I Am A 32 Ye Old F, I Have Graves

Posted on Wed, 15 May 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 15 May 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : I am a 32 ye old f, I have graves disease, diagnoses lil over 2 years ago. I take methimizole and propranolol. some how the meds have stopped working. for the last month my symptoms have been steadily getting worse. my resting h/r over the last few weeks has been over 100, getting higher when I do simple tasks like standing for more then a few minutes. however the last couple days my resting h/r has been 115. 130 after I eat. and standing higher even like right now I can hear my heart beat in my ears. i have a significant tremor and i have began having difficulty speaking. my question is I have an appointment at the VA the 24th should I wait for that appointment or try to get a sooner appointment, or er, (note the VA er is almost 2 hours away) my anxiety is making me nuts and I would just like to get some kind of peace of mind.

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
About Graves' disease treatment;

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking!
I have gone carefully through your concern.
Can you find any reason why the symptoms of hyperthyroidism are worsened during these days? Did you take methimasole regularly or did you decrease the dose?
If you can not find any cause than i would suggest to see the physician earlier not to wait 2 weaks, otherwise try to take the treatment regularly as prescribed.
Avoid smoke and smoking areas exposure.
Wish you good health.
Best wishes,
Dr.Mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj

Follow up: Dr. Mirjeta Guni (43 minutes later)

I take my meds regularly . my blood work in Feb showed that my TSH was quite low but I felt ok. I do not smoke. stress maybe, but I cant help that. pic I attach is from after dinner I walked to my car and back, felt short of breath and the palpitations. what if I cant get in to see dr. b4 2 weeks bc the VA hospital is notorious for being very hard to schedule. I've ready waiting a couple weeks since I scheduled. My concern is it cant be good for my heart to have my heart rate that high, for this long, right?

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (14 hours later)

Brief Answer:
About hypothyroidism treatment;

Detailed Answer:
Hi again,
The concern is the risk for thyroid storm.
You need to increase the methimazole and propranolol dose.
The thyroid hormone results are necessary to decide about the dose of methimazole.
Best wishes,
Dr.mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad