Judy, as I understand it, in Diane’s case she first had her thyroid removed surgically. However, it’s not possible to remove ALL thyroid tissue, and sometimes the thyroid can grow back when it’s been surgically removed. It doesn’t grow completely back, but just enough so that under extreme antibody attack the tissue that does grow back can make the person hyperthyroid again. When this happens, the patient has to have another treatment.
When Diane’s thyroid grew back she had RAI, but apparently she didn’t have a large enough dose to stop her hyperthyroidism. Her case is very unusual. She has a VERY stubborn thyroid that doesn’t want to be destroyed!
When a person has RAI the thyroid doesn’t grow back, because the thyroid cells that aren’t destroyed outright by the RAI are damaged, and even though they may be capable of putting out some thyroid hormone, they aren’t likely to be so healthy that they will increase in number and then make the patient hyperthyroid again, In fact, the opposite is the case. Over time, they usually decline in function. As years go by, RAI patients usually need higher doses of thyroid replacement hormone (at least until the thyroid has failed all it’s going to).
If your RAI treatment was successful and it’s been some time since your treatment, you don’t have to worry about becoming hyperthyroid again except by taking too much replacement hormone. There are a few RAI patients who become hypothyroid temporarily early on, and then find it was just a "stunning" effect and they become hyperthyroid again, but once you’ve been hypothyroid and on replacement hormone for awhile, this won’t happen.
As for having dead thyroids living in our body: There won’t be. Any tissue that is damaged enough to die will shrink up and be eliminated by the body’s waste system, so it won’t be hanging around. Is that process healthy for us? That’s a good question for your doctor. There are certainly effects on our antibody levels. One of the reasons our thyroid stimulating antibody levels rise following RAI is that our immune systems react to the damaged tissue. Most of the tissue damage occurs in the early months following RAI, and the rise in antibody levels that is seen in RAI patients corresponds to that time. However, the antibody levels are still slightly higher even five years following RAI, while with antithyroid drug treatment and surgery the antibody levels tend to normalize. (Thyroid tissue is still declining in function for many RAI patients during that time.)
As long as thyroid levels are under control, does it have health consequences to have a rise in your thyroid stimulating antibodies? This question hasn’t yet been answered to my satisfaction, considering that higher levels of some kinds of thyroid antibodies are associated with a higher likelihood of having Thyroid Eye Disease. There is still a lot not known about the cause of TED, or about other extra-thyroidal manifestations of Graves’ Disease. These are all questions to discuss with your doctor, but many of these questions don’t have definitive answers, no matter whom you talk to.
Back to Diane’s thyroid: Even though she’s still hyperthyroid following her RAI, it’s likely that some damage was done, and that if she waited long enough she would eventually become hypothyroid. It’s simply impossible for radiologists or endocrinologists to predict how any particular thyroid gland will react to any set dose of RAI, and perhaps in her case, her doctors underestimated how much it would take for her, since she didn’t have a complete thyroid to start with. It’s also possible they gave her a good-sized dose and her thyroid tissue is just VERY resistant to treatment.
Diane, what did your doctors say about what happened? I’m curious! How long ago was it, and do you have any idea what they’ll recommend next?
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HE HE .. I was told it is dies?
HA HA HA You have to keep a sense of humor with this lovely disease. Hang in there Judy, it WILL get better. Please don’t pay attention to my situation, I’m just a……..weirdo. 
Ahhhhh I crack myself up. I was in one of those moods when I posted where I needed to vent. God Bless you Dianne and thank you as always for thinking and praying for me.
