[Sandra227]

in reply to: 3rd time diagnosis #1073775

Thanks for all the helpful information Ski. After waiting for 1 1/2 hours to see the endo (he is a great dr though and there are only 2 in the town i live in), he is basically leaving the decision up to me again about whether to go on meds again (for the 3rd time), have the RAI, or even the surgery (that he really did not recommend). He said the decisions for any of the options are based upon life style that is desired of the patient. RAI is more permanent and quick, Surgery has many risks, and meds are more time consuming with blood work and dr visits.
The meds have never messed with my white cell count or my liver function, so I consider myself a great candidate for meds. Is there anyone that you know of that has done the meds many different times? I asked him about staying on the meds for extended period of time as Dianne stated there have been studies involving this, he never really answered me whether he would allow that – he just stated that it is something that is done outside of the US.
Now I am on meds for 6 weeks and then have an appointment where he will want to know my ‘decision’. So, I have that time to read read read and come to a ‘decision’.
For anyone that has done the RAI – If you had it to do all over again – would you still do the RAI if all options were a possibility – why or why not??

[Sandra227]

in reply to: 3rd time diagnosis #1073773

Thanks Dainne for your input. My doctor has been very open to letting me make the decisions about how to treat the Graves disease, thankfully. We kind of agreed to give it one more chance with the meds. Very unfortunately, I am dealing with it again. Luckily, i know what the symptoms are so I can self-diagnose quickly. My doctor did not give much of an option for surgery, so I guess that is why RAI seems like the next best possible solution. Since my dr visit is this afternoon, I will definitely have the quesion list hammered out better this time since I have been reading the posts on this web site.
Are there any new discoveries that are in the works for other ways to treat Graves? RAI has been around for many years, it would seem that there would be more developments in this area.
Does the RAI only attack the thyroid? Read somewhere about it can attack other organs, but cannot remember where or what other organs it can affect.

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