[Anonymous]

#1145934

Hi, Trista:

Sometime last April (I think), the New England Journal of Medecine published the results of a study comparing the various treatments and their impact on the eye disease. You can access the Journal through
http://www.nejm.org/ and then run a search, using the word “Graves” I believe to pull up all the articles on it. In addition to this article there was an editorial by a doctor about the study, which put it more in layman’s terms, too. Summarizing briefly, radioactive iodine treatment was shown to temporarily worsen the eye problems in approximately 15% of patients UNLESS they accompanied the RAI treatment with a course of prednisone treatment. In that case there were no patients whose eye conditions worsened. I asked my endocrinologist about this study, and she told me that she had begun to use this technique.

If you have the RAI, you are advised not to get pregnant for anywhere from six months to a year. But after that there are no restrictions, and no indications that you should have problems with pregnancies that would be related to your Graves.

I am terribly sorry that you lost your baby.

Wishing you good health, soon.

Bobbi

[Anonymous]

#1049041

Hello fellow Graves patients. I was diagnosed with Graves Disease 3 years ago. I was hyperthyroid and my eyes were enlarged. However, when I was treated with medicine I became hypothyroid. I have gone back and forth ever since. Recently, I became pregnant which made me very underactive. I eventually lost the baby. I want to get this under control once and for all so I’m considering the radioactive iodine treatment. My dr. told me that treating my thyroid with radioiodine could make my eye condition worse. Has anyone experienced that? Also I want to get pregnant again. Has anyone had the treatment and then conceived? How long did you wait? Let me know. Thanks

[Anonymous]

#1145935

I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH GRAVES DISEASE IN 1994. SINCE MY DIAGNOSIS, DOCTORS HAVE RECOMMENDED THAT I TAKE RADIO ACTIVE IODINE TO HAVE THE THYROID REMOVED. INSTEAD, I HAVE BEEN TAKING TAPAZOLE ON AND OFF FOR YEARS. MY GRAVES GETS BETTER THAN GETS REALLY BAD. I AM NOW CONSIDERING THE IODINE. HOWEVER, I AM A LITTLE APPREHENSIVE. I WANT TO KNOW, IF ANY OF YOU HAD TAKEN THE IODINE, IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS,OPINIONS OR COMMENTS. HAS ANYONE LOST THEIR HAIR OR FINGERNAILS AS A RESULT?

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