thanks for reply talk to another doctor about what the beta blockers or the heart reaction to exertion .
Hi Louise
I'm recently diagnosed hyperthyroid. I'm taking propranolol 80mg slow release. It has really helped with the symptoms of racing heart and palpatations, also the breathlessness and shakes. I agree that the palpatations can be scary and I spoke to my doctor about it, they weren't concerned at all. The only reason I'm feeling a bit better is the propranolol masking some of the symptoms, my thyroid is not better yet and could take ages to recover. The propranolol will also help calm you down and help with the anxiety.
Hope this helps, I'm new to this too so can only go on my own experience. Hope you start feeling better soon.
Louise.
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