# Started 5mg of Methminazole once a day last Thursday and symptoms seem even worse!!!



## SharonG (Jul 18, 2013)

I take the pill in the morning. I am extremely irritable (even more than when I started), very hot and can't sleep. I usually take a sleeping pill and its just not working. Has anyone had this, is it normal?? I thought things were suppose to get better, my husband thinks I need to give it more time.

The 4-hour uptake is 34.7% and the 24-hour uptake is 63.0%. HOMOGENEOUSLY INCREASED TRACER UPTAKE, ultrasound showed Thyroid gland is mildly heterogeneous and hypervascular. Blood results: TSI 20, free t4 1.4, TSH bld .81, free t3 bld 3.8.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

SharonG said:


> I take the pill in the morning. I am extremely irritable (even more than when I started), very hot and can't sleep. I usually take a sleeping pill and its just not working. Has anyone had this, is it normal?? I thought things were suppose to get better, my husband thinks I need to give it more time.
> 
> The 4-hour uptake is 34.7% and the 24-hour uptake is 63.0%. HOMOGENEOUSLY INCREASED TRACER UPTAKE, ultrasound showed Thyroid gland is mildly heterogeneous and hypervascular. Blood results: TSI 20, free t4 1.4, TSH bld .81, free t3 bld 3.8.


You could be thyrotoxic. That is not a very large dose. It would be best if you call your doctor.

If your hyper is advanced and it sounds like it was, this may not work for you. But in any case, we would all feel better if you called your doctor about this.


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## DustingMyselfOff (May 17, 2013)

I always felt worse whenever we changed the dosage of my methimazole, it would last about 7-10 days and then the symptoms would subside. But we had a hard time catching up to the levels this time: started at 5 mg, then upped it to 7.5, then upped it to 10, then upped it to 12.5. At that point I was finally feeling better and opted to have the thyroid surgically removed.

Call your doc, but this could taper off in another day or two.
Sue


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## HotGrandma (Sep 21, 2012)

Hi Sharon

Methamozole has a short 1/2 life. Meaning after about 5 hours its done. It really needs to be taken 3 times per day to be effective. I was one of those difficult people that If I took it 2x per day it did absolutely nothing. So the dose was increased and I took it 3x per day. Ended up in hypo hell. Not a nice place. This is such a gradual process almost like growing hair. Meanwhile, you have to take care of your self. Avoiding stress and triggers, which can be alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, aspartame, sugar, and glutens. Everyone is different, and there are a lot of great people on this board that have been there done that to help you.


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## Prudence (Oct 30, 2012)

It can take time for the pill to build up in your system to start to give you any relief. I was on the same dose as you-just one 5mg a day, and it took about three weeks to suddenly start to feel normal-though within a week of starting it, I started to finally gain weight back, even though it was just a pound. Before? I was losing so much weight no matter how much I ate, it was scary. I was barely 100lbs. Seeing that needle finally move the other way was one of the happiest moments of my life.

But I agree, I think people do better taking it multiple times a day. Wish I had pushed to take two of them daily, because even though it did help, it felt like there were days I'd crash and burn...be normal for a few hours in the morning, and then go into hyper hell. If anything, see if the doc will let you take two a day if your symptoms aren't improving, but remember, it can take time before you find relief. Have you been given any beta blockers?


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## SharonG (Jul 18, 2013)

Thank you for all the replies!! It's been over a week now and feel a tiny bit better although my heart rate is still really high. I have been able to sleep some and don't feel as angry as I did in my original post. I will be calling my doctor to see if I can take them twice a day as the one doesn't seem to be working. I will post an update next week.


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## Prudence (Oct 30, 2012)

SharonG said:


> Thank you for all the replies!! It's been over a week now and feel a tiny bit better although my heart rate is still really high. I have been able to sleep some and don't feel as angry as I did in my original post. I will be calling my doctor to see if I can take them twice a day as the one doesn't seem to be working. I will post an update next week.


Good luck! Again, if you're not on beta blockers, you might want to ask for a low dose to help while the methimazole builds up in your system, too. I took 10mg twice a day for a while before my RAI finally started turning things around, really did help with the heartbeat and tremors, and the anxiety/irritable mood a bit as well. If anything, you can always ask about taking 5mg of methimazole in the morning, and then half of another 5mg in the afternoon just to see if that little bit helps if your doctor is scared of you going hypo on a full 10mg a day.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

I agree, ask for a beta blocker. It will help.


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I third the recommendation for beta blockers. They will slow down your heart and help your whole body relax.


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## SharonG (Jul 18, 2013)

I am on 75mg of metoprolol which I was on prior to getting diagnosed. I am not sure if I should ask them to change it.


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## Prudence (Oct 30, 2012)

You might want to ask if a slight increase would help. Glad you're already on it, though!


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## JPGreco (Mar 2, 2012)

I was on 60mg of propanolol (another beta blocker) and it worked WONDERS. It was way more effective than the antenolol I was on (50mg). Propanolol is a different kind of beta blocker than metropolol and antenolol though.

Propanolol - non selective
Metropolol and Antenolol - selective


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## blueyes (Feb 15, 2013)

SharonG said:


> I am on 75mg of metoprolol which I was on prior to getting diagnosed. I am not sure if I should ask them to change it.


I was on metoprolol before we knew what was causing the high heart rate. I was switched to propranolol once we found out it was due to hyperthyroidism... I don't know the details, but I was told that they prefer give thyroid patients propranolol.

And I second JPGreco's comment... it does work wonders


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I had to go through three different beta blockers in the beginning before I found one that worked for me (Toprol XL). Propranolol made me a zombie but didn't do anything to help my heart slow down, it was weird.


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