Graves' Disease (Hyperthyroidism) - Information for Patients

This is the reason the generic form of Synthroid is not prescribed to patients with cancer or a history of cancer. Read about it.

As an analytical biochemist ( PHD) I don't have to read about it. I know why your previous comment is nonsense, or to put it mildly, of little analytical value.

Well, I'm a thyroid cancer survivor and that was the case for all the survivors I know. It's listed as as part of the requisite endocronological treatment of post surgical thyroid cancer patients on medical sites. I don't have to provide analytical value to support the way the endocrine community has chosen to deal with prescribing name brand vs generic. The experts did plenty of research and based their treatment protocols according to their findings. If you don't want to read about that's your problem.

Actually, I have heard that the generic of synthroid is not the same as the brand. It has to do with the fillers.

My doctor prescribed Tirosint because of the lack of fillers. She said she is more certain of the dosage. When it says 125mcg, it is most likely 125mcg not 123mcg as it could be with a pill that has fillers in it.

I've moved a couple of times since I had the TT. I've seen 3 different endocrinologists and they have all said the same thing. They said the generic brands were not as reliable. I actually wanted the generic since it is cheaper. They said that it could put me at risk of cardiac complications such as atrial fibrillation ( due to me having to be maintained in a controlled hyperthyroid state to avoid recurrence ). Where you placed on beta blockers?

When I still had my thyroid and was hyperthyroid I was on them.

But of course now, without a thyroid, my pulse has been quite low since I've been hypothyroid. In fact, back a few weeks I was down to 60 beats a minute which for someone who is not in great athletic shape is slow.

Hypo symptoms do not feel good. Of course they are worse depending on severity. Since you no longer have a thyroid gland, then I don't see the downside in increasing the dosage of Levothyroxine ( not sure what you take). Maybe your physician is gradually increasing the dose and determining how your system responds. I hope you are feeling better. You must be glad to have gotten rid of the problem. Best wishes!

Hi everyone, I hope you all are doing better and staying well. I don't know if this discussion's still active, but am hoping it is as I too am struggling big time and at a stand still. I'm desperately seeking answers as to what's going on with my thyroid and if there's anything I can do in the meantime as I await my appointment to see an endocrinologist in over a month. :-/

I was diagnosed in July of 2012 with severe hyperthyroidism and was referred to an endocrinologist who examined me, she concluded I had Graves Disease and said if I wanted to be 100% certain I had GD that I could go for a thyroid scan and I did because naturally I wanted to know for certain. I got the scan which immediately confirmed I did in fact have GD. Then I was put on 6 Tapizole/Methemizole for it per day for a month and my thyroid improved and was almost within normal range, so I was advised to decrease my dose to (I think) 2/day and I had done so for awhile and in April of 2013, I was tested again and was still overactive. I increased my meds to 3/day and when I was feeling better I cut down to 2/day.

Then in late Sept. of 2014 I was tested and was told my thyroid was suddenly under active and my GP prescribed synthroid as well as an antibiotic for an infection from a cold or inflammation (sorry my memory is terrible and has been getting worse so I'm trying to be as accurate as possible from what I can recall).

Anyways, did I ever take ill right after that and I couldn't stop getting sick and couldn't keep any food down and had dry heaves and was burning up constantly, then getting chills after getting sick. Felt extremely weak and could barely move. It was like having the worse flu EVER and I was seriously feeling like I was dying very quickly as I was withering away and went down to 82 lbs from approx 110 lbs before taking ill. I was too sick to take any medications as I'd just bring them back up. I was bedridden for almost 3 months and didn't know if it was the synthroid or the antibiotics I took that made me sick or if any of them did, but I was very sick and my mom and brother even came to stay with me for awhile to help me around the house and look after my daughter.

I thought that my blood test HAD to have been wrong somehow and that I was still suffering from hyperthyroidism so I started to take Tapizole again to see if it would help me feel better and sure enough it had. So for sure I figured something went wrong during transporting my blood because I was told that my blood needs to be transported on ice and that should anything happen by accident to it during transportation that I would need to get another blood test.

So, after I was well enough to go back to my GP, he sent me for another test and it came back under active again. So, I explained to him what happened about getting very ill as soon as I star†ed the synthroid and antibiotic and he didn't think that either made me ill; but he didn't end up putting me on synthroid or anything again until I can go back to the endocrinologist. That was in late April of this year (2015) and I can't get in to see the endocrinologist until July 20th and I don't know what to do.

I was involved in a motor vehicle accident early Feb. and had to get chiro treatment and message therapy, but only was able to get 2 massages before my massage theripist sent me home because she seen how I was shaky and baggy eyes and just not looking well. She said her sister had thyroid cancer and was going through similar things and she was afraid that she could cause me to have a seizure or just make me worse by giving me a massage and her and my chiropractor believes I shouldn't have stopped taking the Tapizole cold turkey and that I should have tapered off of them.

I was getting all the symptoms again of starting to feel sick out of the blue, etc., and I went home and took one Tapizole after researching online as I found that others had to taper off as well. So, I took one a day for a week and then started only taking one every couple of days, but I stopped now; the last one I took was 2 or 3 days ago.

I'm not really improving though and afraid to take anymore Tapizole in case I'm making myself worse since I'm supposedly supposed to be on synthroid. My neck is bulging where my thyroid is located and can't get rid of the puffiness under my eyes and can't sleep regularly. I am very stressed as there's so much going on in my life, which isn't helping matters. Can't think clear or focus and feel tired and have no energy or motivation. It's just consuming me and it's very difficult because I've got a daughter who just turned 11 and I need to tend to her as well. I'm a single mom and if it wasn't for her, I really don't know that I'd even be around today as she's keeping me going. I just want so badly to get better and feel normal and be able to work and do fun things with her and get out of the house more and enjoy life as it's meant to be.

I feel so stuck and don't know what to do. I am very confused as to whether or not I still have GD since my tests are showing I'm hypothyroid now and can't find anything online as to what happens when someone goes from having severe hyperthyroidism and GD to hypothyroid.

Nothing makes sense to me anymore and I don't know if I'll be able to get through this until I can see the endocrinologist, so I am trying to find any information I can that might help because I'm not functioning normal. Also suffer from social anxiety and get panic attacks which makes it much harder for me to get out and interact with others although I used to be quite the social butterfly up until about 12 years ago now.

On one last note regarding my last lab test results; there's a note on it that says: Suggested HvA1c monitoring of diabetics: One test per 3 months.
HbA1c results are affected by RBC lifespan (e.g. higher in iron deficiency, lover in chronic blood loss).
I didn't see this anywhere on my previous tests and am not sure what it means, but sounds like I could possibly be diabetic too or at risk? My doc never mentioned anything about this note when I seen him to discuss the results and I hadn't noticed it until recently as I just found my other one to compare it to. Could I possibly be both hypo and hyperthyroid or have something else wrong? I'm concerned about the bulging in my throat as it almost looks like I've got an Adams apple is the term my daughter used. Scares me because I never felt any bulging until August last year (2014) and it's not going down and can't really tell if it's getting bigger but it's quite noticeable.

If there's anyone who might know what's happening or can help make sense of it, I would be grateful for any advice. Thank you very much in advance and many blessings to you all!
Bon

Hi and welcome. I'm sorry you're not feeling well.

We aren't doctors so we can't really tell. I would suggest, though, that you might want to be aggressive with your care, and push for other reasons why you might have chills, shaking, etc. Perhaps GD is only a part of what's making you ill. Maybe you've got blood sugar issues, too (note, I am not a doctor). Either way, you feel lousy and you need some answers. A second opinion might be a good place to start.

Wishing you better health in the future.