The THYROID Thread

[dischick4778]

Hi All, hope you're doing well!

I've been feeling good other than my tear duct situation. Made another appointment with my eye dr for early October. Don't think it will change much but it's not any better and it's embarrassing to carry around tissues and wipe my eyes all the time. And forget about wearing eye make-up, not an option.

Other than that been doing well. Back to working full time, my little one is in daycare. It's hard and sometimes overwhelming, but I am doing the best I can. At least I'm not going crazy much anymore. This lower dose seems to be working for my personality.

Wishing you all the best!

[SingingMom]

I just wanted to encourage any of you who are not pleased with your current endocrinologist to look for someone new! After my first endo retired to specialize in research, I went to one of his associates , who he taught in med school. Well, she must have only learned "book knowledge" from him, because her personality and bedside manner was opposite of him. She was so clinical, so harsh, so cold, that I started dreading my yearly appt.

FINALLY I got some backbone and asked around for suggestions of new doctors. I just had my second appt with my new endocrinologist and I LOVE her! I only wish I hadn't suffered so long!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

[itsdisneytime]

Hi all. I have written in a few times in the past. to bring you all up to date - I had papillary thyca removed 7/21/09 - this past July made my 3 year cancer free mark. I did a radiation round and did right well with that (honestly the isolation for 10 days was the worst part). I have had a lot of issues with weight gain and getting my synthroid right .. mostly in part because I had 2 parathyroids removed on accident during my surgery and so now I only have 2 left and my calcium is CONSTANTLY low --- im still on a 6 month check up plan and recently ive had to go back 6 weeks ago for blood work due to some symptoms I am having.

Has anyone else experienced malabsorption of the calcium? (if anyone else out there is unlucky like me to have had thier parathyroids taken i would love to talk to you). I am not minimizing the fact that I had thyroid cancer but I will say i think the very low calcium is taking a toll on me. I recently have started having very very dizzy spells like if i were walking on a treadmill and got off after a long walk and my legs still feel like they are walking - or if i were on a boat and got off and felt like i were still "bobbing" .. Ive checked my blood pressure often and its great, I do feel flutters in my chest sometimes but I am very stressed out with my personal and work life right now so I over look those flutters and affiliate them with stress ... my legs are retaining water (or swelling) .. my feet bottoms are becoming very dry and crackly and of course ... im gaining weight again. Endo upped my synthroid over the phone and told me to come in again in 6 weeks for blood ... seems some count that shows our thyroid level was 17 and he wanted it to be low like a 1 or below, he accused me of not taking my meds and totally overlooked the 10 lbs ive gained. My doctor is supposed to walk on water according to SEVERAL other doctors ive seen and Im not saying i feel mistreated but, I sure do feel like no one is text book and im reaching out to see if what im explaining with these dizzy spells has happened to any of you.

[JKMJ441724]

Originally Posted by itsdisneytime

I had papillary thyca removed 7/21/09 - this past July made my 3 year cancer free mark.

May I be the first to say WOOHOO.


Good luck with everything. Prayers to everyone on this board.

[Christine]

Originally Posted by itsdisneytime

Hi all. I have written in a few times in the past. to bring you all up to date - I had papillary thyca removed 7/21/09 - this past July made my 3 year cancer free mark. I did a radiation round and did right well with that (honestly the isolation for 10 days was the worst part). I have had a lot of issues with weight gain and getting my synthroid right .. mostly in part because I had 2 parathyroids removed on accident during my surgery and so now I only have 2 left and my calcium is CONSTANTLY low --- im still on a 6 month check up plan and recently ive had to go back 6 weeks ago for blood work due to some symptoms I am having.

Has anyone else experienced malabsorption of the calcium? (if anyone else out there is unlucky like me to have had thier parathyroids taken i would love to talk to you). I am not minimizing the fact that I had thyroid cancer but I will say i think the very low calcium is taking a toll on me. I recently have started having very very dizzy spells like if i were walking on a treadmill and got off after a long walk and my legs still feel like they are walking - or if i were on a boat and got off and felt like i were still "bobbing" .. Ive checked my blood pressure often and its great, I do feel flutters in my chest sometimes but I am very stressed out with my personal and work life right now so I over look those flutters and affiliate them with stress ... my legs are retaining water (or swelling) .. my feet bottoms are becoming very dry and crackly and of course ... im gaining weight again. Endo upped my synthroid over the phone and told me to come in again in 6 weeks for blood ... seems some count that shows our thyroid level was 17 and he wanted it to be low like a 1 or below, he accused me of not taking my meds and totally overlooked the 10 lbs ive gained. My doctor is supposed to walk on water according to SEVERAL other doctors ive seen and Im not saying i feel mistreated but, I sure do feel like no one is text book and im reaching out to see if what im explaining with these dizzy spells has happened to any of you.

Yes, I have had the dizzy spells EXACTLY like you described. I get them if I am hypothyroid. Your TSH was at 17. That is pretty high and pretty hypothyroid. No wonder you've gained weight, your feet are cracking, and you feel dizzy. You are hypo. Has your TSH ever been down to "1". Are you using the same brand of thyroid preparation every time you refill? Are you taking your thyroid med on an empty stomach and away from any other vitamins and calcium?

[dischick4778]

Originally Posted by itsdisneytime

Hi all. I have written in a few times in the past. to bring you all up to date - I had papillary thyca removed 7/21/09 - this past July made my 3 year cancer free mark. I did a radiation round and did right well with that (honestly the isolation for 10 days was the worst part). I have had a lot of issues with weight gain and getting my synthroid right .. mostly in part because I had 2 parathyroids removed on accident during my surgery and so now I only have 2 left and my calcium is CONSTANTLY low --- im still on a 6 month check up plan and recently ive had to go back 6 weeks ago for blood work due to some symptoms I am having.

Has anyone else experienced malabsorption of the calcium? (if anyone else out there is unlucky like me to have had thier parathyroids taken i would love to talk to you). I am not minimizing the fact that I had thyroid cancer but I will say i think the very low calcium is taking a toll on me. I recently have started having very very dizzy spells like if i were walking on a treadmill and got off after a long walk and my legs still feel like they are walking - or if i were on a boat and got off and felt like i were still "bobbing" .. Ive checked my blood pressure often and its great, I do feel flutters in my chest sometimes but I am very stressed out with my personal and work life right now so I over look those flutters and affiliate them with stress ... my legs are retaining water (or swelling) .. my feet bottoms are becoming very dry and crackly and of course ... im gaining weight again. Endo upped my synthroid over the phone and told me to come in again in 6 weeks for blood ... seems some count that shows our thyroid level was 17 and he wanted it to be low like a 1 or below, he accused me of not taking my meds and totally overlooked the 10 lbs ive gained. My doctor is supposed to walk on water according to SEVERAL other doctors ive seen and Im not saying i feel mistreated but, I sure do feel like no one is text book and im reaching out to see if what im explaining with these dizzy spells has happened to any of you.

I too have a calcium issue. My para thyroids were re-implanted during surgery but the Dr thinks it didn't take so well. I am on .25 mcg calcitriol and 1200 mg calcium daily. If I forget to take the calcium one day I get numbness in my hands, legs, feet, and back and my teeth feel loose. I have seen many doctors including my dentist and they all link it to the lack of calcium absorption. My surgeon says there isn't much they can do at this point.

I do not have the other symptoms you describe though. I am on a very high dose of synthroid due to the severity of the cancer I had. Hoping you feel better soon!

[mrsklamc]

Originally Posted by Christine

Are you taking your thyroid med on an empty stomach and away from any other vitamins and calcium?

Yes! I remember another poster here was shocked that taking calcium at the same time as her thyroid pill could have such an effect.

[JKMJ441724]

Originally Posted by Christine

Are you taking your thyroid med on an empty stomach and away from any other vitamins and calcium?

Originally Posted by mrsklamc

Yes! I remember another poster here was shocked that taking calcium at the same time as her thyroid pill could have such an effect.

I take my thyroid pill and my multivitamin together every morning. Is that wrong????

[mrsklamc]

Does your multi have iron in it? I know calcium and iron are bad to take w/ thyroid.

[JKMJ441724]

Originally Posted by mrsklamc

Does your multi have iron in it? I know calcium and iron are bad to take w/ thyroid.

yes. yes, it does.


Craaappp.


I don't recall anyone telling me that. They just said in the morning on an empty stomach with water.

[Christine]

Well, there's one problem solved then. Many multivitamins have iron in them and most have calcium. Both interfere. Make sure you are also not taking your meds with calcium fortified beverages (OJ) or milk. Take on an empty stomach and wait at LEAST an hour before you eat anything. Wait at least 2hours for vitamins. It's tough because I try to take both iron and calcium. I ended up just taking my vitamins at night.

[Granfan]

So sorry for all you are going through. I have found out so much more on my own about mine and my daughter's condition from others and researching than docs have ever told us. I only waited 30 minutes to eat for a couple of years because that what was stuck on the bottle by the pharmacists. A friend told me her endo told her wait at least 1 hour. It was months later that I learned about the calcium and just now learned about the iron.

UPDATE ON MY DAUGHTER: She had her first thyrogen shot yesterday and another today. She will start RAI tomorrow. She didn't get too sick, but did have stomach ache and slight headache. She will have a scan Friday.

[mrsklamc]

I'm so glad thyrogen was available for her. Total withdrawal is just awful.

[Pembo]

HI everyone. I posted back in April about my niece who was dx with thyroid cancer. She had a complete thyroidectomy and they took 20-30 lymph nodes. She was hospitalized for 2 weeks due to a leak. But the rest of her recovery was great. In August she had her RAI treatment and 6 months to the day that she first got a diagnosis, she received the news that she was clean!!!

Her only lasting symptom at this point is fatigue. Thank you all for your support and advice. And good luck to all of you...

[itsdisneytime]

Hi all.

Wow, thanks for the fast responses ( I will check back sooner from now on ) ... thank you for the support and the guidance that is so appreciated by me. I am not "happy" to hear that others have had the same symptoms as I am having but I will say that I am relieved.

I do take my synthroid in the a.m first thing when I wake up and then I wait at least 1 hour before I eat anything - which is REALLY hard for me because I swear ... I feel like I wake up ready to eat asap.

My parathyroids were unable to be reinserted back into me because they had already been sent away "my doctor thought they were lymph nodes" and they were sent for testing -- once they were out of a "sterile" environment the doc said they could not reinsert them into me -- she also said she had nightmares about my surgery (and yet no one thought there was any malpractice ) I also had a vein lacerated only to be found out after they sewed me up so they had to open me back up again to fix that vein that was internally bleeding. My surgery took 9 hours and should have taken 4 -- i was in the hospital 9 days what should have been an overnight stay.

The positive is that i lived to see another day and continue the fight --- I am hoping that by posting the "bad" about my surgery, perhaps it can help others who might have had similar issues or know someone about to go through the surgery.

I wish I could make my immediate family understand how this feels -- the constant numb fingers - the tingling like if your feet fell asleep but only, its your arms that tingle not your feet --- the worst part is the swelling, the dizzy and the fatigue. I hate to sound like negative nelllie and i am sooo grateful to have folks here that understand - most days i am optimistic but then other days :like today: when I pull up to the grocery store and Ive got to give myself a "pep talk" to go in and get er done its just frustrating!!!

Wishing comfort and happiness for all of you tonight!