Hi All,
I am not posting a question, however rather posting information regarding hyper functioning thyroid nodule treatment. I am 26 years old and was diagnosed with mild hyperthyroidism and a "hot" or "hyper functioning" thyroid nodule about 2 years ago. My endocrinologist placed me on 2.5 mg of Methimazole daily and this helped get my levels to normal, however he told me I must have Radioactive Iodine Therapy or partial thyroidectomy surgery to remove the lobe containing the nodule.
After close to one year of research, I found so many reviews on the potentially terrible side effects of RAI. A woman I worked with said she had to have it completed because of thyroid cancer and it completely destroyed her body. There are also studies showing it could potentially lead to alternative types of cancer later on.
I also refused the surgery because my endo explained that the other half of my thyroid "might" pick up. So I am being told I could be Hypo for the rest of my life. Not exactly ideal either.
I researched and researched and found that in Italy (mainly), physicians were performing Percutaneous Ethanol Injections on hot thyroid nodules, with over 90% success rates. And patients were coming out euthyroid. However, there was NO ONE I could find in the US doing this procedure on hot nodules. Only cystic ones.
There was a physician in LA who may have done it, however he had horrible reviews. I called Dr. Hay's office at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, spoke to his assistant, and she explained he only performed PEI on cancerous nodules.
After tirelessly researching, I finally found a physician who performs this for hot nodule patients. I cannot describe how intense this research process was for me. Each day, I would think of a new way to Google something. So many months with no luck. I told myself after seeing him that I would literally post this everywhere so that people would know. People have the right to know about this option. I'm honestly wondering why more physicians do not do it.
His name is Dr. Dev Abraham and he is at The University of Utah. Call his assistant, Keri and tell her your situation. She is incredible. Links below.
http://healthcare.utah.edu/fad/mddetail.php?physicianID=u0243020
http://healthcare.utah.edu/huntsmancancerinstitute/patient-care/clinics-and-care-teams/head-and-neck/team.php
I traveled from Atlanta with my mom and I cannot describe how truly wonderful this physician is. He was so caring, and the entire procedure/visit took about 30 mins to an hour. He is incredibly helpful, and is overall an exceptional doctor. He is worth the trip. He said he plans on speaking at various conferences to physicians all over the country so that hopefully they will start performing more extensively.
Oh, and my procedure was completely covered by Humana. I literally paid the $40 co pay, and $48 to the facility after the facility costs were run through insurance.
The ONE caveat with this type of procedure, and the ONLY reason I can partially understand why more doctors aren't doing it, is that I could need 1 or 2 more injections. With RAI or surgery, it is typically one and done. However, your chances of becoming Hypo are so much higher, and then the endocrinologists have a patient for life... Obviously I think the health care system is a little undermining, and I could be completely wrong. However RAI costs a ton of money, and so does a surgery... This entire bill was around $1600, and like I said, I paid $88 after everything was run through insurance...
I hope this helps some of you. I honestly cannot believe how long it took to find this amazing doctor.
I had this procedure done a little over a month ago, and will be getting my blood tested back in Atlanta at my endocrinologist's office next week. I'll post later on the results.
Hope this helps someone.