Synthroid??

Hello again Greg, 

I see you're still frequenting Google..... Lol

Basically, don't believe any of the rubbish you've read about thyroxine. As you say, people who have no problems aren't going to go online and write about how everything is fine. People with problems however, are going to moan every which way, whenever and wherever they can! 

There's a couple of things to remember. Firstly, a lot of the stories you'll be reading are from people with thyroid disease, not people with thyroid cancer. People with thyroid disease often have a lot of problems stemming from whichever autoimmune disease they have. They then blame all of those problems on their thyroxine or the fact they don't have a thyroid anymore. Also, because the thyroid and thyroxine have such a bad rap, they blame anything and everything that they get or that happens to them on it. I'm in a Facebook group for thyroid cancer, and a few months ago one person blamed their bad handwriting on their thyroid problems, then others jumped on the bandwagon. Complete codswallop. But that's what happens on the Internet.

The thing to remember is that after your TT, get a thyroid function test 8 weeks later. No earlier. If your dose of thyroxine is changed at that point, get another blood test 8 weeks after that, again no earlier. One thing I've noticed from the FB group is that in the US they try to test bloods after only 4 weeks or so. The thyroxine takes 6 to 8 weeks to stabilise at a level in your body, so testing at 4 weeks doesn't give an accurate measurement. These people then get their doses changed up and down, and are really messed about, because their dose is changed before it's levelled out. So stick to the 8 week rule and you'll be fine. 

We're mostly on levo thyroxine here in the UK as it's the cheapest. Depending on what insurance you have, you may find it might not pay for the branded stuff, or only for one but not the others, etc. The only difference between them all is the fillers, the drug is exactly the same. And the quantity of filler that's in each tablet is so small, that it won't make a difference what you take. So don't believe that Internet rumour either.

Also, stay away from anything about NDT or Armour. That's dangerous for thyroid cancer patients to take as it increases the chance of recurrence than if you take thyroxine. 

So to sum up, you'll be absolutely fine once they find the right dose for you. Just keep a positive mental outlook and don't get sucked in to the thyroid blamers! 

Lass

Xx

You are always so quick to respond.    What a sweetheart.    Thank you!!

Gee, how can you tell I am still frequenting google??    My latest searches are something like "Stories of going under General Anesthesia for Thyroidectomy"  ...    I suppose that is better than "Death during Thyroidectomy" though :) 

I suppose anything is preferable to dying of Thyroid Cancer, but I would hate to be unable to play with my little guy (6 years old) due to being Hypo...

I think I am going to use this day (day of rest, right?) to avoid google.    I have 9 days to go, and I am sure I can drive myself crazy if I really try.     Thank you Lass and I hope you are doing fantastic.  

{ Frantically looking up the definition of "CODSWALLOP"} 

Not so quick at the moment as my health sucks right now. (You can see on my profile. However if you read, don't panic! I'm very very special and totally unusual! Lol) You just happened to post at the right time! Lol

Def an improvement, however.... Lol. Stoppit! You're on a Google ban for the next 9 days! Feel free to search this forum for stories, there's a search bar under the group heading, but no more Internet searches!

And no, thyroid cancer patients are kept at the top end of the normal range, even into the bottom of the hyper range. This is because they need to keep our TSH suppressed to help stop recurrence. So no thyca patient should ever be hypo.

And lol. Codswallop is a British word that just means "nonsense". 

Lass

Xx

Hi Greg

I’m four years down the line after TT and central neck dissection for MTC. I’ve been stable on my meds since day 1. Living in Mexico I was put on a combo of levothyroxine and LIothyronine.

OK, I might be lucky, but so could you. 

Wishing you a successful recovery

lis

Hi Greg

I have been on thyroxine since April and haven’t noticed a difference. At the beginning of July I was convinced my dose was wrong as I  was  really tired. I went on holiday for a week and came back feeling so much better and had got my energy back. A week on holiday with no internet and google was what I needed.

i am very much still learning,  but I think it would be very easy to blame wrong medications whenever life gets too busy and your body is just tired.