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Living without a Thyroid Gland

Good afternoon. This is my 1st time on this site.  I had a total thyroidectomy 3 weeks ago.  They suspected cancer, but It ended up being benign.  Yeah.  

To back up a bit, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism at the age of 22 and then figured out the cause of the hypothyroidism was Hashimoto Thyroiditis at the age of 28. Well, over the years nodules were found on both sides of my gland and were monitored. About 6 months ago during my annual exam they noticed my gland was extremely enlarged and my nodules were abnormally large. Well, we ran all the tests and did a needle biopsy. The report came back as suspicious. At that point I met with the surgeon and the rest is history.

I am pleased to be through the scare, but now need to find out about living without the gland.  Over the last 3 weeks I have found myself to be very weepy and emotional. I am also very tired during the day, but struggle to get a good nights rest. I have also woken up with the feeling of panic attacks. My guess is that my dosage is off. Right after the surgery they put me on the same dosage of thyroid replacement medicine (150 mcg) I was on prior to the surgery. I have 3 weeks to go until I have my levels tested.

So, I am 31 and struggling with all the chemical changes in my body.  Sometime I feel as if I am going crazy with all the emotional lows I have. I should be elated that I am cancer free and able to move on with life as normal. But I do not feel that way. Help.

Can anyone offer me tips on how to cope and any suggestions on a healthy lifestyle (diet/exercise) regimen I can incorporate into my life. Any idea of some the hurdles I might need to prepare myself and my loved ones for??

Thanks
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Avatar universal
You will never feel "normal" on Synthroid.  I couldn't get the doctor to give me anything else either but since having had my thyroid removed, and going to a naturalpath, I now use Naturthroid (or westhroid) and it is great since it has all the Ts (3, 4 etc..). The regular doctors don't want to give you this cuz it is too hard (they say) to regulate. So I suffer because they are too lazy to help????? gimme a break.
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
CONGRATULATIONS................ Awesome news.

Best of luck and do keep us posted.
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Avatar universal
I do not have cancer!!  Yea!  Now, just waiting for surgery to be scheduled.
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Not everyone requires a brand name of levothyroxine; some do very well on generics.  I actually did better on generic levo than I did on Synthroid.
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4924239 tn?1361102541
Thank you for your post. I have been Hypo for 28 years. Last fall my T3 plummeted and I was diagnosed with a tumor on my Pituitary gland. They have me on meds. I was thrilled to here it can go away. Everything I have read before you said it never goes away and people eventually have to have it surgically removed. As for Synthroid, insist on the same brand of whatever you use. Do not allow them to substitute generics or your numbers will be all over the chart. Hypo and Pituitary problems can cause depression. Just an FYI.
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Avatar universal
I had pains and trouble breathing when I exerted myself much at all.  I had a CT scan done last week & they found a mass.  5.2 cm long & behind my sternum.  Not sure of the width, because originally it was 3.4 cm wide, but that was just on one side.  When they did the biopsy, they found a bigger mass on the other side as well.  I'm waiting for results.
I am told that I will have to have my thyroid totally removed.  Nothing I read is encouraging.  But my sister-in-law has been on thyroid meds for about 40 years & is doing just fine.  I have high hopes.  I'll keep reading and keep you posted.
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