Hi Daleth and welcome to the BB…I tried to respond to some of your questions last night but the computer wouldn’t connect to anything right…So, here we go again. For lots of info and support, you need to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the National Graves Disease Foundation, 2 Tsitsi Ct., Brevard, NC 28712-9263. As for your questions…After reading up alot, I found recurrance rates were very high using the medication route vs. the I131…also there seems to be alot of side effects with medication…so I opted for the radioactive iodine last June, to treat my Graves. I also was on beta blockers to control the tremors and heart tachycardia.(rapid pulse) and they helped. I had alot of associated anxiety and depression over the next couple months, esp. when hypo. The docs wait until your TSH is high before starting the thyroid replacement, but once you do, you begin to feel better little by little. Yes, adjustments to the dose seems to be part of this process once you get there, but it’s not that big a deal compared to the “before ” symptoms. As for alternative treatments, I do believe in incorporating them with medical treatment. I’m a RN, have been for 20 years, and I honestly believe there is no better way to eradicate this disease for the most part using conventional treatment modalities along with relaxation, meditation, stress reduction efforts. But I don’t believe the alternatives alone will work. As for risk to the parathyroid, I don’t know, but I do know that iodine in any form is specific to the thyroid gland, so I assume the parathyroid gland is safe. I wish you the best in your decision making and recovery. It does get rough for a couple/few months, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep reading the board…lots of great people here who know exactly what you’re going thru. Keep in touch.
Rachel
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