My doctor told me to stop taking my thyroid medication
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My doctor told me to stop taking my thyroid medication because my thyroid tsh level was 33.9 and my last lab work it was 0.3 i believe so it was low which was good and i was on methimazole 5 mg 3 times a day and i read the side effects of the medicine about stopping it abruptly and i want to know what should i do so nothing happens to my health??
i would appreciate it if i can have some insight on what i should do thank you very much??
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dan73 shazia61010
Edited
It depends on what type of thyroid disorder you were diagnosed with. For example, if you were diagnosed with Grave's disease (or autoimmune hyperthyroidism) then it is important to watch for recurring symptoms of hyperthyroidism (weight loss, increased pulse, hand tremor, etc) and report back to your endocrinologist or GP should such symptoms reoccur.
That's because around 50% of Grave's patients experience a relapse of hyperthyroidism within 4 years. Your doctor will likely recommend regular check-ups. In my case, these were scheduled every 6 months and then yearly since my values stayed ok.
I am not aware of withdrawal effects of Methimazole. However, if your episode of hyperthyroidism is ongoing your thyroid hormone levels FT4, FT3 might go up and your TSH level might drop in the absence of antithyroid medication. An ongoing episode of hyperthyroidism can be detected by tapering the dose of anti-thyroid medication after reviewing your thyroid function. I was initially prescribed 30mg Carbimazole per day and this was tapered down to 2.5mg per day over a period of approx. 14 months.