[MAMMAOF2]

#1058790

After visiting my Endo today I decided on treating my GD with RAI but after reading some of your stories I am starting to think that surgery is the best option for me. Can some of you tell me what pros/cons you have about the treatment plan that you chose? After taking the RAI did you get sick? I know that it can take 6-18 weeks before a person starts to go HYPO after RAI but how about after surgery? Any input is greatly appreciated!

[snelsen]

#1169994

Hi, I had a thyroidectomy. I did not get hypo at all, as many have described. I attribute that to very close attention to my labs, and how I felt. I was a little hyper after the surgery, but so much better than before. Labs about every 2 weeks.
When I began to feel a little tired (like how you feel if you had a bad nights’ sleep) I began Synthroid, on the low dose side, and labs about every 2 months, and did increase it, for I did not have my usual energy. I could tell when I felt like myself again, stayed on that dose for years, when I felt tired or felt like i had too much thyroid hormone, we reduced it.

There a ton of people on this site who have had both RAI and surgery. Until you hear from more people, use the search box, and put both choices in, one at a time, you will get a lot of posts from people who have described their experience.
I know you will reach a good decision, and you WIll be yourself again1
Shirley

[Kimberly]

#1169995

Hello – I also wanted to mention that Anti-Thyroid Drugs are a third treatment option. All three options definitely have risks and benefits, so it’s important to fully educate yourself and make an informed choice.

This article from Dr. David Cooper does a great job of going through the pros/cons of each option. (You will need to use your browser’s "back" button to return to the board after viewing).

http://www.ngdf.org/cms/modules/files/u … 586097.pdf

[Bobbi]

#1169996

Hi, Mammaof2. As Kimberly said, there are pros and cons for any treatment. And there are pros and cons for the types of forums we have here on the web to discuss treatments, etc. One of the major things against a forum like ours is that it is weighted towards illness messages, not health messages. Once people get well again, they typically stop posting all the time to forums like this one. Go in, and check our messages from six months ago, then a year ago, then….well, you get the picture. You will find the stories are almost exactly the same, but the names have changed. The people who are here are different now from the ones who were newly diagnosed, struggling with treatment options, a year ago. Once they get well, no matter what treatment option they chose, they stop posting all the time.

I mention all of this to try to dissuade you from judging RAI strictly on the basis of messages you find online, particularly on other boards which don’t try to provide perspective. One of the "cons" to RAI, for example, is that it is not an instant fix: it takes time for the thyroid cells to die off, which adds to the time it takes for us to find the right, permanent dose of replacement hormone. The process can take 6-12 months, and people get impatient and vent. (It also takes months to find the right dose of replacement hormone once you have had surgery, but with surgery, you don’t have to wait for thyroid cells to die off — they’re instantly gone. That shortens the process by 6-18 weeks, but there are other potentially negative factors associated with surgery to weigh. )

Going back to the first part of this message, there are real, rational pros and cons to each of our treatment options. They ALL have been demonstrated to return us to health, over time. Shirley chose surgery; Kimberly chose the antithyroid drugs; I chose RAI. We are all healthy again. We are really lucky that this vicious disease we have has verifiably successful treatment options. So expect to get well again. But know that it will take months, no matter what treatment option you choose.

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