Radioactive Iodine Treatment for Hyperthyroidism and Hashitoxicosis

The destruction of your thyroid by radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) is known as thyroid ablation. Thyroid ablation is often done for thyroid cancers and hyperthyroidism and may also be done for Hashitoxicosis or other thyroid diseases and conditions when considered necessary or beneficial to your health and well being.

Radioactive iodine treatment may be done after a total thyroidectomy to destroy any remaining thyroid tissue or alone to ablate your thyroid, depending on the condition being treated and what is considered best for the patient. I was treated for Hashitoxicosis that caused severe phases of hyperthyroidism and had a total thyroidectomy done first, followed by ablation of the remaining thyroid tissue with radioactive iodine.

Where and How Radioactive Iodine Treatment Is Done. Radioactive iodine treatment is usually done in the radiology department of a hospital or clinic. Mine was done at the hospital. I had to have a consultation with the radiologist that took care of treating thyroid conditions before having the treatment done. He went over the treatment, instructions, side effects, and precautions as well as answering any questions I had.

I was instructed to not eat a big meal before being given the the radioactive iodine and not to eat at least one hour before and at least an hour after taking the treatment to ensure my body absorbed all of the dose. The radiologist said that a light meal was okay and actually helps the absorption of the treatment, so I had a bowl of vegetable beef soup about an hour and a half before my appointment.

Radioactive iodine treatment is very simple and is given in pill or liquid form. Mine consisted of two pills in a sealed glass container inside other sealed, protective containers. One of the radiology technicians wore protective gloves and dumped the pills into my mouth so I wouldn't have to touch the pills and gave me a cup of water to swallow them.

After taking the pills, I had to stay for about fifteen minutes to make sure I didn't throw them up, because if you throw up, the treatment doesn't happen.

Post-Treatment Safety Instructions. General post-treatment safety precautions need to be taken to ensure that those around you do not absorb the radioactive iodine you are given. Though the treatment will be beneficial to you, by destroying any thyroid tissue you have, those that do not need their thyroids ablated should not have prolonged exposure to the radiation.

I was told to have no physical contact with people the first two days after receiving radioactive iodine treatment; to have no one sleep in the same room with me for two nights; have no one sleeping in the same bed as me for a week; flush the toilet twice every time I went to the bathroom for the first two days and wash my hands afterward; shower daily and rinse the shower after; wash my bedding and clothes daily and separately from everyone's laundry (wash twice); rinse dishes in hot water separately from other dishes before putting them out to be washed; have someone else take care of our pets for the first few days; to not be around pregnant women and babies for the first three days and to have no contact with them for a week.

The radiologist said that it was okay for someone to be in the same vehicle as me for short distances and that my daughter could hang out for a couple of hours to watch a movie with me as long as she was several feet from me.

These instructions and how long to follow them can vary depending on how large of a dose of radioactive iodine you are given. Be sure to follow all of your doctor's and the radiologist's instructions to ensure proper safety precautions.

Side Effects. As your thyroid tissue absorbs the radioactive iodine, the treatment starts to kill the thyroid cells; as the thyroid cells die, they can dump thyroid hormones into your body and give you hyperthyroid symptoms. The more thyroid tissue that is being killed off, often means the greater the chances of hyperthyroid side effects being severe. Being hyperthyroid when getting this treatment done can also increase the possibility of hyperthyroid symptoms. The time it takes for the thyroid cells to start dying off can vary greatly from happening very quickly to taking up to three months to begin. How long hyperthyroid symptoms last can also vary greatly in degree in duration.

I was very hypothyroid and only had a tiny bit of thyroid tissue left when I was given the radioactive iodine. The treatment seemed to kill off the remaining thyroid cells very quickly and I actually felt better than I had in weeks within a few hours after taking the radioactive iodine pills. I felt like the thyroid cells were already dying off and dumping much needed thyroid hormone into my body, but by later that evening I was having hyperthyroid symptoms causing my heart rate to go up and making me feel horrible.

I ended up having a terrible night of sleep. I was very restless and woke up early unable to sleep, but feeling wiped out, and then fell back to sleep about an hour and a half later for a couple of hours. Within a few hours of getting up, I was barely functioning and felt hypothyroid again.

That night I started waking up feeling like I was going to throw up. The next day I started having the nasty metallic taste in my mouth that I was warned could come as a side effect of the treatment and I felt nauseous most of the day. I was waking up again that night feeling like I was going to throw up and I dealt with the nausea and metallic taste for about a week, though it decreased as each day passed.

Hypothyroidism. Since thyroid ablation is meant to kill off your malfunctioning thyroid, the inevitable outcome is hypothyroidism. Trading one thyroid condition for another may not seem like a good thing, but hypothyroidism is actually much more easily controlled and treated than hyperthyroidism or Hashitoxicosis and is much less likely to have life-threatening effects on your body.

Once you become hypothyroid, you will need to take a thyroid hormone replacement medication for the rest of your life. There are several different medications, with some people doing better on one and some on another. Once you find the medication that works well for your body, and then get to the dose you feel best on, the quality of your health and life should improve greatly.

Related Content:

Radioactive Iodine Treatment for Thyroid Cancer and Diseases

Hashitoxicosis Signs and Symptoms - Hashimoto's Thyroiditis with a Twist

Hyperthyroidism: Signs and Symptoms

Total Thyroidectomy: Making the Decision to Have Your Thyroid Removed

Thyroidectomy - Choosing a Thyroid Surgeon

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