Need advice: radioactive iodine or thyroid removal?
Hi everyone,
I’m a 23-year-old woman living in Switzerland. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 6 years ago and I’ve been treated with Neo-Mercazole ever since.
For years I was only followed by my general practitioner, but despite the treatment my symptoms never really improved and they’ve had a huge impact on my daily life.
I constantly deal with hand tremors, sweaty hands and excessive sweating. My heart often beats way too fast and I get out of breath very easily, even after climbing a few stairs.
Mentally it has also become really difficult. I struggle with a lot of irritability, anxiety, intense nervousness, depressive episodes and sometimes even dark thoughts.
I also have frequent bowel movements, diarrhea, a lot of trouble concentrating and very disrupted sleep with multiple awakenings every night.
The hardest thing to explain is this constant feeling of hyperactivity inside my body, like I can never fully relax, mixed with sudden exhaustion crashes.
I also have irregular periods, a lump sensation in my throat and a much bigger appetite than before.
About a year ago, I finally decided to see an endocrinologist. Since then, my medication dosage has been tripled, but despite that my symptoms are still persisting.
She is now offering me two more radical options: radioactive iodine treatment or thyroid removal surgery.
The decision is mine, and right now I’m leaning more toward radioactive iodine because surgery feels very drastic and honestly scares me a bit.
She explained that I could become hypothyroid afterward, but that with one daily medication for a few months, my thyroid levels could stabilize again.
I would really love to hear from people who went through radioactive iodine treatment.
Did you relapse afterward?
If yes, how long after?
Did your symptoms improve?
And most importantly, do you regret your decision?
My endocrinologist mentioned that relapse can sometimes happen after 20–30 years, and honestly that already sounds amazing to me if I could finally get relief for that long.
Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to reply 🤍