Active ingredient and interactions
Carbimazole is both the name of the active ingredient and the trade name of the drug. The treating physician should inform about possible interactions with other drugs. As with all medicines, these can also occur with carbimazole.
In principle, it is important to always tell the doctor about all medications that are taken. This includes over-the-counter and herbal preparations such as St. John’s wort or vitamin supplements. It should also be noted that the effect of carbimazole can be increased (iodine deficiency) or decreased (iodine excess) depending on the iodine intake with food.
Prices
If there is an indication for treatment with carbimazole and the doctor issues a prescription, the costs are usually covered by health insurance. This applies to both statutory and private insurance companies. If you buy the prescription drug in an online pharmacy, the price for 100 tablets is about 15 to 20 Euros. Carbimazol should never be taken without a doctor’s prescription.
Alternatives to carbimazole
Alternatives to carbimazole are basically similar drugs from the group of thyrostatics like thiamazole or perchlorate. If you cannot tolerate thyrostatic drugs, show contraindications or do not want or are not allowed to take the drug for other reasons, there are various alternatives. On the one hand, a so-called radioiodine therapy can be carried out.
This involves destroying the diseased thyroid gland or parts of it by means of targeted radiation from within. On the other hand, surgical removal of the thyroid gland leads to a cure of the disease and thus represents a possible alternative to treatment with carbimazole. However, thyroid hormones have to be taken as tablets for life.
Treatment with beta-blockers may also be considered. They relieve some of the symptoms of hyperfunction such as anxiety and palpitations. However, this is a so-called symptomatic therapy, which means that the symptoms are treated but not the cause.