[Ski]

#1074326

Hi kaicee,

Actually, hyperthyroidism can cause muscle weakness ~ and it would resolve once your thyroid hormone levels normalized and you had a chance to heal, as well as to strengthen the muscles again. I’m not sure you can blame the med at all.

It can be pretty severe ~ I felt like I was 90, and I wasn’t even 40. The larger muscles (upper arms & legs, chest) are the most often affected. If it subsided with normal thyroid hormone levels last time, it may well do that again.

[kaicee118]

#1019827

Hello everyone – I am currently going through my "second round" of Graves Disease. A few months ago, I decided to go with taking meds again (Tapazole) instead of RAI or surgery. However, the first time I took it (beginning November 2006), I developed significant muscle weakness in the spring of 2007, so much so that I ended up getting worked up for myasthenia gravis (all tests were negative). The meds "fixed" my thyroid numbers at the time, so no one thought my weakness could be thyroid related.

Now, since I’ve started taking Tapazole again in December 2008, I’ve developed the same sort of muscle weakness, so much so that I’m now considering surgery. The endo has never heard of Tapazole causing such a side effect, although he’s not a big fan of Tapazole in general and would just as soon see me have surgery.

My question: has anyone out there ever had muscle weakness while on Tapazole? Anyone have any weird side effects from it that made you stop taking it? I am still not hypothyroid, and my free T4 is still at the high end of normal.

Any and all info is appreciated! Thanks.

[DianneW]

#1074327

Try asking your pharmacist if muscle weakness is one of the important listed side effects of Tapazole. I could look in my Physician’s Desk Reference, but your pharmacist could talk to you about the relevance of the information listed about muscle weakness if indeed it is listed as a side effect. (Most drugs have just about every possible symptom listed somewhere as a side effect, but not all are clinically relevant.)

That’s probably a question your doctor could have answered too if he’d taken the time, but sometimes pharmacists are more motivated to answer questions about drugs than our doctors are.

[kaicee118]

#1074328

Thanks for your replies. I know muscle weakness isn’t a normal side effect of Tapazole, but I didn’t know if anyone else ever had this experience.

To me, the muscle weakness with Graves/noTapazole is different from the muscle weakness I have once I start the meds (I know – this is way picky!) But the first is like shaky/trembly muscle weakness, and the second is like waves of weakness that make me feel like I can’t do anything. Maybe I’m not explaining it well, but to me they’re totally different…

Anyway…I’m really considering surgery at this point. I’m sick of being sick. Thanks again –

[grekson]

#1074329

My body feels heavy on methimazole.It bothers me.Maybe surgery will help us.I live in Brooklyn,NY

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