Thyroid Questions...

July 7, 2005

Hoping for some insight here friends...

During my pre-op testing, labs came back showing that I have an underactive thyroid.. (yay, I thought to myself, maybe thats one of the reasons Im fat). Long story short, I went to my pcp and we decided that since I am not suffering any of the symptoms (hair loss, cold feet, etc) and that the test was only slightly out of range that I would be ok not going on thyroid meds....

Now that I am banded however, Im wondering if I SHOULD be on thyroid meds- I do feel tired a lot- but am not sure if this is due to having had surgery a month ago, having a one year old, or in fact having an underactive thyroid... I guess I want to avoid having to take a pill every day for the rest of my life if it can be avoided- BUT I want to have energy and get this weight off and if a pill is the answer then so be it! Any opinions or advice would be great!!

- Leah

Alexandra · July 8, 2005

Hi Leah,

I'm on thyroid meds, though I didn't have lots of symptoms prior to being diagnosed either. My main symptom was fatigue, and indeed it did improve somewhat when the meds were right. I had a small baby at the time, too, so I can really relate to how you feel. (And now, due to said baby who is now 4, I am ALWAYS fatigued, thyroid med or no thyroid med. )

I will say that taking a thyroid med is no big deal. I thought it would be; the idea of maintenance meds is intimidating to someone who's never taken them. Maybe there are other more important reasons to take them than relieving symptoms--I don't know, perhaps allowing the condition to remain could create problems later on? That's a good question for your doctor.

vinesqueen · July 8, 2005

- I do feel tired a lot- but am not sure if this is due to having had surgery a month ago, having a one year old, or in fact having an underactive thyroid...
- Leah

Weird, my post yesterday got eaten.

Okay, you've answered your own question Sweetie. You've just had major surgery, even if it was laproscopic. Your body is still healing so of course you will be more tired lately. You may not be getting enough Protein. I know that on most of the days where I'm just dragging butt I haven't had enough Protein the day before.

You have a baby that is probably go-go non stop, excpet for when she/he flat out colapses alseep. Keeping up with a baby can be tireing, especially when you've just had surgery.

Dragonwillow · July 9, 2005

I too am on a thyroid pill, I thought it would be a pain to be on something forever, but was willing to do anything....I had alot of the symptoms...fatigue, hair loss, cold feet, premature grey hair (what wasn't falling out), failure to loose weight with a crap load of cardio) I"ve been on it for about two months, and I still get the sypmtoms, but they are alot less severe. I don't want to go back to the way I was before the medicine...I was starting to get really depressed at how old and tired I felt all the time. I should also point out on blood tests I was in the "normal" range but VERY low in the range...it obviously wasnt' the right spot for me to be in. My doctor said that some people feel okay in the lower range, but others (like me) can't go that low without the symptoms.

Melissa

B-Banded · July 9, 2005

Hi everybody. I too am on thyroid meds. Have been for almost 10 years after having an overactive thyroid condition corrected. As Dragonwilo said, there's lots of variation in what is considered "normal" thyroid hormone levels. And it's very hard to determine whether your "normal" thyroid reading is appropriate for you. Sometimes the absence of symptoms is deceiving. Many people have low thyroid function and don't know it.

IMO the biggest benefit of thyroid hormone is that it helps to ensure your metabolism and the rest of your body are functioning properly.

On a side note, before my overactive thyroid was corrected in 1996, I had almost two years of "fun". Ate full meals every two hours but was always hungry and lost unbelieveable amounts of weight -16 pounds in two weeks. It was loads of fun until other symptoms started (elevated resting heart rate, heart skipping beats, etc). I tried to get my pcp the keep my thyroid in the slightly high normal range, so I could continue to lose weight without having the other unpleasant side effects. He wouldn't do it.