Carbimazole & a cold

[Zoey92]

the whole family has had a cold bearing on 2 weeks on Friday. This has included a horrendous amount of coughing and mucus along with a sore throat and runny nose etc.

It wasn’t until yesterday that my follow up letter came from my first thyroid check up. I have an overactive thyroid. I was reduced from 40mg to 20mg of carbimazole a day and to reduce my propranolol gradually from 3 x 10mg to 2 x 10mg to eventually 1 tablet and then none as I have responded so well to the treatment in such a short space of time. Anyway I wasn’t made aware that you should stop carbimazole immediately and consult your doctor if you have a sore throat.

Have spoken to the doctor today and she was very wishy washy and just said we’re follow your consultants orders and stop the meds and do a blood test tomorrow. I’m only going to be off them for a few days but I am wondering if this is going to cause any issues? Will symptoms reappear thst quickly? Will my TS4 rise from being off them for a few days? I don’t want to feel any worse than I already do from this prolonged cold! And honestly don’t think my sore throat is related to the meds which can cause low wbc but who knows I guess.

[PurpleNails Administrator]

It’s standard to start on a higher dose of carbimazole to help bring down levels quickly but the dose has to be adjusted down as you become hypothyroid if left on higher dose.  

Carbimazole works by altering how much new hormone can be made but not the existing stores.   

Now that the stores have been used up you need to allow the thyroid to replenish some of the levels. 

Propranolol does have a slight antithyroid action but it’s intended to be temporary to help with symptoms.  

Reducing propranolol must be done gradually, I was made unwell when told to stop abruptly.

Have a good read of the manufacturer’s patient Information leaflet (pil) which is dispensed with medication.  There are a few symptoms you need to be alert for.

Stopping for a few days might cause your FT4 & FT3 to rise a little - but if it’s temporary it shouldn’t have a huge impact on overall levels, so don’t panic.

Hope the FBC results show no concern & you can resume them.

Do you know the cause of your hyper?

Many are diagnosed hyper and given carbimazole but their thyroid levels naturally drop as the do not have continuous hyper (Graves) they have Thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s) which causes transient hyper levels from immune system damage, ultimately the damage means the function is reduced (hypothyroid) - Both are autoimmune so confirming the cause is very important.

Recommend you keep copies of results, see what is being tested & learn to interpret results.  This will help you make sure treatment of appropriate for you.  

For full thyroid function you need TSH. FT4. FT3 TPO & TG Antibodies.  TSI or TRab if Graves suspected . Important to test Ferritin, folate, vitamin D & B12.  

Always include lab ranges with results (ranges vary between labs) 

Gluten intolerance common with autoimmune thyroid Issue, do you have any stomach symptoms?

Eye symtoms can also occur particularly with Graves, were you advised of this? 

[Tench87]

I've got grave disease and now in remission last 4 years I was treated with 80mg propranolol as overactive thyroid caused svt and irregular heartbeat and then carbimazole for 12 months 40mg to 5mg.

I had several bad colds and mouth ulcers while on meds but GP wasn't concerned and didn't stop meds.

I read an alternative health book and basically said to have a gluten free diet while I was on the meds and confident thats helped remission.

[Zoey92 in reply to Tench87]

Thank you for your reply, can I ask do you know the reasoning behind how going gluten free can help with thyroid conditions?

Well done for being in remission!

I have been asked today to stop my carbimazole for a week as I have some sort of throat or chest infection and have been given antibiotics. Had a blood test this morning to confirm and check my WBC (I wasn’t made aware that carbimazole can cause you to have a low wbc and be more prone to infections!) and got s call from the doctors late afternoon. I’m just hoping that not taking these for a week doesn’t cause too much of an impact on my thyroid levels and my symptoms not returning! But we shall see

[Tench87 in reply to Zoey92]

From what I've read alot people with graves disease have other autoimmune diseases especially celiac disease . I went on a gluten free diet and been on it ever since and stayed in remission might not be linked but I would like to think so! I also stopped high idonie foods fo a while and had a health kick but I was rushed to hospital with a pulse of 280 at the start and had to have cardio version (heart stopped) to get rhythm back at only at 31 years old all caused by overactive thyroid.

 I was also having a full blood count on every blood test this will check your white blood cells. Carbimazole didn't cause me any issues at all apart from when I was discharged from hospital after a week they got the dose wrong and I was put on 80mg of carbimazole instead of 30mg and was covered in a rash for a week! I can remember the consultant saying to me mouth ulcers while on carbimazole is the thing to watch out for. I was also offered RAI but didn't fancy drinking that!

If I was you I would do a blood food intolerances test alot of people think its rubbish but I think diet has alot to do with it.

[Zoey92 in reply to Tench87]

well that does make alot of sense in regards to gluten and coeliac disease! Thank you I’ll have a look into it! I haven’t had an antibody test yet so not 100% sure what’s causing my overactive thyroid, I have requested one though as they are saying it’s likely graves because of my type one diabeties however they have also mentioned that it could be post part in thyroiditis, because of the covid booster or because of catching xovid! So I’ve told them I would really would rather know exactly what the problem is rather than just assuming it’s my diabeties! 🤦🏽‍♀️

Oh wow you poor thing! Sounds like you’ve really been through it with the condition that must have been so scary! I’m glad you’re in remission now and hopefully feeling much better?

[Tench87 in reply to Zoey92]

I'm good now thanks. Good luck with you results!

[Lalatoot in reply to Zoey92]

The make up of gliadin, which is part of the protein of gluten, closely resembles that of the thyroid gland. For some folks when you eat gluten its gliadin breaks through the gut protection and enters the bloods stream. The immune system then attacks the gliadin as it would a virus . This in turn can then cause the immune system to attack thyroid tissue.