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A simple blood test can confirm hyperthyroidism, and a thyroid uptake/scan can confirm Graves’ Disease. If you are not confident in your doctor, definitely seek a second opinion.
Unfortunately, if you have Graves’ Disease, your thyroid is not going to just "go back to normal" on its own, this is far more complicated than that. SImply put, Graves’ Disease is a chronic autoimmune disease in which your body makes antibodies against your thyroid. The way the antibodies work is that they attack the thyroid and trick it into making too much thyroid hormone. There is, at present, no way to "deactivate" these antibodies without destroying the entire immune system, and of course we wouldn’t want to do that. So you have some options ~ you can take anti-thyroid drugs (ATDs), or you can remove your thyroid through RAI or surgery.
If you can take ATDs successfully, they can keep your thyroid hormone levels in the normal range, but you should make sure you are vigilant about taking them correctly and also get tested regularly so that you can reach some level of stability. There is a 30-40% chance that you can achieve and maintain a remission (defined as a period of one year or longer with normal thyroid hormone levels while taking NO medication), but you should take ATDs for a year or two before you attempt that. Still, even if you do not achieve remission, you can choose to remain on ATDs longterm in order to manage your thyroid hormone levels. Some doctors would prefer you don’t choose that, but it is YOUR choice. ATDs have a couple of rather scary potential side effects, but those usually appear quickly and they will disappear once you stop taking the meds. If you experience one of these very scary side effects, you’d have to choose something else for treatment, so it’s always good to get information about the other options, even if you’d prefer to use ATDs. They can be dangerous to a fetus, but one is preferred over the other during pregnancy, and with successful management at small dose levels, those dangers are minimized.
If you choose RAI or surgery for treatment, you’ll need thyroid hormone replacement afterward, in order to replace the thyroid hormone that your thyroid can no longer deliver. It’s one pill a day, and it’s exactly the same thing as your body would make, chemically, so there are no side effect issues with replacement hormone. The only dangers of replacement hormone are getting too much (which would make you hyperthyroid again), or too little (which would leave you hypothyroid), and the "cure" for those things is to take the right amount, which is maintained through regular blood tests to make sure your levels are stable. Initially, just after the thyroid is gone, it can take a while finding the right dose, but after you’ve gone through the process, things remain pretty even-keeled and you can rely on tests annually just to make sure everything’s fine.
This is a tough disease to have, for many reasons ~ hyperthyroidism causes loss of bone mass, muscle mass, and emotional changes, among other things. Education is power, for a Graves’ patient. There is a book called Graves’ Disease: In Our Own Words, put together by our very own founder, Nancy Patterson, and beloved BB founder, Jake George, that includes a LOT of great, basic information on your options, pros and cons, and also includes many former posts from this very board, along with answers from our medical board. I have found that an informed patient is usually a happier patient, no matter which treatment they choose.
Good luck! Come back often, we’re happy to help you.
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