[LifeGroup]

#1169603

I am also a success story. I developed hyperthyroidism after my first pregnancy. 3 kids later I was in full blown Graves. The actual recovery to "normal" lasted about two years with trying different levels of Synthroid. One time too high, next time too low … I also had bulging eyes that were irritated ALL the time, which is common with Graves. I was told they would probably not go back to normal without surgery. Well they did! My oldest daughter is 22 now and I had my treatment 16 years ago. Taking a pill a day and periodic blood tests are WELL WORTH it. I know your situation is different, but I am 46 now and feel better and have more energy than I have in years.

[JaneG]

#1169604

I’m scheduled for RAI (12mci) on Wed (Oct 26) and I’m somewhat nervous. Unfortunately, my endo hasn’t given me ANY info as what to expect. From reading posts on this site, it seems many things may happen. If any of you out there would take a few moments to share your experiences/knowledge, I would be very grateful! Many thanks.

[polvo23]

#1169605

My mom is going for Iodine 123 imageing on monday to see her uptake values. If it is a high up take, the doctor said over 30% she will have to get I-131 which we are a little worried about the radiation. She has to stay in some private room at the hosptial. Can someone share their experaince about this?

[Kimberly]

#1169606

Hello – If your mom is diagnosed with Graves’, there are actually three different treatment options: RAI, Anti-Thyroid Drugs, and surgery. All three options have risks and benefits, so it’s really important to fully research each option and make an informed decision. Here’s an article from Dr. David Cooper on the three treatment options for Graves’ that might be helpful. (You will need to click your browser’s “back” button to return to the boards after viewing the article).

http://www.ngdf.org/cms/modules/files/u … 586097.pdf

I don’t know if your mom has eye involvement, but the latest guidance from the American Thyroid Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists is that Anti-Thyroid Drugs or surgery are the preferred options for someone who has moderate to severe eye involvement.

If you use the search function on this board (in the top left-hand corner of the screen) for “RAI”, “Radioiodine”, or “Radioactive Iodine”, you can read first-hand experiences from other members of this board.

As for the hospital stay, patients who receive RAI in the U.S. are sent home the same day, with special instructions for minimizing exposure to other people. Some countries outside the U.S. have more strict requirements, including a hospital stay after RAI.

Hope this helps!

[lammie]

#1169607

Hi All

I can’t believe it’s November already but when I had RAI, it was JAN and I was wishing 6months would fly by but of course, when you are going through this, every day is a struggle and it doesn’t seem like time is flying by at all. I may be one of the few out there, but I am actually still hyper after 10 months since having RAI. You must be thinking, oh dear this is terrible news right? For my case, it’s actually OK for me. I’m also one of the few that doesn’t lose weight from being hyper but I would say I’m a size 10/12 AUS size (28 yrs old). So of course I would like to be thinner but I guess the good thing is I kind of do eat a lot (stupid increased appetite) but I don’t generally gain or if I do gain it’s about 2-3 kgs max.

Anyways, I did reach hypo stage once and I gained maybe 4-5kgs and yet I became hyper again. So I had no idea what was going on but eventually I realised that I’m always going to be hyper unless I take another dosage. So after months and months of blood tests, I began to see that I was always hyper but I wasn’t that far off the proper range.

Basically, those months were the worst months of my life and I was really struggling but now that I’m here, I guess I am glad I went through all this and I am quite content with where I am now. I don’t believe I need to take another dosage and in a way it’s good also since I don’t take any medication at all and so I feel like I’m normal again.

I hope this helps others see that all we need is time and you just have to find something inside you to fight this because there were so many days where I wanted to give up and just cry and never go to work but I guess I had to say to myself "the world goes on without you and no one can see what is really going on inside". You do feel alone because it’s all internal feelings and not many really understand why you are feeling all edgy, nervous, anxious etc but I’m so happy the pain is over!!!

[Bobbi]

#1169608

I hope, Lammie, that by "still hyper" you don’t mean that you are doing nothing. I hope you are on the antithyroid meds again. Because it is tremendously dangerous for you to allow hyper levels of thyroid to continue untreated. Right now you may think things are ok, but over time, untreated, too much thyroid hormone will debilitate you.

I’m sorry the RAI didn’t work to completely eliminate your hyper levels. In approximately 10% of the time both surgery and RAI fail to remove enough thyroid tissue to let us resume normal thyroid function (usually with supplementation from replacement hormone).

Be sure to watch things carefully, though. We have an autoimmune disease, and antibody levels rise and fall for no well-understood reason. So, while right now, your antibody levels are keeping your thyroid levels high, they could drop again, and you might find yourself hypo again, and in need of replacement hormone to keep you at the right level of hormone. Also, over time, the antibody attack can wear our thyroid cells and cause them to stop working properly. That again, might lead to hypo situation.

[sjatwood]

#1169609

I had my radioactive iodine a year ago and i felt fine. I was a little tired but here I am now a year later and back to good.

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