Hyperthyroidism: Medications
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Medications
Antithyroid medication is often used for hyperthyroidism because it works more quickly than radioactive iodine therapy. And unlike radioactive iodine therapy, which destroys part or all of the thyroid gland depending on the dosage used, medication does not cause permanent thyroid damage.
Sometimes, you may take antithyroid medication before you have radioactive iodine treatment or surgery—to bring your metabolism to normal, to make you feel better, or to reduce the chances of more serious problems.
Antithyroid medicine does control hyperthyroidism in many people, but the medicine does have some drawbacks.
- You have to take the medicine for at least 1 year.
- Your symptoms may come back after a few years, and then you have to start taking antithyroid medicine again or try a different treatment.
- There are some rare side effects from the medicine, ranging from a rash to a low white blood cell count, which can make it hard for your body to fight infection.
Sometimes, your doctor will prescribe additional medicines to treat symptoms caused by hyperthyroidism, such as rapid heartbeat or dry eyes. These medicines can help you feel better while you wait for another treatment to begin to work.
Medication Choices
What To Think About
- Antithyroid medicine may or may not make your hyperthyroidism permanently go away. Somewhere between 30% and 50% of people will have their hyperthyroidism go away (go into remission) after taking antithyroid medication for 1 or 2 years.1
- Antithyroid medicine works best if you have mild hyperthyroidism, if this is the first time you are being treated for Graves' disease, if you are younger than 50, or if your thyroid gland is only swollen a little bit (small goiter). It is not used for thyroiditis.
- Antithyroid medicine is used instead of radioactive iodine if you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or trying to become pregnant.
- Children are treated with antithyroid medicine because experts do not know if radioactive iodine treatment is safe for children. Treating children with antithyroid medicine is challenging, because it is hard to know how much medicine they need since they are growing so quickly.
- Your doctor may prescribe low doses of thyroid hormone medication to take with your antithyroid medicine so that your thyroid hormone levels do not get too low.
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| Last updated: | December 20, 2005 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Christine Wendt, R.D., L.D. |
| Reviewed By: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, David C.W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology & Metabolism |
| Editors: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Lisa Shaw |
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