# New here...



## lwilk (Oct 2, 2011)

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in Aug. of 2007. Was on medication for six weeks and went into remission. I started having symptoms again several months ago. I finally decided to go to a new endo in town, saw her on Tues. morning, had blood work and ultrasound Wed. morning, got a call from endo on Fri. saying I needed to have uptake test. I had that the following Mon., Endo called Wed. and put me on Tapazole starting immediately and to keep appt. on Mon. Went to appt. and was given two choices, surgery or RAI, decided to do RAI. That afternoon endo called and let me know I am scheduled for Monday and to quit taking my meds. I don't have blood work results but my ultra sound says "multinodular goiter or thyroiditis." My uptake test results are: @ 6 hrs. 69.5% and @ 24 hrs. 83.2% with normal range at 10 to 30%. Now I am hoping that I made the right decision. Just wondering what to expect Monday and after.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

lwilk said:


> I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in Aug. of 2007. Was on medication for six weeks and went into remission. I started having symptoms again several months ago. I finally decided to go to a new endo in town, saw her on Tues. morning, had blood work and ultrasound Wed. morning, got a call from endo on Fri. saying I needed to have uptake test. I had that the following Mon., Endo called Wed. and put me on Tapazole starting immediately and to keep appt. on Mon. Went to appt. and was given two choices, surgery or RAI, decided to do RAI. That afternoon endo called and let me know I am scheduled for Monday and to quit taking my meds. I don't have blood work results but my ultra sound says "multinodular goiter or thyroiditis." My uptake test results are: @ 6 hrs. 69.5% and @ 24 hrs. 83.2% with normal range at 10 to 30%. Now I am hoping that I made the right decision. Just wondering what to expect Monday and after.


Wow! You are hyper! I had RAI. Many others here have as well. Since you had the sonogram and RAIU and nothing suspicious was noted regarding cancer, I think you probably have made the best decision for you and your circumstances.

They will tell you what you have to do such as staying away from pregnant women, babies, pets and so on. Double flushing commode, no sharing of utensils and all that. They should give you a print out.

You could expect a "dump" (Thyrotoxicosis) but not everyone does that.

Others will be along to share their experiences!










I am sorry you have this situation but at least the good news is something can be done. You will be on a healing pathway and life will be good again!


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

lwilk said:


> I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in Aug. of 2007. Was on medication for six weeks and went into remission. I started having symptoms again several months ago. I finally decided to go to a new endo in town, saw her on Tues. morning, had blood work and ultrasound Wed. morning, got a call from endo on Fri. saying I needed to have uptake test. I had that the following Mon., Endo called Wed. and put me on Tapazole starting immediately and to keep appt. on Mon. Went to appt. and was given two choices, surgery or RAI, decided to do RAI. That afternoon endo called and let me know I am scheduled for Monday and to quit taking my meds. I don't have blood work results but my ultra sound says "multinodular goiter or thyroiditis." My uptake test results are: @ 6 hrs. 69.5% and @ 24 hrs. 83.2% with normal range at 10 to 30%. Now I am hoping that I made the right decision. Just wondering what to expect Monday and after.


Nobody goes into remission after 6 weeks on blocking med's - you more likely tested euthyroid aka normal thyroid lab's. Have you ever had antibody testing done?

You are experiencing a very common event of diagnosis and immediate ablation of your thyroid.

My personal opinion on proper treatment after receiving a Graves disease DX is 18 months on meds to see if you do reach an actual remission and since you had 1 already chances are you could reach it again. It gives you plenty of time to research your options and make an informed decision.

Have you researched RAI and do realize it could take months for it to die off and stop working? Do you also realize you could need several RAI doses to make your thyroid stop functioning? I prefer the surgical route as it renders one immediately and permanently hypo which is much easier to treat with replacement meds.


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## lwilk (Oct 2, 2011)

I was diagnosed in 07 when I was admitted to the hospital with a heart rate of 155, all testing pointed to Graves Disease. After the short treatment my labs have been normal, having them done every 6 months. The main reason I chose RAT was that I did not feel I was about to have a hospital stay at this time. My husband has Stage 4 colon cancer and is home bound under hospice care. I am hoping that treatment does not take a long time. I am on 40 mg of inderal 3 times a day, I can't get my heart rate under 110 and am having terrible shakes and can't sleep. I have never had antibody testing done that I know of. Will ask my endo to do that test. Just wonerin what that will tell.


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## Want2FeelGood (Sep 17, 2011)

That's a fairly low dose of Inderal (propranalol). Ask your doc about increasing the dose.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

lwilk said:


> I was diagnosed in 07 when I was admitted to the hospital with a heart rate of 155, all testing pointed to Graves Disease. After the short treatment my labs have been normal, having them done every 6 months. The main reason I chose RAT was that I did not feel I was about to have a hospital stay at this time. My husband has Stage 4 colon cancer and is home bound under hospice care. I am hoping that treatment does not take a long time. I am on 40 mg of inderal 3 times a day, I can't get my heart rate under 110 and am having terrible shakes and can't sleep. I have never had antibody testing done that I know of. Will ask my endo to do that test. Just wonerin what that will tell.


Oh, Lord have mercy!! I will put you and hubby on my prayer list. And yes; you have made the decision that best suits your circumstances. I opted for RAI for very similar reasons.

God bless and do know that whatever decision you make, we will be supportive.

There are no right or wrong decisions; we each are different from one another in how we feel, our circumstances and the gravity of our medical issues.


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