Anonymous
For what it’s worth, RAI was my choice of treatment and one I’ve not regretted. The low % chance of remission and side effcts of anti-thyroid drugs made that choice unacceptable to me. RAI was painless, with virtually no side effects – but it did not cure me immediately as I expected. It took many months of medication adjustment to get me “fine-tuned” and I was not prepared for that. My doctor did not adequately explain to me that this would be a long process and an ongoing lifetime process. Do not expect to feel better immediately, but believe me, down the road you WILL!! There was nothing like this BB 15 years ago and I, as most of you, knew no one with this disease – so I just struggled along. I cried and felt sorry for myself plenty of times, but I’ve learned to live with Graves’ and life has been very good. Depression and anxiety seem to be a part of this disease. There is help for that as well and it does wonders, don’t deny yourself. Graves’ is not a pleasant disease to have, but try to keep things in perspective. It is treatable and not terminal nor permanently disabling. Life will not be the same as pre-Graves’ but can be just as good.
Patty