Re: Minimal ATD dose, keeps me Hypo;stopping makes me hyper.

[Guest guest]

, Dawn and everyone,

Do they make PTU in smaller doses? I have 50mg tabs right now that I

have been cutting up every which way. I thought 50 mg was a small dose

and then to be chopping it, I thought I was doing great...

It's weird too, my NP said that when I was on 30-50mg I was just

right, but 50-75 mg and I was hypo. Of course when you're chopping

these nasty little pills nearly to a powder, who the heck can tell how

many mg's your getting.

Do PTU and Carbimazole affect the same way? ie: Does 50mg PTU = 5 mg

Carbimazole or something funky like that???

I guess what I am trying to say is that, after 8 months on PTU, I'm

euthyroid on 30-50 mg PTU a day. Somedays 50 feels like to much..Other

days, it's perfect. I dont know!! Still it's a spooky balance, it

feels rather precarious, and like you said Dawn, I feel very very

sensitive to the slightest changes in my body. and I too have that

feeling that my body doesn't know what to expect.

Val L.

[Guest guest]

, Dawn and everyone,

Do they make PTU in smaller doses? I have 50mg tabs right now that I

have been cutting up every which way. I thought 50 mg was a small dose

and then to be chopping it, I thought I was doing great...

It's weird too, my NP said that when I was on 30-50mg I was just

right, but 50-75 mg and I was hypo. Of course when you're chopping

these nasty little pills nearly to a powder, who the heck can tell how

many mg's your getting.

Do PTU and Carbimazole affect the same way? ie: Does 50mg PTU = 5 mg

Carbimazole or something funky like that???

I guess what I am trying to say is that, after 8 months on PTU, I'm

euthyroid on 30-50 mg PTU a day. Somedays 50 feels like to much..Other

days, it's perfect. I dont know!! Still it's a spooky balance, it

feels rather precarious, and like you said Dawn, I feel very very

sensitive to the slightest changes in my body. and I too have that

feeling that my body doesn't know what to expect.

Val L.

[Guest guest]

Dawn Rose:

I have stayed on PTU until I was hypo, and it was awful. I don't think I

would ever continue to take my meds simply to fulfill a statistic - what I

said about long term use getting better chance of remission was meant to

counter the doctors that feel they only need to give ATDs a year to work.

I wouldn't jump up and down with my dosage - unless you take a regular dose

at a regular time for a while, and then do a blood test, you really can't

tell what's going on. My mistake was in treating menopausal symptoms with

PTU. If you spike up premenstrually, maybe look into some PMS relief to

see if it works - might be your thyroid hormones, might not. Confusing.

If I were you, I would just try my best to make the meds work for me right

now. Don't worry about how long you will end up on them, or if you will

have a hard time getting back on them, it's not worth making yourself hypo

to insure against those worries.

Good luck.

At 02:55 PM 09/07/2001 +0000, you wrote:

>Dear and everyone,

>

>On the subject of staying on ATDs. I have been on Carbimazole (ATD) since

>November. I gained loads of weight whilst being over medicated and am just

>now beginning to loose it now that I am playing around with quaters and

>halves of 5mg Carbimazole dose and sometimes missing doses. I feel more

>awake too.

[Guest guest]

Val:

50mg is the small increment of PTU. I have to cut mine up too - it makes

the taste even more bitter, doesn't it?

I just kept getting pill cutters until I found one that is reasonably

accurate, but you're right, it's just a guess.

I don't know the answer to the PTU/TAP equivalent dosage question.

Shen

Holy Macro!

[Guest guest]

Hi Val and Dawn Rose,

Check your local pharmacies for pill cutters. Several pharmacies in my area

sell 2 sizes of them. One for pills about the size of an aspirin and larger

and the other is for smaller pills. It sure has made a difference in how

much I get of my meds, still some powder, but not much. They run about

$5.00 here.

Take care,

Jody

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[Guest guest]

Val, , Fay, Dawn

I am actually excited that we're all in the same boat here! I think the

sensitivity to what our body needs is a GOOD thing, to me it feels like I an

take charge of my needs rather than relying on the doc and the **!! test

results.

Terry

>

> Reply-To: graves_support

> Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 07:56:30 -0700

> To: graves_support

> Subject: Re: Minimal ATD dose, keeps me Hypo;stopping makes

> me hyper.

>

> , Dawn and everyone,

>

> Do they make PTU in smaller doses? I have 50mg tabs right now that I

> have been cutting up every which way. I thought 50 mg was a small dose

> and then to be chopping it, I thought I was doing great...

>

> It's weird too, my NP said that when I was on 30-50mg I was just

> right, but 50-75 mg and I was hypo. Of course when you're chopping

> these nasty little pills nearly to a powder, who the heck can tell how

> many mg's your getting.

>

> Do PTU and Carbimazole affect the same way? ie: Does 50mg PTU = 5 mg

> Carbimazole or something funky like that???

>

> I guess what I am trying to say is that, after 8 months on PTU, I'm

> euthyroid on 30-50 mg PTU a day. Somedays 50 feels like to much..Other

> days, it's perfect. I dont know!! Still it's a spooky balance, it

> feels rather precarious, and like you said Dawn, I feel very very

> sensitive to the slightest changes in my body. and I too have that

> feeling that my body doesn't know what to expect.

>

> Val L.

>

>

>

>

>

> -------------------------------------

> The Graves' list is intended for informational purposes only and is not

> intended to replace expert medical care.

> Please consult your doctor before changing or trying new treatments.

> ----------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Val, , Fay, Terry,

Maybe once you are down to the level of dose that we are at, the 2.5mg (or

1.75mg!) Carbimazole and little doses of PTU... MAYBE these kinds of doses

are quite similar to the kind of effect goitrogens have.

Before I was diagnosed, but was experiencing hyper symptoms, I used to LOVE

to eat goirogens even though I didn't know what they were. I can remember

eating a take away of thai food that consisted of soy tofu/bean curd, and

cruciferous vegetables and cashew nuts all stir fried together: I felt good

afterwards and stared at the dish trying to work out what it was that was

making me feel better.

Now, it feels to me like the small doses of ATDs, have the same level of

effect as foods. Actually, eating fish has a more dramatic effect than

taking ATD medicine.

Maybe one day they will work out an equation like this:

5mg Carbimazole = 50 PTU = two brussel sprouts and a stick of broccoli!

Writing this makes me realise I don't really understand the principle of how

ATDs work and have it in my head that they work just like goitrogens.

Probably not true at all!

Does this similarity between response to ATDs and response to food, ring

bells with you too?

DAWN ROSE

>

>Reply-To: graves_support

>To: <graves_support >

>Subject: Re: Minimal ATD dose, keeps me Hypo;stopping

>makes me hyper.

>Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 14:51:38 -0800

>

>Val, , Fay, Dawn

>

>I am actually excited that we're all in the same boat here! I think the

>sensitivity to what our body needs is a GOOD thing, to me it feels like I

>an

>take charge of my needs rather than relying on the doc and the **!! test

>results.

>

>Terry

>

> >

> > Reply-To: graves_support

> > Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 07:56:30 -0700

> > To: graves_support

> > Subject: Re: Minimal ATD dose, keeps me Hypo;stopping

>makes

> > me hyper.

> >

> > , Dawn and everyone,

> >

> > Do they make PTU in smaller doses? I have 50mg tabs right now that I

> > have been cutting up every which way. I thought 50 mg was a small dose

> > and then to be chopping it, I thought I was doing great...

> >

> > It's weird too, my NP said that when I was on 30-50mg I was just

> > right, but 50-75 mg and I was hypo. Of course when you're chopping

> > these nasty little pills nearly to a powder, who the heck can tell how

> > many mg's your getting.

> >

> > Do PTU and Carbimazole affect the same way? ie: Does 50mg PTU = 5 mg

> > Carbimazole or something funky like that???

> >

> > I guess what I am trying to say is that, after 8 months on PTU, I'm

> > euthyroid on 30-50 mg PTU a day. Somedays 50 feels like to much..Other

> > days, it's perfect. I dont know!! Still it's a spooky balance, it

> > feels rather precarious, and like you said Dawn, I feel very very

> > sensitive to the slightest changes in my body. and I too have that

> > feeling that my body doesn't know what to expect.

> >

> > Val L.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > -------------------------------------

> > The Graves' list is intended for informational purposes only and is not

> > intended to replace expert medical care.

> > Please consult your doctor before changing or trying new treatments.

> > ----------------------------------------

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Dawn Rose:

I barely take any PTU now, even when I feel " hyper, " I wait because for me

everything is mixed up with perimenopause also. I'm unwilling to go hypo,

so I monitor how I feel, eat broccoli and cabbage (always did anyway). I'm

slower to act than before, when a hot flash would send me right to the PTU

bottle. For example, I've been getting mild hot flashes for the past few

days - was tempted to take a pill, but waited, and now know it was related

to getting my period. I will get another blood test this month, and if my

numbers have continued to move up, I may think about taking a tiny dose of

PTU on a regular basis, or eat huge amounts of cruciferous veggies and I'll

let you know how it goes!

At 08:17 AM 09/08/2001 +0000, you wrote:

>Val, , Fay, Terry,

>Does this similarity between response to ATDs and response to food, ring

>bells with you too?

>

>DAWN ROSE

>