Okay I have to complain about something!

My complaint with this hyperthyroid situation is the fact that I cannot take the same medicines I did for a cold that I used to. I am so afraid that my husband who is a Lieutenant at a prison and I also have 3 children in elementary school that is suseptible to bring home everything. I hate it when I get cold congestion and can't take the good medicines I used to for them. I am so afraid that they are going to give me a cold and then I will have to suffer through it. There just are not any good cold medicines to take. The only thing I found that I can take is plain Mucinex or I can rub some Vicks salve on me or get the plug ins. I really miss taking the Afrin 12 hour as that really helped me. Can someone give me a good list of medicines that they took. I am taking a low dose of PTU and Toprol right now for my hyperthyroid symptoms. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Jenipeni]

Hi ya,

I am a former pharmacy assistant so I couldn't help getting on the band wagon in this thread.  Hope you don't mind...

We are in different countries so some combinations could vary a little but..
The original Sudafed is just one active ingredient called pseudoephidrine - which has a drying effect on the nasal mucosa.  But it is also a precursor drug for those dodgy people who make street amphetamines such as speed.  
Pseudoephidrine should never be taken by people with hyperthyroidism.  But some people (even without thyroid trouble) still find they are sensitive to the drug and get heart palps, increased energy or a buzz etc from using it.  It is abuse and thefts of cold and flu preparations containing pseudoephidrine by such groups that is resulting on pseuodephidrine's regulation and restriction.  

Pseudoephidrine is in a lot of combination cold/flu preparations.  It's often combined with antihistamines and analgesics.

I'm pretty certain of this (but check with a pharmacist to be sure)- I wouldn't have thought a plain antihistamine would effect a hyperthyroid person adversely.  And a plain antihistamine has a similar drying effect on nasal mucosa.  Let me know if you have found otherwise... bcz I'm wondering if the heart palps you describe were from a antihistamine only preparation or if it was combined with pseudoephidrine?

But different people have different reactions even to antihistamines. I know when I take a certain supposedly non-drowsy antihistamine it puts me straight to sleep!

Utahmomma is onto a good thing with the zinc and vitamin C.  She is right on the money. But it won't treat your cold/flu symptoms, just decrease the time it takes for your body to fight the infection.    

Just a word of caution with Echinacea - if you find that you are allergic to various flowers you would be best to avoid Echinacea as it is derived from a flower and people have been known to have allergies to it.

Did you know that use of some nasal sprays for more than 3-5 days actually makes the problem worse?  

Okay I'll get off my pharmacy assistant podium now.  

[utahmomma]

If you've read some of the old threads you know that my mother is a naturopathic freak.  She has a thyroid larger than my cat and wants to treat it with herbs!  :-(  (not cool since 4/5 of her daughters have thyroid cancer).  

Anyway, with all that in mind, last year with my cancer recurrance, I was getting the flu or a cold every 3-4 weeks and was tired of it.  I finally gave in and tried some zinc lozenges (Zicam was the brand I tried but there are others too) that she forced on me.  I was shocked.  I've been taking them since last fall every time I feel like I'm getting sick and I have managed to stave off at least 5-6 good illnesses that everyone around me had!

It's worth a try.

[ChitChatNine]

Bring me up to date .. the cold mades make you hyper?  I've always had to take 1/4 dosing on cold meds bcz of that side effect even before the thyroid issues and could never take anthistamines as my heart would have palpitations .. so even when I was in pre-term labor they decided not to use the anthistamine with the risk vs. benefit thing and how far along I was in the pregnancy, etc.

Now to ::::: vent :::::: along with your post ... I used to be able to take pediatric dosing of Sudafed + Tylenol with a cold/sinus and now all the otc meds have this other drug in it caled phenyl...... (not sure on spelling) and it makes me VERY VERY TIRED and jittery .. nice, huh?

If you cannot use Afrin what about one of the nasal sprays that are prescription like Flonase or Nasacort . I know they are steroids but for use when ill may work .. they do help my daughters with severe allergies.  There is an otc called NasalCrom I believe that is non-steroidal.

I thought it was "just me" and the cold meds, etc.  Whew, sorry to hear your posting.

C~

[lil dollie]

Thanks everyone for the input. I will certainly try the zinc. It is just awful at first when you have to give up the things you used to could do. I am so glad I found this website.

ChitChat 9, I am hyperthyroid and I can't take a lot of the meds I used to due to the meds I am on. I hate this condition. Thanks a lot for your answers.

[rayneweather]

I'm sorry that I can't give you a list of cold medicines to take (I haven't taken  any in over a decade because of crazy side effects I get) but I can tell you that Vitamin C & the B Vitamins are good to help keep your immune system strong.  Echinacea is also said to be good for that.  If you feel cold symptoms coming on many people have found that zinc helps to stave it off.  You can find zinc in lozenge or candy forms; the zinc tastes *really* bad so you might have to try a few different brands or forms to find one that is the best tasting.  I hope this helps and I understand about colds - I have 2 kids in daycare.

Rayne

[ChitChatNine]

Yes, I've been told about rebound effect from Afrin-type sprays.  My dd gets sinus infections alot.  Her wise Pediatrician filled me in on this.

I am AMAZED you noted the Echinacea bcz my two daughters are severely, and I mean severely pollen allergic and the one who is also low IgG's in viral components I was going to give some of this to but ck'd with her allergist who said no no no .. it has root of ragweed in it or something like that!!!!!!  EEEK!!!!  

In the US most (if not all) of the cold meds are now made with the Phenyl..... med in instead of Sudafed!  If you want plain Sudafed it is only avail in pill form (30mgs ea so I break it up) and not liquid anymore .. obviously liquid would be very easy for the illegal drug market.  So now I make up my own by mixing the appropriate am'ts of Sudafed + Tylenol + Guifesinen and/or cough suppressent stuff called Dextromorphene something or other and tweek it all down to child dosing.  But, I'm not hyper and no contradictions to taking any meds other than Macrobid which is a true allergy.

To answer your ? about the antihistamines .. they were alone with the palps ... back in the days without Zyrtec or Allegras of the world it was Chlortrimeton and it was just awful for me .. I have taken Zyrtec but get vivid, scary nightmares at night with it (nice, huh) and Allegra doesn't work .. so go figure!  Benadryl makes me very H Y P E R no matter what the dosing so forget that one to put me to sleep as in Tylenol PM LOL!

I didn't know that hyperthyroid and cold meds are an issue .. my hugs to all those dealing with this issue.

C~

[lil dollie]

Yes, that is another thing I hate, I also get allergies with nasal congestion and used to take Zyrtec D and Nasonex which helped a lot, but now I can't take that I do not think. I am going to ask my Endo Friday and let him tell me exactly what I can take. I will be so glad to get the treatment on this hyperthyroid rolling and I am even looking forward to RAI if I have to take it. I know hypo is no walk in the park either but I had still rather be hypo than hyper. I am almost wanting to say that he will probably keep me on anti-thyroid meds though for a while, but I am ready to put this hyper thing behind me. Well, I guess you really don't know what the doctor will do, but I am ready to get this over with one way or another. Heck I don't care if he wants to take it out, that is okay by me too!HA!HA!HA!HA!. Yeah I say that now!

[debbie0413]

For what it's worth, whenever I feel a scratchy throat coming on and my kids are sick with colds, I make myself a massive cup or two of herbal tea (no caffeine)and the symptoms usually go away before they really get started.  Maybe it's because I worked in school for 15 years, but I hardly ever get sick, no matter how often my kids get colds.  

It was nice to see comments about no cold meds for people with hyperthyroidism, since my middle daughter was diagnosed with Graves 2 weeks ago and no one made mention to avoid cold meds.  I'll be sure to try these other remedies the next time she has the sniffles.

[artsyrose]

interesting thoughts on the cold meds...I have never been able to take cold meds successfully. the only antihistimine I can tolerate is benadryl. Chitchat..sorry that one hypes you up. Pseudoephidrine does the same thing to me...makes me feel like my hair is standing on end and my skin is crawling..ewwww. Others make me sleepy...yuck...even too much benadryl will make me sleepy...so it is a **** shoot at best. I take Allegra for allergies..but it really doesn't work all that well without the decongestant...but the decongestant keeps me awake at night..go figure...all this has only gotten worse and worse in the last couple of years with the thyroid problems...