I've personally only used meds on myself, and did the same for my 2 cats who were hypert. I tried to convince my friend to do the same for his cat, but his husband opted for the radiation. The surge in hormones post-radiation put him in thyroid storm and he died.

The thing with pills is you can adjust the dosage based on their need. The ablation just exposes the animal to one of the most toxic substances known to the extent that it will destroy an essential body organ requiring them to be on meds for the rest of their lives if they survive the treatment.

(If you can't tell, I have strong feelings about this issue!)