[snelsen]

#1062234

Hi Suz,
From you wrote, I am assuming that you have a history of afib, an a cardiologist is following you, and has prescribed Pradaxa.
Pradaxa is a drug that was approved by the FDA in 2010, as an alternative to Coumadin (warfarin.) They are both anti-coagulants, and it is hoped that some of the side effects of Coumadin (the main one being hemorrhage if the anti-coagulant is too much) so Coumadin requires very frequent labs for clotting factors.

But perhaps this is not the case at all? Maybe your endo prescribed it? You are pretty far out from your RAI, so your cardiac event is less likely to be attributed to remaining circulating hormone. But, as you mentioned, some people do not get the adequate dose of I 131 to destroy the thyroid gland, sod it certainly IS possible that you may still be hyper.

As I recall from this board, there have been a few people who did choose surgery after a "failed" RAI, meaning that they were still dealing with being hyper. I think that some people did decide to have a repeat RAI. Try different words and phrases in the search engine, see what pops up.

WRite when you get your labs!

If I were in your position, I would opt for the surgery. But as you have learned, all these choices are up to us, depending on the availability of good radiologists and surgeons, and thinking it through for yourself.
Not sure how old you are, or if you are thinking about a future pregnancy, etc. etc.
Shirley

[Suz01]

#1018014

I am 12 weeks after rai and was feeling good up until Saturday night, I had another episode of a fib. It went back to normal late Sunday afternoon. I had blood work done today but don’t feel like I have gone hypo. I won’t have the results until tomorrow.
What could be causing the a fib problem again? I’m still on 75 mg twice a day of metoprolol, pradaxa and .5 mg methimazole.
Could it be when the thyroid is dying that there are increases of hormone in the blood stream?’
I don’t think the rai is going to work and have decided after the 6 months of waiting will opt for surgery the 2nd time around.
Do most people have a 2nd round of rai or opt for surgery if the rai didn’t work the first time?
Just curious.

[Suz01]

#1062235

Thank you for your response Shirley.
I am 53 yr so done having kids ( I have 5). I see a cardio and endo dr. I had a consultation with a surgeon yesterday and he said need to let the rai treatment 2 to 3 more months to work. I asked him his experience and success rate and he told me he’s performed over a 100 and have had 2 cases in 20 yrs that had complications.
My endo said from weeks 12 thru 18 is when then rai does most of the work. I was surprised because people on here in general have gone hypo before that time frame.
I’m almost certain that I am still hyper but if I get my lab results tomorrow, I will post.

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