How patients with Graves' disease can avoid radioactive iodine treatment

How patients with Graves' disease can avoid radioactive iodine treatment

If you have Graves' disease or another form of hyperthyroidism and are considering radioactive iodine to treat your condition, you should first explore other types of treatment options. Many people do not realize the possible consequences of treatment with radioactive iodine. As a healthcare professional and someone diagnosed with Graves' Disease, I can tell you that avoiding radioactive iodine was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

To better understand why you should avoid this harsh type of treatment, it is important to have at least a basic understanding of how this treatment works as well as the possible consequences if you choose this treatment method. The thyroid contains iodine, which it needs to produce thyroid hormones. Radioactive iodine is usually given to the patient orally. It then travels through the bloodstream to the thyroid, essentially destroying many of the thyroid's cells to prevent it from producing thyroid hormone.

If you go to Google and type in “radioactive iodine,” one of the first articles will explain how there are few side effects from taking radioactive iodine and that these side effects are not too common. But then the author casually tells the reader this: "Once the thyroid becomes underactive, a single daily pill of the thyroid hormone T4 must be taken for life. Although most patients are completely cured, some people require a second treatment."

Radioactive iodine is not a cure for Graves' disease

In summary, taking radioactive iodine will completely cure you of hyperthyroidism, but leave you with hypothyroidism for the rest of your life and forced to take synthetic or natural thyroid hormone daily...as long as you live. Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound like a cure to me. And when you're treating a disorder like Graves' disease, you have to keep in mind that radioactive iodine does nothing about the immune system component of this autoimmune disease, which is extremely important.

So if someone with Graves' disease receives radioactive iodine treatment, they can most likely stop the overproduction of thyroid hormone. This will of course eliminate your hyperthyroidism symptoms. However, the following disadvantages of taking radioactive iodine for Graves' disease are as follows:

1) You will most likely have hypothyroidism for the rest of your life.So, again, this means that you will likely need to take synthetic or natural thyroid hormone daily...forever. To be honest, this is not the case for everyone, as some people need to take thyroid hormone daily, while others who are told they need to take it forever may be able to regain their health if given a natural treatment protocol. Of course, this depends on how much damage has been done to the thyroid.

2) It does nothing to address the immune system component.Although radioactive iodine should help reduce or stop the production of thyroid hormone and thereby relieve the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, it does not help strengthen your immune system. This makes you more susceptible to future autoimmune diseases.

3) It does nothing to address the underlying cause of your disorder.If other areas in your body caused your condition to develop, such as: In addition to failing to address the immune system component, such as your adrenal glands, gastrointestinal system, etc., you will not be doing anything to address the cause and/or contributing factors of your disorder.

If you have hyperthyroidism but not Graves' disease, you don't need to worry about treating the immune system component, but you need to understand that receiving this treatment can still have serious consequences. Sure, I admit that most cases of hypothyroidism are usually not life-threatening in the way that a severe case of hyperthyroidism can be. However, once you understand how the thyroid affects every single cell and tissue in our body, you should think twice about receiving this therapy.

When is radioactive iodine really necessary?

I'm not saying RAI is necessary under any circumstances. What I am telling you is that it is an extreme form of treatment and should be considered as a last option in most cases. Finally, once your thyroid is destroyed, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to reverse the damage. There are undoubtedly situations in which someone may need radioactive iodine treatment, such as certain cases of thyroid cancer. Others may need this type of treatment if symptoms are severe and they have not responded to other types of treatment.

Shortly before the date of writing this article, a major league baseball player was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (not Graves' disease). Luckily, his doctor recommended rest and a change in diet. Although his condition is considered mild at this point, don't think that mild cases of hyperthyroidism are always treated conservatively. As evidence of this, I recently consulted with someone who received radioactive iodine for a mild case of hyperthyroidism many years ago, even though she had no symptoms. Since then, she has taken synthetic thyroid hormone daily when a conservative approach may have initially worked.

What other options do you have?

Besides radioactive iodine, what other treatment options are there for people with Graves' disease or just hyperthyroidism? Basically there are three options:

Option 1: Antithyroid drugs.Methimazole is a widely used antithyroid drug recommended by some endocrinologists. Many also recommend a beta blocker such as propanolol to keep symptoms under control.

Option 2: Natural treatment methods.Most people with Graves' disease are unaware that there are natural treatments that can potentially return their health to normal. Of course, not everyone can be helped with natural treatment methods. And due to the severity of this condition, many people should still use prescription medications to control symptoms when starting the natural treatment protocol.

Option 3: No treatment.Choosing not to receive treatment when diagnosed with Graves' disease can be quite risky. This condition can become life-threatening. Therefore, choose an effective treatment, be it a conventional treatment or a natural treatment protocol.

Of course, it is up to you to decide which treatment method is right for you. When I was diagnosed with Graves' disease, I knew about the possible consequences of treatment with radioactive iodine. Luckily, I had a somewhat conservative endocrinologist as she recommended I take methimazole and a beta blocker to keep my symptoms under control. And while I was considering taking the medication, I decided to consult a natural doctor first.

Long story short, I decided not to take the prescription medications and began a natural treatment protocol. And ultimately I got great results. Not only did the treatment protocol relieve my symptoms, but my subsequent blood tests (TSH, free T4, free T3, etc.) looked great! I also had my adrenals tested early and those numbers (which weren't good to begin with) also improved.

And although I am a naturopath, like many people with Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism in general, I was skeptical about whether or not natural treatments would help with such a serious condition. And I am in no way suggesting that you not take medication for your disorder, as some people with really severe symptoms need to take the prescription medications to control the symptoms. And as I mentioned, some people even need to receive radioactive iodine.

The goal here was just to make you aware that there are other treatment options besides radioactive iodine and that you should at least get a second opinion before receiving this extreme treatment. After all, you only have one thyroid, and before receiving this treatment you want to be 100% sure that this is what you really need.

Inspired by Dr. Eric Osansky