Hi:

Are these your only labs with five months in between?

Also how long did you stay on the 5 mg dose? How were you taking the 5 mg dose as? One time a day, twice a day (every 12 hours), or three times a day (every eight hours)?

What was your previous dose before going 5 mg a day?

I am not sure if you are ready to lower your dose to less than 5 mg a day since your Free T4 is in the upper third range.

Thanks and {{{hugs}}}

I read your FT4 to say 0.90 with a range of 0.70 - 1.80 Is that correct? If so...you are hypo and do need a med reduction. Sometimes its hard to post labs here...so if you write out your results the way I have written it...there is less room for confusion and mistakes...Big Hugs...Kathy

Hi Kathy:

The lowest labs was back in February. Her labs has come up now to 1.60 for the Free T4 and she is in the upper third range.

I did not understand why her doctor did the dose reduction from 5 mg down to 2.5 mg if she is still doing okay with it at 5 mg.

What do you think? Was she on 5 mg since February?

{{{hugs}}}

Hi ladies! Thanks for your quick response. I've been on 5mg of methimazole once a day since February. These are my only labs since December 2013. Before that I was on 10 mg of methimazole daily. I will rewrite the lab results hopefully it will be less confusing.

7/22/14
TSH 0.119 L with a range of 0.320 - 5.500 uIU/mL
T3 free 2.91 with a range of 2.30 - 4.20 pg/mL
Free T4 1.60 with a range of 0.70 - 1.80 ng/dL

2/10/14
TSH 0.626 with a range of 0.320 - 5.500 uIU/mL
T3 free 2.60 with a range of 2.30 - 4.20 pg/mL
Free T4 0.90 with a range of 0.70 - 1.80 ng/dL

12/31/13
TSH 0.009 with a range of 0.320 - 5.500 uIU/mL
T3 free not completed; not sure why
Free T4 1.80 with a range of 0.70 - 1.80 ng/dL

THANKS AGAIN!!! :)

Oh crap...yes mmz your right...I read it backwards. Fern...do you have other symptoms you can share. I agree with mmz...however...it all depends on how you feel at this point. There have been a few members here who needed there FT4 at the very high end of their ranges...you could be one of those if you are having hypo symptoms with your FT4 where it is at. Hair loss and swollen eyes can come from both hyper and hypo. So...if you told your endo you were having symptoms that sounded hypo I can see him lowering your dose...if your symptoms seem more hyper...he should have left your dose where it was. Also...you should be dividing your daily dose into 2 equal doses every 12 hours apart...so....if you are taking 5mg...you do 2.5 in the morning and 2.5 in the evening. I was on PTU and was able to divide it into 3 equal amounts 3 times a day. This is very important because it gives you a more consistent amount in your system over a 24 hour period. You may have to buy a pill cutter to cut your pills in half cleanly.

Personally...I think you are not doing labs often enough. I did mine every 4 weeks until I achieved remission. I highly recommend you do them at least every 6 weeks so you can keep a closer eye on your levels and make med adjustments accordingly...Big Hugs...Kathy

Hi fern:

You would get better results with taking the 5 mg (not 2.5 mg) of MMI (Methimazole) taken in divided doses of two or three times a day of either every 12 hours or every 8 hours.

MMI is meant to be taken more than once per day to help with the levels.

http://www.medicinenet.com/methimazole/article.htm

Your once per day dosing is keeping you up there near the hypER end of range. This means that it works for you the first 12 hours followed by with no meds as the MMI has a half life of 6 hours. By the time the end of 24 hours is up and time for the next dose, your levels really didn't budge that much.

At least for the last five months that you were taking the 5 mg.

I didn't do well with the once a day dosing and had to go three times a day just to get my Free Ts to come down.

I suggest you lab more often such as every six weeks while working with dose changes of taking whatever amount two or three times a day. This way you can aim for getting down to the lowest possible doses more quickly in less time and in amounts such as less than 2.5 mg per day. Many people are on 1.25 mg and a bit less...

{{{hugs}}}

Hi Kathy:

No problem...! :-) I agree, definitely divide the MMI doses and labbing more often is needed.

{{{hugs}}}

LOL...we must have been writing our responses at the same time...Hugs mmz

Thank you for the advice!!! I agree I need to divide the doses. I think I will do 2.5 mg every 12 hours daily. Hopefully that will help. I felt terrible yesterday. I felt like my heart was racing. I haven't that bad in a long time!!!

I will insist that I get my labs taken every 6 weeks. My insurance provider is NOT very helpful! :(

Do any of the following have an affect on the methimazole: Evening primrose oil, fish oil, multi-vitamin or potassium? Should I continue taking these supplements?

THANK YOU!!!! Both of you are awesome!!! Thanks again for your support!! :)

If your hyper your heart races and you become flushed and feel hot...if you take your pulse it will be much faster than normal. If your are hypo...your heart will feel like it skips a beat and it will pound hard for a beat or two...beat fast for a beat or two...almost like its trying to catch up...then settles down...this can happen repeatedly throughout the day or night...if you take your pulse it could be normal or even slower than it should be.

Do you have other symptoms like sore muscles, constipation, sore joints, no energy, brittle nails, negative thoughts etc. According to most...your levels are in a good place...your FT3 could be a bit higher but your FT4 is good...so its all about symptoms now. Symptoms can be deceiving but labs dont lie...Big Hugs...Kathy

I forgot to reply on your supplements...what you are taking is good..they help your immune system to heal...however...if you are taking over the counter supermarket brands...they may have fillers that are not good. It's best to buy your supplements from a health food store if you are not aware of what to look for.

Hi:

Make sure the multivitamin doesn't contain any Iodine (such as Potassium Iodide). For many of us, this is a problem and can us up (heart racing).

{{{hugs}}}

Hi Kathy:

LOL...definitely was typing at the same time.

{{{hugs}}}

Now that you explained the symptoms of the heart rate, I think you were more accurate. I did feel like my heart was beating slowly, then beating quickly...almost like it was trying to catch up. I also have sore joints and muscles and very tired. Am I hypo or hyper?

I will make sure my multivitamin does not have any Iodine.

:)

Well my guess is you are hypo. You are at the point where you need to go out on a limb a bit and experiment with your meds and levels. If these were my labs and symptoms...I would reduce my meds a bit...wait 4 weeks...see what my labs and symptoms say and then decide what to do next. This is the only way to find your sweet spot or feel good level. When you find that spot and maintain it you will feel 100% better. This will help your antibodies go down which in turn will help you enter remission. Also...if you have eye involvement....it will help to rectify it and heal over time.

As far as the supplements go...I did not see that you were taking Selenium...this is critical to your immune systems healing. If you are not taking it...buy 200mcg with a small amount of Vit E...this combination will help your FT3 come up a bit more...Big Hugs...Kathy