A question for people who have had their Thyroid removed?

Question

I'm curious what your experiences are now that you've had your thyroid removed. What kind of dose of medication are you on and how long did it take to regulate it for you? Did anyone go Hypo thyroid before they got the right dose and do you remember what your symptoms were? I had one half of my thyroid taken out about 5 years ago and then the other half this past April. I don't have health insurance right now but I did get it checked via blood test and the doctor is taking my dose up from .88 of levoxyl to 1.00 mg per day now. She thinks I will need more but she wants to step it up slowly. Thanks for sharing.

Answer 1

I am the queen of hypothyroidism. I had half my thyroid removed back in 1976 - benign tumor. Have been taking thyroid medication ever since. For years I was on Synthroid but I lost my insurance plan as I got into menopause and changed to Levoxyl because it was cheap. My thyroid and everything else about my body went off kilter, I was thinking from menopause but now I am not so sure. On top of everything else I became very health conscious and had a huge intake of soy products. Only a couple of months ago a doctor told me soy blocks thyroid medication. This would explain an enormous weight gain, my huge hair loss, and feeling exhausted all the time. I was switched to Armour Tyroid and told to cut out soy products (this is so hard to do because manufacturers put soy in everything): I feel like a new woman. The changes have been astounding. I think Levoxyl does not work effectively as many generic drugs do not as well.

The thing is that if you have no thyroid then you need both T3 and T4 - I think Levoxyl is T4 and at a certain stage it is supposed to also convert to T3 - for some reason my body does not seem to do this and Armour Thyroid contains T3 & T4. Oh, and for years I had problems before they found the tumor and my thryoid blood tests always came back normal but I was exhibiting classic hypothyroid symtoms: extremely cold even at 95 degrees, hair loss, flakey skin, etc.

The good thing is now you can read a lot about throid on line and there are support groups. Visitinf an Endocrinologist would be ideal for you but I understand you do not have insurance. Hope this helps

Answer 2

I had my entire thyroid removed six years ago, and it took a few tries to get the leves right (maybe about a year). But I never experienced drastic effects because of it, just some slight hypothyroidism such as having a hard time getting out of bed. Right now I'm on 250 mcg per day, but I'm sure the high dose has a lot to do with body size.
One minor problem I've noticed over the few years is my sensitivity to temperatures; if I'm sitting, I'm cold, and if I'm moving, I'm hot. My mom thinks this is a result of not having a thyroid, despite the fact my levels are normal. So who knows?
Good luck!

Answer 3

i do not know but my mom has it. no reply avalible