[Anonymous February 22, 1997 at 9:06 pm Post count: 93172]

#1056869

I was just diagnosed on 2/18/97 and have been told I have to
decide on treatment by 2/24/97! I have a problem with my eyes
and fear the radioiodine may make my eyes worse. I’m leaning toward
surgery but feel scared and rushed. My pulse is very high and I think
that’s why the doctor is pushing. What should I do?

[Anonymous February 22, 1997 at 10:08 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164616

Nancy,

I was faced with a similar decision ~5 years ago. My doctor recommended
radioiodine therapy because of the risks associated with any surgery
(we all know about those) and those associated with thyroid surgery
(your vocal cord accidently getting cut, etc.). I chose to get “nuked,”
and although I had to get “nuked” twice and it has taken some time to get
my thyroid level properly adjusted, I’m still glad I took the
opportunity to avoid the surgical risks. On the other hand, both
my mother and my husband have had thyroid surgery with no complications.

My initial symptoms were a highly increased heartrate, and my doctor put
me on a beta blocker to control it while I received further testing
(stress test, sonograms of the heart and thyroid, etc.) and while we
decided the best course of action. My eye doctor was able to give me
prescription eye drops to handle the problems with my eyes until I got
the thyroid stuff taken care of. Both problems went away once I got
“nuked” and my thyroid level began to get stablized. Now I’m beta
blocker- and eye drop-free, although one of my eyes is slightly
enlarged.

Most of my care was provided by my internist, and while he was very
competent and helpful, his associate, who is a thyroid specialist,
was able to give me a much better explanation of Graves Disease,
especially regarding the eye problem. By the way, he did confirm and
agree with my all of my internist’s actions.

The folks who administer the radioiodine therapy try to “kill off”
your thyroid so that enough remains to give you some natural thyroid
functioning – they proceeded a little too cautiously with me, and that’s
why I had to get it done twice. Which was ok with me; I appreciate
their attempt.

You didn’t really explain your situation, but the urgency with which
you are being asked to make a decision concerns me. Unless there’s
some overriding reason you need to take emergency action, for example,
if you are experiencing thyroid “storms,” I’d recommend seeing
an internist or thyroid specialist who can help you work with your
symptoms until you feel really ready to proceed, or, if you haven’t
already, at least getting a second opinion.

The length of my experience was frustrating, I have to admit — enough
so that my internist suggested I take an anti-depressent for a while
to help me handle my agitation. It did help, alot, and I only needed
it for about 6 months. However, according to the December 1996 issue
of Self magazine, Prozac and Zoloft produce a severe reduction in
sexual desire for 30-40 percent of users; Wellbutrin and Serzone
have fewer sexual side effects. Also, the article says that
approaches like taking the antidepressant Sunday noon through
Thursday noon and not taking it in between can help minimize
this side effect, except with Prozac.

Another “challenge” for me while we were figuring out the right
synthyroid dosage was recognizing that the mood swings,
tiredness, and PMS-type symptoms (I had periods every two weeks for
a while) I experienced were due to my synthyroid level being off.

I’m sorry the information I’m giving you is so disjointed, but
I wanted to share my experiences with you, with the hope that it
gives you more information so you can make the right decision for
you.

My thoughts will be with you this weekend. Good luck!

[Anonymous February 22, 1997 at 10:14 pm Post count: 93172]

#1164617

I presume you mean a partial thyroidectomy and not eye surgery. That is
rarer in USA tha RAI. I had two surgeries ten years apart. It is instantly
effective, no waiting for results. However, it is inconvenient, expensive, and
involves some pain and a scar.
In certain situations, surgery is preferred such as very large goiter,
pregnancy, childhood GD.
This info is on a tape by Dr. Volpe from our first nantional conference
at Berkeley.
Hope this helps you make a decision.

[Author]

Posts