- Re: side affects of RAI????

March 31, 2003

denvic2001 wrote:

> I know it's a stupid question but what kind of side affects to you

> get with RAI? does your hair fall out?

Of course it's not a stupid question.

Your hair won't fall out; some people do have some hair loss, but that's due to

being hypo, rather than the RAI. In fact, many of the symptoms that seem to be

from the RAI are actually from severe

hypothyroidism, but the timing makes it seem as if it's the RAI. Then again,

some of the side effects are from the RAI (even though many doctors will swear

they're not).

As with everything else, this is YMMV.

I didn't have many symptoms with either of my two 100 mCi doses; some slight

burning in my jaws, and in the scar area. Nothing painful, but an awareness

that lasted for several days. Some people get

queasy, very few get nauseous, and it's rare to be sick enough to actually throw

up. It's a good idea, though, to have your doctor put some anti-nausea meds in

your chart, so they're ready if you need

'em. Constipation is a classic hypo symptom, although I found I didn't have

much problem until after the RAI treatment, which is not a good thing. The

second time around, I started taking a stool

softener a few days in advance and didn't have a problem.

You can check out some side effects that other members have mentioned, as well

as their overall RAI experiences at

Good luck -

-

NYC

TT 2/99 dx pap/foll; RAI 100 mCi 3/99 & 4/00; clean scan 3/02;

current TSH ~.06 on .225 levothyroxine

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