[ewmb]

#1069425

Leslie,
I had the fast heart rate. That is the graves disease. The chest pain may be too. I had it before I was diagnosed and I thought it was my heart. Make sure you aren’t eating or drinking anything that might speed up your heart rate like caffeine. I found when I was hyper that if I was dehydrated it made me feel worse and my heart rate would go up. Hot peppers make me heat up and my ears do go red. My dad’s doctor told him his red ears were from circulation issues. Tomorrow your doctor can help you out. She might suggest beta blockers for you fast heart rate. I’m sorry about your rash. There are several people who post here who have had to go off the anti thyroid meds for reasons like yours. You might search for reaction to medications or rash or itching and see if you can find those old posts. I had the heartburn too and I think it was the graves and the meds together. It helped me to make sure that my stomach wasn’t ever very empty during the day. Even eating a saltine cracker between meals seemed to help keep the acid down.

Try putting on some slower music and see if you can concentrate and match your breathing to the music. That helped me sometimes.

Hope you can get some sleep tonight. Good luck with your appointment tomorrow. It’s tough but you’ll get through it. One day at a time is a good motto for Graves.

ewmb

[Ski]

#1069426

There is a chance of a very serious allergic reaction that can be dangerous, so please talk with your doctor’s office ASAP. If Benadryl isn’t helping, that’s not a good sign. I would request a call back today to determine whether they feel you should either switch meds or at least stop for now.

[Leslie1520]

#1019127

I am 21 years old and was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease three weeks ago. I have been on Methimazole since then, but the past few days I have had a bad allergic reaction to it.

I have very itchy rashes/welps that appear and disappear on various parts of my body (neck, stomach, legs, arms, hands, feet, face). I called my doctor and she told me to stop taking the Methimazole immediately and to come in and see her on Monday.

I have been taking Benadryl with little relief and my ears are burning and hot. The night before last, my chest was hurting so bad that i was unable to sleep. At 4:30 am I finally took some medicine to coat my stomach and that helped. The next day I discovered that one of the side effects of this medicine is very bad heartburn.

Most recently, my chest has been feeling extremely heavy and I am having trouble breathing at a normal pace. I woke up this morning having to force myself to breathe. I was not able to take a deep breath at all, and my chest felt very tight. My blood pressure was 106/67 and my heart rate was 136. I felt very weak and dizzy and it was hours before I was able to breath normal again. My rash is worse today and I feel that my symptoms are worsening every day.

My doctors appointment is tomorrow but I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same reaction to this medicine and if there is anything I can do or take to help it.

Thanks,
~Leslie~

[Leslie1520]

#1069427

Thank you for your advice. This is all very new and frustrating for me so knowing that other people have felt what I’m feeling is very comforting. I’ve heard that PTU is the other medicine a lot of people are put on if Metimazole doesn’t work for them. What are the side effets of PTU?

I’ve had to quit my job recently because of my poor physical and mental help, but being aware of what’s to come helps me deal with it better once it hits me.

[julies]

#1069428

I feel so bad for you right now, however the PTU may cause the same reaction, I did the bounce from the Methimazole to the PTU. I had a rash and low white blood count with the Methimazole. I was on a low dose of PTU and got a couple of hives, when by doctor brought me to a 300 mg dose of PTU I became covered in a rash. It was painful not just itchy. Try a cool bath with baking soda, that helps a little, stop the medication and contact your doctor ASAP.
It has been a week,and I still have the rash a little. It takes a few days to stop the progression after you stop the medication.

Julie

[Neet]

#1069429

I have been on Methimazole for 1 year. The whole GD diagnosis and then drug intervention was frightening and totally unfamiliar to me as I and no one close to me had ever heard of it. Well, 1 year later and I have gained 30 pounds (more than I gained when i was pregnant 24 years ago), feel unattractive, have gone through depression, and anxiety, and I am not as outgoing as I used to be. As i gained the weight I questioned my doctor about it and she replied during each visit, "You are doing good. That is to be expected." Each time I left her office I was so distraught that at times I was totally disoriented and had to get myself together to just drive away from the hospital. After a tug of war with her a few months ago, she began to lower the dosage until I was only taking 2.5 mgs a day. I had my 3 month visit with her a week ago and she didn’t even know what dosage I was taking (I had to tell her what was going on and what she had prescribed so she could update her notes.) As always, she had me do bloodwork before I left her office and she said she would notify me when she got the results because she would possibly take me off the meds altogether. I made a decision to take myself off the meds because i have not heard from her and I continue to gain weight. Mind you, I am an exercise buff. I do very strenous workouts at least 4 times a week, which I was doing before I was diagnosed. I had lost weight beautifully and looked younger. Now that I have gained all of this weight I look and feel older. In fact, I had to go on high blood pressure medication which i fought with her on also because before this diagnosis and beginning the medication, I was always in the low blood pressure range.

It was comforting to find this website and read the blogs everyone has been posting, especially those from Julie. I know now that I am not crazy and some of the things I have experienced are common to others. Thank you all for your blogs. You are a Godsend.

[Hopeful23]

#1069430

Ugh. You are going through exactly what i went through. I was taken off the tap and put on ptu HAD thee exact thing happen but at a different rate and level. I then was told well thyroidectomy or RAI. Soo i took three days to do some consultations and do some heavy reliable researching and chose to do the rai. Now im on synthroid. I THINK YOU NEED TO GO TO THE DR STAT OR EMERGENCY ROOM. THATS HOW I FELT AND THEY TOLD ME I MADE A GOOD CHOICE BY COMING IN.

[dzarling]

#1069431

I was diagnosed with Graves in June & put on Methimazole. After roughtly 3 1/2 weeks on it I developed ankle swelling & a rash on my ankles as well. I stopped the methimazole for 4 days (on advice of my endocrine Doc) & tried restarting it but got extremely nauseated & had almost flu-like symptoms. Needless to say, I stopped the med again & was told by my endocrine Doc that the next step will either be something called PTU or radioactive iodine. Has anyone else had these problems & what is the likelihood of this happening again with the PTU? I am really at a loss here-hope someone can help. Thanks!

[demin]

#1069432

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease about a month ago. No symptoms other than my bloodwork numbers were off for my thyroid. I was put on Methimazole. I took it for about three weeks. I was nautious, jittery feeling terrible. One night I actually had chest pain. Called the dr. the next morning she told me to stop the meth and go for bloodwork. She wasnt’ too concerned about the heart because I am 45. Well, I went to my primary dr., they did an EKG and my heart was racing. Sent me to a cardiologist….and off to the hospital I went. Thank god my main arteries are clear but there was one small vein (too small to stint) with some blockage. I had a heart ultrasound and the good side is everything is normal. My blood pressure is low, my cholesterol is low…and they are all scratching their head wondering what brought this on. I am soooo frustrated. I am very upset with my endocrinologist. She acknowledges that this could have been brought on by the methimazole I have started taking propylthioracil twice a day. The good news is I do not appear to be having any serious side effects. The bad news is it has been known to cause liver issues….. so today I received a call from my primary dr. who wants to see me because my bloodwork came back and my liver numbers are off…. So I will see him today. I can not begin to tell you how upset I am by all of this, the last couple of months have been hell. I now have a cardiologist involved… and I am on a boatload of medication to keep me safe. I have been searching and searching the internet for answers. I’m not sure what the next answer will be but I have to stay focused and snap out of it because all of this has really put me in a depressing mood. Dawn

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