Antithyroid Agents
Methimazole
Methimazole (generic Tapazole) treats an overactive thyroid, most often from Graves’ disease, by blocking thyroid hormone production. It is a cheap generic, taken daily with blood monitoring, and carries a rare but serious risk to white blood cells that every patient should know.
This page is general information about a medication and how cash prices for it are set. It is not medical advice and does not replace the label, your prescriber or your pharmacist. How we handle medical information
Several manufacturers; a 20 mg tablet is sold in some markets.
About Methimazole
Methimazole blocks the enzyme the thyroid uses to make hormone. It brings an overactive thyroid under control over weeks, and in Graves’ disease it is often continued for a year or two in the hope of remission; radioactive iodine and surgery are the alternatives for people who relapse or prefer a definitive treatment. A beta blocker is commonly added at first to control a fast heart and tremor.
Rash, itching and joint pain are the common side effects. The serious risk is agranulocytosis, a sudden fall in white blood cells, usually in the first months: a sore throat, mouth ulcers or fever while taking it means stopping and getting a blood count the same day. Liver injury is rare. It is avoided in the first trimester of pregnancy, when propylthiouracil is used instead.
The dose is adjusted against thyroid blood tests every few weeks at first and then less often.
Taking Methimazole
- How to take it
- Once a day or in divided doses, taken the same way each day with regard to food.
- If you miss a dose
- Take it as soon as you remember, unless it is nearly time for your next dose; in that case skip the missed dose and carry on as usual. Never take two doses at once to make up.
- Storage
- At room temperature in the original container, away from heat and moisture (so not in a bathroom cabinet), and out of reach of children.
- Interactions to know about
- Doses of warfarin, beta blockers, digoxin and theophylline may need adjusting as thyroid levels settle. Stop and seek a blood test promptly for sore throat, fever or mouth sores, which can signal a dangerous drop in white blood cells, and report yellowing skin or dark urine. Discuss pregnancy plans, as another medicine is often preferred early in pregnancy.
This summarizes the official prescribing information. Your prescriber’s and pharmacist’s instructions, and the leaflet that comes with your medicine, take priority.
Why the cash price for Methimazole differs from pharmacy to pharmacy
Methimazole is a commodity generic on most flat-price lists, so the cash price is mostly the dispensing fee, and a ninety-day supply makes it small. Doses change often in the first months, which means repeat fills; a strength that can be combined or split to cover several doses reduces the number of prescriptions.
Upload it and licensed pharmacies reply with their own cash price. You pay the pharmacy, not us.
Ways to pay less for Methimazole without insurance
- Ask whether methimazole is on the pharmacy’s flat-price generic list.
- Ask the prescriber for a strength that covers dose changes without a new prescription, and for a ninety-day supply once stable.
- Upload the prescription to Script Unlock so licensed pharmacies can quote their cash price. You pay the pharmacy directly.
How Script Unlock gets you a cash price for Methimazole
Prices on this site come from pharmacies responding to a real prescription. We do not publish estimated, average or "typical" prices, because none of those would be your price.
- 1You upload your prescription
A photo of your Methimazole prescription is enough. Nothing is sold on the site; you are asking pharmacies to quote.
- 2Licensed pharmacies respond
Pharmacies that Script Unlock has verified see the request and each can reply with its own cash price for your exact drug, strength and quantity.
- 3You choose and pay the pharmacy
You compare the responses, pick a pharmacy, and pay that pharmacy directly when you collect. Script Unlock never takes a patient payment and never sets the price.
Questions to ask your pharmacist about Methimazole
- 1.What symptoms mean I should stop and get a blood count?
- 2.When are my thyroid blood tests due?
- 3.Should I take a beta blocker alongside it?
- 4.What should I do if I am planning a pregnancy?
- 5.Does it interact with my other medicines?
Where Methimazole fits
Vets prescribe it too. See Methimazole for pets for the safety points that differ in animals.
Related medications
Sources
Script Unlock is a marketplace that lets licensed pharmacies quote a cash price on your prescription. It does not prescribe, dispense or sell medication, does not process patient payments, and does not give medical advice. Always follow the instructions of your prescriber and pharmacist and read the medication guide supplied with your medicine.