[Kalty]

#1060214

The initial dose of methimazole for me (Graves) is 10mg 2x a day. That seems like a lot. I would like to start very, very low and see if my body responds. All therapy choices stink!

Is 10mg what you started with?

Also, the doc says I have high levels of antibodies – Hashimoto’s and Graves. Graves is what’s going on now. Honestly, that makes no sense to me.

Did any of you have both antibodies?

[Kimberly]

#1181289

Hello – Every patient is unique depending on their circumstances, but I started on a dose of 15 mg/day of methimazole. I know of members here who have started out higher, others lower. I would definitely not make any changes on your own without consulting with your doctor first. Hopefully, you have a follow up appointment for labs within the next few weeks, as it can take some trial and error to find exactly the right dose.

TPOab and TGab are “markers” for autoimmune thyroid disease. They are very common in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but a certain percentage of Graves’ patients (even those who do not have HT) test positive for them.

[butterfly007]

#1181290

Hi Kalty,
You are not alone here. I had high levels of both TPOab and TGab too. Am a year in on my journey and I am still trying to understand it all. Do you know how your doc worked out you have both Hashi’s and graves? I was started on carbimazole 40mg a day. Am now down to 10 mg daily and am kinda stable with my levels. And now finally – Some days – sometimes – I even feel ‘normal’!!
Yes, I agree the treatment options all stink!! I definitely went through a grieving process during the last year, coming to terms with it all. For me, the hardest, toughest, lowest part was when I was at where you are right now – right at the beginning. However – it really truly does get better and easier to manage with time, for most people. Maybe not always pre -graves quality – but much much better than when first diagnosed. I guess my advice coming from someone a year after diagnosis would be to try be patient and learn as much as you can, before you make any decisions.

[barbra]

#1181291

Hi Kalty,

I started out with 10mg of Methimazole 3x per day, then went to 2x then once a day.
The medicine and a couple others really helped with my symptoms.
I’m sure the dosage depends on your blood test and is probably only a starting point.

Hugs.

Barbra.

[Kalty]

#1181292

The doc said the blood work showed both antibodies. Their copier was down, so I didn’t get a copy this time. The Hashimoto # stood out to me. I think it was 1435. 14-something, anyway.

Because I have another health problem, I’m not coming from feeling normal. I haven’t felt normal for 11 years, so I really can live with lots of symptoms. I haven’t missed any work because of this, so the incentive to fix it isn’t very strong.

I doubt the diagnosis, because I’m exhausted and have gained weight. The TSH level is very low .006, but it was never tested before – at least not at my regular doctor. Maybe it’s lower now than it ever was.

Maybe that’s wishful thinking. No doctor has ever had an easy time giving me a diagnosis. I reject all of them, in fact. Still haven’t truly accepted the one from 11 years ago.

Thank you, everyone. You have talked me back in off the ledge. This is a very nice forum. Glad I found you.

[butterfly007]

#1181293

Hi Kalty, When I was first diagnosed, one of my main complaints was that I had gained weight. I was extremely hyper – and absolutely exhausted all the time -all I wanted to do was sleep! I have had slow steady weight gain through this whole process over the last year. It’s absolutely possible to gain weight and be tired/exhaustaed with Graves and hyperthyroidism. It happened to me.
I think I see how you would not want to accept the diagnosis – it’s tough. I think I said before I went through a grieving process. It’s really dangerous and can be life threatening to not treat hyperthyroidism. It also slowly does a lot of damage to you if untreated. It’s really important you get you levels looking better. Why live with symptoms of hyperthyroidism when you can take a tablet or two and soon enough feel a whole lot better? It’s not that simple, but that’s pretty much how it works.
Keep us posted!
Rae

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