miswoo

SURGEON APPROVED ME FOR SURGERY!!! This Thursday at 9:00am....wow not much time

I did the full panel the first time but not sure what they ran last Thursday. Hopefully the surgeon will get back to me sooner than later today to know if I am having it Thursday. I bet my levels are close to normal now that I am taking it on an empty stomach.

Well my new TSH level was 26 which is way down from 96, but still way off. The medical director did not give his approval so they sent it off to the surgeon for the final say. He won't be in until 10:30 in the morning and the waiting game stinks...especially on a pre-op diet!

So to clear up a few questions...I had radioactive iodine done in 2003 and have been chasing the thyroid level every since which is what landed me at 274mcg of levothyroxine. That dose finally gave me a normal level but my NP made a mistake and thought I was low again. I got frustrated and asked to switch to armor. She told me to take it twice a day WITH MEALS. It was harder for me to remember and after reading more that says not to take it with certain things, I think the doses I did take were probably ineffective. I was always extremely compliant with the levo and honestly the forgetfulness got worse lately (which is a side effect of a really high tsh level).

Is anyone else having good results on armor and how are you taking it?

So to clear up a few questions...I had radioactive iodine done in 2003 and have been chasing the thyroid level every since which is what landed me at 274mcg of levothyroxine. That dose finally gave me a normal level but my NP made a mistake and thought I was low again. I got frustrated and asked to switch to armor. She told me to take it twice a day WITH MEALS. It was harder for me to remember and after reading more that says not to take it with certain things, I think the doses I did take were probably ineffective. I was always extremely compliant with the levo and honestly the forgetfulness got worse lately (which is a side effect of a really high tsh level).

Is anyone else having good results on armor and how are you taking it?

I would stick with the armour. It is a T3 T4 combo pill and better suited if you have trouble converting t3 to t4 on your own' date=' They can pump t3 (levythyroxine) into you all day long, but if your body cannot convert it to t4, then you are sunk. Downfall of strictly t4 meds is they are short acting. So you have to have frequent dosing.[/quote']

It is actually why I switched but does it work for everyone? I am just second guessing it because my level has never been that high on levothyroxine

I had to wait an additional 4 weeks until mine went back down. I too was very bad about taking the pills every day. Being told I couldn't get the surgery until it went back down REALLY kicked me into taking it every day from then on!! Get yourself a daily pill box if you don't have one. You should be taking your multivitamin daily too, so put those in there too. Definitely helps.

Thank you Sue. You are right it does kick you into gear but I am really confused on whether to switch back to levothyroxine or stick with the armor thyroid. I just don't know how much of it is the med and how much of it is my fault.

I would think they'd want that # more normal before proceeding. That makes you extremely hypothyroid. If the cause is known, then treatment and re-running the test is good. Sorry you have to wait to find out the results. You cannot see them on-line?

I wish I could see them online but have no info on that. I know it will most likely still be way out of range but I guess my real issue is that I don't think it is anything that would cause an issue during surgery. They also did an EKG and pulmonary functions and everything else looks fine. Just seems silly to me if I couldn't get weight-loss surgery because I have hypothyroidism...duh, lol

I know my clinic that I'm going through doesn't care either about the hormone level as long as it isn't something that can clot or cause a bleeding issue. I would say try to remember your meds this weekend and keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully if it's their policy to not worry about it, then they won't worry about it as long as they know you are trying to get things under control.

Thank you for replying, I am definately taking them now but I think part of the problem is I just saw on the bottle not to take it within 4 hours of taking Iron and I was taking it with a Multivitamin. The patient advocate said she has seen it cause people problems and that is why she was going to try and get clearance from a certain dr.

Well the week before last I went to my PNP and got lab work done and my TSH was 96.5 (Normal 1-5ish)! She said she is not sure how I am even moving around right now. What really sucks is my level was actually right on about 6-7 months ago on 274mcg of levothyroxine but my old PNP made a mistake and told me that I was Hypo again, but really my TSH number was low. So I decided to switch from levothyroxine to Armor Thyroid (60mg twice a day) and kept forgetting to take it regularly.

Anyway True Results re-drew my thyroid levels yesterday and were supposed to call me back today to let me know what they were. They didn't and now they are closed until Monday morning and I am left worrying if I will even have surgery on Thursday. The real kicker is I started my preop diet today...as if this isn't hard enough!

Anyone else had experience with True Results and high TSH levels? My patient advocate said she would still try to get it approved because the Dr. normally doesn't care as long as it's not something that will affect your actual surgery.

It's kind of ironic' date=' here we must go on a strict diet to get the weight off... Before surgery. Funny thing is... Isn't that why we get the lapband surgery because we need the tool to help us lose weight???? Just remember to do the best you can to get the weight off. Ok a cheat day and tomorrow a new day to get on track. Before my surgery in 2011, I struggled with the strict diet. I managed to lose before surgery but it was a bear! Keep your eye on the prize!!!!![/quote']

Yep my TSH was 96.5 and my NP said she didn't know how I was even functioning. I am set for Thursday but haven't gotten the clearance yet with that high level (rechecked yesterday after upping my meds). I said the same thing, wouldn't it be ironic if I couldn't get weight loss surgery because my thyroid wasn't working!

Thanks everyone for posting, will have some great options to start today and surgery Thursday

I started my pre-op diet today, trying to take it day by day. But whooa, day 1 is sure hard, lol. Just staying focused on the new me! I hope 2 weeks go by a lil' faster than usual. Come on June 14th, lol!

Mocha Lala - we are being banded the same day! I still need a buddy, interested?

why is it that some doctors only want one or two days of a liquid diet and some want two weeks or more? I don't get it.

Based on what my patient advocate says "You won't have to do but 3-5 days low-carb diet because your BMI is so low", I am thinking it is to get some extra weight off for safety reasons.

Hello everyone!

I have been reading the forums over the last few days. I had my initial consultation with True Results on 5/24/12 and wasn't sure about insurance/financing at the time. I do have a new diagnosis of hypertension but didn't want to deal with insurance and jumping through hoops. So I the money is on its way now but I haven't scheduled the surgery yet.

Can anyone give me feedback on True Results DFW (Richardson specifically). .I know people with the band but none that had their surgery there so just wondering what others have experienced with them.

Thanks for reading!

Misty