i dont think she takes RAI as this is the only medication she takes for thyriod.

anyway well all i can say is that a 3 yrs ago she was dignosed with overactive thiriod, did the meds for 12 months and then stopped. anyway its been roughly 1.5-2 yrs since she stopped using it and all i can say is that she had severe hairloss. her hair went half bald. (yes scary) and at the time i was in college living away from home so i couldnt say much else. anyway i moved back home recently and doctor diagnosed her with it again 4 months ago and she is not on that medication and since then all her hair has grown back and its growing back extremely fast,

based on her experience thats all i can tell you though.

If you are hyPER or hyPO.

RAI should only be considered as a last resort.

If hyPER and it’s due to Grave’s the first treatment protocol involves drugs that will reduce the effects of the Grave’s antibodies. There is a CHANCE that it will go into remission. You would need to watch for symptoms to return, and get tested… treatment may be tried again, or you may choose surgery (thyroidectomy) to remove all, or part, of the thyroid gland.

If hyPO you will most likely need replacement thyroid hormone. Again, depending on the cause, chances are that you would be on replacement hormone for life. The most common cause of hyPOthyroidism in developed countries is an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (Hashi’s). Unless it’s gone for an extended period of time untreated, surgery isn’t usually required.

As far as what happens if you go untreated…

Depends on if you are hyPER or hyPO. Both will EVENTUALLY kill. How long that takes depends on your body and how it handles all the hormones being messed up. You could go decades and not die.. though life would be pretty crappy as body organs are destroyed or shut down do the hormones being TOO high TOO low.

Whichever disorder you are dealing with it’s not something that you usually have to decide right NOW, you have time to consider options, learn as much as you can, ask questions. Support groups are very helpful in that they allow you to join with others and learn what it’s like to LIVE with the disorder.

Treatments, lifestyle, diet, attitude.. all have a dramatic effect on the quality of life when you are dealing with a thyroid disorder. Your first step should be your own self education so that you will know what the doc is discussing with you and be able to make informed decisions.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/The...
http://www.thyrophoenix.com