Has anybody had a thyroidectomy? Or radioactive iodine?

[TheJoyousExpert]

Would just like to hear from others and their experiences? How has life been after?

I have Graves’ disease and was really poorly with it….. but feel as though I’m struggling to recover from it?

Have you seen Elaine Moore's website and books on Graves? She is very experienced and helpful. I don't think we can post links here, but search Elaine Moore Graves and Autoimmune Disease Education. There's a Wellness Q&A section which is very useful.

I had the radioactive iodine treatment and I would honestly really consider it very carefully before you do.

I totally regret having it... my thyroid function has taken almost 4 years to get to a normal level again and I have really suffered in that time from fatigue, weight gain and everything else that comes with a low thyroid. I believed that I would be in normal range quite quickly afterwards but this has not been the case at all.

I had radioactive iodine treatment for Graves disease almost 2 years ago. It was all very straightforward. I had regular, fairly frequent thyroid function checks following it and was put on levothyroxine promptly, with the dose increasing as my own thyroid function decreased. I had a bit of fatigue for a while the thyroxine dose lagged behind what I needed, but it's been stable and I've felt fine for about 18 months.

I'd previously had surgical parathyroidectomy (very similar operation to surgical thyroidectomy) and I found the recovery from the RAI much easier.

Xh had a total thyroidectomy After cancerous cells were discovered. 10 days later hé started on levothyroxine no problèmes at all.

One thing I'll say: I understand that RAI can trigger/exacerbate thyroid eye disease, so do your research there.