Expectations with levothyroxine after TT

Hello

i hope this helps. 
I had a TT in February 2022.  I am on levothyroxine and the dose they prescribed initially has been perfect,  I have had no issues at all.  I take it before my morning shower etc and then eat breakfast about an hour later. But I’m not strict about this.  I do not avoid any foods at all.  
Maybe I’ve been lucky so far, but for me it has been no problem.  
I hope you will have a similar experience. 

Also, I didn’t need to apply as I had just turned 60, but looking at the information on the NHS website  it should be very straightforward. 

Thank you for the positive post :) I think I made the mistake of reading many negative experiences but probably the people that are fine have no need to post haha

For me it’s been hard to know what was the after effects of the TT and what could be side effects of the thyroxine. 6 weeks out from surgery and I’m no longer as fatigued as I was, thank goodness. I have symptoms such as very cold hands and feet, occasional blurred vision and the odd headache but it’s been relatively mild. 
im going back to work tomorrow so let’s see how the fatigue is after that!

I am on 125mg of thyroxine and what works for me is to have them in one of those daily pill boxes on my bedside table, I wake up early anyway (between 4-6) take the tablets then go back to sleep for a bit. Had all my bloods done last week before I start radiotherapy next week and they were all as good as could be expected. There is the possibility that my dosage may be increased so that might mean I see some side effects again as my body gets used to it but I’ve found the oncology  team to be very responsive and supportive if I have any queries or concerns. Hope this helps.

Thanks ElleB!

Yeah my partial took 4 week recovery before work and part of me thought there's a chance I might need that little bit longer with total but we'll see how it goes.

I already take other medication so I think pill box is a good idea :)

Hey MojMoj, 

After my TT I left hospital day after and I didn't struggle to eat at all, I went back to work after 2 and a half weeks, after the operation I felt great, had energy but unfortunately after a few weeks the tiredness set in again, I was taking my 150mg dose at night as was gave and said to take them but I started hallucinations during the night so my Thyroid nurse said to take on a morning half hour before food and ive not had a problem since. My dose does need changing but because I'm about to receive Radioiodine treatment they not changing my dose yet.

Medical exemption certificate was easy just fill form in from doctors, get doctor or nurse practitioner to sign it and hand it back, came about 2 weeks later.

Good luck with the op hope all goes well x

Hi, 

I’ve been on levothyroxine since completion thyroidectomy at the end of October and don’t think I feel any different to before I was taking it. TSH is due to be tested later this month so we’ll see if it’s the right dose. It’s hard to know sometimes when you feel a bit rubbish whether it’s thyroid (or lack of) related. 
So funny reading ElleB’s Levothyroxine routine as it is exactly the same as mine! I always try and take it when I wake up in the night so as not to worry about eating breakfast. I often have yoghurt and worry about that affecting it. And tea is a necessity.
The only major downside of taking tablets in the early hours of the morning has been the couple of times I’ve managed to drop the tablet under the bed in the dark. There’s been a couple of episodes of searching with a torch to find a missing tablet without waking up anyone else (it did wake the cat up but she thought it looked like a great game and came to “help”)

Thanks! Wow interesting to hear how time of day factored in for you. Yes I'll just have to see how it goes for me, noones indicated if RAI is in the books for me yet.

I actually read you can possibly get liquid version or dissolvable which I might enquire about for first few weeks as I know swallowing tablets was a bit of a job for me.

Just to say that the pills are really tiny so with luck you should be fine x