Question on when to have 2nd blood test

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I was diagnosed with GD about a month ago. After reading all the information I

could get

my hands on I decided against RAI.

My GP put me on Carbimazole a week ago (at my request) and I am taking 20mg a

day, 10mg in

the morning and 10mg at night.

I asked for 1 month's supply and will be getting monthly blood tests (also at my

request).

I had the range of blood tests as advised by people on this list including liver

functions

for the baseline.

I am still feeling fine so far and I would never think I had GD apart from the

tiredness.

My weight loss is back to being quite slow but sensible, 1lb last week, which is

what I

was losing pre-GD (I was diagnosed with diabetes earlier in the year and eat

sensibly now

and was losing on average 1lb a week pre-GD).

I have no medical insurance at all and I don't want to spend tons of money going

to the

doctor too often.

What I would like to know, is getting the range of blood tests performed just 4

weeks

after I started taking the Carbimazole a little too early? Should I rather wait

another

month? Also, if my dosage is increased or decreased, is it best to wait 6-8

weeks before

being restested?

Thanks,

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[Guest guest]

Hi ,

It sounds like you are off to a good start! I suggest getting 2nd blood

test after being on the medication for 4 weeks (and sooner if you continue

to feel symtoms of hypOT, like tiredness). Waiting for 6-8 weeks,

especially in the early stages of ATD therapy, is too long. Your thyroid

hormone production is being blocked, and when the excess hormone is used

up, if you don't reduce your dose as your FT's come into the normal range,

you will almost certainly become increasingly hypO. One thought is to rely

on the FT4 each time you get labs, and request the FT3 here and there to

get a clearer picture, to save costs. TSH is unnecessary at this time, so

you can cut costs on that one. Also good to get WBC, especially in the

beginning, and then every 2-3 months, as you don't want to be negligent in

seeing if you are having a bad reaction to the meds. Liver function tests

are also a good idea, again especially in the beginning, and then every so

often.

While people who are on thyroid hormone replacement (i.e., synthroid) for

hypothyroidism have to wait for 6-8 weeks due to the longer half-life of

that medication, those on ATDs should be monitored more frequently, as the

half-life is shorter. Most people find that after 4-8 weeks of being on

ATDs, they need decreases of their dose as they reach a maintenance dose,

usually winding up on 2.5 to 10mg per day. Since you are responding well to

the 20mg, and your case sounds like it might be on the mild side, you may

wind up on something like 2.5 to 5mg/day, but I am guessing here. It is

best to take the medication in 3 divided doses a day (and 2-3 doses if you

are on a lower dose), so you'd need a pill cutter. It is best to make dose

reductions before you are experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism; these

symptoms are not to be considered normal while on ATDs -- you should feel

good, and weight should stabilize.

At 11:26 AM 10/13/2003, you wrote:

>Hi all,

>

>I was diagnosed with GD about a month ago. After reading all the

>information I could get

>my hands on I decided against RAI.

>

>My GP put me on Carbimazole a week ago (at my request) and I am taking

>20mg a day, 10mg in

>the morning and 10mg at night.