THYROID DISEASE

Read and learn more about thyroid disease treatment. For more, visit the Thyroid Disease website ThyroidDiseaseWiki.com.

Q: Radioactive Iodine or drug treatment for thyroid disease?which is better?
Please enlighten my mind about this two type solution for thyroid disease, maybe if there’s no hope for short medication with my thyroid problem i chose Radioactive treatment.

A: Whatever you do, do NOT have radiation.

I’m assuming that you have Grave’s disease. Did the doctor who offered you radiation tell you that radiation is NOT a cure for Grave’s disease? Did he tell you that it makes Grave’s disease worse? And did he tell you that after you have the radiation, you will not only still have Grave’s disease, but you will also have an additional disease (iatrogenic hypOthyroidism)? Did he tell you that while radiation will get rid of one symptom of Grave’s disease only (hyperthyroidism) that it might come back?

If your doctor didn’t tell you these things, then he is not allowing you informed consent. That is malpractice. And you should RUN away from this doctor as fast as you can, and find a new one.

The correct treatment for Grave’s disease is methimizole (or PTU in the UK). You take it until your body naturally goes into remission, or for the rest of your life, whichever comes first. There is absolutely NO cure for Grave’s disease. There is only treatment. Any doctor who tells you that he can cure you is telling lies and commiting malpractice.

Q: treatment of hyperactive thyroid disease?
im 13 years old and i’ve inherited hyperactive(not hypo) thyroid disease from my mom. i get shaking hands, loss of sleep and anxiety. what are the treatments for this for someone my age? is there a medication or any home remedies??

A: Hi there,

Please get medical treatment. I had thyroid symptoms over 5 years ago but was never treated. By the time I went to see a specialist, my symptoms had changed so I thought they went away, and I couldn’t afford the medical care. Now it’s 5 years later and I have been diagnosed with Graves Disease as the cause of my hyperthyroidism. I have been dealing with severe adrenal fatigue and hypoglycemia for the last 6 months since they’re common with thyroid problems, along with a LONG list of thyroid symptoms (both hypo and hyper symptoms). For a list of symptoms of both hypo and hyper, go here: http://thyroid.about.com/od/symptomsrisks/a/symptomsrisks.htm
If you don’t get treatment, your condition will eventually worsen.

If you’re hyper, you should get an Uptake & Scan thyroid test (it’s not scary or painful) to determine the cause and the best course of treatment. I’m on a low dose of PTU, as well as megadoses of vitamins. Please do a lot of research so you can understand your condition and what you can do to treat it. Unfortunately, not all doctors (even Endocrinologists, who specialize in thyroid disease, along with disorders like diabetes) understand thyroid disease so you must be own best advocate. There are tons of good books on Amazon about thyroid disease, adrenal fatigue and vitamins, and helpful websites like thyroid.about.com. Eating whole and organic foods, and avoiding white sugar, white flour, processed foods, caffeine, alcohol and smoking helps a lot. Don’t rush into a treatment like RAI (Radioactive Iodine Treatment) until you understand what it entails.

I highly recommend vitamins in addition to thyroid medication. Vitamins are 2,000 times safer than drugs! And they rarely have dangerous side effects, unlike drugs. Amino acids like L-tryptophan and 5-HTP are helpful for insomnia. Minerals like selenium, magnesium and zinc will help with anxiety. It’s also important to remember that no single vitamin is a magic bullet and a good multivitamin is recommended. I’ve been taking vitamins for over two months and most of my symptoms have greatly improved and/or disappeared (I noticed a difference within a day or two with some symptoms, and some symptoms take longer to correct, depending on how long you’ve been dealing with a deficiency). These two books are very helpful for which vitamins to take:

Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?

http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Fat-Fuzzy-Frazzled-Reproductive/dp/0452285569/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195420741&sr=1-2

The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Vitamin-Mineral-Book-4th/dp/158333274X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195421588&sr=1-1

To clarify Bitsy’s comment, hyper is overactive & hypo is underactive.

Good luck!

Q: does anyone have a thyroid disease? what treatment is the best.?

A: There really is no best treatment. You try one medication and if it doesn’t help you try a different one. For myself, I started on T4 (Levoxyl) It did nothing for my thyroid symptoms. Eventually Cytomel was added and it help with about half of my symptoms, Over time, I switched to Armour thyroid and it helped about 95% of my symptoms and I feel better thanI have in years.

The keys to this is learning about your condition, getting copies of your blood work, and never giving up until you are almost completely symptom free.

Links below

Q: Do you still have Graves disease after your thyroid has been terminated by radio active treatment?
My friend wants me to ask this for her. Thanks

A: Yes, you do. Grave’s disease is an autoimmune disease. That means that it is caused by antibodies created by your body. The antibodies are created by the immune system, not the thyroid. The antibodies attack the thyroid. Destroying the thyroid does not stop the production of the antibodies. You will still have the antibodies, and you will still have Grave’s disease. The antibodies can find other things to attack besides the thyroid. Namely the skin, and most notably your eyes.

Check this out. This is what Grave’s disease of the eyes looks like:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001204/mediaindex

By destroying the thyroid, you will also be giving yourself a disease in addition to the Grave’s disease. Now you will also have hypothyroidism. You will have to be treated for the hypothyroidism for the rest of your life.

Q: 3 thyroid disease questions?
Okay a few questions…please provide the website where you found this info…so i can prove it to my MORONIC doctor…

#1. Is there another way to detect thyroid disease besides blood tests ( I HATE NEEDLES!!)

# 2. How much blood needs to be taken for a blood test to detect thyroid disease

# 3. What is the solution/treatment for thyroid disease?

Thanks in advance…it would be helpful if people who have (or have had) thyroid problems could answer…but anyone else can too.

A: 1 the only way to test the thyroid levels (TSH, T3, T4, thyroid antibodies….) is through blood tests.
there are addtional blood and non blood tests that can be done if those results suggest something is wrong.

#2 2-4 small tubes depending on the exact blood tests that are done. (if just thyroid levels are tested it would be about 2 tubes but many times for the first time at least they will want to do a few routine blood tests too like a cbc (complete blood count) so thats when it would be about 4 tubes.)

#3 treatment would depend on what they find out from the tests. you may not need treatment, you may need to take thryroid medication if your thyroid levels are too low, you you may need to take a beta blocker if your thyroid levels are too high and your heart rate is too high. there is not just one treatment or solution.

are is a great link to learn about hypERthyroidism (overactive thyroid):

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hyperthyroidism-topic-overview

and here is a great link to learn about hypOthyroidism (underactive thyroid):

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hypothyroidism-topic-overview

not too sure what you wanted to prove your dr wrong about but somehow i have a feeling this is only going to prove you wrong.

i’ve had thyroid issues since 2007. at first i had severe hyperthyroidism and was put on a beta blocker to lower my heart rate while they hyperthyroidism calmed itself on its own. now recently i found out that i have hypothyroidism and a nodule on my thyroid. i’m going for further tests to see if it is cancerous or not.
i hate needles as well but as long as you have visible veins in your arms or hands it will be relatively painless. (i have no visible veins so it hurts)
most blood work labs have at least one reclining chair for the fainters although its also a good thing for people that hate needles cuz you can lay back and “relax” and they will talk to you and you won’t even see what they are doing and it won’t be so nerve wracking. so make sure you let them know you hate needles and would like to sit in the reclining chair if possible.

Q: has anyone had Radioactive Iodine treatment for an overactive thyroid (Graves’ Disease)?
I have Graves’ Disease…and the endocrinologist wants me to have radioactive iodine treatment to kill off my thyroid and definitively treat my overactive thyroid. I’ve been on medication (PTU) to suppress my thyroid for three years…but I still get sympotoms from time to time….especially a racing heart and atriall fibrillation.Can anyone help me with advice?…What happened to you folloowing RAI??? any problems??? Should I have it done???
Please help…thanks

A: I had RAI for thyroid cancer, and I had to stay away from people for about a week due to the radioactivity. Some people experience painful, swollen salivary glands, temporary loss of taste, nausea, nothing really too horrible. You will need to go on thyroid replacement hormone after that, but millions of people are on that. You and your doctor should talk about the pros and cons to getting RAI, then you can make an informed decision.

Q: What is a thyroid disease ?Can it be cured permanently or one is required to take medication life long?
Is it a disease or a distubed gland condition which needs one time treatement or life long treatment? Can it be corrected for once and for ever with the modern day medicines? If not treated out of ignorance then what are the extreme harmful effects of the disease? Can any medical professional guide me about this disease as to help me approach the doctor to be guided properly to overcome the problem?

A: I know a few people with thyroid problems and it does require you to take a drug called “synthroid” for the rest of your life. It really isn’t a big deal at all, hopefully you have an over-active thyroid in which case you won’t have to worry about the side effect of weight gain as you do with an under active one. Your primary care doctor should be able to feel if your thyroid is enlarged at the base of your neck, he may or may not refer you to a specialist, depends on your doctor, some primary care doctors can treat the condition. It’s really nothing life threatening and shouldn’t really effect much except possible weight gain or loss, being very tired all the time and other minor problems. Good luck and call your doctor, again, it’s not much to worry about

Q: Hyperactive thyroid and radioactive iodine treatment?
My husband was diagnosed with hyperactive thyroid ( Graves disease) and is going to go thru radioactive iodine treatment. I was wondering if you or anyone you know have gone thru it and if it worked well and if there was any side effects? Also how long did it take for the thyroid to become underactive requiring you to take hormone replasements?

A: I went through the radioactive iodine treatment two years ago. I remember throwing up a lot that evening and having a bad headache, but after that evening, I was fine. That may have just been how my own body reacted to the radioactive iodine though.

If I remember correctly it was about three or four months after my radioactive iodine treatment that they finally started me on my thyroid medication.

Q: Help? Hyper thyroid & Graves disease treated with RAI 131 and needs another treatment?
Yes, on march 28th 08 I was treated with RAI131 treatment for hyperthroid and Graves disease I went back last week for my blood work and it came back showing that my levels are still high so I had more blood tests still waiting on results but my dr, told me I may need another radio iodine treatment has anyone out there in yahoo land encountered thios problem and with excessive sweating if so I would like to chat with you or please answer my ? Thanks!

A: I was given radioactive iodine in 1990 due to a misdiagnosis. I found out that it takes approximately 2 months for the thyroid to completely die off. After mine was gone I became severely hypOthyroid even tho I was eventually put on a synthetic T4 thyroid drug.

What I know now is that RAI isn’t a good thing. There are other less invasive and permanent ways to treat hypErthyroidism which is due to an upstream problem causing the thyroid to react. The problem with RAI is that it goes after anything in the body which has iodine receptors, expecially salivary glands, mucosal linings, etc. And then there’s that issue of it making us more at risk for cancers down the road. That part scares me greatly.

Listen, there is a discussion group with a lot of people on it that have also had radioactive iodine. It’s the Yahoo group called “thyroidless”. I’ve included the link along with the iodine group and the informative radioactive website that. The last link I included will help you learn how to heal after having radioactive iodine.

By the way, I totally wouldn’t ever have a second RAI treatment even for a million dollars. I’ve lived with this horror for the last 18 years…trust me.

Q: What are the symptoms and consequences of Thyroid Disease?
Most common diagnosis & treatment…
And… I was hoping to hear from people who have this condition.

A: The symptoms of hypothyroidism — an underactive thyroid — tend to mirror the slowing down of physical processes that results from insufficient thyroid hormone. Common symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, constipation, fuzzy thinking, low blood pressure, fluid retention, depression, body pain, slow reflexes, and much more.

The symptoms of hyperthyroidism tend to reflect the rapid metabolism that results from an oversupply of thyroid hormone. Common symptoms include anxiety, insomnia, rapid weight loss, diarrhea, high heart rate, high blood pressure, eye sensitivity/bulging and vision disturbances, and many other concerns.

Go to: http://thyroid.about.com/od/symptomsrisks/a/symptomsrisks.htm

Hope that helped

Q: Tyhroid-graves disease- my daughter has to have radiation treatment on her thyroid next week.?
Surgery is a no go she has a one-year-old son has anyone undergone this treatment–and would like to share some experience with me

A: I suspect she is about to have an I-131 uptake. We use radioactive Iodine to determine the function of the thyroid. Graves disease occurs in about 0.25 percent of the population, is not fatal and causes little problems. The Iodine has a very short-half life and will be elimanated quickly from her system. Surgery is unlikely and I suspect this procedure is simply a diagnostic examination so that her physician can better care for her…not as a treatment. If I am wrong, there are cancerous lesions that would require eith radiation or surgical intervention…those are not optional, inspite of the child. One of the problems with seeking advice here, not enough of the treatment or methods have been explained or there is faulty understanding and that encourages wrong advice. Specifically what kind of radiation was she scheduled for? Was it a test or a treatment? Many people don’t ask enough of their physicians to get a handle on what is to take place and simply nod their heads and accept scraps of information and then suffer from needless fear. Graves’ disease, the most common type of hyperthyroidism, is characterized by general over-activity of the thyroid gland. Since the thyroid is responsible for maintaining a normal metabolism, over-activity of the thyroid gland can have some dramatic effects on your body’s metabolism when too much hormone is released. Metabolism is the process by which digested nutrients are converted into energy and used for the body’s cells to do their work This work includes regulating your heart rate, the amount of calories you burn when you are resting, your energy level and other bodily functions. When the thyroid is functioning abnormally it can cause an increased pulse rate, nervousness and sweating, heat intolerance, hair loss. Graves’ disease is rarely fatal, and people seldom get extremely ill because of it. It may be necessary to remove some of the thyroid tissue, but seldom is it necessary to use radiation to destroy tissue.

Q: my thyroid profile has tsh 9, t3 1.5 and t4 10 , what kind of disease i have? when should i start treatment?

A: look up hypothyroid on the web for more info.treatment,daily pill of thyroid hormone.takes about 6-8 months to fully work,but u will feel perfectly normal after that.i have it,and i feel gr8 and full of energy now!good luck!

Q: alternative medication for thyroid disease?
after i gave birth, i had gained 6stones in one year! after endless tests it showed i had thyroid disease. (underactive)
they are still getting my medication levels rite, at the moment i am on 125mg a day, but it is making no difference at all. i am constantly tired, i have no energy. is there anything else i can try. its bad enough putting on so much weight, but being so lathargic is awful, especially wen i am trying to raise a child.
please advise. is thyroxine the only treatment?

A: Also you may want to get another doctors opinion, My son and sister both had major issues(different doctors)with getting levels right,Took her almost 2 years with all the same symptoms as you, She went to another Dr and with consultation with her first Dr they finally all got it right, Dont be discouraged,keep looking for the right levels and ask many questions.

Q: What are some treatments for Thyroid diseases?
I’m doing a group project on Tyriods and we’re having a hard time finding information on treatments. They don’t have to be complex, just to give some ideas.

A: here check out webmd.
on the left side there are bullet points and several of them have to to with treatments.

here is the link for hyperthyroidism:http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hyperthyroidism-topic-overview

and here is the link for hypothyroidism:http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hypothyroidism-topic-overview

hope this helps you out.

Q: do i need to have the radioactive iodine treatment for graves disease?
a had a thyroid storm and found out i have graves disease i’ve seen people talking about radioactive iodine treatment yet it sounds maybe not worth it could i just live on my meds and never have surgery or the iodine treatment and be fine???

A: There are other treatments available.