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Oops..thanks for the reminder!
I live in the medical mecca of the U.S., that is,
the Boston area. One of my endos was at Beth Israel
the other at Mass.General and my doctor at the moment
is at the Lahey Clinic (Burlington).Thank you so much again!
Hi Melisa,
Quick responses for your questions:
What are the side affects of radiation?
– of the radiation itself, really nothing other than the intended treatment (to destroy the thyroid). The radiation dose we take with RAI is no more than a good long day in the sun. Thyroid cancer patients can take up to 20 times as much RAI as we take, and it’s still considered a therapeutic dose.Was there any weight gain?
– typically, we lose weight when we are hyperthyroid, but it is because the hyperthyroidism is wasting our muscle tissue, so it is NOT good weight loss and we SHOULD gain some weight following treatment when the muscle tissue returns.Can you function?
– this is a very individual question. Are you talking about after the RAI, or after treatment in general? After RAI, it’s usually not a big deal. Some people get soreness in their throat (I didn’t), and some people experience a very short period where they are more hyper (I didn’t) because the thyroid cells “dump” the hormone they’ve been storing, as they are destroyed. Overall, RAI is a very slow process and nothing dramatic happens right away.Did you turn into Hypothyroid?
– that is the typical intent of treatment (RAI or surgery), but then we take replacement hormone, so we do not REMAIN hypothyroid.Did anyone seek Natural Medicine?
– believe me, everyone would prefer a natural medicine treatment. The fact is that nothing other than ATDs, RAI or surgery can affect your thyroid hormone levels. If you use natural medicine to relieve some of your symptoms (which is perfectly fine), just make sure your regular physician knows what natural medicines you are taking. Some can negate the effect of other medications, some can “pump up” other medications. You need to be very careful.I hope that helps! Keep coming back, we’ve got all kind of information you can use.
~Ski
NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator -
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