I was diagnosed with Graves in August and put on MMI. I had lost a good chunk of weight in the last 6 months due to Graves and a ruptured appendix. I've now been on MMI for almost a month (20 mg a day, split into to 2x per day).

After reading all across the web about these drugs, I was anticipating a significant increase in weight as a result of the medication and that has not occurred. Is it possible the weight will start to come on after my body slows the production of thyroid hormones or are there people who do not gain weight on the meds? I believe 20mg to start may be fairly conservative. Perhaps that's the reason?

I don't want to waste any of your time on this and while I'm certainly not complaining, I'm confused. Anyone have any thoughts?

Hello WWWI2,

I started Methimazole in June at 30mg/day. In June I lost 10lbs due to the hyperthyroidism. In august my dose was lowered to 10mg/day because I was no longer hyper but had become hypo. Since then I have gained the 10 lbs back but not much more … I'm still hypo. I also have started eating the same amount of food I did before I became sick. While I was sick in June, I was eating double the protein in order not to loose too much muscle.

I guess it is different for everyone. Eat healthy, try to achieve a healthy weight for your height, exercise when the Dr. gives you the okay so that things can be easier for you.

Caro

Hello - The first priority will be to get your levels stabilized. You should start to see weight coming back once that happens. You should have a follow up set of labs due soon, since you are at the 4-week mark. I would certainly ask your doctor about the dose if you aren't seeing any positive changes after your next set of labs.

In the meantime, we had a nutritionist present at our 2009 conference in Charlotte, and she had the following suggestions for patients who were *losing* weight too quickly:

* Add a serving of the following healthy calorie dense foods to each meal: 12 unsalted nuts, ¼ avocado, 1TB olive oil, 1oz cheese.
* Include a healthy snack in between each meal.
* Include at least 0.8g protein daily for each kilogram of body weight.

Take care!

Thank you both for your responses. All of this is very new and having read so many stories on line, it has me a bit nervous about what to expect going forward. So your support is really appreciated.

I'm getting blood taken this week and will have a follow up with my doctor next week. I have already felt some benefits from the meds. My arms and legs have stopped burning and I no longer walk like a 90 year old woman. Mood is improving, so I'm guessing the fight or flight response is being tempered some.

I'm hoping my liver is tolerating these meds. This is my biggest fear at the moment, justified or not, having to decide about ablation right now.

The idea scares the bejezzus out of me.

Thank you again for your support!

WWWI2

Hello WWI2,

I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling better. It took me about 3 wks to feel any positive changes. I think I read at another post that you suffer from Celiac? Or Am I confusing you with someone else? Anyway, I too have Celiac so if you do too, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone and to hang in there. From I have read, Celiac and GD can happen together. I know it can be hard getting one thing under control and well having to deal with multiple autoimmune problems makes it very hard but you are not alone.

All 3 treatment options scare me a lot so completely understand how you are feeling about having to decide …. All 3 have their pros and cons so educating ourselves on all three is a most in order to make the best decision as individuals since not all decisions are good for everyone. I think that being mentally happy with the decision we make helps a lot.

Wish you the best with your labs and with making a decision.

Caro