Anonymous
The test you are having is a scan, much in the same way you can get a cat scan for your head but this is for your thyroid. It is a diagnostic tool to determine whether or not you have Graves or another type of Thyroid disorder…they can tell by what your thyroid looks like. In fact, testing hyperthyroid doesn’t neceessarily mean you have a “hyperthyroid” disease such as Graves. For example, Hashimotos is basically a hypo disease but in certain phases a patient will test hyper. That’s why it’s important to get the thyroid scan…so you can be treated properly. I’m assuming that the test you are referring to is a scan and not the treatment. But if you have any doubts, ask the doctor! It is highly irregular for you to get RAI treatment confirmation of what you really have (for example, Graves is not really even a thyroid disease but an auto-immune disease that affects the thryoid). RAI has become the popular treatmnet of choice for western doctors, but as you can read herein, there are some important considerations to take into account before proceeding with it. Don’t let your doctor talk you into it before you’ve had time to explore your options! If you are not in serious trouble, i.e., don’t have to tape your eyes shut at night to sleep or feel like you are going totally nuts, I recommend at least trying the medicine/PTU route. For those with milder symptoms, there’s a good chance that that’s all it will take. In any event, this forum is a good place to get advice and consider your options. Good luck!