# tapazole-help..feel aweful



## mommyjewel (Aug 14, 2010)

I am not sure if this is side effects of the Tapazole or I may be coming down with the stomach bug but i feel aweful. Any advice or anything I can do to feel better?

Symptoms:

dizzyness

stomach cramps

dry heaves (not much in my stomach yet today)

nausea

shaky

legs feel like jello

I left a message with my doctor and I am waiting for a call back.

Thank you


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

mommyjewel said:


> I am not sure if this is side effects of the Tapazole or I may be coming down with the stomach bug but i feel aweful. Any advice or anything I can do to feel better?
> 
> Symptoms:
> 
> ...


When did you start taking the Tapazole? How much are you taking? Another possibility is you are not on a high enough dose as some of the symptoms do sound related to thyrotoxicosis.

Glad you called the doc and please let us know.


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## mommyjewel (Aug 14, 2010)

I started the medication 8/11 on 5mg 2 times a day on 8/13 the endo bumped me up to 10mg 2 times a day. For the past few hours I have been playing phone tag with the endocrinologist office 

The dizziness, dry heaves have subsided a bit. I still have the stomach cramps, nausea, shakyness, and weakness in my legs, but now I feel freezing cold. I am not sure what is going on.

Could I have gone hypothyroid this quickly? Maybe I have the stomach bug or a cold or something?


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## mommyjewel (Aug 14, 2010)

The endocrinology office called they said it is do to my thyroid levels changing and they want me to get my blood work done again.


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## desrtbloom (May 23, 2010)

I was on 20 mg of Methizamole for 60 days. Then 10 mg for 30 day prior to a total thyroidectomy. You could just be ill from your thyroid. It takes a good 60 days for the Methizamole to start taking effect. If you were feeling that badly on the low dose and the same on the high dose either it is your thyroid or maybe you need the PTU versus the Methizamole.

Hang in there! I hope the Endo gets you sorted ASAP.

:hugs:

Patti


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

mommyjewel said:


> The endocrinology office called they said it is do to my thyroid levels changing and they want me to get my blood work done again.


Welcome- your doctors office is doing the right thing - lab's are in order.

I was very ill the first few months on Tapazole and had blood work done at least twice due to me feeling ill. My symptoms were sore throat and mental instability. I actually saw a counselor for the 1st time in my life while coming down from hyper while on Tapazole.

Coming down from hyper stinks - let's try and make sure your doctor keeps you euthyroid as they all have a tendency to make us hypo.

If you track your FT-4 and FT-3 levels closely and speak up for med doses to be raised or lowered you will feel better overall.

I was hypo in 3 months on Tapazole and had to learn where "normal" was on Tapazole. My only issue with being on Tapazole was monthly lab's and frequent dose changes and of course the initial mental instability

:hugs:


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## mommyjewel (Aug 14, 2010)

Thank you for the replies. It is a relief to know that this is not all in my head. I started feeling awful again today, I had to buy over the counter anti nausea pills because when I feel this way it is all the symptoms of the stomach bug with out having the virus.

I was wondering if there are any tips or tricks that you know of to try that helped you feel better until your thyroid hormones stabilized?


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

I was on 40 mg of Tapazole daily for about three months and felt terrible the entire time. I had all sorts of stomach issues with my thyroid acting up. Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and I was just not well. My symptoms would change from one thing to another, and I just never felt better, even after my thyroid levels stabilized and my Endo thought I "should" be feeling better. 
I decided to have my thyroid removed, and have felt much better in the three weeks since then. Some people are able to tolerate anti-thyroid meds and stay on them for years. 
I just took it easy as much as I could. My PCP knew I was unstable, and had me out of work on short term disability. I spent time with supportive friends, saw a therapist, did as much as possible to relax. I researched everything I could about Graves Disease (in spite of the brain fog) so that I could make an informed decision about my treatment. 
I hope you find the path that is right for you so that you can heal and feel better.


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## mommyjewel (Aug 14, 2010)

Thank you.

I finally got my wish on decreasing the medication. My endo office called today and they said that I could decrease my Tapazole from 20mg a day to 15mg.

The nurse said that my labs showed significant improvement. I am not sure if she said Free T3 or Free T4 but one of those was 6.4. (Of course I did not have a pen and paper and I forgot as soon as she hung up the phone)

I need to have my blood work done again in 2-3 weeks.


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## desrtbloom (May 23, 2010)

I would suggest that you request a copy of all your thyroid labs from your Endo and keep your own records so that you can see what levels YOU feel best at.

I sympathize with you very much. Been there and it was very rough. Hang in there. It will get better.

Patti


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## carli (Sep 5, 2010)

I have been taking 25mg of atenolol and 10 mg tapazole for about 2 weeks. I feel like crap i dont know if it is the meds of the fact that my thyroid is making changes. what would happen to me if i just decided i didnt want to take the meds anylonger? and how long does it usually take to become euthyroid? could i become hypo faster than euthyroid? i need some advice. The meds make me really tired and i cant be sleeping all the time I have a toddler who is always go go go...what do i do?


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

carli said:


> I have been taking 25mg of atenolol and 10 mg tapazole for about 2 weeks. I feel like crap i dont know if it is the meds of the fact that my thyroid is making changes. what would happen to me if i just decided i didnt want to take the meds anylonger? and how long does it usually take to become euthyroid? could i become hypo faster than euthyroid? i need some advice. The meds make me really tired and i cant be sleeping all the time I have a toddler who is always go go go...what do i do?


Welcome to the boards and hang in there! 
I would highly suggest not going off the meds unless you talk with your doctor first. What were your symptoms before you started the meds? Whatever they were, they will most likely return or get worse if you stop the meds. 
I assume you are hyperthyroid by the meds you are taking. Tapazole works to lower your thyroid levels. Depending on how hyper you are, it can take 4-6 weeks to become eurothyroid. You will become eurothyroid before becoming hypothyroid. If you are concerned about becoming hypothyroid, you can always call your doc and ask to have blood work done more often.
Atenolol is a beta blocker that treats heart palpitations/rapid heart rate that result form hypertyroidism. Stopping that could put additional strain on your heart, making it even harder and possibly deadly for you to chase after your child. 
I don't mean to scare you. My hyperthyroidism went untreated for far too long, and I ended up being hospitalized due to an uncontrolled heart rate and a list of symptoms that could fill a book. It was really scary and I would highly suggest not going that route. 
The fatigue could be a result of the meds, being hyperthyroid, or your levels changing. It really is amazing how much control our thyroid have over our entire bodies and sense of well-being. The best way I know to explain it is that when we are hyper, our bodies are creating excess adrenalin. At some point it just becomes too much and our bodies crash. Or if we take meds to bring our thyroid levels down, our bodies go through a crash.
When my thyroid issue was first diagnosed all I wanted was to feel better now! My doctor explained to me that thyroids are a slow gland, they take a long time to respond to treatment. This was not what I wanted to hear. 
In the meantime, I would suggest being as gentle with yourself as possible. You are sick, and it will take some time for your body to recover. Is there anyone who can help you out with childcare?


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## mommyjewel (Aug 14, 2010)

I took the Tapazole for a few weeks and coming down from the hyperthyroid state was horrible for me. I felt tired and sick most of the time. After a few weeks that feeling went away and I started feeling like the old me again.

I did feel cold for a while without that flushed warm/hot feeling all the time. I did not realize how crappy I did feel from the hyperthyroid until my levels started coming down. I wished that my endo would have told me how crappy I was going to feel but on the other hand if she did warn me I might not have taken the medication.


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## Girly (Sep 27, 2010)

the quantity of the Tapazole sounds a bit high to me. Hi, I am new to this forum, but thought I would put my 2 cents in.

I take 5mg once a day and feel great with respect to the fact that I do not have the intolerable heat flashes, I do not have heart palpetations as I have and the tremors have subsided. I have been on tapazole now for 8 months and withing the first 2 months, it brought my thyroid levels down by half. I do have other issues such as the eye disease, but that is another story. Hope you feel better soon and this gets under control for you.


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## carli (Sep 5, 2010)

mommyjewel said:


> I am not sure if this is side effects of the Tapazole or I may be coming down with the stomach bug but i feel aweful. Any advice or anything I can do to feel better?
> 
> Symptoms:
> 
> ...


I feel the EXACT same way as u do. let me know what the doc says to u. I just got my doses increased yesterday but am still feeling this way.


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## carli (Sep 5, 2010)

I have been regularly taking the beta blockers my doc just upped my dosage to 60 mg a day which is just too much to handle. after a month of taking the meds 30 mg a day has not changed my levels not even a point. my TSH is 0.006 still. very discouraging to me. I just dont know what to do my doc wants to do the iodine treatment again which is scary. I guess i am willing to give it a try if i see no improvement this next month.


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