That's exactly what they expect/hope to happen. RAI would kill out the nodule. We didn't go over the scan in detail, but I'm pretty certain that there other areas of light thyroid activity, which RAI will kill out as well. But from what I've been told, for the most part my thyroid has shut done and only/mainly the nodule is producing thyroid hormone.Octavia said:Jen, I just re-read your post. So, the uptake scan showed that most of your thyroid has shut down, and the nodule is doing all of the work (or almost all of it)? If they remove the half with the nodule, are they hoping the remaining half reawakens?
It would be very wise to have these tests before making a decision. For example, if you have TSI or Trab, you probably should have TT instead of PT.jjwallace317 said:Hi all! Glad to have found this board--have found a wealth of information and experiences here!
My name is Jen. Am 40 yrs old. I have a 3 cm hot nodule that is causing me to be hyperthyroid. I found the nodule in spring 2011 after a routine physical and tsh numbers came back low. Because of family history, choose to go to endo, who found the nodule. Had ultrasound/FNA, in June 2011, and nodule was benign.
For the past year and half, have chosen to live with hyperthyroid symptoms (dry skin, itchy head, hair falling out, anxiety) mainly because I feel pretty good and not sure the solutions would be worth the trouble. I thought perhaps that losing weight, limiting processed foods, focusing on general health could help manage. It has helped some, but I also have flare ups every 5-6 weeks of pain in my thyroid where nodule is, lots of clearing of throat, coughing, click when I swallow, more hair following out.
I don't have Graves or Hashis--had the autoimune test and came back negative. Had the thyroid scan (uptake scan), which shows that most of my thyroid has shut down and that nodule is producing all/most of thyroid hormone--hot nodule. My tsh numbers have been in hyperthryoid levels, but not so low that I need to act, according to endocrinologist.
So if I want to act, rather than do nothing, I need to choose. Dr has given me option of taking Methimazole to manage hyper symptoms ( 5mg every other day), but I'm afraid of liver side effects, so don't really want to take. I could do RAI or have a partial thyroidectomy--and know there's a chance I will/won't need synthetic thyroid hormone with either. Having a hard time making the decision.
I'm concerned about the effects of RAI on my body, afraid it's going to kill off healthy thyroid tissue, afraid it won't shrink nodule, afraid it will just mess my system up, especially since I think my quality of life is pretty good. Concerned about being away from my family--3 young kiddos.
But the partial thyroidectomy is surgery, which scares me too. Once half my thyroid is gone, there is no getting it back. This seems so permanent. But I like the immediate results--have surgery, one night on hospital, two weeks recovery, and will hopefully know quickly if rest of thyroid will kick in or if I will need medication.
OK--that's enough for this long winded introduction--sorry! Have to make a decision. It's time! Thanks for reading! Would love to hear if you have similar experiences!
I am going to go back to my endo and ask again about this. From what she has told me, and according to the uptake scan, mainly the nodule is active and the rest of the thyroid is inactive. The 131 iodine (is that right) will only be attracted to the active parts. I'm going to ask again.Octavia said:Well, I may be wrong about this, but I don't see how they think the RAI will kill off the nodule but leave enough normal/healthy thyroid tissue intact to get the job done. ANY thyroid tissue (nodule or normal) will soak up that RAI...
I'm very curious about this, and would like to learn more about this plan...yes, please do ask more questions about how the RAI would work.
Thanks for this information. I have to say that I find all of the medical terms and tests overwhelming. I did find these test results from June 2011:Andros said:It would be very wise to have these tests before making a decision. For example, if you have TSI or Trab, you probably should have TT instead of PT.
Also, Thyroglobulin and Thyroglobulin Ab would be quite telling. (you can read about that in the Thyroid Manager link)
TPO Ab
Mild to moderately elevated levels of thyroid antibodies may be found in a variety of thyroid and autoimmune disorders, such as thyroid cancer, Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, pernicious anemia, and autoimmune collagen vascular diseases. Significantly increased concentrations most frequently indicate thyroid autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto thyroiditis and Graves disease.
http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroid-antibodies/tab/test
As you can see, TPO is "suggestive" rather than definitive.
TSI
Normally, there is no TSI in the blood. If TSI is found in the blood, this indicates that the thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin is the cause of the of a person's hyperthyroidism.
Negative test results means that the autoantibodies are not present in the blood at the time of testing and may indicate that symptoms are due to a cause other than autoimmune. However, a certain percentage of people who have autoimmune thyroid disease do not have autoantibodies. If it is suspected that the autoantibodies may develop over time, as may happen with some autoimmune disorders, then repeat testing may be done at a later date.
http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroid-antibodies/tab/test
Trab
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684583
TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies) TBII (thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin), Thyroglobulin Ab, ANA (antinuclear antibodies), (thyroid hormone panel) TSH, Free T3, Free T4.
You can look this stuff up here and more.........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/
Substances not found in normal serum (scroll down to autoantibodies)
http://www.thyroidmanager.org/chapter/evaluation-of-thyroid-function-in-health-and-disease/
