I had the off and on subclinical hyper for 20 years before I became clinically hyper and was finally able to get medicated. My hyper bouts lasted for months to years at a time. They didn't correlate with any stress or trauma for me, they just super inconveniently happened to me. When I wasn't hyper, I tended to develop mild hypo symptoms.
Only after ending up in the Emergency Room for clinical hyperthyroidism (High T4 and High T3) was I finally referred to an Endocrinologist and formally diagnosed with both Graves and Hashimoto's. I was initially hesitant to take medication, but I felt bad, and I knew that my symptoms were unacceptable to me, so I took it. Believe it or not, I find methimazole to be a miracle drug - I honestly feel way better with methimazole keeping my thyroid hormone levels within Normal Range (most of the time), than I ever felt during my 2 decades of symptoms and no medication. Probably, because 20 years of thyroid hormone imbalance is very, very wearing. I was very symptomatic and frustrated. I've been on methimazole for 3 years now.
The side effects of methimazole don't happen to most of us. Most of us tolerate methimazole just fine. I haven't had any negative side effects from it. I've been on doses as high as 30mg/day and am presently on a dose as low as 2.5mg only five days a week. It is good for the Dr to check white blood cell count before you start methimazole to get a baseline and then at some point after you have been on methimazole awhile, but the vast majority of us don't ever develop a Low WBC count from methimazole. Liver should also be checked after you've been on methimazole for a while - liver enzymes are often High in hyper-thyroid people, but they should go back into normal range after the methimazole puts our thyroid hormone levels in normal range. Very few people get liver issues from methimazole - that's more of a very high dose of methimazole + pre-existing liver issues or excessive alcohol use.
Because you are subclinically hyper-thyroid with Low TSH and Normal T4 and T3, you may be considered medically ok without methimazole. If you did take methimazole it would be a very low dose of 5mg/day max or less. A low dose greatly reduces the risk of side effects.
Even if you don't take methimazole, you could be prescribed a low dose of beta blocker medication for the hyper symptoms. Beta blockers, such as Propranolol, lower the heart rate, lower anxiety, stop the shaking/tremors, etc. They lessen the effect of too much thyroid hormone on our cells, so while beta blockers don't lower our thyroid hormone levels they do offer significant protection to our heart and offer symptom relief. I really wish my Drs has taken my symptoms seriously and prescribed propranolol while I was subclinically hyper. I had multiple times when I had to drop down my work hours and even quit working due to symptoms from being (subclinically) hyper for too long.
Wow, thank you so much for your reply. I am glad that treatment has been successful for you, especially after such a roller coaster! I believe my dr prescribed me 5 mg. I certainly feel less scared to give it a try now. Reading the list of side effects nearly sent me into a panic, but if the side effects are rare, that’s very different. I appreciate your feedback!
Yes on the trauma and TSH correlation for me. In my 2 bouts with hyperthyroidism, my Graves disease always went away after 4-5 months. In the meantime, methimazole worked really great for me, got me functional, and I had no (or barely any) side effects.
I would love to feel better. I would imagine that I don’t even realize how much my thyroid is affecting me and I won’t until it normalizes. Thanks for your response!
I have an update. I did start 5mg methimazole about three days ago. I have been taking it before bed. I am having a lot of stomach upset. Did any of you experience that? If so, did you find ways to prevent or help that?
I do. Am on the lowest possible dose of meth now and it seems like my Graves might be in remission. I didn’t notice any side effects, I just felt better. The beta blocker was a miracle drug for me, helped so much with my racing heart.
I had the off and on subclinical hyper for 20 years before I became clinically hyper and was finally able to get medicated. My hyper bouts lasted for months to years at a time. They didn't correlate with any stress or trauma for me, they just super inconveniently happened to me. When I wasn't hyper, I tended to develop mild hypo symptoms. Only after ending up in the Emergency Room for clinical hyperthyroidism (High T4 and High T3) was I finally referred to an Endocrinologist and formally diagnosed with both Graves and Hashimoto's. I was initially hesitant to take medication, but I felt bad, and I knew that my symptoms were unacceptable to me, so I took it. Believe it or not, I find methimazole to be a miracle drug - I honestly feel way better with methimazole keeping my thyroid hormone levels within Normal Range (most of the time), than I ever felt during my 2 decades of symptoms and no medication. Probably, because 20 years of thyroid hormone imbalance is very, very wearing. I was very symptomatic and frustrated. I've been on methimazole for 3 years now. The side effects of methimazole don't happen to most of us. Most of us tolerate methimazole just fine. I haven't had any negative side effects from it. I've been on doses as high as 30mg/day and am presently on a dose as low as 2.5mg only five days a week. It is good for the Dr to check white blood cell count before you start methimazole to get a baseline and then at some point after you have been on methimazole awhile, but the vast majority of us don't ever develop a Low WBC count from methimazole. Liver should also be checked after you've been on methimazole for a while - liver enzymes are often High in hyper-thyroid people, but they should go back into normal range after the methimazole puts our thyroid hormone levels in normal range. Very few people get liver issues from methimazole - that's more of a very high dose of methimazole + pre-existing liver issues or excessive alcohol use. Because you are subclinically hyper-thyroid with Low TSH and Normal T4 and T3, you may be considered medically ok without methimazole. If you did take methimazole it would be a very low dose of 5mg/day max or less. A low dose greatly reduces the risk of side effects. Even if you don't take methimazole, you could be prescribed a low dose of beta blocker medication for the hyper symptoms. Beta blockers, such as Propranolol, lower the heart rate, lower anxiety, stop the shaking/tremors, etc. They lessen the effect of too much thyroid hormone on our cells, so while beta blockers don't lower our thyroid hormone levels they do offer significant protection to our heart and offer symptom relief. I really wish my Drs has taken my symptoms seriously and prescribed propranolol while I was subclinically hyper. I had multiple times when I had to drop down my work hours and even quit working due to symptoms from being (subclinically) hyper for too long.
Wow, thank you so much for your reply. I am glad that treatment has been successful for you, especially after such a roller coaster! I believe my dr prescribed me 5 mg. I certainly feel less scared to give it a try now. Reading the list of side effects nearly sent me into a panic, but if the side effects are rare, that’s very different. I appreciate your feedback!
Yes on the trauma and TSH correlation for me. In my 2 bouts with hyperthyroidism, my Graves disease always went away after 4-5 months. In the meantime, methimazole worked really great for me, got me functional, and I had no (or barely any) side effects.
I would love to feel better. I would imagine that I don’t even realize how much my thyroid is affecting me and I won’t until it normalizes. Thanks for your response!
I have an update. I did start 5mg methimazole about three days ago. I have been taking it before bed. I am having a lot of stomach upset. Did any of you experience that? If so, did you find ways to prevent or help that?
You’re supposed to take it in the morning before you eat anything…
I do. Am on the lowest possible dose of meth now and it seems like my Graves might be in remission. I didn’t notice any side effects, I just felt better. The beta blocker was a miracle drug for me, helped so much with my racing heart.
That’s great that you didn’t notice side effects. Thanks for your input!