Hyperthyroidism

[Ruane]

Hi, I was diagnosed by my very good GP and am currently waiting to see a consultant at the end of June. I know little about the condition and I would be grateful if some can tell me what to expect once I start treatment. I am a bit worried because I am very sensitive to medication.

[Fruitandnutcase]

I don't know if you are taking carbimazole at the moment, I imagine you will be. Keep a note of what drugs you are taking. I used to jot down a few lines about how I was feeling. That was useful because it stopped me always saying 'fine' when asked how I was then as I went home I would realise I wasn't all that fine really.

It might take a while to feel really good. I know that after three months on carbimazole I still didn't feel all that great, it wasn't until I got onto levothyroxine as well as part of my 'block and replace' treatment that I started to feel human again and even then my body knew when it was needing my levothyroxine increased. Think I started on 25mcg a day along with my 40mcg carbimazole and worked up to 10mcg levothyroxine, still with the 40mcg carbimazole. That was where the notes came in handy. When I got to a level the doctors were happy with I went one day and my consultant said to stop everything and that was it - treatment finished. It took exactly a year for me. I'm still in remission. Think that's about five years now.

Good luck with your endo visit, just don't expect too much

[Ruane in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Hi, Thank for replying. The medication I'm taking at the moment is a beta blocker. My GP didn't want to to medicate me with out my seeing an endocrinologist. I feel a a little better on the beta blockers.

I believe now, I have been having short episodes of thyroid problems for at least ten years. I have been treated for high blood pressure for years but quite by accident, in September last year, I found I have a milk allergy. I changed my diet and BP is now really good. My GP said allergies can artificially raise the BP. The BP and the allergy were masking the thyroid problem. I am exhausted most of the time but my daughter has a toddler and one year old and needs me at the moment. As long as I can keep going I will but I am worried the thyroid meds will slow me up. I can cope with feeling nauseous but I am worried I will have no energy. Thank you for telling me there may not be an immediate improvement, I am impatient to feel normal and I will have to practice chilling!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Ruane]

Good that you've got beta blockers. I've got asthma so I can't take them and that meant I just had to sit it out until the carbimazole kicked in. I saw my GP on a Wednesday, had bloods done on Thursday and I got home on the Friday evening to find a phone message from my GP telling me I had a very overactive thyroid with antibodies and was told there was a prescription for carbimazole at reception for me and that she had made an endo appointment for me - although it took three months before I saw her - and I was told to come back in four weeks for another blood test.

My surgery record share and have a very good relationship with my local teaching hospital which was probably why I started on 20mcg carbimazole straight away - wellthat and the fact my levels were terrible but nothing much happened with that dose and after the four week blood test I got a letter from my endo telling me to double the dose and take 40mcg a day.

Trouble with hyper or in my case Graves Disease patience tends to be lacking (understatement!) I slowed down totally though - I started off like that Duracell bunny but I was exhausted at the same time before I was diagnosed I used to go to bed at about 6.30 in the evening - I wouldn't say the thyroid medicines made me any worse - I think it was probably my body being in hyperactive mode.

Good luck with the babies, when they stop for a rest I would rest too if I were you, although I suppose it all depends on how you feel. I never felt nauseous but I found I was very tearful and easily upset which isn't really me.

I ended up cancelling a load of work I had been booked in for, more because I was worried that I wouldn't last the pace and have to pull out at short notice which would have been very inconvenient.

As it was I slept a lot and I mean a lot. I was totally exhausted all the time, I've never known tiredness like it, I found there was no point fighting it - I was 64 at the time - I did very little (no) housework, I was alone in the house all day and didn't do anything to mess the place up so I slept. My husband shopped and did most of the cooking. I knew I was on the mend when I reclaimed the kitchen.

So, good luck with it all, you will get better and feel normal again.