[Anonymous]

#1084151

Oh my. isn’t it wonderful when doctors tell you contradictory info? I don’t know the answer to this question, I’m sorry. So, what I would do is go to one or the other of the doctors and ask “why” and explain the contradiction.

Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1084152

Just a warning – the uptake scan MAGNIFIED my hyper symptoms and I thought I was going to die. I will never have another one. You could suggest to your doctor that you’d rather have a sonogram of your thyroid. And also – if you don’t plan to have RAI, the uptake scan is NOT necessary.

Lynn

[Anonymous]

#1022908

Recently diagnosed and on Methimazole while waiting for appointment with Endo doctor. How important is the Iodine Uptake Scan? Being treated by regular doctor(s) while waiting. One doctor says wait for scan but take the Methimazole because my levels are so high but the other doctor says must have the scan prior to taking Methimazole. I am getting two different opinions while waiting for Endo doctor.

[Anonymous]

#1084153

Hi all

I finally had my first Endo appt today and just thought I would share some useful info she gave me. Turns out my pcp should have done the iodine uptake scan before putting me on any meds. So now that I am finally feeling somewhat normal I have to go off of the meds to do the iodine uptake scan. I just wish I had known that before i started taking the med. I thought any of you who are new to all of this might find this info useful. Have a happy and healthy Holiday all!

[Anonymous]

#1084154

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Maybe the meds you have already taken will keep you feeling okay until after the scan. How long do you have to be off meds – a week or so?

I learned over the past year that you need patience to get through this thing. Years ago a friend of mine called me “Yo-Yo” because of my mood swings. It sure is appropriate for how I feel now – good one day and bad the next.

[Anonymous]

#1084155

HI Mammaw –

From what I am understanding I need to be off the meds long enough to go hyper again so they can get an accurate reading. And yes I did specifically ask to wait till after Christmas I am happy for that The Edno was just saying that the pcp should have done the scan first before putting me on meds and i had wished I had known that when I saw the dr because i would have mentioned that to him so just thought I would save someone else from having to go through what I am going to have to. thanx for your prayers and you too have a Happy Holidy!

[Anonymous]

#1084156

Hi standingfirm,

I’m not sure that having a scan before taking the meds would have made a lot of difference, for what that’s worth. The main reason for going off the meds is that they typically block iodine from reaching the thyroid, so there’s no value in doing the uptake/scan while you’re on the meds. It won’t show you anything.

But if you initially chose meds for your treatment, then changed your mind to go with the RAI, you’d still need to go off the meds to have the uptake/scan done (even if you had one done beforehand). The fact is that the antibodies can affect our thyroid in varying amounts over the period of our illness, and that can affect the uptake percentages, so even if you had an uptake/scan done prior to the meds, they’d still need one that was more current to evaluate your RAI dose now.

Wishing you a happy holiday and successful treatment!

~Ski
NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator

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