Help, I know nothing

[lalavee]

Hi everyone, I just joined tonight because I am desperate to find someone who knows and understands. 6 months ago I went in for a routine physical. My GP noticed my enlarged thyroid from the moment he saw me. Stupid me, noticed nothing. Long story short, two months later I had a full thyroidectomy. My my doctor and surgeon only seem to feel I need information if I ask for it. Im finding out more and more bit by bit but reading your messages leaves me so lost. I really have no idea what your talking about and it worries me. I am on .125mg of synthroid. Have been for two months. I feel worn out most days, I have gained 7 lbs, and I am losing hair by the handful. My doctor says my dose is fine. Any advice, links, information anyone has would be wonderful. Thanks and you will hear from me again soon

[stella5349]

Oh my word -

I went searching in my favorites to post sites for you and lost my whole post.

Brain fog is a definate thing with thyroid patients!! LOL

Sally bring up some very important labs work. Thyroid levels are critial to watch and you should as a paitent know what they are. Pay particular attention to the FREE T3 (FT3) and the FREE T4 (FT4) as Sally says. Your ranges should be near the .5 to the 1.0 to be relieved with symptoms - along with a higher range in Free T3. Many doctors do not comply with these tests. Get them ran!

http://www.mythyroid.com/bloodtests.html

A great short story from a doctor treating a patient with thyroid disease and explaining to her the whole process is here. I found the reading very good at a patient with the disorder and the doctor really sitting down with her and explaining the whole thing. To bad it isn't like this on every office visit with every thyroid patient :(

http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=thyroid&cdn=health&tm=146&gps=127_637_1020_592&f=00&su=p726.2.152.ip_p284.8.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.thyroid-info.com/articles/woliner.htm

Sounds like you are experiencing hypothyroid symptoms - a large part of our members here can relate to these symptoms.

There is a wonderful checklist provided on the about/com site that you can print and view for yourself and take to your doctor to talk about

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/a/checklist.htm

I find getting all around knowledge of the thyroid and very simple reading is here.

http://www.endocrineweb.com/

There are important things you need to know now since you had your surgery. Many patients experience depletion in minerals and supplements. Here is where it can get tricky and controversial.

I think the best to do is have a complete physical blood panel done as soon as possible to measure where you need supplements - Vit B - magnesium-copper - zinc - calcium - these are a few - but are major and frequent in most patients.

Another lab I think is important is getting your antibodies checked. The two major are Hashimoto (TPOab) and the Graves (TSI) See if you have either condition along with your hypothyroidism.

Here is a quick FAQ reference on your medication

http://www.mythyroid.com/drugs.html -

but keep in mind that depending on your case you have options to other thyroid medications to help you feel better if you are not doing well now. That took me a long time to figure out.

I do not know how clinical you wish to get on the whole process but here is a great tool to look at to really get to know the whole thyroid story.

http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12/ch152/ch152a.html

Follow up care is highly recommended - I do not know the reason you had surgery ( cancer or toxic goiter etc - That will help knowing too.

Good follow up without a cancer DX is lab work and US scans. Maybe more depending on your case.

Posting here your details will definately help us guide you further. I provided enough reading for you to fill your day for sure if not longer :)

Most important - know your condition! Thyroid idease no matter what it is - is complicated and very misguided in the medical field. In order for most to get better - we need to assume an advocant roll in our health because we are the individual facing the issues.

Good Luck and post your story.

[Super_sally888]

Also let us know what your levels are.  sometimes the target level can affect how you feel.  The TSH range is something like 0.5 - 3.5.  Some drs think you're ok if you're at 3.5, but most people feel better around 1.0.  So that's why you need to know the numbers.  They should also test FT3 and FT4, which are active levels of hormone.  If these are too low, then you still need more meds (or a different med), even if TSH is 'normal'.

Congrats on starting the process of getting educated.  Most of us find we have to be educated patients.... helps us take control of our health and how we feel.

Best wishes and Welcome

[redheadaussie]

First of all, you are not stupid...just a bit confused! Many people don't notice the changes in their necks. My daughter at age 12 had a cystic hygroma the size of a grapefruit in her neck and nobody, even her paediatrician  who saw her every month noticed it!
  I think you mean 125mcg which is a normal dose. It really depends on what you had wrong in the first place as to what you can expect.
  There are many many variations on thyroid disease and knowing which one you have will help you follow what we are all talking about. Some have hyper, some have Grave's and some have cancer...so knowing your own disease you can read the related articles.
   Hair loss is very natural in most of the thyroid conditions, pretty much the bodies way of helping to cope with shutting down things it doesn't need. Hair is one of them! Sounds like you were hypo, maybe?
It can take a while to get the dosages right. Often the first few months we still have enough hormone in us and the dose can be a tad high till we level out.
Do you have a copy of your pathology results? These are often a great way to figure out where you are. Many general practitioners are very naive when it comes to treating thyroid disease and go by the book rather than what you are telling them
Well, I hope that helps and you can always ask a million questions anytime..after all we are all here to help and educate each other.
Cheers!