hyperthyroidism - symptoms

In my case, I live in Toronto where specialists are plentiful.  My General Practitioner deals with the initial finding out what the problem is and then refers me to the appropriate specialist.  He found my thyroid labs to be mildly abnormal (about 10 points over range) and it took me 3 weeks to see a specialist.  By that time, the abnormal values had increased.  While it took my Endocrinologist approximately 6 weeks to complete all her testing, initially she put me on Propranolol, 10 mg a day because of my increased heart rate.  This is a drug used for cardiac issues and once I was on Tapazole treatment, I only needed to take Propranolol occasionally for palpitations.  It was very important that I take this because you can get a lot of heart damage if you do not.  Once she had diagnosed the cause of my disease as Graves, she put me on 10 mg of Tapazole which is the same drug as Carbimazole in the British Isles.  10 mg is not that high a dose compared to what some people need to take because my high levels were not that much out of range as some people's are since I was monitored routinely for thyroid values due to other reasons and I was caught early.  Many people are running hyperthyroid for a long time before they seek treatment and their values are much higher than mine were and consequently need a higher dosage to get their values normalized.  For any prescribed drug, there are always benefits and side effects or risks and most pharmacies will give you this information when you get a prescription filled.  The benefit of taking Carbimazole outweighs the alternative that not doing something to immediately address the situation of excessive thyroid hormone will lead to worsening of your condition and possible death due to thyroid storm.  Another benefit when compared to the 2 other treatments for hyperthyroidism, namely RAI (radioactive ablation or surgery (removal of part of or all of the thyroid gland) is that these two are not reversible and medication is.  If you absolutely cannot tolerate the side effects of a drug, you can stop taking it or lower the dosage,  In my case, although the Tapazole immediately normalized the active excessive thyroid hormone in my body, (i.e. my Free T3 and T4, it did not improve my TSH (my value was less than 0.001 for two years while I was on Tapazole and the normal for my lab was something like 0.70 to 4.5).  This is when I learned about the supplements and as soon as I added them to my medication, all my values normalized including TSH.  As this was happening, my new Endo adjusted the medication dosage downward and I adjusted the supplements dosages.  If you have hyperthyroidism, you cannot do nothing and hope that it will change because this could lead to death by thyroid storm.  The medical treatment choices are:

1.  Medication to lower the excessive thyroid hormone

2.  RAI (Radioactive iodine ablation of the thyroid and replacement of thyroid hormone with the drug levothyroxine)

3.  Surgery and levothyroxine replacement

4.  Natural means.Natural treatments with diet and supplements (not a good choice alone if your levels are way             above normal)

5.  Medication plus natural supplements to normalize your results (what I did).

It is also important to address any issues of excessive stress in your life as well.

Hi Naz

I have hyperthyroidism and have had all of the symptoms you have mentioned along with vomiting and difficulty walking.  I have an endocrinologist who has put me on tapazole and it has made a huge difference.  

For swallowing, you could have a goiter or nodules.  I have a goiter and my doctor sent me for an ultrasound. I'm just waiting for the results.  You should discuss it with your doctor. 

Hope this helps.

I take Carbimazole in the evening as I had read that it can cause some side effects if taken earlier in the day. This seems to work for me as I don't have any issues with lethargy, nausea and headaches that others had reported. 

Hi naz, I myself have had Graves disease (hyperthyroidism and eye disease) for the last 21/2 years. The hyperthyroidism has stabilized but I am still being treated for the eye disease which will now require an operation. I certainly had all the symptoms you mentioned and I was treated with Carbimazole. If your doctor has confirmed you have it I assume he/she has carried out blood tests. Have they placed you on any medication? I believe the normal course is blood tests, appropriate medication and referral to Hospital Endocrinology dept for management of your condition. You haven't mentioned any of this.

Hi Naz, good you are seeing an endocrinologist. I experienced no side effects with Carbimazole taking the required dose in the morning. However, providing instructions don't say otherwise, you could take them in the evening if you do experience side effects. I have done this with antibiotics which had strong side effects. I believe Carbimazole is the drug most commonly used for this condition. Is there something holding you back from taking them? I'm guessing it has been stressed that you need to start treatment straightaway. It certainly starting relieving some of my symptoms quite quickly. You do need to read the instructions carefully, as the drug does compromise the immune system, as they give good advice about things to look out for.

So I did a follow up thyroid check privately. My results are:

THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE *0.007 mIU/L 0.27 - 4.20 

FREE THYROXINE *35.800 pmol/L 12.00 - 22.00 

FREE T3 *10.2 pmol/L 3.10 - 6.80 

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODY <10 IU/mL 0.00 - 115.00 

THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES 10.4 IU/mL 0.00 - 34.00

Im not sure if this is related but I have B12 levels, which seems off because Im vegan and I don't take any supplement. 

ACTIVE B12 *169.000 pmol/L 25.10 - 165.00

My doctor still wants me to take Carbimazole. Any advice?