Originally Posted by sammy64

Happy to help. Thyroid forum members helped me so much that I'm here to pay that forward.

Your endo sounds like my first 3 endos. The remission rate is well-documented.

Clueless doctors are the ones that often make remission difficult for the patient. I just don't understand why some doctors give us a limited amount of time to take anti-thyroid drugs and then want us to have a permanent treatment.

Do they do that for patients dealing with blood pressure issues? And, then, if BP isn't controlled with meds, do they suggest removing the heart? Same concept with diabetics.

The thyroid is a vital gland - it's the victim of an antibody attack. Why remove a vital gland when meds can help heal it as well as the immune system? (anti-thyroid drugs lower antibodies)

Remission can be permanent as long as the patient isn't exposed to the triggers that caused the disease in the first place (excessive stress, hormonal changes as those that occur in pregnancy and menopause, etc.) Remember, remission means absence of disease, not a cure.

If a person comes out of remission, another, shorter round of anti-thyroid drugs is all that is usually necessary.

20% of Graves' patients go hypo after remission. (that's where I'm at) Sometimes the hypothyroidism is temporary...sometimes it's permanent.

Now, many Graves' patients go hypo because our doctors overmedicate us with anti-thyroid drugs. That's why it's so important to monitor our blood levels and be proactive with our care.

While my information comes from a variety of sources (thyroid textbooks, books written by endos, medical journal articles as well as information shared on thyroid forums over the past 4+ years), one of the best resources for information about Graves' is a book called "Graves' Disease - A Practical Guide".

Now that you've confirmed your dosing schedule, I advise you to change it. What I am suggesting to you is listed in the prescribing information for methimazole (carbimazole metabolizes into methimazole)

I suggest that you divide your dose into at least 2/day.

You see, methimazole has a 6-8 hour half-life. This means that half of the dose is used up withing 6-8 hours of taking it.....and the entire dose is used up within 12-16 hours of taking it.

When we do once daily dosing, our thyroid hormone levels drop a lot after taking the dose....and they start to rise once the dose starts to wear off. Then, our bodies are on their own for the 12-16 hours there are no meds the system.

Dividing the dose provides for more even "coverage" and more steady thyroid hormone levels. Steady thyroid hormone levels feel better and they bode best for healing.

Doctors don't make things easy for thyroid patients but, it is entirely possible to heal from Graves' and feel good in the process.