I have been given the option of surgery or radiation and have 6 weeks to make my decision. I'm so confused and overwhelmed, but I'm leaning towards surgery. Need pros and cons please.

Thanks,
Tina

We have a posted notice at the top of the BB with a good overview of your treatment options, check that out and you'll be well on your way to figuring this out. The fact is, though, that there is a medication option most people can use until they make the ultimate decision, so if you're being forced to make the decision and have the treatment within six weeks, I would find out whether you're a candidate to use anti-thyroid drugs to bring your levels into the normal range and help you begin to heal, as well as be able to think clearly. That way you can take more time, and hopefully wait until you feel satisfied that you're happy with one or the other choice. If meds work well for you, you may be able to use them to attempt remission, or even as a maintenance option long term. Some people don't react well to meds, so if that happens to you, then you may be back on a short fuse to make a decision, so you'll do well to gather and absorb as much information as possible right away.

Thank You for your response. After reading alot of these threads and being on the GD Facebook pages I am noticing that almost everyone is on the Methimazole for very long periods of time. I'm almost positive he said he wouldn't keep me on it for more that 2 months, but then again I dont comprehend alot of things right these days. But my daughter was with me and she thought he said the same thing.

From everything I'm gathering it seems with the RAI there are more problems getting the right levels going. With the TT if it goes well, which it seems most do, everyone is very happy with the outcome after they get their meds right which seems easier than with the RAI. It also seems more people gain weight with the RAI than the TT… is this right? As I'm researching and listening to people it seems they all opt for RAI but I hear better results with the TT. I dont want to do both, I would rather just get it done and over with and get my meds right and get on with life. I'm 45, pre diabetic, and menopause is just around the corner, so I would rather get this thyroid thing in check so I dont have to deal with all of them at once. I do know that could happen regardless.

Also, I have alot of cancer in my family…. mainly breast and vaginal. Cant the RAI trigger that? Its just that I'm in the last half of my life and want to do what is the fastest and easiest…. I dont want to be at the doctor every two month changing up my meds. I am not afraid of surgery.

I am on day 6 of Methimazole, not alot of change yet, I know its early but my tremors and sweating are less. I even stood for 2 hours straight watching a forest fire 2 days ago which blew my mind! I normally cant stand long enough to do the dishes. Sleep still sucks and my mind is still mushy, but I am seeing little bits of improvement with it. Ok, done rambling I think This is just how I'm feeling. I know it's only been a week but this is where I stand as of now.

Hi!

I was one who had problems (liver issues) with methimazole, so I had to choose RAI or surgery after being on methimazole for 7 weeks. I chose surgery for various reasons. I have 4 children, one of which is a breastfeeding infant & I wanted to continue nursing. I didn't want to be away from my family and I didn't want to wait out RAI and see what happened. I just wanted it done and over with- I guess, in part, it's my personality. I really think it depends on the individual, your personality, what your “gut” tells you, what your doctor is willing to let you do (if your a good candidate for surgery- stable thyroid levels, over all generally healthy, access to a good surgeon who does a lot of thyroidectomies).

I understand where you're coming from; I chose surgery based on a lot of the same concerns you have. But, RAI works very well for many people I think, just like surgery works really well for others. Admittedly, if I had a family history of cancer, I would steer clear of RAI. Because I was breastfeeding, the nuclear doctor did tell me if I got RAI while my breasts were lactating (I would have had to wean and dry up and then wait an additional 4-6 months to be safe & then they'd send a tracer to make sure my breast tissue wasn't taking up any iodine), there was a chance of getting breast cancer from the RAI in my specific situation, but they couldn't give me a percentage. I just wasn't comfortable with it, but I think for a lot of people, it's probably pretty safe.

Whether you have RAI or surgery, you'll be at the doctor changing meds. every 2 months until the hormone replacement is figured out. I was fortunate- I started on 100 mcg of Synthroid day 2 after surgery. Had my labs 6 weeks later, was upped to 112 mcg. and then another lab 2 weeks, then 4 weeks later. 112 mcg. seems to be the right dose. Everything is in a good place range wise. I don't feel 100% myself (ie- pre Graves), but I feel much, much better than when I was hyper! So, I'm hoping the headaches that come and go and the sporadic insomnia will go away too at some point. I'm hopeful bc even though I had 2 bad nights of sleep, three nights ago, I slept NINE hours straight !!!!! Woo hoo! So, it is possible! Well, I hope you are able to make the right choice for you. Once you're confident and your doctor gives you the okay with your choice, move forward and don't look back! Know that it takes a lot of time though and patience. I'm almost 4 mo. post TT and I'm still trying to find the consistency in feel good- but, it is better & I'm hoping I'll continue on that path!

I was diagnosed with Graves by accident through a routine blood test for work about a month ago. I had very minimal symptoms and was told by a specialists that it appeared I'd only recently acquired the disease. He put me on a 20mg daily dose of Carbimazole and during the past four weeks since I've been on it my health has absolutely gone to the dark side. I'm 35 years old, a very fit, very healthy male from Sydney, Australia… I normally work out in the gym, run, play tennis, good diet and since on the Carbimazole I really can't do anything, feeling very weak and started getting in the most recent two weeks. The last week I've scored a bad virus so I went to the doctor, lucky I did as I had a blood test and my white blood count had dropped to a dangerous level. Strangely while on the Carbimazole for the four weeks my T3 levels doubled and T4 levels went up by a third. Ok, so the specialist has taken me off the Carbimazole and put me on 450mg per day of PTU (Propylthiouracil). I start taking them tonight, needless to say I've never been more wary about taking tablets and really I just wanted to know what the difference was between PTU and Carbimazole and if anyone heard of these types of reaction to the drug. My specialist thought it to be strange. Cheers.

@Sanchez - Hello and welcome!

A severely reduced WBC is a potential side effect of anti-thyroid drugs, so this is something that your doctor will need to keep a very close eye on. If you experience symptoms of a severe sore throat with fever, patients are generally advised to call their doctor ASAP and arrange to have a WBC test done.

If you check out the “treatment options” section of this forum (in the announcements section at the top of the forum), you will see a guidance document from the American Thyroid Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The section on anti-thyroid drugs goes into some of the differences between Carbimazole (methimazole is the drug more commonly used in the U.S.) and PTU.

Take care – and please keep us posted on how you are doing!