One day at a time. :)

Maybe Friday ?

It's just not fair to make that sort of call to a doctor and get such poor advice. I would have expected the doctor to tell me to come in tomorrow. They always have some time held back for emergencies.

The doctor should have taken a look t you. See how your rash looks, how your face and eyes look, how your reflexes may have changed, if your palms are still a bit moist, how your tremor has changed..and taken a vial of blood, then and there. An experienced doctor can tell a lot just by looking at us.

To just say over the phone.. stop the meds and have RAI is a crime of some sort in my ethical opinion.

When we first start the meds, it takes time for our levels to fall. That's because the meds can only prevent new hormone from being produced. The excess hormone in the body has to be used up over time. If there was such a thing as a thyroid hormone dialysis machine.... we could start fresh right from the start, but they haven't figured that out yet. LOL.

Your new results may still be a little bit high, but hopefully lower than where you started... it's the swing in levels that causes so much of all this when we are still new. Four week in is the most common time for the first new labs, since some patients have dropped significantly by then..but many others don't see a big change in results till 6 to 8 weeks in..though they too have dramatic swinging thyroid hormone symptoms at the same 3 1/2 weeks ( or about then) .

No easy, simple way to get through this phase. I had a small rash, but MAJOR hives.. hives everywhere, and I mean everywhere. And they ITCHED like no earthy kind of itch one could imagine. Then it progressed to feeling like I had bugs under my skin crawling around. Had to wear mittens to bed, because if I managed to fall asleep I would scratch myself and wake up a few minutes later all bloody.

Yep.. started at 3 1/2 weeks. didn't get labs till about 4 weeks.. lowered meds a few days later but the itching was a full tree weeks of h*ll. You don't want to go there, and most people feel relief immediately on the lower dose. .. but the point is this RAI should not be considered a 'cure for rash or hives'. I mean.. seriously ?

thank you for all the great advice, i am going to not stop the meds until thursday night, that will be my last dose so when i go give blood on friday it will be what it would have been so hopefully she will see that and only lower the dose but she didnt sound like that today. i do not want to kill anything on me if i can help it lol

This sounds like a very reasonable compromise. I'm glad to see you have been able to follow my train of thought and start to learn a little more. The rash / hives is so common it's just not right what your doctor told you about rushing into RAI.

Here's a little more that might help you.
http://www.elaine-moore.com/MyArticles/GravesDisease/WhatstheRushinTreatingGravesDisease/tabid/169/Default.aspx

The thing is, this is YOUR choice . No one else has to live the rest of their life with the results. Stop to think how many years you still have left on this planet. Worth taking the time required to educate yourself, especially since this particular doctor doesn't seem to sharp with her Graves' knowledge.

Since you gut instinct is to work through these beginning stages and not kill the most vital organ in your body, you should be receiving the respect we all deserve to make our own choices. Doing nothing is not acceptable, but we do have three choices of treatment. There's a very good reason for that.

So.. I was thinking.. you said your beta blocker was switched to Propranolol.
http://www.rxlist.com/inderal-drug.htm
Note the slow withdrawal warnings

This drug was one of the best things I ever took.. but.. in some people it too can cause a rash... possibly the mix of the two drugs increased your susceptibility to the rash ? Hard to say for sure, but worth noting.

It could also be part of why your comments regarding physical and emotional shifts are bothersome. I found it was much better to not take this at the same time as my ATD. Two "downers" at the same time caused me to swing high and low several times a day.

In addition one very common complaint with the beta blocker is being too tired and confused. I had one friend long ago that cursed the one and only time she tried it. She got so loopy she backed her car right into the garage door, forgetting to open it before starting the car. Problem was not the drug itself.. but the dose was too high for her current needs.

Now.. about the stop MMI and straight to RAI. If your doctor is not willing to continue with the MI, how about asking to try the other ATD? That's PTU and was the rug my doctor preferred for me. I had a high FT3 and eye envelopment. his experiences had shown him over the years this drug is perfect when the patient is one that is willing to be compliant. we need to take our pills in three even doses each day.. some folks just re not swing that.

They seem to be the same ones that are poor at getting labs , and all the rest of the basic stuff one really should do to help themselves. I already know you do not fit in that category.. so PTU would be a nice alternative for you.

MMI was developed with the primary reason being non-compliant patients. PTU was the only ATD for some time and has been used successfully since the late 1940's.. that's a lot of patients. It is more likely to cause problems when not prescribed and taken correctly.
Taking a huge dose once a day as is sometimes recommended is never going to work well. The poor patient is first sent very hypo all morning, then increasingly hyper as the afternoon and evening wears on. Not to mention their poor liver.. what a mess.

So MMI will continue to be more popular.. not necessarily a better drug. both do basically the same thing. But I found I loved the control I had over my body by using the PTU and I did eventually learn to not miss my mid-afternoon dose. That's the hardest one we seem to have to remember.

Thinking of you. :)