How Graves' Disease Sufferers Can Avoid Radioactive Iodine Treatment

If you have Graves' Disease, or any other form of hypertension, and are considering radioactive iodine to treat your condition, you may want to first look into other types of treatment. Many people do not realize the potential of receiving treatment with radioactive iodine. As a healthcare professional and someone diagnosed with Graves' Disease, I can tell you that avoiding radioactive iodine is one of the best choices I've made.

To better understand why you should avoid this type of treatment, it is important to have at least a basic understanding of the treatment, as well as the potential consequences if you choose this treatment method. The thyroid gland contains iodine, which is required for the production of thyroid hormones. Radioactive iodine is usually given orally to the patient. It then moves through the bloodstream to the thyroid gland, and basically destroys many cells of the thyroid gland to prevent it from producing thyroid hormones.

If you go to Google and type in "radioactive iodine," one of the first articles listed is how to get little side effects when taking radioactive iodine, and these side effects don't happen very often. But the author briefly told the following reader: "Once the thyroid becomes inactive, one daily pill of the thyroid hormone, T4, must be taken for life. Although most patients are fully cured, some people require second-hand treatment."

Radioactive Iodine is NOT a cure for Graves' Disease

To sum up what this doctor says, by receiving radioactive iodine, you will fully recover from hypertension, but will be hypothyroid for the rest of your life, and will be forced to take synthetic or natural thyroid hormones ... for the rest of your life. Call me crazy, but this doesn't seem to cure me. And when treating problems like Graves' Disease, you have to remember that radioactive iodine does nothing to address the components of this autoimmune immune system, which is very important.

Therefore, when someone with Graves' Disease receives radioactive iodine treatment, they are most likely to succeed in stopping the production of thyroid hormones. This will definitely relieve your hypertension symptoms. But here are the following drawbacks to receiving radioactive iodine for Graves' Disease:

1) You may become hypothyroid throughout your life. So again, this means that you may need to take synthetic or natural thyroid hormones every day ... forever. Now to be honest, this does not apply to everyone, as some people need to take thyroid hormone daily, others are told they need to take it forever and may improve their health if they use the natural treatment protocol. Of course this depends on how much damage has been done to the thyroid gland.

2) There is nothing to deal with the components of the immune system. While radioactive iodine helps reduce or stop the production of thyroid hormones and thus helps with hypertensive symptoms, it does nothing to help strengthen your immune system. This will make you more vulnerable to autoimmune disorders in the future.

3) There is nothing to address the cause of your disorder. In addition to not addressing the components of the immune system, if other areas of your body have led to the development of your condition, such as the adrenal glands, gastrointestinal system, etc., receiving this type of treatment will do nothing to address the cause and / or factors that cause the disorder you.

If you have hypertension but not Graves' Disease, then while you may not have to worry about dealing with the components of the immune system, you need to understand that receiving this treatment can still have serious consequences. Of course, I will admit that most cases of hypothyroidism are usually not potentially life threatening, as are cases of severe hypertension. On the other hand, once you understand how the thyroid gland affects every single cell and tissue in our body, you still have to think twice to receive this therapy.

When Is Radioactive Iodine Needed?

I do not suggest that RAI is not required under any circumstances. What I am saying is that it is an extreme form of treatment, and in most cases should be considered the last resort. After all, when your thyroid gland is damaged, it's difficult, and sometimes impossible to undo it. There are no problems when one needs radioactive iodine treatment, as in certain cases of thyroid cancer. Others may need this type of treatment when the symptoms are severe and they do not respond to any other type of treatment.

Near the date of writing this article, major league baseball players were recently diagnosed with hypertension (not Graves' Disease). Fortunately, her doctor recommends rest and diet changes. Although the condition is considered mild at this time, do not think that mild cases of hypertrophy are treated conservatively. As evidence for this, I recently consulted with someone who years ago received radioactive iodine for mild cases of hyperthyroidism, even though she had not experienced any symptoms. She has been taking synthetic thyroid hormone every day since, when a conservative approach might start to work in the first place.

What Other Options Do You Have?

So what other treatment options are there besides radioactive iodine for people with Graves' Disease, or is it just a hypertensive condition by itself? There are basically three options:

Option # 1: Antithyroid drugs. Methimazole is an antithyroid drug recommended by some endocrinologists. Many will also recommend beta blockers, such as propanolol, to help control symptoms.

Option # 2: Natural treatment methods. Most people with Graves' Disease are unaware that there are natural treatment methods that may restore their health back to normal. Of course not everyone can be helped with natural treatment methods. And because of the severity of this condition, many people still have to use prescription drugs to help control symptoms when first starting the natural treatment protocol.

Option # 3: No treatment. Choosing not to receive any kind of treatment when diagnosed with Graves' Disease can be quite risky. This condition can be life-threatening, so you should choose several types of effective treatments, either conventional treatment methods or natural treatment protocols.

Of course you have to decide which treatment method is best for you. When I was diagnosed with Graves' Disease, I learned about the possible consequences of receiving radioactive iodine. Fortunately I had a fairly conservative endocrinologist, because he recommended I take Methimazole, plus beta blockers to help control my symptoms. And while I was taking the medicine, I decided to consult a natural doctor.

To make a long story short, I decided not to take prescription drugs and started a natural treatment protocol. And finally I finally made a great decision. Not only did my symptoms relieve my symptoms, but my blood tests (TSH, T4 free, T3 free, etc.) looked great! I also tested my adrenals early and this level (which is not good to begin with) also improved.

And even though I'm a natural health care professional, like many people with Graves' Disease and hyperthyroidism in general, I'm skeptical about whether or not natural treatment methods will help with such a severe condition. And I do not necessarily recommend that you not take medication for your disorder, as some people with very severe symptoms need to take prescription drugs to control their symptoms. And as I mentioned earlier, some people will need to receive radioactive iodine.

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

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