Just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and placed on Carbimazole.

[WorriedSickThyroid]

Hello, everyone.

I was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a few days ago and placed on Carbimazole 10mg tds and Propanol 40mg daily. I am only on day 2 of taking the pills but I have developed a red rash in my inner thighs, my hands, my chest, back and my neck and itchy skin.

I throat and ears seem itchy on the inside too, and I am so worried.

The most worrisome effect is the pain in my knees, they really hurt.

Is this normal and is there something I can do?

I need reassurance that I am going to be alright because it is depressing to think about suffering all these for weeks!

Help.

[PurpleNails Administrator]

Welcome to forum

Could be a reaction & this can fade. Try an anti histamine but if it is troublesome speak to your doctor.

There is an alternative to carbimazole, (PTU).

Have you been referred to endocrinology? Extremely important to verify cause of hyper & if it’s temporary or continuous.

10mg is a very low starting dose. Do you know your results?

[WorriedSickThyroid in reply to PurpleNails]

Thanks for your response.

It's actually 30mg daily in 3 divided doses, my labs:

T3 - 15.6pmol/L Ref (3.1-9.0pmol/L)

T4 - 31.3pmol/L Ref (12.0-22.0pmol/L)

TSH - 0.2

I am so sad because prior to taking the meds, I only had anxiety, insomnia and shakiness.

Now, in addition to those, I have rashes, pains and I am even more anxious than ever.

Are these symptoms transient or do I have to stop the meds to feel alright?

[PurpleNails Administrator in reply to WorriedSickThyroid]

Ah ok, those are quite high. & 30mg makes more sense.

Carbimazole lowers new production of thyroid hormone. The existing levels are still circulating in your system & it takes time to fall into range. Most say they feel better within weeks, but it might take longer to feel completely well again.

you’ve been through a lot with high levels and that takes time to recover.

Propranolol helps with symptoms but not the underlying cause, most only need it temporarily. reduce gradually when you want to stop propanalol. Do not stop it suddenly.

Do you have a retest scheduled? Should be checked & dose adjusted at 6 weeks of starting medication.

[pennyannie]

Hello Worried SickThyroid and welcome to the forum ;

Well ' I only had anxiety, insomnia and shakiness ' - this reads as the symptoms of hyperthyroidism which your blood test results confirm - and without some help, medically, these symptoms will get worse.

Carbimazole is an Anti Thyroid drug and simply semi-blocks your own new daily thyroid hormone production and slowly these over range and high T3 and T4 readings will fall back down into the ranges and your horrible symptoms resolved.

There is an alternative AT drug - Propylthiouracil - PTU for short - so ask to be switched.

My symptom that resulted in a diagnosis of Graves Disease was insomnia which I had struggled with for 3 months and all my symptoms resolved very quickly and I felt very well on the AT dug.

All the AT drug does is offset the worst of the symptoms being suffered while we wait for a further diagnosis through a blood test as to which antibodies were found positive and over range in your blood -

Maybe you already have these further blood tests ?

Have you any readings of TPO - TgAB - TSI- Trab - or reading as a TSH - Thyroid Receptor antibody - with a range or number alongside each category.

Please seek help and get PTU prescribed - the dose maybe different - do not worry - and hopefully these drug induced side effects will disappear as will your original symptoms within the next few days.

[Yoga54]

I have hyperthyroidism due to Graves’ disease and I have been on carbimazole and levothyroxine for 2 years now with regular visits to endocrinologist. You will start to feel a lot better after a few weeks on carbimazole, I felt absolutely great after about 10 days although my skin still gets itchy especially my legs, make sure you use a good moisturiser and ask for your vitamin D checked as mine was really low and caused aching knees and feet, hang in there it really does get better and it’s not as bad as you might think, I felt so poorly at the start of my treatment and now I feel absolutely fine most days.

[Coulby]

Side effects of carbimazolefeeling sick (nausea)

being sick (vomiting) or diarrhoea.

feeling dizzy.

headache.

painful joints.

itchy skin or rash.

thinning hair.

I am on Carbimazole..

I have aching larger bones, but testing showed no drop in bone marrow.

I've Been on it just over 8wks now and and my levels are coming up..I feel terrible on it but with a great doctor keeping an eye on everything I'm happy to stay on it.Also my Doctor has just put me on B12 injections and monthly D3 capsules..I also have a multi nodular goitre with dominant left lobe and I'm waiting for my specialists appointment to see what will be done..Your itching seems rather severe and I would suggest you pop back to your doctor to be checked..All the best WorriedSickThyroid

[JuSa44]

I feel for you! My hyperthyroidism is back and I have had absolutely awful insomnia. I’ve been sleeping about three hours a night and I feel that is hindering my healing. It’s been making me feel crazy. I started on carbimazole a month ago and it took a good three weeks to notice any difference. I hope you feel better soon.

[TheWink]

Hi Worried - I have been on carbimazole for nearly 7 years. It can cause a rash and muscle pain but side effects should subside. For the first few weeks, on 5mg, I felt completely wiped out but slowly adjusted. After 6 months my T4 and TSH were still not normal so I take 10mg and 5mg on alternate days. Occasionally my levels are abnormal and I get palpitations so I keep Propranalol for use as needed. You get used to listening to your body and now, supported by my GP, I adjust my dose if I don't feel right. I have even become hypo, and had to halve the dose temporarily. Your endocrine system is so finely balanced and one solution is to have the radioactive iodine treatment. This cures the hyper but most people become hypo afterwards and have to take thyroxine for life. Your endocrinologist can explain treatment options to you - I understand that some people only need to take Carbimazole for a while to resolve the hyper so stick with it for now. An antihistamine can help with the itching. Good luck - hyper is a bit of a nuisance and not as well understood by GPs as more common hypo so make sure your GP seeks advice from your endo before making changes. If this is going to be a permanent part of your life, I know that you will learn to manage it, accept it and relax. Untreated it can cause serious problems so don't be tempted to stop the good drugs. Big hugs 🤗

[vanbr]

Hi

I'm taking Carbimazole for almost a year. I started with 20 mg in May2023. At the moment I'm taking 5mg/day. It does work for hyperthyroidism but make you put weight on ;( and my hands got a bit itchy.

Hope that helps

[pennyannie in reply to vanbr]

If you are putting on excess weight to whatever ' your normal ' is/was - it's likely the AT drug needs reducing down as this reads as though it is blocking too much own new daily thyroid hormone prodution - which likely means your T3 and T4 readings are now too low for you to function ' at your normal unique ratio of T3 / T4 :

[vanbr]

Thank you!