Post-thyroidectomy-better quality of life than with hyperthyroidism??

[arsenalsupporter]

I was diagnosed with Graves disease 8 months ago, makingy thyroid very overactive. I didn't respond well to the medication and a full thyroidectomy was decided upon after taking Lugol's iodine for a week to bring it under control. The huperthyroidism had left me with rapid heart beat, palpitations, severe anxiety, muscle loss, weakness, non-existent periods, the list is endless. I had my thyroidectomy 2 days ago-it was difficult because of its size and overactivity but a specialist surgeon made it a success. I was expecting to gain back the weight o had lost as it was mostly muscle and hoping to have increased energy and a controlled heartbeat  so I could exercise again. All I keep reading on forums is doom and gloom about weight gain and exhaustion afterwards. I'd like to hear from people who had a total thyroidectomy because of hyper thyroidism to know how it feels compared to before hand as most people posting had normal function before and I want to know the improvements from being hyper before. There must be a better quality of life to be put through it?!

[arsenalsupporter]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, total thyroidectmy. The consultant explained that the iodine was a way of tricking my body but that it could trigger a storm so they kept me' in hospital for 10 days prior. I was on carbimazole and my thyroid levels were too out of control for surgery without some action. It worked and my levels came down considerably before the surgery.
I am prepared for weight gain but just wanted to know that with some execuse I could control it. Everyone gains weight after any op I guess and especially if a lot was lost before. I was too ill beforehand to exercise so am looking forward to getting healthy. As I said, I read all of this doom and gloom but thought that there must be some improvement as I was so ill before. I thought maybe I  should have asked more questions but don't think they could afford to leave it and risk a storm so I'm trying to accept that it had to be done for more important reasons than my weight.
I'm already on 125 of levothytoxine to be looked at in 2 weeks so fingers crossed. How do you feel now that you are stable?

[stella5349]

Please let me point out a few concerns I have with this.  To also give you a brief summary, my condition was originally hyperthyroidism, went through RAI - not a TT - but now clinically hypothyroid. I have been optimal now for about 2 years with proper treatment. Weight gain for me was about 55 pounds but I did lose that until recently as I gained 10 back.

What concerns me is you claim treatment involved iodine while you were hyper? Who put you on this? Hyperthyroid is an overproduction of thyroid hormone involving iodine atoms and adding in more iodine will result on more production of hormone - not less. So as hyper adding iodine - you could have seriously went over the top with this supplement and thyroid function.

Also, what medication were you on? That also is something to know. Another question is were you told you were autoimmune hyper? Believe it or not these questions are important.

Now for current thoughts since you had a removal. Was it the entire gland or half? Eliminating the gland may not warrent treatment right away. Labs are critically important to have done regularly.

On weight: - in a nut shell, your metobolism has a clear connection with a thyroid hormone called T3. The only way to know if you are stable with this hormone is to have a lab test called Free T3 and ratio that lab out with the other converter thyroid hormone Free T4. Both T4 and T3 hormone in the body must be at the proper levels to maintain any thyroid wellness and metobolism. If they are not set to proper levels other hormones with get out of control and the fix can be harder than just thyroid.

Really iodine with hypothyroidism is more sought then with hyper. It may be wise down the road to have a loading test to see if you will need this supplement when you fall hypothyroid as you should since you had the gland removed.