Hyperthyroid/Graves Disease treatment options?!
Question: I am 24 years old and have recently been diagnosed with this condition after starting to display symptoms of it three years ago. I discussed the treatment options with my doctor and while I know that I've got to do something about it, all three options that he mentioned sort of scare me. I do not want to make any sort of hasty decision and give the okay to eliminate an important organ from my body forever, but I also do not want to take a chance on a treatment that could produce negative effects. Is there no completely safe way around this? I have been shown to have an overactive, enlarged thyroid with no nodules. My doctor wants me to go through with RAI, but I do not look forward to becoming hypo. Is there no option that could just make me normal again, instead of trading one extreme for another? =(
Answers: I am 24 years old and have recently been diagnosed with this condition after starting to display symptoms of it three years ago. I discussed the treatment options with my doctor and while I know that I've got to do something about it, all three options that he mentioned sort of scare me. I do not want to make any sort of hasty decision and give the okay to eliminate an important organ from my body forever, but I also do not want to take a chance on a treatment that could produce negative effects. Is there no completely safe way around this? I have been shown to have an overactive, enlarged thyroid with no nodules. My doctor wants me to go through with RAI, but I do not look forward to becoming hypo. Is there no option that could just make me normal again, instead of trading one extreme for another? =(
I don't blame you for not wanting to add another disease (hypothyroidism) to your repertoire. With RAI, you just end up with Grave's disease, plus hypothyroidism. RAI is not a cure for Grave's disease, no matter what your doctor may say to try to talk you into it. Don't do it. You will still have Grave's disease after RAI. RAI only treats one symptom of Grave's disease - the hyperthyroidism. I doesn't do anything for the other symptoms, or for the disease itself.
All you need is methimizole - a simple, cheap, generic, prescription medication. Don't believe any of the scare tactics your doctor will use to frighten you away from the methimizole and into RAI. If you have a reaction to the methimizole, you just stop taking it. It's as simple as that. And there is still another medication available, PTU, in case you are the one in a million who can't take methimizole. Everyone can take one of these two medications. Now, if you have a bad reaction to RAI, what do you do? Learn to live with it. There is no going back once you have RAI.