Q & A EPISODE
Cholestyramine vs. Methimazole
Some people simply can’t tolerate antithyroid medications, and in some cases, the natural agents aren’t effective. When that happens, endocrinologists often recommend radioactive iodine thyroid surgery.
Before rushing to surgery, it’s worth exploring options such as cholestyramine with your doctor.
Today I’m sharing the research around cholestyramine and its effectiveness compared to antithyroid medication.
During this episode, you’ll learn about:
- What is cholestyramine?
- Typical use cases for cholestyramine
- How to advocate for yourself with your endocrinologist
- Research studies on cholestyramine helping with hyperthyroidism
- Side effects associated with cholestyramine
If your endocrinologist is pressuring you to get radioactive iodine thyroid surgery, it’s worth bringing up cholestyramine. As always, I hope you found this episode valuable, and I look forward to catching you in the next episode!
Mentioned in this episode
- Journal Articles
- Kaykhaei, Mahmoud Ali, et al. “Low doses of cholestyramine in the treatment of hyperthyroidism.” Endocrine 34.1 (2008): 52-55.
- Tsai, Wen-Chin, et al. “The effect of combination therapy with propylthiouracil and cholestyramine in the treatment of Graves’ hyperthyroidism.” Clinical endocrinology 62.5 (2005): 521-524.
- Er, Chaozer, and Ashish Anil Sule. “Cholestyramine as monotherapy for Graves’ hyperthyroidism.” Singapore Med J 57.11 (2016): 644.
- Sebastian-Ochoa, Arantzazu, et al. “Dramatic response to cholestyramine in a patient with Graves’ disease resistant to conventional therapy.” Thyroid 18.10 (2008): 1115-1117.
- Rummaan, Aisha, et al. “Resistant type 2 amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis responsive to cholestyramine as an adjunctive therapy.” Clinical Medicine 21.5 (2021): e529.
- Save My Thyroid | Episode 25: The Impact of Methimazole and PTU on the Gut Microbiome
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