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14 March 2010

Answer to Question #2657 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Pregnancy and Radiation — Conception after exposures

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

My wife has been advised by our local doctors to go for radioactive iodine treatment for her thyroid (Graves disease). I am a bit concerned about this treatment due to comments from other people that this will make my wife completely infertile. We have yet to have children. I would like to know the side effects of this treatment and what other options I have. Please advise.

It is virtually impossible that she would receive enough radiation from the ¹³¹I to render her sterile. Thus, you should be able to get pregnant without difficulty. Without information on the dose of ¹³¹I that she would receive, a general rule would be that you should wait six months after treatment to become pregnant. The six-month waiting period after the dose is conservative based on iodine metabolism and half-life (International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 54). After six months there would be very little, if any, radioactive iodine remaining in her body. Kelly Classic Certified Medical Health Physicist

Answer posted on 20 June 2003. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.