how long for methimazole to work?

[firefly7]

How long did it take you guys for it to kick in?   Almost three weeks ago here were my labs:
TSH                  [L]  <0.01 uIU/mL              [0.30-4.70]
Free T4                   1.89 ng/dL                  [0.75-2.00]
FT3                  [H]  5.5 pg/mL                   [2.3-4.2]  

I'm on 10mg of methimazole which I take as 5mg twice a day.   I had a slow start with it two weeks ago, taking only 5mg as I am notorious for my medication reactions but as I'm okay so far I'm gone up to 10mg for the last three days.   Still the minute my beta block leaves my system my resting heartrate zooms up to 100 or with caffeine even more.   I'm cutting out the caffeine altogether now - bums me out because chocolate is my comfort food.   My first visit with the endo isn't for a couple weeks yet.    Thanks in advance!

[firefly7]

anybody got any thoughts on this?

[Red_Star]

"How does Tapazole work? What will it do for me?

Methimazole belongs to the class of medications called antithyroid medications. It is used to treat hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland). It prevents the thyroid gland from over-producing thyroid hormone, but does not interfere with the actions of thyroid hormone. It may take weeks to months before methimazole has its full effect on the symptoms of overactive thyroid (e.g., palpitations, sweating). During this time period, other medications may be used to control these symptoms."

excerpt from C Health - Tapazole

[firefly7]

Aaaargh!    Weeks to months, I can't take it!    I am having a lot of side effects from the beta blocker (drugged, woozy, fuzzy headed)  I'm taking and I MUST take it or else my heart races and I shake.   Even with the beta-blocker my appetite is out of control - I never feel satisfied no matter what or how much I eat.    I guess I've gotta learn patience because I keep reading posts on this forum and see that I may have to get used to being out of balance in one direction or another for the forseeable future.   But can I say it again?  AAAAAAARGH!     Oh and btw, this post of mine is an example of what happens as the beta-blocker wears off....time for me to go take another frigging pill.

[Red_Star]

lol...it could of said years. How fast is your resting heart rate without medication? Just curious as i have about 100bpm on average but i usually can't feel this.  It's kinda weird to see 106bpm for instance and feel nothing.

[goolarra]

You might get used to the beta blocker.  When I was first on one, I can remember feeling kind of "slow", but as time went on, that feeling went away, and I now have no side effects from it at all.  Which one are you taking?

Also, though it can take weeks or months to reach "full" effect, you should see improvements along the way.  When are you scheduled for labs again?  Perhaps you should call your doctor to see if he thinks your dose has to be changed since your symptoms don't seem to be lessening.

[firefly7]

I have to say I envy  that you can't feel it Red_star - once my heart rate is above 90 I feel it acutely.   I could count my pulse without even using my fingers just from feeling the pounding of my heart.   Without medication my resting pulse is 120 - that's what finally led me to my doctor's office insisting something was wrong.

I've heard that some people can have a regular fast heart rate and it's not a sign of illness though so your 106 might not be the same as my 106 if that makes sense.  Are you hyperthyroid?

[firefly7]

HI Goolarra, I'm on metoprolol and it can make me feel slow, clumsy, my reaction times are seriously impacted - makes me a little nervous about driving.   I hope in time I can adapt to it like you have.    Labs won't be for another three weeks when I see the endo for the first time but I may call the doc before then if this keeps up.

[goolarra]

Okay, well, I have you both beat in the tachycardia department!  LOL  I have a WPW syndrome, and when I have an episode, my pulse is so fast that I can't count it.  My BP monitor just returns an error message.  I had an episode once in the doctor's office, and with a stethoscope, they counted 208.

Just had to throw that in...

You could also try a different beta blocker.  I take atenolol, and I do remember that slow feeling at first, but I haven't experienced it lately.

Have you noticed any improvement in symptoms at all?  

[firefly7]

WPW syndrome?   208 sounds scary fast - I hope you didn't have to go for long with it like that.    It's hard to say whether I've had any improvement or not because the beta blocker does very effectively mask the symptoms.    I've only been on the full 10mg of methimazole for less than a week though so I'm okay with giving it more time.   Feeling a tad calmer this evening....

[Red_Star]

I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis but i also have an inflammed thyroid. Well more inflammed than normal anyway.  I had a look through my health diary i started in January and noted the highest heart rate i recorded was 113bpm but i still didn't feel it. O_o  

I have had higher heart rates due to severe magnesium deficiency such as 300bpm for a few minutes and 250bpm for 7 hours.  Okay so those episodes i could feel my heart pounding so i'm not super weird (maybe) ha! but at least i could count my heart rate...yeah goolarra you win lol!

[goolarra]

Interesting about the magnesium deficiency.  How did you find out that's what was causing your tachycardia?  Do you think your Hashi's contributed?  Do you know what caused the deficiency?

I find it interesting because I haven't had a tachy episode in close to 2 years.  I've always thought that was because I finally got my thyroid under control and have been very stable.  However, I also started taking magnesium about that time, and I've wondered about that, too.

[Red_Star]

I was pretty certain magnesium deficiency was the problem.  That is once i figured out what the problem was....around 6 years after my first heart episode.  And since correcting my magnesium deficiency, almost a year ago now, i haven't had a sudden high heart rate episode since.  In my case at least, Hashi's wasn't the problem in regards to this symptom.

I eat about once a day due to a poor appetite. I'm a walking nutrient deficiency lol. So not enough magnesium in my diet is a factor. There may be other factors as well but my deficiency worsened after surgery and then prolonged high doses of vitamin D.

[bkchill]

I got the diagnosis of hyperthyroid today and feel exactly like you. It ***** so fierce its ridaculous. I can eat and eat and eat, then wake up the same weight if I'm lucky. I thought I would feel better once we knew for sure and I could take the pill, Alas I was wrong, i cant stand pills  - beta blockers suck and waiting three weeks for the methimazole to work seems interminable.
F(*&in AAARRRRGHHH!!! I feel like i am in mourning that I am no longer normal. Hopefully I will get used to the beta blockers as many kind posters have written and then the methimazole will kick in and all will be better. Wishing you all get better. PS - my first post to pretty much anything ever.

[yankeeRN]

  Welcome to the club that no one wants to belong to.  There are worse things though and that is what I try to tell myself. I agree it does stink about having hyperthyroidism.  I was kinda angry and upset that my body "betrayed " me.  I had always been as  healthy as a horse so they say but this apparently had been lurking and now is here to stay and I am unable to ignore the symptoms. I eat like there is no tomorrow too because I am hungry within 2 hours of eating..my husband says "You can't possibly be hungry!"  I eat more than he does..but I do try to eat more nutritious and more protein.  Food goes right through me.
The beta blocker was my saviour--the rapid heart rate up to 170 was awful --many days I could barely walk across the room without my heart rate zooming up to 170--pretty bad for a person who a month prior was kicking butt at the gym.  Sometimes with the rapid heart rate I had chest pressure--I thought I was too young for that--it really scared me.  I could barely watch tv since anything emotional like a suspenseful show caused my heart to race as the suspense increased--crazy. When everything hit with this hyperthyroidism it really hit hard.  The beta blocker also controlled the full body shakes--the shakes had started with hand tremors and when all got going full body shakes including abdominal shakes--crazy stuff.  Also the betablocker stopped the panic attacks which had come out of nowhere.  The beta blocker became my best friend .  Once I was started on the antithyroid med after the nuclear scan confirmed Graves the doctor started to wean me from the betablocker --maybe 1-2 weeks into the PTU (my antithyroid med) .  
I was switched to Methimazole because of less side effects but developed hives to it--switched back to PTU and had been doing great for about 9 months when symptoms of hyperthyroid started creeping in  again--this time I was all over it--got my labs rechecked and upped my PTU per md.  I am hoping things will get under control soon--luckily my symptoms are mild compared to last time. Last year I was out of work for 5 weeks since I could barely move with the rapid heart rate and with my job as a  hospital nurse you are on the run constantly.
Glad you found this site..it has helped me to cope with all the changes .  It was helpful to me because people on this site have walked in my shoes and they were able to give me hope that things would get better.  Sorry that you are going through all this.  Best wishes for control of your thryoid soon.

[yankeeRN]

Oops wanted to add you to my watch list  to hear how all goes for you and I forgot to  put a check mark in the box--also apologies for such a lengthy post above--lol

[nana487]

Well i've been on tapazole for almost three months now and when you said your appetite is out of control I stopped breathing for a bit. I eat till i feel I'll burst and then look around for something else to eat. my sugar cravings are beyond out of control. Does this med increase appetite? im 53 years old and thought i had lost all abitlity for leaving food alone. especially when i'm not even hungry. My heart rate is almost always 120 so when you say 100 (I wish). Is it true that once my overactive thyroid is healed i'll have to take meds for underactive? this really makes me sad to think of taking more meds. Havent been on meds for thirty years and now this. I'm gaining weight and makes me feel so ugly

[nana487]

Amen!!! My husband doesnt say anything about my eating cuz he knows it would take the dr a week to get my foot out of his *** but i"m actually embarrassed how I can eat twice as much as him. and chocolate bars. om goodness I can't leave them alone. I know there's always someone worse off out there but you tend not to think of them when your in this crap yourself. Thank you so much for sharing everyone. I feel less alone :(

[Brucergoldberg]

what about just yanking or killing off the thyrroid is that an option?

[mia511]

I was recently diagnosed with Graves.  I'm on beta blockers and have not started methimazole due to iodine uptake.  Also, my endo is really pushing for RAI.  I currently take cumadin for blood clotting and I'm concerned about taking both cumadin and methimazole.  Does anyone
take both??

[jazzin]

about a year ago, I started having anxiety attacks and shaking so on my 40th bday I went do blood work with my family doc. The results came back showing I had hyperthyroidism so he referred me to an endocrinologist. First thing he did was schedule me to have a scan of my thyroid. After he reviewed the scan he told me that I do show signs of being a little hyper and I have mild graves disease. He told me it is probable and likely that it would go into remission though. However, he put me on 10mg methimazole twice a day to treat my hyperthyroidism, which I took as directed for the next 3 months. on my next visit with him, my T3 and T4 levels had normalized but my TSH was still a little high and I was feeling good again. He told me to continue to take the methimazole as directed, which I did for another month. Then I started feeling bloated and constapated so I cut back to taking 1 pill a day at 10 mg. This made me feel good again until around the beginning of the year when I started feeling shaky again. So I called him and he told me to get back to taking 2 pills a day which I did and on my next appt my lab results  showed me to be slightly hypo. To which he told me to go back to taking 1 pill a day. Which is where I am currently. I have been feeling fine but have noticed the past week a little bit of weakness in my stomach. Thinking about calling him next week to let him know about these symtoms.    

[goolarra]

Yes, definitely call him and ask if you can have labs run again.  It seems like you've been yo-yo-ing hypo on 20 mg to hyper on 10 mg.  Why not ask your doctor if you could try something in the middle between the two doses?  You might be more stable that way.

[jazzin]

well went do blood work today and glad I went cause last night and tonight I have been feeling a little anxious. Took me hald an Xanax hopefully that will calm me down. I hate feeling like this now cause everything felt like it was getting better 2 months ago.

[goolarra]

Well, your meds have been up and down.  It takes some time to find the right dose.  I'm glad you were able to get in and have blood work done.  Will you see your doctor now to get the results?

[jazzin]

I called him yesterday after I had did the lab work (spoke to his nurse). Supposed to call me whenever they get the results and let me know. Something though has gotten my nerves rattled though cause ever since the weekend I've had moments where my legs feel almost like jelly and like my muscles want to tense up. It was worse today right when I got home from work. Feels like it driving me up a wall almost when it's going on. Hopefully they will call tomorrow and let me know what to do.