Posted , 19 users are following.
My levels are going into the hypo range and so my gp told me to stop taking methimazole. Is there side effects from stopping or withdrawal symptoms? I was on 5 mg once a day. I have not been on it for 6 days now.
0 likes, 41 replies
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sara51384 cheryl08343
Posted
I had to do the same for 2 weeks and had no withdrawal symptoms and I was on 30mg at the time.
linda187 cheryl08343
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For myself, I found that I could not lower my dose too quickly or stop my Methimazole altogether. The first time my Endo told me to decrease my dose from 10 mg to 5 mg, about 2 weeks after I did that I got a rebound effect of symptoms so I raised it by 2.5 mg and told her. Then later when I added supplements and my lab tests were improving very quickly, my new Endo would decrease my dose by no more than 2.5 mg at a time. To become an empowered patient, you need to obtain a copy of any medical documentation done on you, either lab tests or reports from other physicians and keep your own file so you can see your progresss. You will learn what these results mean very quickly and you can always learn more about them online. Also you will have more definite information when you post on sites like this and we can respond better by knowing this information rather than "my levels are going into the hypo range" we will have your actual levels which makes it better for us to respond. By learning about your labs and what they mean and following your body symptoms, you will have more information and be more prepared for discussions with your physician. One thing my Endo and I agree on is that he will not stop a patient's medication entirely unless their antibody levels are within the normal range even if all their thyroid labs are normal. Sometimes though if your levels are too far out of range (hypo) it is necessary to stop the meds temporarily and then restart them.
cheryl08343 linda187
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linda187 cheryl08343
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linda187 cheryl08343
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cheryl08343 linda187
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My methimazole was 5 mg once a day. Now I am in none. My body symptoms were freezing weak cold tired muscles and bones hurt. I'm not in hypo yet I don't think the doctors just think that I'm going into hypo..? Two weeks ago my tsh was 4.70 then on the 19 th of this month it was 5.02 ref range is 0.34-4.82. I was tested again today my gp ordered that I do will have results later today. My free T4 two weeks ago was 1.1 last week on the 19 th it went up to 1.2 ref range is 0.8-1.8.
cheryl08343 linda187
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My tsh leve as of yesterday dropped down to 3.65 so I'm in range again ref range is 0.34-4.82
annLW cheryl08343
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My GP suggestd similar action as my TSH levels started rising (only just out of range) and my FT4 dropped. I was on 10mg (5mg x 2) a day Carbimazole. When I stopped in 2015, I went hyper again in approx 8 months, so after a lot of readingand research, I've decided to taper my dose rather than stopping. first cutting the 5mg tablet in half then in 1/4's. I'm currently taking 1.25mg in the morning and 1.25mg at night in an efort to slowly get my levels normalised again. My gut feeling is that this method seems to make greater ense than the shock and confusion of going 'cold-turkey'.
cheryl08343 annLW
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linda187 cheryl08343
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JayValle cheryl08343
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I'm not on meds yet but I agree with AnnLW. I'd never stop any medication cold turkey. Slowly weaning off or tapering to the right dose is the best method. I don't believe our bodies respond well to abrupt changes. Same as sudden weather changes, we get headaches etc.
I have hyper numbers - very low TSH and high/normal T4 and I have the same kind of symptoms you have: freezing cold and sometimes achy legs. Are these symtpoms of both hyper and hypo?
I remember being on armour thyroid. I'd get night sweats and have trouble sleeping. I tapered and stopped completely and felt so good. But yet they tell me I'm hyper. I feel fine. I don't get it.
Be well :-)
J
linda187 JayValle
Posted
JayValle, I don't remember your thyroid history whether you have Hashimoto's and you started off hyper? People with Hashi's are extremely sensitive to both the thyroid-blocking meds and the thyroid hormone replacement meds. They do better controlling their thyroid hormones using Regular L-Carnitine. Takiing Armour (thyroid hormone replacement) has seemed to cause your hyperthyroidism. When your lab tests are like yours (low TSH and high Free T4) you are hyper. The achy legs suggests you may be carnitine deficient, also vitamin D deficient and Magnesium deficient and these things are extremely important for thyroid patients.
cheryl08343 linda187
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Ok. I have the L Carnitine to start taking but have not yet. All of this has been a real struggle for me since I have a huge phobia of taking meds. Even while I was having a thyroid storm and my hr was way to high it took the doctor telling me I was going to die before I let him give me meds to slow my heart. Yes I know it's dumb and it's something I struggle with daily. I'm afraid the L Carnitine I'll make me have more symptoms.
So instead of quitting the methimazole cold turkey I should have just lowered the dose to maybe half? I do have Hashitoxicosis so I remember you saying that I won't respond as well to methimazole.
I just have to say thanks for always replying to my posts. I am so overwhelmed and only end up having a few days out of a month.
JayValle linda187
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Hi Linda
I started off with relatively normal levels but my doc found nodules. The ENT in the group did suppression therapy. He wanted me at 0 TSH. My pcp didn't like that. Said it was controversial. I should have listened to him. When I started getting hyper symptoms from armour I tapered slowly and went off but my TSH never sprang back. It bounced around .53 to .25 then .50 again but never above. .50 was the low normal range. My T's were always mid range. My TSH plunged this year after Tom's death and all my health scares (the eye bleeds - occular migraines - vertigo - stroke scare which turned out to be migraine aura - ugh) This must have tipped me into real hyper maybe graves.
Before Tom died, I felt amazingly well off the armor even with low TSH. So this is a surprise to me that I migh have Graves or toxic nodules as I feel I'm bouncing back with no symptoms of hyper. I'll hold the cetyl L-carnitine and start with L-Carnitine then. I don't want to shock my body which has already had too many emotional and physical shocks.
I feel like lying on a hot beach would cure me for life lol but I live on a mountain! No chance of a beach here.
I take individual vitamins and supps daily: B complex, C, D, LipoFlavinoid, potassium magnesium asparate, B2, CoQ10, (the last 3 for migraine) Flax capsules, Biotin. I stopped Zinc, L-Lysine & alpha lipoic which made me feel amazing! Because I thought they might be responsible for lowering TSH. I read somewhere that ALA can work on TSH. I'd love to be able to start these again once I'm diagnosed and under the care of a naturopath.
JayValle
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linda187 JayValle
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Some people get thyroiditis due to viral illnesses but it is usually short lived, like a couple of months at most. Get your TBII or TRAb antibodies tested for Graves, anti-TPO and TGAb for hashimoto's.
linda187 cheryl08343
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So what I did was to start slow. I also wanted to know my Carnitine levels before I started taking it so I asked my doc to give me a requisition to get it tested and found I was deficient. Then I tried one 500 mg capsule and saw how I felt on it beofre I raised it to the dose that was mentioned in the research article. Also did the same with Vitamin D and Magnesium. Found that I could not take vitamin D pills, that they had to be the gel caps. Some people have Graves alone, some have Hashi's alone and some people have both Graves and Hashi's at the same time. That is a real challenge but I know one lady with both Graves and Hashi's who got treated by a Naturopath who was able to keep her thyroid levels normal with just the natural methods. So I don't think there is one size fits all but I do believe you need the information from the tests your doc does as well as learning about your body and its symptoms and what works and what doesn't in order to get well.
casey22449 linda187
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There are 3 kinds of L Carnitine suppslements ...what kind did you take to help?
linda57679 casey22449
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The article suggested hyperthyroid patients and patients who have thyroid storm benefit from taking 3,000 mg of Regular L-Carnitine. I tried this and my TSH rose from less than 0.001 (where it had been for 2 years) to 0.12 (in the right direction but not enough). Then I took 1,000 mg of Regular L-Carnitine and 1,000 mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine and my TSH just shot right up well into the normal range. This required my Endo to make a lot of lowering adjustments and I adjusted my carnitine dosages. It was the Acetyl-L-Carnitine that really worked for me and from other boards seems to work for Graves patients. Hashimoto patients do better on the Regular L-Carnitine. The third type of carnitine is Proprionyl-L-Carnitine recommended for heart disease.