They're not going to kill off your thyroid and leave you hanging there, with one of the most important glands having been removed. After they remove or destroy will RA iodine, they will monitor you and supplement with synthetic thyroid hormone if needed.

You definately want to inform yourself more, get other opinions and understand alternatives a little more, but I can't see remaining with the overactive thyroid as it causes too much stress on other organs. I'm unclear of the medications for this to keep it at bay without it being destroyed - I didn't go that route.

I am 48. When I was 22 I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I also gained weight with it but only around 15 lbs, and kind of didn't understand that logic either. I think the overactive nervous energy went into the action of eating. They offered alternatives but I chose radioactive iodine.

When they do the radioactive iodine it's a ballpark dosage. They can't get it perfect so expect changes. For two years it was about normal and I didn't need any thyroid medication. Then it started to fall a little bit by the 3rd year they put my on Synthroid and I've been taking it ever since. I remember how I felt with an overactive thyroid (when I didn't know I had it and didn't understand why I was feeling the way I was). It was awful.

In my opinion, and with my own circumstance, I was thankful - an overactive thyroid is something they can actually fix!