Anonymous
    Post count: 93172

    Pamela,
    Wow! I can’t believe that I am sending a message to someone in Germany. This e-mail stuff is really amazing! I live in the middle of Washington State in the U.S. and I go to a university here. It’s getting cool now. It’s been hot here all summer.
    Unfortunately, I have to write a research paper before classes begin next week. I writing about the main treatments for Graves’ Disease, drugs v. RAI. I’ve tried both cures myself, and finally went for RAI in the end. I’ve read that drugs are far more commonly used in Europe and Japan than here. I think this is very good, although it sounds like it hasn’t worked for you. At least you know this for a fact. Many people here are not given the oppurtunity to see if they will go into a spontaneous remission since the doctors give them the “atomic cocktail” and most often destroys the thyroid for good causing the need for lifelong medication treatment with hormone replacement.
    I wouldn’t fear that you have done any irreversible damage to yourself. I took Tapazole for six months without any problems. In fact the medicine worked too well and I became hypothyroidic and went off of it. Then I became hyperthyroidic once again and I decided to drink the “atomic cocktail”. Now I am hypothyroidic and I have been taking the synthetic hormone tablets for a month. The doctor just increased my medicine to .125 mg.
    I should warn you that being hypo is just as bad as being hyper.
    A lot of factors should be weighed before you take RAI. Age, the size of your thyroid, the severity of your symptoms and family history are just a few factors. Since you have come out of remission once already, it sounds like the RAI would be a good treatment for you. It is difficult to judge how much radioactive iodine to give to a patient since too much will entirely destroy it and not enough will cause you to have to go through the whole thing again.
    I hope the best for you. Either way the drugs or RAI are no picnic. Surgery is usually only reserved for special causes. I wouldn’t take that option because it is very risky. If you have a choice between RAI and surgery, I recommend the RAI treatment.
    Susan