Overactive Thyroid

[Teresa-ryan]

Hi, I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid 2 months ago. I was prescribed Carbimazole which I had a bad allergic reaction too and ended up in hospital. I was then switched too Propylthiouracil which seems to be working well. Had my first Endocrinology appointment today and have been advised too have the radioactive Iodine treatment, which is exactly what I didn't want. Has anybody had this treatment? And can anyone give me advice, I'm still in shock as did not know how serious my condition was! Many thanks Teresa.

[Rmichelle]

Im no you will get a reply from someone who has liads of knowledge on this, im interested to know the reply as i was diagnosed with hyper 2 months ago and now hashis, i have been taking carbi 20mgs and have my first endo appointment tomorrow, i read some news today that the medical profession are offering this treatment now insteadvof surgery. Its not something i would want and also if you have young children i dont think it would be advisable to use it.i hope you get lots of replies. This site is great and you will learn so much. Take care.☺

[duster]

Hi

I’ve had graves for 8 years and have refused RAI . I’m on block and replace. 10mg of carbimazole and 100 mg of thyroxine daily.

I am doing very well on this and have no problems, my endo just see me every few months to check me over.

2 months is not very long for you to make a decision. If you are happy and doing well on what you are taking don’t let anyone push you into having the RAI.

It’s your body .

Take care

[Valarian]

Hi.

Have you had your antibodies tested - if so, do you have Graves ?

PTU has more risk of liver damage, which appears to be the main reason Carbimazole is preferred except in cases of reaction, or in (at least the early stages of) pregnancy. These are strong drugs, and it may be the doctor has good reasons for not wanting you to be on PTU in the long term, so you need to discuss this with the endo, and ask whether there are specific reasons why you can't give PTU a good chance before resorting to RAI. It will take longer than a couple of weeks, although evidence of reduced thyroid levels will typically be there within 6-8 weeks.

While many people (maybe around 50%, although age appears to be a factor) do relapse, that's still a 50% chance of recovery. Even in the event of relapse, some people successfully remain on maintenance doses of carbi or PTU for many years. The chances of side-effects will remain, and it seems some doctor's believe patients may be better-off not having to worry about these . There is also the question of needing to take the tablets every day, potentially in the longer term. While post-RAI, you would probably become hypo, and need to take thyroid replacement for the rest of your life, the impact of an untreated, or under-medicated hyperthyroid condition is potentially more dangerous, more quickly .

There is more info here btf-thyroid.org/information...