Hi, I'm new here. I'm from Italy (so I'm sorry if my english is wrong), 17 years old, got sick when i was 9 (without any serious complications - as eyes, heart etc.). this is the 5th month of a -still- sperimental cure my doctor is making me do, with selenium. it's not a real drug, but it has been prooven that it works on the autoimmune sistem and helps to cure the thyroid inflammation typical of the graves disease. i am now taking 2.5 mg/day of methimazole + selenium, and then-if everything is ok- i am going to gradually suspend the methymazole, in order to avoid the operation. i wanted to now if there's anyone who is doing the same therapy or know something more about it.
sorry again for my english
thank you
Federica

Hello and welcome! Selenium itself is not a cure for Graves' disease, but there was a study done a couple of years ago (out of Italy, actually!) that indicated that Selenium can have some benefit for patients who have mild eye involvement with their Graves' disease.

Methimazole is a very common treatment for Graves'…it's actually the most frequently prescribed treatment in Europe and Japan.

Take care – and keep us posted on how you are doing!

Bueno Sera and welcome! I love Italy (Florence and Assisi are my favs..going to the Amalfi Coast next year (fingers crossed).

I, too, am on Methimazole and I also take Selenium. It is not a cure, but I read and reserched that it helps with certain symptoms. However, like any vitimine, mineral, etc. you must be careful with the dosage and make sure your doctor is aware (which is appears that they are). You are not supposed to take more than 200mg daily. That is what I have been told to take because we also get Selenium from cetain foods we eat (especailly Brazillian nuts).

Good luck and happy healing.

Welcome! Please check withe your doctor because stopping the methimazole is not a good thing to do. Selenium will not take its' place. I am thinking that you mean this is the doctor's plan though. which is ok.

Gosh you have been dealing with this for a LONG TIME.
WELCOME to this site, it is wonderful.

So is your country! And your food!
Shirley

Hi Federica,

I take selenium, but I take it for thyroid eye disease, not the Graves disease itself. My previous endocrinologist and my neuro-ophthalmologist were very supportive of me taking selenium (100mcg a day, now down to 50mcg a day), but it was never offered as an alternative to treating my Graves disease.

The study (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1012985) [nejm.org] found that “selenium administration significantly improved quality of life, reduced ocular involvement, and slowed progression of the disease in patients with mild Graves' orbitopathy.” Like Kimberly mentioned, the study was done in your country and my endocrinologist knew a few of the Italian researchers and lauded their work.

As Darcy said, selenium is found in a lot of foods we eat, so you may not need a high dose depending on your diet, but I was told it was safe for me to take up to 200mcg a day in supplement form because of my thyroid eye disease (TED).

Most of us here are in the US, UK and Canada, and I don't think we get too many people from Italy. Is selenium common for Italian patients with Graves disease, even if they have no eye involvement?

Hi everyone and thank you for your answers!
actually, I haven't done a lot of researches about selenium, my doctor only told me about those studies -and he worked about some of them- (and yes, I'm following his suggested dosage). He told me there has been just one study that sows how selenium can help to stop the immune system's “attack” to the thyroid in not very serious cases of the graves and that I have almost 60% of possibilities to heal. I think he made me start this “cure” for my low methimazole dosage and my age, since I don't have eyes complications and a surgery wouldn't be the best for my thyroid when I'm still growing. He also made me stop eating sushi and hamburgers (for their high iodium content).
In the past years, I already have tried to stop the cure with methimazole 3 times but it never worked more than a couple of months.
Anyways I should keep going for another three months and then gradually suspend the methimazole.

thank you again for your help, I'll keep you posted!

Federica