HOW IS HYPERTHYROIDISM TREATED?
Once a diagnosis is made, treatment is usually successful. Excess thyroid hormone can be corrected with medications, and improvement occurs quickly and lasts as long as the drugs are taken. Medications such as propylthiouracil block the manufacture of thyroid hormone. Beta-blockers, also used to treat angina pectoris and high blood pressure, effectively blunt the effects of excess thyroid hormone on the heart. These drugs, however, do not correct the underlying cause of the excess thyroid hormone production, but they do correct the symptoms while other treatment is being planned.
The underlying cause of hyperthyroidism is treated frequently with radioactive iodine, taken by mouth. Thyroid-blocking medications may be necessary for a while after the radioactive iodine is given. Eventually, the radioactive treatment has a permanent effect, and the other medications are discontinued.
The medications and the radioactive therapy have few serious side effects. In very rare cases some thyroid-blocking drugs can cause problems with the bone marrow. The most common problem that can occur after treatment with radioactive iodine is that the thyroid gland may become underactive. This is frequently unavoidable, but correction with thyroid hormone replacement is easy. Your physician will check for this side effect periodically.
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