If you had it to do over?

[alta]

It's been 3 weeks since I noticed the lump in my throat. I've had the blood work done and my t3 is 6.4 (I'm told the normal range is.8-2.2) and my t4 is 1909 (normal range 230-240) . Certainly explains why I'm hot & thirsty all the time (just thought it was normal at my age) and why I've dropped 30 lbs (I wasn't complaining) I have a couple questions for all of you....is loss of energy also common?? I know I'll be faced with the option of taking radioactive Iodine, I have great reservations!!! If I can't be around other people for 5 days,,,Why in the world would I want to be around myself????

If You all had the chance to do it over again,,,,,would you?
Any feedback would be appreciated!!

[GD Women]

The reason you'd want to be around yourself is because RAI might save your life. That is exactly what it did for me, save my life. I lost so much weight and kept losing where RAI was the option to stop the weight loss. Surgery is a very last resort for me in any situation.

Besides RAI will not stay in your system forever or for that long.

Loss of energy comes with the territory of thyroid whether hyper or hypo, or type of treatment. We just have to learn to live with it. We might try other mean to treat it or at least so it won't be as bad or hard on us.

Hope the doctor checked that lump in your throat.

If RAI would save my life, yes, I'd do it all over again.

Its been 11 years.

[alta]

Thanks GD,
Today I found out I have graves...the lump is a goiter, so active that the doctor could hear the blood gushing through it. He started me on a heavy dose of meds, He says surgery is the last option. He said my t3+4s were the highest he's seen and at these levels most people he would send straight to the hospital. Guess I'm lucky, I've lost 3 pounds in 4 days totalling 36, leaving me at the same weight I was when I was 15 ( I'm in my late 40s) Hopefully in a few days I will be feeling better. I'll know more in 3 weeks when I see him again. Think I'm headed to the graves board to do some reading...thanks so much for your reply, You are very helpful!!

[Deedah]

I'll be going for RAI in the near future. Waiting for TSH levels... blood work today will tell. I'm very scared/anxious about RAI, and its side effects. Between RAI and colonized MRSA found in my nose when in the hospital (2 days after thyroid surgery) I feel "contaminated". Will I ever get past this? Am I always going to be contageous?

[NastyHashi]

Alta,

Are you not nervous feeling and jittery with the T3 that high? When my T3 was off just a little over normal, I was a nervous wreck and was getting panic attacks like 6 times a day.

Docs will probably give you some Propranolol to help with fast heart rate and some anti-thyroid meds to control the amount of hormone in your system. In your case, it appears that thyroid has to be removed or ablated as soon as possible. Those numbers are pretty high.

[bradybunch]

If I had it to do all over again, I think I would of got a second opionion, and would have taken the PTU and Beta Blocker for a longer time, to see if I had the chance of getting my Graves under control first. I would of asked alot more questions, and asked for reading material. I might of ended up having to have RAI anyway, but I think I should of tried the ATD for awhile before making a hasty choice based on very little knowleadge. Good luck.
Val