[StacyA]

#1059511

Any side effects? Any success or failure stories? I sooo hate taking meds… ugh… ID love to hear your experiences. Im on that as of today once a day, and propanolol 4x a day for the symptoms of the hyperthyroid.

[Kimberly]

#1175262

Hello – As I’ve posted elsewhere, I’ve been on methimazole for 5+ years. Have had one sore throat scare (which ended up just being a cold) and one set of lowered white blood cell count (which was back to normal at my next set of labs). The biggest inconvenience has been the multiple doctors’ visits for labs and dose adjustments…but ALL of the treatment options have risks and benefits!

You might also use the “Search Posts” feature in the top right-hand corner of the screen to search for “methimazole”, “Tapazole”, “anti-thyroid drug”, etc. to read stories from other members.

Take care!

[Rosetoes]

#1175263

I have been on Methimzole for 16 months now and early on I would have some dry skin and itchiness but it subsided with a week or so. I have no side effects now, none. It does work to lower your hyper thyroid and eliminates your symptoms within a few weeks.

I have my liver and white and red blood cells and they are normal. I have no complaints other then my DR upped my dosage and I’m now mildly hypo. My Dr lowered my dosage so I hope that it will level out before my next lab in 6 weeks.

[Khadijah]

#1175264

I’ve been on methmizole for about three weeks, 30mg. So far, so good. My symptoms have gone away. I did blood work including liver panel for my baseline and will do another one in six weeks when I go back to the doctor.

[adenure]

#1175265

Hi!

I took 5 mg of methimazole a day for 7 weeks. The great thing was that it got my thyroid levels normalized in that time. My hair thinned out a whole lot, but other than that, I didn’t have any noticeable side effects. Unfortunately, I was part of the 1% that has liver issues with it. My liver labs showed enzymes 8 times the normal amount even though I didn’t have symptoms like sore throat, fever, jaundice, dark urine etc… Obviously, I had to stop taking it right away. The good thing was that the methimazole got my levels right so I could have surgery and get better! Yay for that! I would just recommend that you ask to have your liver enzymes done with your thyroid labs just to be safe. Good luck! Also, my liver enzymes went back to normal and all is well now; I had an abdominal ultrasound too to be sure- all is fine there.

[StacyA]

#1175266

Thanks everyone! I am two pills in now. Hate taking meds, so it’s so hard…. Oh, you took it while nursing too, Alexis? I havent had babys baseline thyroid checked yet because its holiday weekend, but plan to inquire about it first thing monday. (I wasnt supposed to start the meds till after next week so when she called and said the labs were worse and to start yesterday, I hadnt gotten the babys test yet)

[amosmcd]

#1175267

Hi, Stacy–

I’d been on Methimazole for 2-1/2 months. Had immediate problems with it. Felt sedated and fatigued all the time. Slept and napped way too much. a month ago the endo cut the dose from 10mg/day to 5mg/day, based on my improving labs. I cut the pills in half and took half in am and half at bedtime to try and lessen the side effect, but it didnt help. Finally went in 2 weeks early to see my endo and labs drawn. I was now hypo, and I told him I could not stand being on it. So Im off it, we’ll wait 3 weeks and see if I go hyper again, which he expects, and then I’ll have to decide on surgery or RAI.

I haven’t heard of anyone else on the forum having that side effect, but if something says it may cause drowsiness, it usually does with me.

Just something to watch for. For me, it was impacting my quality of life. It did work very well in getting rid of all the hyper symptoms I was having. I hope it works as well for you as it has for most of the folks here.

Amy

[Carito71]

#1175268

Hello StacyA,

I started taking Methimazole a little bit more than 5 months ago. I started at 30mg/day and I’m now at 2.5mg/day. At the beginning my liver enzymes were elevated but were less than 3 times the normal range so the Dr. did not have a problem getting me started on Methimazole. The enzymes were elevated due to me being hyperthyroid and not because of the Methimazole. As the Methimazole lowered my thyroid hormones, my liver enzymes got lower too. They are now in the normal range. My white blood cells count did decrease some and therefore the Dr. lowered my Methimazole dose. They are at a normal range right now. I’m hoping that they remain normal. Methimazole made me feel better once my hormone levels were lower.

I was taking Propranolol 4-6 times a day at the beginning but it got to be too much for me. My heart was never constant so my General Dr. prescribed one Metoprolol a day, which keeps my heart constant and I only have to worry about taking it once a day.

I hope you get to feel better soon.

Caro

[StacyA]

#1175269

Thank you everyone!!! Love hearing your stories. Much appreciated.

[StacyA]

#1175270

Kimberly wrote:

Hello – As I’ve posted elsewhere, I’ve been on methimazole for 5+ years. Have had one sore throat scare (which ended up just being a cold) and one set of lowered white blood cell count (which was back to normal at my next set of labs). The biggest inconvenience has been the multiple doctors’ visits for labs and dose adjustments…but ALL of the treatment options have risks and benefits!

You might also use the “Search Posts” feature in the top right-hand corner of the screen to search for “methimazole”, “Tapazole”, “anti-thyroid drug”, etc. to read stories from other members.

Take care!

Kimberly, would you explain the sore throat issue to me? I frequently have them anyway, what does it mean with regard to the meds and how would you know if its just a cold?

[Kimberly]

#1175271

Hello – Sore throat can *potentially* be a sign of a rare side effect called agranulocytosis, which is a severe reduction in white blood cell (WBC) count. So patients who experience a sore throat while on anti-thyroid drugs (particularly a severe sore throat with fever) are advised to contact their doctor’s office ASAP.

If this happens, docs will generally order a WBC blood test, as there’s really no other good alternative for separating out a standard cold from potentially more serious issues. Some docs will also instruct you to stop the meds until the results come in.

This is a RARE side effect, but can potentially be very serious, so doctors generally prefer to err on the side of caution in terms of testing.

Hope this helps!

[StacyA]

#1175272

Tysm! Is agranulocytosis reversable?

[Kimberly]

#1175273

Hello – Yes, stopping the meds will usually improve the condition…however, since agranulocytosis can be very serious, it’s best to catch it sooner rather than later. Take care!

[StacyA]

#1175274

Yikes, thanks!

[HelenYH]

#1175275

Hi StacyA, My first week on Methimazole was horrible. The endo precribed 20mg daily. I itched and itched, and my headaches got worse during that week. I felt worse than before I started the meds. I quit and went on Chinese herbs without any meds, then a homeopathic remedy. The remedy helped the levels but not fast enough. I got to the point where I could hardly walk 2 steps without feeling over-exerted. A 2nd endo put me on 10mg methimazole daily and within a week, I started to feel much better. I am now on 12.5mg daily.

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