Actually, I [i:1izp6yxn]lost[/i:1izp6yxn] a great deal of weight, which started within days of having had RAI a year and a half ago now.
However, having said that, I’m one of those odd people who actually [i:1izp6yxn]gained[/i:1izp6yxn] weight with Graves Disease and I didn’t develop the ‘bug-eyed’, thin look as many people seem to do – BUT – after having RAI, not only did I lose the weight rapidly, my eyes began to bulge/protrude, I became skin and bone, my hair fell out at an alarming rate (I now have a bald patch on the back of my neck but am thankful to have long hair that hides it), my teeth began to rot and break in half (yes, I’m quite serious) and my skin dried out so badly that friends said I looked as though I’d "aged 30 years overnight". Literally.
RAI, for me, clearly seems to have exacerbated the condition, which was ‘upgraded’ to ‘thyrotoxicosis’ after 5 years on anti-thyroid drugs.
Now, though, I’m gaining weight again as the disease regains the upper hand and continues to fight back. I’ve consistently felt (and looked) worse since the treatment than I ever did with the disease.
My specialist, of course, thinks I should have another dose of RAI and, if that doesn’t work, have my thyroid removed and live on drugs for the rest of my life and seems both impatient and displeased at my hesitance as I continue desperately trying to find a natural source of help for my body.
In the end, though, I think I’d rather let nature take its course than go through all that again.
But yes, I did lose weight with R.A.I.
