Graves' Disease Support Group

Graves-Basedow disease is a medical disorder that may manifest several different conditions including hyperthyroidism (over activity of thyroid hormone production), infiltrative exophthalmos (protruberance of one or both eyes and associated problems) and infiltrative dermopathy (a skin condition usually of the lower extremities). This disorder is the most common cause of...

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Help with stopping MMI

Maglady
Maglady
Hi, just got my labs checked yesterday and dr. called today to say my TSH is high at 7.35. wants me to do a trial off of MMI and talk about permanent treatment. How do I go about a trial off of MMI? Should I taper off I am currently on 7.5mg in three divided doses so I take 2.5mg every 8 hours. please help. I know she's gonna want to do RAI or surgery and she's going to say it's because MMI isn't good long term. It's the day I've been dreading for almost 2 years.
mmztcass
mmztcass
Have you got down as low as 0.625 mg of MMI per day, then every other day, then every two days, etc.?

One can stay on low dose ATD (antithyroid drug) indefinitely as long as liver numbers and every thing else is fine.

I know this one gal who is something like 33 years on low dose ATD and she is doing fine.

If this doctor has a problem with it, I'd fine another doctor to treat.

{{{hugs}}}
Courage2010
Courage2010
Well, without seeing all of your labs, I'm a bit confused by your doctor. Your TSH is high- so obviously your body is responding to the MMI. So, why the rush to permanent treatment??? Plus, your dosage could easily be reduced- like mmztcass said- down to the bare minimum, if need be. Maybe post the rest of your labs here- gives a bigger picture than just looking at the TSH. Sounds like you may need to find a new doctor. No worries- don't be pushed into something that you don't want to do. You need a new endo more than you need another treatment.
Maglady
Maglady
After speaking with my my Dr, (who's) actually an NP, I have a clearer picture. She's actually one of the few who doesn't push RAI or surgery like I was afraid she might. I was pleasantly shocked and awed when she pulled up actual research she had done that day from UPToDate, a database of current recommendations, she suggested that since it has been 18months since I started MMI that we should draw a TRab which we did, and see how likely it is for me to hit remission, and she said that staying on MMI indefinately is a viable treatment and there really is no need to rush into anything permanent. we agreed to do a trial off MMI with frequent monitoring to see where I'm at at this point. we agreed to cut back from 7.5mg to 5mg for 1 week, then go to 2.5 for 1 week, then off. Does that sound reasonable? or does it sound like too much too soon? I will post my labs on a seperate post since I need help with them too, and this one is getting kind of long, Thanks