Graves disease treatment with propylthiouracil
Common Questions and Answers about Graves disease treatment with propylthiouracil
graves-disease
hi i'm a 28 yr old woman and have suffered badly with symptoms from graves disease for 3yrs i've been on propylthiouracil for a year now as i had a severe allergic reaction to carbimazole!
my symptoms include insomnia,severe fatigue,anxiety,bouts of depression,poor concentration,memory loss,bruising easily,dizziness,nausea and graves rage and weakened immune system (sick often). the problem is that i've recently had a blood test that read normal at 5.
Both hyperthyroidism and anti-thyroid medication can affect the function of the liver causing increases in liver enzymes. Liver damage is more common with the anti-thyroid drug Propylthiouracil. I have gathered together this information from numerous sources and various studies...
Hyperthyroidism lists fatigue as a symptom. This can be due to insomnia and difficulty sleeping, a rapid pulse, and/or higher blood pressure.
Conventional treatment options for Graves' disease include:
* Anti-thyroid medication:
In the US:
- Methimazole [brand name Tapazole]
- Propylthiouracil [PTU]
Approximately 30% with Graves' disease will have a remission after prolonged treatment with anti-thyroid drugs.
an ultrasound about 10 days during treatment showed very minute hypo-echoic regions in the thyroiid with no big nodules annd only slight increased vascularity with normal gross size.
in about 20 days into my treatment i got a cough and sore throat and as advised i did my cbc lfts and tfts.cbc was normal with mild neutrophil count elevation (sore throat). my t3 t4 came back within normal ranges but my tsh still remained 0.0 with my TPO anitbodies 1300.
June 3, 2009 — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert today about the risk for serious liver damage, including liver failure, or death with propylthiouracil (PTU) compared with methimazole. Both agents are approved for the treatment of hyperthyroidism associated with Graves' disease.
Can you pleased post the reference ranges for the Free T3 and Free T4? Reference ranges vary from lab to lab and have to come from your own reports.
Can you also tell us if you've had a thyroid ultrasound to determine if you have nodules on your thyroid or if you've had antibody tests to determine if you have Hashimoto's or Graves Disease?
There is a lot of information on the internet regarding Graves Disease (hyper thyroid) and treatment options. I would suggest doing thorough research on all of it, and even taking that information in with you to the doctor. That's what I did and I felt very informed for helping to make a good decision along with the doctor.
Your test results definitely indicate that you're hyper and they also indicate that you have Hashimoto's, according to the TPOab, though TPOab can be slightly elevated with Graves. I'd still want the TSI test done to confirm Graves, since TSI is the definitive test.
The medication won't do you any good if you don't take it on a regular basis. If the tapazole made you ill, your doctor could have prescribed propylthiouracil (PTU) instead to see how that would work.
I’m 33 year old female with Graves disease I was told graves disease has caused my hyper active thyroid. What is Graves disease? Also, I’m taking meds for my thyroid but they don’t seem to work very often. I take two 25 mg of Atenolol a day and 2 50 mg Propylthiouracil twice a day and still don’t feel comfortable. Walking up stairs to my parents apt. makes me feel so exhausted that’s how bad it is. I feel like I'm going to die.
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I think it unlikely that the Graves Disease will attack your body in another place once your thyroid is gone. My aunt had the Radioactive Iodine a few years ago and now has to take thyroxin every day because now she has no thyroid gland to make it. I guess my advice would be not to rush into it (which I guess you're not). Either way, the chances are both of us will have to take medication for the foreseeable future, perhaps forever.
Hi Dr Lupo,
My mom is 72 yrs old and 4 months ago she tested her TSH 0.010 mIU/L, FT3 6.5pmo/L & FT4 18.8 pmol/L. Doc said that she has subclinical hyperthyroidism but didn't advise any treatment. Recently my mom tested her blood again and this time her TSH is <0.005 mIU/L, FT3 8.16pmo/L & FT4 22.89 pmo/L. Doc now says that she has early hyperthyroidism and suggests low dosage of 1 tablet/day either carbimazole or propylthiouracil. My mom is fine though and shows no symptoms.
Here are some resources I suggest you research and maybe even talk to others with the same problem to share experiences it may help you feel better about your treatment decision.
Hormone Health Network information on thyroid disorders:
www.hormone.org/Resources/thyroid-disorders.cfm
• American Thyroid Association: www.thyroid.org
• Mayo Clinic: www.mayoclinic.com/health/graves-disease/
DS00181
• National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information
Service (NIH): www.endocrine.niddk.nih.
I was diagnosed with Graves Disease and Hyperthyroidism in October 2007 and have been on Carbimazole (anti thyroid med) to blance and hopefully make my levels stabel.
The hair loss is normal either HypO or HypeR but isnt a permanat thing.
As far as I know...once you get the hormone levels stable then the hair stops falling out.
I get hair loss (mostly noticable in the shower) and freaked when I first saw it but after my Doc explained, I dont feel so worried.
Dont worry...
Have you had antibody testing to see if you have an autoimmune disease? Most thyroid disease by far in the developed world is autoimmune. TPOab and TGab would tell you if you have Hashi's, and TSI is the definitive test for Graves'.
It's kind of hard to say a lot more since you don't have the results of too many of your tests. When you see your doctor, ask for a copy of all your thyroid test results.
The American Thyroid Association and the Endocrine Society guidelines recommend using PTU in the 1st half of pregnancy if drug treatment is needed due to a greater frequency of birth defects with MMI. This increased risk of birth defects with MMI is very small as a Food and Drug Administration review of all pregnancies between 1969-2009 found 29 reports of birth defects associated with MMI use in the first trimester of pregnancy as compared to 9 reports of PTU-associated birth defects.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/Is-Graves-Disease-the-reason-for-her-irrational-behaviour/show/1924584?personal_page_id=2274510
Contraindications for RAI [radioactive iodine] therapy are pregnancy [absolute], ophthalmopathy [relative - can aggravate thyroid eye disease], and solitary nodules.
they done a iodeine scan this is when i was told it was graves disease and that they were considering radiation treatment or removal but this new doc is the one who says hes going to stop the meds. i have read a lot of the comments on here about feeling cold and sore and other symptoms which i have so im making an appointment to go see my gp thanks for your help.
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