What are the benefits of taking thyroid medication?
Along with an increase in energy levels and a more stable weight, your other symptoms should improve as well. Your sex drive may improve, you may sleep better, pain in your muscles and joints may go away and your mood may improve as a result of treatment for low thyroid or other hormone replacement therapy.
What are the benefits of methimazole?
Methimazole is used to treat hyperthyroidism, a condition where the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone. It is also used before thyroid surgery or radioactive iodine treatment. Methimazole is an antithyroid medicine. It works by making it harder for the body to make thyroid hormone.
How does antithyroid medication work?
Antithyroid medications inhibit the formation and coupling of iodotyrosines in thyroglobulin. Because these processes are necessary for thyroid hormone synthesis, this inhibition induces a gradual reduction in thyroid hormone levels over 2-8 weeks or longer.
Which drug is used as antithyroid drug?
There are two antithyroid drugs commonly used in the UK: Carbimazole (CMZ) and Propylthiouracil (PTU). They both work by reducing the amount of thyroid hormone released into the circulation.
What are the side effects of thyroid medications?
These include urticaria, pruritus, skin rash, flushing, angioedema, various GI symptoms (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), fever, arthralgia, serum sickness and wheezing. Hypersensitivity to levothyroxine itself is not known to occur.
What are the long term effects of thyroid medication?
The long-term effects of thyroid medication include weight fluctuations, sensitivity to heat, joint pain, changes to your menstrual cycle, and possibly even autoimmune dysfunction.
What is the best medication for hyperthyroidism?
Medicines called thionamides are commonly used to treat an overactive thyroid. They stop your thyroid producing excess hormones. The main types used are carbimazole and propylthiouracil. You’ll usually need to take the medicine for 1 to 2 months before you notice any benefit.
Is antithyroid medication safe?
Antithyroid drugs are a mainstay of therapy of hyperthyroidism, especially when it is due to Graves’ disease. Although antithyroid agents are generally safe, side effects may limit their usefulness in some patients. Side effects are classified as minor and major, based on their degree of morbidity.
How long can you take antithyroid drugs?
Antithyroid medications usually alleviate your hyperthyroid symptoms in six to 12 weeks. While there is no standard for how long you will take the medication, you will most likely continue with it for 12 to 18 months.
What are the side effects of antithyroid medications?
Adverse reactions to antithyroid medications are uncommon (affecting only 1-3% of patients), but they do occur. These side effects include rash, itching, abnormal hair loss, and fever. Less common side effects include nausea, swelling, heartburn, muscle and joint aches, numbness, and headache.
Do antithyroid medications cause weight gain?
Treatment of hyperthyroidism with RAI or anti-thyroid medications is associated with an increased risk of gaining weight and even developing obesity. This risk is slightly higher with RAI therapy compared to medications.
Is thyroid medicine taken for life?
You’ll need to keep taking thyroid medicine throughout your life to control your hormone levels.
How long does it take for antithyroid medication to work?
When do you stop taking antithyroid medication?
In patients with Graves disease, antithyroid medication should be stopped or decreased after 12-18 months to determine whether the patient has gone into remission. In these patients, remission is defined as a normal TSH level after cessation of antithyroid drug therapy.
Does everyone gain weight on methimazole?
During the first six months, experiencing consistent weight gain is most common, followed by a drop-off during treatment for their thyroid disease. However, most patients experienced some degree of weight change for more than 24 months after therapy.
How long can you be on methimazole?
“Long-term, low-dose methimazole treatment for 60-120 months is a safe and effective treatment for Graves hyperthyroidism and is accompanied by much higher remission rates than the usual 18-24 months of methimazole treatment,” he summarized.