grave's disease

[jsides]

i ready several questions on hyperthyroid, fast heart rates and shakes, it made me feel better that others understand. does anyone else's dr. make them wait 3 months before adjusting their meds? or i guess even checking. they have me on 5 mg of topazole once a day and it does not seem to be working. been on it for 4 weeks.

[jsides]

i do understand the first hand issue. i did not think as an rt i should have to learn about the thyroid. lol.  i think i am a terrible pt i guess i think every med should work now and not a couple of weeks. patients are very hard to come by when you work in the hospital. lol. i hope your symptons don't come back, working 6, 12 hour shifts in a row has been chanllenging, but the 8 days off in between is nice to sit and take things slowly. i am waiting for a reply from the endocrine dr. hopefully it won't take to long. hope the weather is great there.

[yankeeRN]

You are welcome--I'm glad this info helped you.  I am a nurse.  I will admit that my indepth knowledge about the thyroid is limited--just like with many family doctors --many of them have limited knowledge. It's very hard to know indepth stuff about everything--that's why they have specialists--lol.  Well if you are an RT then you do have medical background and if you google info you can understand more than most nonmedical people.   I have learned lots about the thyroid--I just wish I didn't have to be learning it through first hand experience---I don't like being the patient--lol.  I keep learning new stuff each and every day.   Have a nice day :)

[jsides]

thank you sooooooo much. at my age i was wondering about the stress on the heart. the drs office doesn't seem to be concered about it at all.  we are military and the dr i am seeing is off base. since i was refered off base i am limited to switching drs. this office comunicates thru a portol. it is interesting. thank you again. i really appreciate it. i assume the rn means ur a nurse (probably should not assume.) im an rt and know alot about pulminary systems and NOTHING about the thyroid. i have learned quite a bit over the last 6 weeks. apparently not enough though! thanks again.

[yankeeRN]

I believe that Methimazole is the same as tapazole and such being the case ,5 mg is a very low dose.  Someone please correct me if I am wrong.  I also have hyperthyroidism and I was on Methimazole 30 mg to control my symptoms then was gradually decreased --till of course I got the hives from it (doesn't mean you will though)--so now I am on PTU.  I know first hand how awful the shakes and rapid heart rate and just the darn pounding of the heart even at a rate of 100  which is low compared to the 170 beats per minute that I experienced on several occasions. You definitely need to get that doctor to adjust your medicine NOW. Rapid heart rate  that occurs frequently  related to the thyroid can cause problems for your heart.  If your doctor doesn't listen  then find someone else.  I know when I had all the symptoms of hyperthyroid I was DESPERATE since I felt so awful. Sorry you are going through all this.  Best wishes  for feeling better.  Keep coming to this website for support and info--there are many people on here who have walked in your shoes and can shed light on what you are experiencing--they may have suggestion on what helped them--I know that this site helped me cope  and gave me much needed info that only they could give.  Unfortunately there are MANY doctors who don't have a clue about the thyroids and the severity of the symptoms experienced by people with the problem.  Good luck.

[jsides]

thank you i will do that. this is quite a learning experience.

[gimel]

Antithyroid meds like Tapazole should work faster than you are experiencing.  From what I have read, you should notice the effect in a week or two, so I would not wait for 3 months.  Call and tell them you are having those unacceptable symptoms and ask for a dosage change.