Help with blood results please - Graves Disease

[Chippy14]

Recently diagnosed with recurrent Graves Disease (3rd episode in 10 years) latest results are TSH <0.02 mu/l, free T4 51.5 pmol/l and free T3 20.0 pmol/l. Endo has started me off on 40mg Carbimazole daily with view to following block & replace regime (followed first time followed by 9 years trouble free), last time 18 months on 20mg Carbimazole only and have just relapsed after 4 months. Endo is talking about surgery if any further relapses. Would like anyone's point of view about surgery versus long term management with anti thyroid drugs?

Confused and fed up!!!!

Heading edited slightly by Admin for clarity

[Chippy14]

Sorry should have said only ranges I've been given are T4 should be <23 and TSH should be >0.35

[saz_2011]

Hi Chippy,

Sorry to hear about your relapse. What a pain!!! I had the same thing last year after my first bout, was just beginning to feel better and wham, one Saturday in September, suddenly woke up with bam bam bam, beating heart and I knew everything was back.

Personally I would want to avoid surgery or RAI since there doesn't seem to be any guarantee that your thyroid will stabilise afterwards, especially not if you have Graves, which means the antibodies can carry on 'stimulating' what is left of your thyroid even after you have had some of it either removed or destroyed by RAI.

But on the other hand Carbimazole is very toxic and I don't think they know what the long term effects on the body are. I know there are people who take it for several years and they seem to be OK.

So that isn't really a very helpful answer. Sorry. If you were fine for 9 years, you might want to see if you can stabilise now, give your body time to do that and see how it goes. If your body won't stabilise then maybe.

I find it useful to read what other people have written on this site, although you mainly hear from people who are having problems after RAI or surgery. Everyone else just gets on with their lives, so I think the view can be somewhat distorted!

Good luck!

Susannah