This article, by a senior autoimmune disease researcher, describes the treatment options for Graves' disease and offers helpful information for making the best decision f
Graves' disease is an autoimmune hyperthyroid disorder in which the immune system produces thyroid antibodies that cause the thyroid to produce excess hormone. Several treatment options are available for this condition. Choices may be based on: Improvement in some area, usually reduction of symptoms; Knowledge of the treatment's side effects; Access to available studies regarding treatment; Motivation for effective results.
In your purse you may have a light-powered calculator, or you may bank online. Without such technological advances, you might own a 1967 handheld calculator and your ancient computer wouldn't be linked to your bank.
We've all benefited from technological advances although most aren't life altering. But consider. Do you have a family member with diabetes? What about heart disease, and the benefits of a pacemaker? Does the first internal pacemaker made in 1959 seem an attractive alternative to today's designs? Hardly.
When it comes to personal health matters, many consumers are pro-active and advocate a personal investigatory approach. Proactive is not about being rebellious. It's being informed and taking responsibility for your healthcare decisions.
Have you been diagnosed with Graves' disease? Are you well informed? Have you explored all available treatment options? That's right, there are alternative treatments available, and by becoming aware of them you will afford yourself some level of peace about whichever option you choose.
In the same era as the introduction of the Transistor Radio and the Pacemaker, doctors were introduced to the use of Radioactive Iodine (I131) for hyperthyroidism. It's touted even today, as the definitive cure for Graves' disease. It certainly has had a 100 percent success rate in eliminating the antigenic agent (Your Thyroid). However, in Graves' disease the true cause is the immune system.
My goal in writing this article isn't to describe Graves disease or its causes. It is to encourage the investigation of ATD therapy (antithyroid drugs) as an alternative to the I131 ablative therapy commonly used in the United States.
Studies conducted in 2005 show long-term ATD therapy (more than 18 months) can increase the chance of remission considerably. It's commonly thought that if ATD therapy is the treatment path chosen for the patient, then after 12-18 months, the drug is removed. The remission rate for this arbitrary method is 30-40 percent. When remission is confirmed before stopping ATDs the remission rate is much higher.
Advocates of the aggressive ablative (destructive) approach might argue that the chance of successful remission with ATDs is too low. They propose using the ablative approach, swallowing radioiodine to destroy the thyroid, affording no chance of remission.
The medical literature confirms that ablation causes an 80 percent chance of developing permanent Hypothyroidism, which requires lifelong thyroid replacement hormone. Physicians are in essence trading one disorder (Hyperthyroidism) for another (Hypothyroidism).
It has been stated that Graves' disease is not a disease of the Thyroid but of the adaptive immune system. The removal of the target (at least most of it) is what ablation accomplishes. Could you imagine that approach if used for autoimmune heart disease? This is not to decry I131 therapy completely; it has merit, especially when it is used in the treatment of thyroid cancer in tandem with surgery. However, there exists another exceptionally effective method of treatment that provides an OPTION not just for pregnant patients, but to all patients: Antithyroid Drug Therapy
Improvements have been made in monitoring antibody levels. Graves' disease antibodies are directly associated with disease expression and can be successfully controlled with antithyroid drug therapy. The Knowledge of, and Access to, this type of therapy will grow as long as patients, along with their Physicians, continue to investigate this viable effective treatment alternative. The Motivation will come when you ask someone you know who has had their Thyroid ablated, if they have any regrets.
Some holdovers from the past have maintained their usefulness, like Velcro (1948) and the Hula Hoop (1958). Some things haven't. Explore your options. Here at www.Suite101.com you will have access to several different sites concerning Thyroid disorders. Take the time to study them. Talk with your Physician to assess his/her views on your treatment. Are you in agreement? Talk with those that have had these procedures done before. It's your Thyroid, choose carefully.
Graves' disease is an autoimmune hyperthyroid disorder in which the immune system produces thyroid antibodies that cause the thyroid to produce excess hormone. Several treatment options are available for this condition. Choices may be based on: Improvement in some area, usually reduction of symptoms; Knowledge of the treatment's side effects; Access to available studies regarding treatment; Motivation for effective results.
In your purse you may have a light-powered calculator, or you may bank online. Without such technological advances, you might own a 1967 handheld calculator and your ancient computer wouldn't be linked to your bank.
We've all benefited from technological advances although most aren't life altering. But consider. Do you have a family member with diabetes? What about heart disease, and the benefits of a pacemaker? Does the first internal pacemaker made in 1959 seem an attractive alternative to today's designs? Hardly.
When it comes to personal health matters, many consumers are pro-active and advocate a personal investigatory approach. Proactive is not about being rebellious. It's being informed and taking responsibility for your healthcare decisions.
Have you been diagnosed with Graves' disease? Are you well informed? Have you explored all available treatment options? That's right, there are alternative treatments available, and by becoming aware of them you will afford yourself some level of peace about whichever option you choose.
In the same era as the introduction of the Transistor Radio and the Pacemaker, doctors were introduced to the use of Radioactive Iodine (I131) for hyperthyroidism. It's touted even today, as the definitive cure for Graves' disease. It certainly has had a 100 percent success rate in eliminating the antigenic agent (Your Thyroid). However, in Graves' disease the true cause is the immune system.
My goal in writing this article isn't to describe Graves disease or its causes. It is to encourage the investigation of ATD therapy (antithyroid drugs) as an alternative to the I131 ablative therapy commonly used in the United States.
Studies conducted in 2005 show long-term ATD therapy (more than 18 months) can increase the chance of remission considerably. It's commonly thought that if ATD therapy is the treatment path chosen for the patient, then after 12-18 months, the drug is removed. The remission rate for this arbitrary method is 30-40 percent. When remission is confirmed before stopping ATDs the remission rate is much higher.
Advocates of the aggressive ablative (destructive) approach might argue that the chance of successful remission with ATDs is too low. They propose using the ablative approach, swallowing radioiodine to destroy the thyroid, affording no chance of remission.
The medical literature confirms that ablation causes an 80 percent chance of developing permanent Hypothyroidism, which requires lifelong thyroid replacement hormone. Physicians are in essence trading one disorder (Hyperthyroidism) for another (Hypothyroidism).
It has been stated that Graves' disease is not a disease of the Thyroid but of the adaptive immune system. The removal of the target (at least most of it) is what ablation accomplishes. Could you imagine that approach if used for autoimmune heart disease? This is not to decry I131 therapy completely; it has merit, especially when it is used in the treatment of thyroid cancer in tandem with surgery. However, there exists another exceptionally effective method of treatment that provides an OPTION not just for pregnant patients, but to all patients: Antithyroid Drug Therapy
Improvements have been made in monitoring antibody levels. Graves' disease antibodies are directly associated with disease expression and can be successfully controlled with antithyroid drug therapy. The Knowledge of, and Access to, this type of therapy will grow as long as patients, along with their Physicians, continue to investigate this viable effective treatment alternative. The Motivation will come when you ask someone you know who has had their Thyroid ablated, if they have any regrets.
Some holdovers from the past have maintained their usefulness, like Velcro (1948) and the Hula Hoop (1958). Some things haven't. Explore your options. Here at www.Suite101.com you will have access to several different sites concerning Thyroid disorders. Take the time to study them. Talk with your Physician to assess his/her views on your treatment. Are you in agreement? Talk with those that have had these procedures done before. It's your Thyroid, choose carefully.