Block and replace

[Lauren85]

Hi guys,

My endocrine surgeon wants me to try block and replace first rather than get my thyroid removed as he said there could be a chance it goes away?

I’m confused to what block and replace does??

[Lalatoot]

It does as it says. Drugs block the production of thyroid hormones by your body and you raplace the hormones by taking them in tablet form.

[asiatic]

I think your endo's advice is good. I have been on B and R for 3 years now and feel well. I hope eventually to go into remission and be able to stop meds. 10mg. Of Carbimazole blocks my thyroid from producing thyroid hormone giving it a rest but also helping to reduce the antibodies attacking it. The 50mcg of levothyroxine replaces the hormone and stops me from going hypothyroid. My original endo wanted to remove my thyroid. I did not want this as removing it does not necessarily stop you producing antibodies. With no thyroid to attack they can affect other tissues eg your eyes or heart. It may take a lot of adjusting to get you on the correct balance of blocking and replacing so hopefully your endo will closely monitor you to your " sweet spot "

[Hidden]

Always best not to operate if possible. Not possible for me as the goitres were seriously affecting my health and could easily have killed me without intervention. Thyroid ops are always dangerous due to the position of the gland and should never be undertaken when they can be avoided, even temporarily.

I was never informed about block and replace as it was irrelevant for me.

[pennyannie]

Hello Lauren

You are fortunate to have such a considerate endo / surgeon and it makes perfect sense to try all the options available so as to keep your thyroid where it belongs.

Living without a thyroid comes with it's own set of problems, one being not able to access the relevant thyroid hormone replacement through the NHS.