Bobbi
Any medical intervention has it’s pros and cons, kararoot. In your decision between RAI and surgery, you would be well-advised to base your considerations on facts and not fears. One of the basic facts that I think you need to know is that you can live well without your thyroid. Yes, there might be bumps in getting your replacement hormone levels properly fixed. There also might not. Nevertheless, some folks online do complain a lot about not getting things right, and I can tell that those posts have fed into your fears. The problem is — boards like ours are skewed towards illness, and towards problems. In the real world, healthy people no longer need these boards for support. Take a look at our archived posts. The problems are the same, year in and year out. But the posters are different. The names change every few months as people get treated (by whatever route) and get their health back. THIS board tries to keep a few of us who have indeed regained our health to provide a bit more balance to the posts.
As to trying to save your thyroid. That would be fine if the meds were not threatening your liver. But you cannot live without your liver. You can live, and live well, without your thyroid. If the meds are damaging your liver, you must make a choice between RAI and surgery. I had RAI and got well again. My mother had RAI 25 years or so before me, and got well again. Shirley here on the board had surgery, and got well again. I have several personal friends who had either RAI or surgery, and got well again. The normal course of events is for the replacement hormone to give us our health back. It works, and works well for the majority of people who are on it.
Wishing you good health again.