# Antithyroid Drugs Not Working



## asiya.ajami (Aug 29, 2013)

Hi everyone,

I'm new to these forums. I am a 26 year old female, and autoimmune diseases are a common trend in my family's medical history. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and subsequently Graves' Disease, in 2010 when I was hospitalized for thyroid storm. I remained untreated up until the beginning of this year all because I had this extreme, yet stupid, fear of becoming hypo and gaining weight (I've dealt with anorexia on-and-off for a number of years). I was originally placed on Methimazole 10mg twice a day and Atenolol 25 mg once a day. I began to see a new endocrinologist, who had me take 40 mg/day and then bumped me up to 60mg/day, while switching over to Propranolol 20mg 3 times a day.

I haven't felt a change at all since treating my Graves'. My thyroid levels have remained the same. My labs were worse after being on 40mg/day of Methimazole. I know I have advanced Graves' Disease, but *has anyone experienced no change in symptoms or labs after taking antithyroid drugs* for six months? Oddly, my symptoms have gotten worse, and my thyroid has been growing larger and becoming more painful (I have somewhat of a goiter). Even the tremors haven't subsided since switching to Propranolol. I'm getting very frustrated with my options and hope I'm not crazy!

Any response would help. Thank you! :hugs:


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Welcome!

Could you provide a little more background for us? How long have you been on the 60mg of Methimazole? Do you have any recent labs, with ranges, you could share?


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## StormFinch (Nov 16, 2012)

You're not crazy asiya, and welcome. 

I didn't respond all that well to the anti-thyroids during my last hyper phase and ended up having a thyroidectomy. It's soooo much easier to control my levels now.

Are you still taking the methimazole twice a day? According to the package insert it's supposed to be divided into 3 doses at 8 hour intervals because the half life is around 4 to 6 hours, with a few people having a half life elimination in as little as 2.5 hours. You might try switching to the same schedule as your propranolol and see if it helps. With how uncomfortable you are though, I'd personally opt for having the surgery. With an experienced surgeon most people find that it's relatively easy and recovery isn't all that hard.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

asiya.ajami said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm new to these forums. I am a 26 year old female, and autoimmune diseases are a common trend in my family's medical history. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and subsequently Graves' Disease, in 2010 when I was hospitalized for thyroid storm. I remained untreated up until the beginning of this year all because I had this extreme, yet stupid, fear of becoming hypo and gaining weight (I've dealt with anorexia on-and-off for a number of years). I was originally placed on Methimazole 10mg twice a day and Atenolol 25 mg once a day. I began to see a new endocrinologist, who had me take 40 mg/day and then bumped me up to 60mg/day, while switching over to Propranolol 20mg 3 times a day.
> 
> ...




Sadly, this is to be expected in advanced cases. Anti-thyroid meds really have little or no effect at this stage and this is also true for RAI. I had to have RAI 3 times.

Your very best option would be to have the thyroid gland surgically removed. Then you can get on track w/your life.

I also had a Thyroid Storm so I am not a stranger to this debilitating and life-threatening disease.

There is no reason to fear being fat. I am not and many others who post here are not.

We can help you with proper thyroxine replacement, diet and exercise when the time comes.

How are your eyes?


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## needanswers (May 4, 2013)

Hi Asiya. I'm certainly no expert at all, as I'm also going through trying to get my levels under control. I just wanted to respond to let you know that you're certainly NOT crazy!!! I've also been a bit afraid of becoming fat, but that hasn't happened yet, even though my thyroid levels have really dropped and are now even on the low side. Hang in there. The people on this forum are very knowledgeable and helpful. Good luck to you.


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## Prudence (Oct 30, 2012)

Sometimes the drugs simply do not work on advanced cases. I was on methimazole for just over a year and it helped, but never _fully_ took my symptoms away. Beta blockers helped, but didn't make me completely better either, and with me already having low blood pressure (the only time it spiked was when my Graves' was at it's worst, and even then it wasn't incredibly terrible-like 130/95, 140/95-but my regular blood pressure has always ran low about in the 90/60 range, so a higher dose of beta blocker was not a wise idea for me.)I opted for RAI, and needed two treatments because my thyroid scans showed I was very hyper.


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