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Going Radioactive on Graves’

The most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the US, Graves’ disease, presents a grave concern, for women in particular. “Graves’ disease is one of the most common disease in females. The ratio from male to female is like 8 females:1 male,” says Dr. Heitham Ajlouni, who is an endocrinologist with Lee Memorial Health System. It is important to treat. This autoimmune disease affects metabolism and may lead to heart arrhythmias and bone weakening. “Usually medication will control Graves’ disease. But it’s a medication; it has side effects. It has some concerns because those medications can affect the liver,” says Dr. Ajlouni. Another option is to go radioactive, using radioactive iodine to destroy the overactive thyroid. “Which is really very common and very safe. We are giving a dose of radioactive iodine that will shut down your thyroid and you will end up having hypothyroid, under-active thyroid,” says Dr. Ajlouni. Radioactive iodine is given in an outpatient setting. A single tablet, it only affects your thyroid gland. Thyroid cells are the main cells in the body that absorb iodine, so there is very little radiation risk to the rest of your body. There are also guidelines to avoid exposing others until the iodine passes through the system. “It’s a large dose of radioactive iodine so there is a special instructions. Basically no one should be close to the neck. If they have children, they cannot carry them and you have to be careful when you eat or use the bathroom. And that’s for a couple of days and then you will get back to normal life,” says Dr. Ajlouni. A new normal; a lifetime of drug therapy is needed to control the now underactive thyroid. Only this line of therapy is much easier to swallow. “It doesn’t have a lot of side effects. It’s easy to control, less frequent visits to your doctors, less frequent blood tests. And if you want to conceive it’s easier, easier to control while pregnant,” says Dr. Ajlouni. Radioactive iodine or not, treatment for Graves’ disease requires serious thought. Making a decision you can live with. View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/ Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Visit leememorial.org