>>>suspected to be Grave's Disease

-why don't they know for sure?

>>I have seen two thyroid specialists, both of whom strongly recommend the
RAI treatment

-from what I have read that seems to be the way USA docs want to treat
it...doctors in other countries are less likely to suggest this as first
line treatment.

I was diagnosed with Graves in 1987...and had RAI 1 month later. I too was
told that anti thyroid drugs would probably not work...now I wonder why they
didn't at least feel that giving them a try would be worth it.
They give you that song and dance about that "one simple little pill" that
you will have to take....the catch is that it is sometimes VERY difficult to
fine tune the medication so that it is the proper dosage.
As severe as my Graves was when diagnosed...they had to put me on beta
blockers to lower my pulse and BP, and was consuming probably 6000 calories
a day and still losing 4 pounds + a week....so I was like..."yes...do the
RAI... anything to get this under control!"
But if my TSH was as stable as yours seems to be...I would think long and
hard about RAI.   Also how old are you? They are attributing an increase in
certain cancers...colon...thyroid...to those who had RAI decades previously.

You have to realize...what you are getting is radiation poisoning, that your
thyroid is taking the bulk of.....the radiation kills off part of your
thyroid gland, but does not do so all at once....it happens quite quickly at
first...but then continues to destroy the gland over the period of another
year or so.

Also there is an increased risk of thyroid storm, a potentially fatal
condition, for Graves patients who take RAI.

In RAI's defense....it was quick, painless, symptom free treatment. For
years that one simple little pill did the trick with few dosage changes
after the first year.
It was after 18 months of  interferon therapy  for another condition that my
thyroid decided to go wacky and I haven't felt "normal" since that first
interferon shot. My TSH hasn't been stable since...they increase my dosage
because I'm hypo...and then it makes me hyper...so they lower the dosage and
it makes me hypo...and round and round we go.

Here are some links I've found to be helpful:

http://www.suite101.com/mypage.cfm/atomicwomen/8311

http://daisyelaine_co.tripod.com/gravesdisease/

http://home.usaa.net/~wurmstein/

http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa041400a.htm

mary
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