Medical Treatments for Graves' and Hyperthyroidism - Question and Answer Forum - Elaine Moore Graves' Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education

Web Site Search

Saturday, February 04, 2012

..:: Q & A ::..

THE Q & A

Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.

Each thread represents one question with one answer and will only appear at the time it is answered. Once answered, further replies cannot be made to the same thread since each thread represents only one question. A new thread will need to be started for additional questions.

Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.

Copying of any posts is prohibited without permissions.

The Q & A with Elaine Moore

Notice: No notices today.

Forum

Discussions

Question and An...

Medical Treatments for Graves' and Hyperthyroidism

8/14/2009 5:04 PM

Joined: 5/26/2009

Posts: 3

Medical Treatments for Graves' and Hyperthyroidism

Elaine,

I read your archive article regarding medical treatments for Graves' and Hyperthyroidism, but am curious as to whether there is a preference for RAI or Thyroidectomy.

I have posted several questions to your site and your answers have been most helpful. After being diagnosed with Graves' in March, I have tried PTU and now Tapazole. My liver enzymes have been elevated in both cases as well as having a "dangerously" low white blood count. Since I am unable to tolerate either medication my endocrinologist recommends removing my thyroid. What questions should ask to determine which procedure (RAI or surgery) would be best for me.

Thank you as always for your expert advice.

8/17/2009 11:51 PM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3150

Re: Medical Treatments for Graves' and Hyperthyroidism

Hi KK,

Recent studies recommend using a 10 mg dose of Tapazole to start out since higher doses are likely to lower the WBC count. Ask for the WBC value. Dangerously low would be lower than 1.0. I've heard doctors say dangerously low when the WBC count was just slightly low, like 4.0. Liver enzymes are also usually elevated when the ATD dose is too high.

If the ATD dose was low and still caused problems, than surgery is usually a better option than RAI. Radioiodine stimulates the immune system and worsens the autoimmune process. This often leads to thyroid eye disease, pretibial myxedema, and other autoimmune diseases.

Partial thyroidectomy is a good option because your can keep some of your thyroid tissue and produce a small amount of natura hormone. Thyroid replacement hormone isn't always well tolerated.

The size of the gland is also important in considering what type of replacement hormone works best.

See http://hashimotos-encephalopathy.blogspot.com/

I'm going to write a blog on this lady's experiences with treatment for Graves' disease, but it's very pertinent to your question.

Best, Eaine

Page 1 of 1

Forum

Discussions

Question and An...

Medical Treatments for Graves' and Hyperthyroidism

TO USERS: Q&A posts are visible to all readers. Users can delete their own threads at any time. Users must provide information which is true and correct to the best of their knowledge as well as provide sources or references to any health / medical information if not taken from personal experience. All users including the moderator must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Advertising and self-promotion is not allowed. The moderator or site administrator has the right to ban users with or without warning for not following the basic rules of this site. All posts by default are not to be considered that of medical professionals unless otherwise indicated. As sole moderator, Moore has no conflicts of interest in the sponsorship of this forum.

HOME | ARTICLES | BOOKS | BLOG | Q&A | RESOURCES | ABOUT | CONTACT | SUPPORT

ELAINE-MOORE.COM
Elaine Moore Graves’ Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education
Copyright © 2008-2011 by Elaine Moore. All Rights Reserved.
These pages and their content, including all articles and images are not to be copied, reproduced or printed without written permission. All articles are copyrighted. All images are copyrighted or licensed to use.

SITE LAST UPDATED 23 JAN 2011

ABOUT THIS SITE
This site is self-funded exclusively by Elaine Moore. Moore has no other external sources of funds and receives no monies from government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, Amazon, or other commercial entities to operate this site. There are no conflicts of interest in the operation of this site.
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

DISCLAIMER
The information at this site is true and correct to the extent that all information contained herein about the benefits or performance of any diagnostic or treatment are backed up with scientific evidence such as medical journals, reports, articles, and other relevant materials.The educational information provided within is designed to help users better understand the nature of disease and the solutions available. Nothing contained on this website should be construed as or is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Under no circumstances is a particular treatment recommended and in all cases it is recommended that a physician be consulted for any treatments. Reference to any specific commercial or noncommercial products, services, processes, companies or trademarks does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Elaine Moore does not host any form of commercial advertisement, does not sponsor or endorse any products or services that may have been mentioned at the site. This excludes mention of her own copyrighted materials, articles, and books. The opinions, views and recommendations of individual registered members of this website, specifically as it pertains to personal inquiries at the Q&A forum or comments made to blogs, are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Elaine Moore.