- Natural Endocrine Solutions Dr. Eric Osansky, DC, IFMCP - https://www.naturalendocrinesolutions.com -

Natural Thyroid Treatment After Radioactive Iodine Therapy

Some people who have received radioactive iodine therapy wonder whether they would benefit from natural treatment methods. Unfortunately this isn’t an easy question to answer, as it really does depend on the extent of damage that was done to the thyroid gland. The good news is that just because you received radioactive iodine therapy doesn’t automatically rule you out as a candidate to restore your health back to normal. This is true even if you have become hypothyroid as a result of this harsh treatment procedure.

The reason for this is because the thyroid gland has an amazing ability to adapt. While a person with a thyroid gland that was completely removed through surgery or damaged extensively through RAI very well might have to take thyroid hormone for the rest of their lives, partial damage or removal of this gland still offers some hope of being able to restore your health through a natural treatment protocol.

While RAI is sometimes necessary, it’s a shame that many people receive this treatment method when they could have had their health restored through natural treatment methods. I’m definitely grateful that I didn’t consider RAI when I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease. On the other hand, many people who have received radioactive iodine therapy become depressed, and sometimes even angry when they realize that they might have had a chance to “save” their thyroid gland instead of permanently damage it.

How To Find Out If Natural Thyroid Treatment Methods Will Help

But once again, if you received radioactive iodine therapy you still might be able to be helped through natural treatment methods. In fact, the question really isn’t whether or not you can benefit from natural treatment methods, but whether or not you can be “cured”. As for curing your condition, while the damage that was done to your thyroid gland probably can’t be completely reversed, this doesn’t mean that following the proper protocol can’t allow your thyroid gland to produce a sufficient amount of thyroid hormone on its own.

For those people who received RAI and can’t be cured through a natural thyroid treatment [1] protocol, they still might benefit from natural treatment methods. The reason for this is because radioactive iodine therapy does nothing for the actually cause of the hyperthyroid condition. While it does indeed help manage the symptoms, one needs to understand that in most cases the malfunctioning thyroid gland isn’t the cause of the hyperthyroid disorder. So destroying the thyroid gland makes absolutely no sense, unless if someone is having severe symptoms AND they have already tried every other treatment method.

As you probably know, the goal of a natural thyroid treatment protocol is not just to manage your symptoms, but to get to the underlying cause of the disorder. Many times natural treatment methods will be able to restore the health of the individual so they won’t need to take thyroid medication for the rest of their lives. Other times it’s not possible to completely restore their health, but it is possible to strengthen other areas of their body that led to the development of their thyroid condition, which will help prevent future conditions from developing.

As for how someone who received RAI can know for certain whether or not they can be cured through natural thyroid treatment methods, unfortunately there really is no surefire way to know this. The only way to truly determine whether someone who has received radioactive iodine therapy can be helped through natural treatment methods is to actually give them a try. The good news is that it usually doesn’t take too long to see if these treatment methods are helping.

Getting Over The Anger Of Receiving RAI

As I briefly mentioned before, after learning that a natural treatment protocol can help with a hyperthyroid condition, some people become upset, and even angry that they received radioactive iodine therapy. If this describes you, I can understand your frustration. The truth is that while RAI should be used as a last resort, what you need to understand is that this is how most endocrinologists and other medical doctors are trained to treat such conditions.

While there are some great endocrinologists out there, most are trained to use drugs and radioactive iodine therapy as their primary treatment methods for hyperthyroid conditions. In fact, if you were to ask your endocrinologist or general practitioner about natural treatment methods, chances are they will advise you not to follow through with such a protocol.

Even though I’m a holistic doctor, I honestly was skeptical before I received natural treatment methods for Graves’ Disease. And who knows whether my condition is completely cured, or in a state of remission.  All I know is that I’m feeling great and have no regrets about the choices I have made .

But for those that have already received radioactive iodine therapy, please don’t give up hope.  There still is a chance that the function of your thyroid gland can be restored through a natural treatment protocol.  And even if this isn’t the case, just remember that what originally caused your hyperthyroid condition to develop probably still exists.  Because of this, at the very least you should  consider natural thyroid treatment methods to “optimize” your health and to  prevent other conditions from developing in the future.

Other Articles You Might Like To Read:

Why Finding a Natural Thyroid Specialist Can Be A Challenge [2]

How Chronic Stress Can Cause A Thyroid Condition [3]

Are You Skeptical About Natural Thyroid Treatment Methods? [4]

5 Must Read Books For People With Thyroid Conditions [5]