Hey everyone! *waves*
THE SHORT STORY
I've been hypothyroid for fifteen years. Is bariatric surgery effective and worth the risk for hypothyroid patients?
THE LONG STORY
So, I'm considering WLS. I can't believe I'm actually thinking about it.
My husband had WLS about three years ago and is doing fine. He's regained some weight but is still far ahead of where he was.
My son had WLS around the same time. He did not do well. He had extreme absorption issues and had to have a feeding port installed just weeks after his surgery. We lost him in November 2015. The official cause of death was cancer, but we wonder if the malnutrition contributed to his developing cancer.
For me, my thyroid died somewhere around 2002. I was on the Atkins program, had lost about 70 pounds, and was on my way to single digit clothing size! Then, bam - one week I gained four pounds. The next week six. And then eight. All while still working out daily and eating the Atkins way. DNA? Age? Splenda? Who knows the cause, but my thyroid was done ... completely.
The weight gain, it turns out, wasn't the worst part of hypo for me. It was the depression. My doctor put me on synthetic thyroid that didn't help at all. Finally, in 2009 I found Nature-Throid and a doctor who would prescribe it. Nature-Throid eased the depression, but my weight slowly and steadily continued to climb.
In 2015, my hair began falling out. My skin had always been dry. Now it peels off in sheets. And I put on an additional fifty pounds within months.
I chalked a lot of those symptoms to stress. The last few years have just been awful.
In January 2015, my husband had emergency surgery to place a stent in his heart and I blew out my knee. Mid 2015, I had to shop for a nursing home for my mom. If you've ever done that, you know there aren't any good nursing homes. Mom died on Christmas Day 2015 ... six weeks after losing my son. August 2016, my brother was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Next, I made a super poor career decision and lost my job in December 2016. My brother died January 30, 2017.
Yet, I'm still standing ... just barely. Because both knees are now bone on bone.
My blood pressure is fine. I'm not diabetic. No heart disease. Except for that damn thyroid, my blood work is all healthy. But I'm at an all-time high of 311 lbs. It hurts to move. It hurts to stand. I carry a lot of the weight in my hips and thighs which even makes it hurt to sit.
I hurt and I don't want to hurt anymore.
If you've read this far, thank you for letting me rant.
I'd love to hear from other hypothyroid patients. What has been your experience with WLS? Pros? Cons?
