Holistic approach to thyriod levels: Can a person... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,936 members • 161,765 posts

Holistic approach to thyriod levels

•

7 years ago•20 Replies

Can a person who has had RAI treatment manage their thyriod condition naturally or is that not a viable option.

Read more about...

Radioactive iodine

The ability to reply to this post has been turned off.

20 Replies

•

cjrsquared7 years ago

Depends on reason for rai. If it was for Graves' disease the dose is meant to kill off part of the thyroid but many people end up requiring hormone replacement as to much of the thyroid is damaged. If the rai is for malignancy the dose is targeted to destroy any remaining thyroid cells and any remaining cancer. So the answer to your question is that without more details it is impossible to answer.

in reply to cjrsquared7 years ago

It was for Graves cjrsquared. Had it 4 years ago and have been on 100mg of thyroxine, 6 weeks ago they upped meds, now I'm overmedicated and feeling dreadful, dropped doseage yesterday and waiting to feel better. Just wondering if there was an natural alternative.

Thanks for replying.

cjrsquared in reply to 7 years ago

Levothyroxine has a long half life that is why it takes 6 weeks after a dose change to reach a steady state. If you feel over medicated it is reasonable to miss several doses and then restart on the lower dose. Just make sure that you don't have blood tests until 6 weeks after restarting levothyroxine.

Levothyroxine is a synthetic hormone replacement. There is ndt, natural desiccated thyroid which is made from pigs thyroid, but it is very rarely prescribed as it is not licensed for use in the U.K. It is made from an animal but is still manufactured. There is no way to regrow destroyed thyroid tissue so you will need hormone replacement for life.

in reply to cjrsquared7 years ago

My Dr said I was overmedicated after bloods this week. So advised me to drop from 125 mg to 112.5 mcg, so I've lowered my dose.

6 weeks ago they said I was low(I did feel low) and suggested I take a higher dose of 125 mg than my usual 100mg. Thanks for your advice

Thanks cjrsquared

greygoose in reply to 7 years ago

I think your doctor is dosing by the TSH. A very dangerous thing to do!

in reply to greygoose7 years ago

I agree, so does my Dr. She stipulated on my last blood tests they tested my t3 and T4, but apparently the lab at the hospital take some convincing, their attitude is, it doesn't make a difference- which we all know is incorrect(that's putting it politely).

So I'm assuming they DID check them?

I have an apt with my new GP this week, where I will get a print out of my blood results and an explanation. She seems to be very clued up on thyriod probs, I wonder if she has had personal experience of it, or maybe she's just a very thorough, empathetic GP. Either way, I am over medicated and dropping my dose is the first step.

Thanks grey goose.

greygoose in reply to 7 years ago

I think that's a dangerous thing to assume.

Angel_of_the_North in reply to 7 years ago

So what were the actual results? You can't assume anything and need to see your results.

Raventhorpe7 years ago

Hi pidge67 can't see how you could manage your thyroid condition naturally after Rai as your thyroid is not working any more it's basically been killed by the radio active iodine so you will need to take t4/t3 for the rest of your life.

7 years ago

Thankyou Raventhorpe.

Mary-intussuception7 years ago

What is RAI?

And what Thyroid condition please?

Levothyroxine must be taken daily for the rest of your life if you have Hashimoto's Autoimmune Thyroiditis and /or Hypothyroidism.

in reply to Mary-intussuception7 years ago

Graves disease

in reply to Mary-intussuception7 years ago

Radio active iodine treatment

helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to Mary-intussuception7 years ago

You can find the meanings of many of the abbreviations and acronyms that people use on this forum in my Abbreviations and Acronyms document - here:

dropbox.com/s/og3lmxa1dqadb...

shawsAdministrator7 years ago

You can get a natural dessicated thyroid hormone, the very orginal hormone replacement and it is made from pigs or cows thyroid glands and contains all of the hormones a healthy human gland would.

It has been in use in various forms since 1892 until the 'modern' replacement, T4, was introduced but it is still available although GPs have been instructed not to prescribe it (it used to be).

Why do they deny an alternative hormone which may provide the patient with good health?

I shall give you a link:

thyroidscience.com/Criticis...

in reply to shaws7 years ago

Thankyou Shaws 😊

shawsAdministrator7 years ago

This is another link which may interest you:-

naturalendocrinesolutions.c...

7 years ago

Now you're scaring me grey goose. I'm seeing my GP this week, so will get the facts.

SilverAvocado in reply to 7 years ago

I think what Greygoose is saying is that doctors are often wrong, so it's best to double check what they tell you.

helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK6 years ago

When you see a user name of Hidden, it means that the person is no longer a member of this forum.

We often close posts that were originated by people who have left - there is no point in wasting our time making replies. Occasionally, the thread might still be active and popular and will be left. More often, it is simply a case of none of the admins noticing!

I shall now be closing this post to replies.

The ability to reply to this post has been turned off.