[NikkiDay]

#1058753

I was just today diagnosed with Graves’ Disease and now need to choose my treatment path. I’m scared because I’m at a very exciting time of my life and worried that this disease is going to really slow me down. My doctor has strongly recommended RAI – she says my other option is daily medication (methimazole). My husband and were hoping to begin trying for a baby in about a year. I would love any advice that you all can give me regarding your experiences with these two treatments.

I’m also confused about the disease itself. Is the only result of graves’ disease hyperthyroidism and the side effects caused by hyperthyroidism? I’m asking this because it seems like that is the only symptom that they are concerned in controlling. I’ve also read some articles about types of Graves’ disease that cause eye bulging and skin issues – is there anything that I can do to lessen my chances of these additional struggles?

Thanks in advance!

Nikki

[snelsen]

#1169812

Hi, welcome to the club none of us choose, but all of us live through it and are ok.
Do use the search engine to read topics you are interested in. There is a nice post just today from someone who was on the boards a lot last year, and is now 23 wks pregnant, she had RAI. Others have chosen surgery, especially those who want to move on and get pregnant. Not sure why your doctor did not mention surgery, for it is another option, and lots of folks have it and choose it, including myself. YOu need a surgeon who does them regularly, usually at a major medical center.
There are some good accounts of that.You generally have to wait longer after RAI. The most important thing is to be healthy when you get pregnant, so Graves’ needs attention.

There are advantages to each choice. Some of this is personal preference. Some docs recommend one choice just cause they are familiar with it, and/learned about it in residency from docs who were biased toward one choice.

First-eyes. I will summarize, for there is a lot to read about it. Thyroid eye disease is something that happens to some people with Graves’. It can be mild, like itchy eyes, or very severe, as I got-almost 5 decades after I had Graves in my early 20’s. Few people have the severity that I have had. There are some studies, especially if you have any eye symptoms at all, that speak for NOT having RAI, or having a doc know this and help you with it. For RAI can make eye symptoms worse. Kimberly has good references on this.

This is just a beginning, I don’t have more time right now. I know you will hear from lots of people, including the facilitators.
Shirley

[emmtee]

#1169813

It seems like there’s a new one of us every month. I was just diagnosed at the beginning of October.

Regarding what you can do to reduce your chances of getting thyroid eye disease – if you smoke, you should stop. Even if you don’t, I would avoid second hand smoke. I don’t know of anything you can do to reduce your chances of having the skin issues, but it’s pretty rare so it probably won’t be an issue for you. I have a couple of spots on my calf, but my endo couldn’t say for sure that it was Graves’ related. In any case, she said the treatment for Graves’ won’t make it go away so I’m going to see a dermatologist.

I’m also curious why your doctor didn’t mention the surgery. Apparently it’s the treatment of choice (after the anti-thyroid drugs) in the U.K. but in the U.S. the RAI is the standard treatment. When I had my thyroid uptake and scan, the nuclear medicine doctor diagnosed my Graves’ Disease and said he’d see me back when I had my RAI. He just assumed that would be the treatment I chose.

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