Is it ok to take Stacker 2 for weight loss, if I'm also on Levothyroxin(levothyroxine)?

[MomaOf3Boys]

Hi, I am a mother of 3 boys under the age of 6 and I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in March 2005.  I had a total thyroidectomy in June 2005.  My question is:  My doctor has me on Levothyroxin (levothyroxine) 125MCG along with 3,600 mg of Calcium daily (my calcium level dropped with the surgery and they've had me on this amount of calcium since June).  Would it be safe for me to take Stacker 2 to help out with weight loss?  I've been prety much gaining weight since the surgery.  I was also wondering about pain medication.  Is there anything that I am UNABLE to take due to the thyroid medication?  Thank you soo much for your time!!

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Would first get the TSH to around 1 - if it is stable there is really no med that you cannot take.

[HashiMan]

Did your surgery involve the parathyroid glands? Dr. Mark will know a lot more about this but that high of a dose of calcium for nearly 8 months sounds very unusual. Has your Dr. been re-checking your level since putting you on that calcium? Just curious.

[MomaOf3Boys]

They rechecked my calcium levels every week for a month after the surgery.  I don't have it checked again for another month.  They have me, right now, on (6) 600mg a day.  2 pills 3 times/day.  yes, the surgery did include the parathyroid glands.  My calcium dropped during surgery.  I was only supposed to be in the hospital one night and it ended up being six nights.  They had me on 18 calcium pills/day plus calcium through my iv and the levels were still dropping!  I'm only 25.  I'm too young for all of this!!  They told me that if my calcium kept dropping, I'd start having heart problems and probably have a heart attack.  That's all I needed to hear!!

[HashiMan]

You may have had a "Parathyroidectomy" but sounds like you aren't being very well informed, as it is with MANY patients.
We have four parathyroid glands and usually if they do surgery, they only have to remove one bad gland because it is extremely rare for more than one at a time to be diseased/tumored.
Their mention of "if your calcium is not regulated, you'll probably have a heart attack", is a haphazard way of informing.
There is a website you can get a lot of info on, just go to
www.parathyroid.com  and you'll get quality information!

[MomaOf3Boys]

Sorry, I meant that the surgery did NOT include the parathyroid glands.  Thanks for the info.  The endo removed 95% of my thyroid (TOTAL thyroidectomy).  He could only remove 95% due to the parathyroid glands being in the way.  He 'tried' not to damage the glands, however...one of them, he said that he couldn't find and it ended up getting damaged.    When that happened, I had hypoparathyroidism (that's why my calcium dropped soo low).  I've been soo messed up since all of this started.  I had been gaining weight however I had HYPER thyroidism (I should have lost weight).  Then when the specialist told me that I had Graves Disease, I asked him how I was gaining weight, because I know that you're supposed to lose weight rapidly with that disease, and he said that about 20% of women who have it actually GAIN weight instead of lose it.  I don't know.  I never knew anything about it.  I started looking up info on the net as soon as I found out that I had a thyroid problem.  My mom noticed a goiter in my neck in July 04 (from a family pic we had taken).  The doctor said that it was rather large.  It was causing breathing and swallowing problems for me.  I asked the endo how large they were (after he removed the lobes) and he said that both lobes were each the size of a golf ball.  About what size are they supposed to be?  Any idea?

[HashiMan]

When a surgery endangers a parathyroid gland, they usually recommend a surgeon that is very experienced.
You should be getting advice from Dr. Mark soon.

[sassybrat]

A related discussion, hashimoto disease was started.

[sassybrat]

A related discussion, waitting on test results was started.