Thyroid Disorders

I notice many of you have Thyroid Disorder and thought I'd start a new thread. Feel free to discuss it or ask questions.

I was diagnosed with hypo-thyroidism (underactive thyroid) in 1998. Which explains partly about my weight gain in 1997. My normal weight was 130 pounds during high school then my weight started climbing when I was in my 2nd year in college. I gained 67 pounds in 6 years. I lost 30 pounds after graduating from college in 1997, but I could not lose anymore. I was really pissed because I did everything I could to lose 37 more.

See photo below, I had a very large goiter around my neck and enlarged nodules in my thyroid glands. I had a hard time swallowing, always feeling sleepy and the lump in my neck was bothering me for 2 straight weeks. Finally, I went to see the doctor and they gave me a blood test. Sure enough I had underactive thyroid.



I went to see Endocrinologist Surgeon and we agreed that I have thyroid removed and leave particle thyroid gland (size of a thumb) in my neck to maintain my hormones.

I had a sub-total thyroidectomy (thyroid glands removed) in 1999. The operation lasted 4 1/2 hours. Originally the surgeon thought it would take only 1 1/2 hours, but I had so much stuff going on in my neck. EEK!

NOTE: Not everyone have the same problem like mine. Not everyone gets the surgery. Not everyone get tumor or cancer in thyroid. It all varies.

After the surgery and with right dose of thyroid medicene I lost 37 pounds more from '99 to '03. I was back down to 132 pounds from 197 pounds.

I am currently taking Levoxyl (T4) for 125mcg. If I don't take them I will put on enormous weight. I have my thyroid checked once a year now. It took me 2 years to get my thyroid regulated after my daughter was born (2003). It was NOT easy. I've gone though emotional roller coaster, weight loss/gain, hair, brow and eye lashes loss. That's why it's important that I take the pill daily and yes unfortunately I have to take it for the rest of my life. It used to bother me about this so much, but I'm used to it.

Thank you Catmandu,

Made me feel better now, reason why I had been roller coaster and having hard time losing my weight belly/thigh/flappy my arm.. *sick of it* look'n so big broad.. isn't supposed belong me.. supposed be stay slim as my sister.. (sigh) No background history gene coming from my birth mom... and also have no informaiton about my birth dad's background history of health..

My adopt bro explained me about remove the gland of thyroid.. made me feel scared and have not made my own decision which hate "surgery" cut on my bare skin.. Made me scare..

I should have long it ago and done those.. but sadly.. Doctor kept saying oh no no, you're fine and blah blah.. your weight is fine.. blah blah... That's bullshit.. I knew my heart tells me, My weight isn't right for me..

Now.. I have to search "Endocinologist Surgeon" (pretty new to me) Thanks Catmandu very much. I'm so very apperactied w/you.. totally Need my weight go back!

Will shown scar on neck ?? looks alike sucidal ? That what I do not want that way.. Just tiny cut and remove the gland thyroid.. just simple.. pure looks clean not fully shown scar on it.. That what I'm looking for..

is it only around neck?

Cat,

Thanks for taking time to educate us who are unfamiliar with this disease.

I have fibromyalgia which isnt the same but yes it produces weight gain and all symptoms you mentioned and I know that it sucks to have a life-long disease. But remember disease does not define us - it is just a part of us period

ah i see your neck is lump from underactive thryiod insterting to me .. I have underactive thyroid that found out last march 2002 and I take my pills rest of my life which I hate pills heeh ... if I forgot my pills in one day then I go weak my body like tired. one time my pills was ran out in first time in 2002 didnt get pills and my body was went so WEAK! till i get my pills later on arghh my body was bit screw up cause didnt take my pills look like have to start over again to build my body back normal from tired. But I never forgot the pills.. I always remember to get it every morning .. I take test blood every 3 to 6 months .. next month will take my test blood which I scare of needle but have to take it aahhhhhh lol .. before it was low in my underactive thyroid last about oct or nov that got low .. my doctor change my pills to see how it go then took test blood again and it said bit high oh yikes and still same pills .. so next month will check my blood test how it go ?

How found out I have underactive thyriod .. At my old work that the guy was scold on me too much make me feel low in my body too much as my mom noticed me to get low like everyday that we are same job so my mom decided to call doctor and make an appt till found I had underactive thyroid and take the pills it help me much better but only one thing plm is arghhh i hate make me feel sleepy tired that is all.


My mom's side family dont have any underactive thyroid .. it was in my dad's gene family have same like me.. .. my youngest sister will have ? dont know wait and see when she get older or never .. her father have underactive thyoird.. that is why my mom have to take her to doctor to make sure all the times nothing happen like me and her dad.

wow... some ppl have it.. my good friend have one for her life.. i still love her as my good friend and yall too!

My deaf brother had overactive thyroid and lump on right thyroid gland. Lost some weight cuz of that. So he had thyroid surgery to remove lump from right thyroid last Nov 2005. It suppose take 3 hours surgery but it took 5 hours! The normal weight for right & left thyroid glands are 20g. But his right thyroid weighted 106g! Five times more than normal weight! Too big! His left thyroid gland is fine and normal. Send to the lab and check lump...Good news! No cancer! Whew! He stayed in the hospital for one overnight to monitor him so he went home next day. He is doing fine.

Yes, he has scar on his throat.

GalaxyAngel said:

Thank you Catmandu,

Made me feel better now, reason why I had been roller coaster and having hard time losing my weight belly/thigh/flappy my arm.. *sick of it* look'n so big broad.. isn't supposed belong me.. supposed be stay slim as my sister.. (sigh) No background history gene coming from my birth mom... and also have no informaiton about my birth dad's background history of health..

My adopt bro explained me about remove the gland of thyroid.. made me feel scared and have not made my own decision which hate "surgery" cut on my bare skin.. Made me scare..

I should have long it ago and done those.. but sadly.. Doctor kept saying oh no no, you're fine and blah blah.. your weight is fine.. blah blah... That's bullshit.. I knew my heart tells me, My weight isn't right for me..

Now.. I have to search "Endocinologist Surgeon" (pretty new to me) Thanks Catmandu very much. I'm so very apperactied w/you.. totally Need my weight go back!

Will shown scar on neck ?? looks alike sucidal ? That what I do not want that way.. Just tiny cut and remove the gland thyroid.. just simple.. pure looks clean not fully shown scar on it.. That what I'm looking for..

Click to expand...

You're welcome GalaxyAngel. Same here, my family doesn't have what I have. I have distant cousins who have them, but I doubt this counts at all.

Q: I'm curious, have you ever been on a diet, excercise and lose any weight?

Q: When was the last time you had your thyroid checked?

Q: You mentioned surgery, did your doctor say that you need surgery? If so, what's the reason?

Sometimes being overweight does not necessarily means thyroid disorder. Like Meg said, she has fibromyalgia and it caused her gain weight. You might want to double check with your doctor to find out. Have your doctor give you a full blood test so that way you'll know the answer.

Speaking of surgery, I was scared before I was operated, but I was put under anesthesia and the surgery was successful. It was a very delicate surgery because if they touched my vocal cord I could lose my voice. My voice is fine because I had the best surgeon in Boston. I did my research and checked his record. I was really impressed. Anyway, I was told not to work for two weeks because I needed to recuperate.

I have a 4-inch scar just below my voicebox. The scar faded in about couple of years. It's not that bad really. It used to bother me, but really I made a huge deal out of nothing. I used to wear turtlenecks all the time, but now I don't need one to hide it.

This is my scar. Seven years later and it's barely noticable.


Does it look like a suicidal cut?


Canada Thyroid Top Doctor http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/canada.htm

My good friend has underactive thyroid too, she been on the pills, and when she forget her pills, her neck getting enlarge. and gain some weigh. So she had to suffer take it further.

I know about weigh, except after preggy, it been long time for me back on that track about one yr and half. So, now i'm preggy again, but its more less weigh than my first preggy. I'm forward to keep up to lose weigh to make myself feel good abt myself. Sometime we have to deal w/ our health but don't give up and make it right.

FreeWoman77 said:

is it only around neck?

Click to expand...

Yes. This is to give you an idea what it looks like...

Gemtun said:

Cat,

Thanks for taking time to educate us who are unfamiliar with this disease.

I have fibromyalgia which isnt the same but yes it produces weight gain and all symptoms you mentioned and I know that it sucks to have a life-long disease. But remember disease does not define us - it is just a part of us period

Click to expand...

You just made a positive statement "Disease does not define us - it is just a part of us" and how I admire you for it. Disease what makes us stronger because we deal with it everyday and like you said, it's part of us.

psst cut back on the hours you consumed at work *pray*

DeafMonkey said:

ah i see your neck is lump from underactive thryiod insterting to me .. I have underactive thyroid that found out last march 2002 and I take my pills rest of my life which I hate pills heeh ... if I forgot my pills in one day then I go weak my body like tired. one time my pills was ran out in first time in 2002 didnt get pills and my body was went so WEAK! till i get my pills later on arghh my body was bit screw up cause didnt take my pills look like have to start over again to build my body back normal from tired. But I never forgot the pills.. I always remember to get it every morning .. I take test blood every 3 to 6 months .. next month will take my test blood which I scare of needle but have to take it aahhhhhh lol .. before it was low in my underactive thyroid last about oct or nov that got low .. my doctor change my pills to see how it go then took test blood again and it said bit high oh yikes and still same pills .. so next month will check my blood test how it go ?

How found out I have underactive thyriod .. At my old work that the guy was scold on me too much make me feel low in my body too much as my mom noticed me to get low like everyday that we are same job so my mom decided to call doctor and make an appt till found I had underactive thyroid and take the pills it help me much better but only one thing plm is arghhh i hate make me feel sleepy tired that is all.


My mom's side family dont have any underactive thyroid .. it was in my dad's gene family have same like me.. .. my youngest sister will have ? dont know wait and see when she get older or never .. her father have underactive thyoird.. that is why my mom have to take her to doctor to make sure all the times nothing happen like me and her dad.

Click to expand...

Yesss if I forget to take a pill in the morning then later at night time I would CRASH. It takes few days for my body to recover. I vow myself NOT to forget to take my pill! I really learned my lesson. I put my thyroid pills in my Medicine Daily Dispenser so that I don't forget it. It works. I've been on the pills for 7 years now and it doesn't bother me now because it's part of my routine. It's like taking vitamins. It's no huge deal.

A year after I had my daughter, I had all kinds of symptoms of low thyroid AGAIN and I went to see my local endocrinogolist about it. I went through another blood test and she said yes my thyroid level is very low! ARGH! So, she had to increase the dose and now I'm feeling much better. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to that effect.

Thyroid disorders are very common today. Millions of people walk around with this and not know it! I had it since I was 11 years old because I remember that I was feeling so cold all the time, sleeping a lot like 12 to 16 hours a day (too long for childhood kid) and I didn't get myself checked until I was 26! I wish I had known and get myself checked LONG time ago. I probably would have done more especially with sports in junior high and high school, but I didn't.

TweetyBird said:

wow... some ppl have it.. my good friend have one for her life.. i still love her as my good friend and yall too!

Click to expand...

That's really sweet of you!

hey i do have thyroid plm too but i got it early by took blood test .....it make me sleepy alot and when i walk....i feel normal walk but people around me walk faster than me which they walk in normal speed....i walk in normal speed but people look at me that i walk slow....it weird....thyroid can cause u do something weird inside ur body like sleep or something like that.....and also it help me lose weight too if i stop taking medicine it will gain weight....i have no plm with weight until took blood test and lucky they found it early and so i took medicine for rest of my life it dont bother me at all

IcedTeaRulz said:

My deaf brother had overactive thyroid and lump on right thyroid gland. Lost some weight cuz of that. So he had thyroid surgery to remove lump from right thyroid last Nov 2005. It suppose take 3 hours surgery but it took 5 hours! The normal weight for right & left thyroid glands are 20g. But his right thyroid weighted 106g! Five times more than normal weight! Too big! His left thyroid gland is fine and normal. Send to the lab and check lump...Good news! No cancer! Whew! He stayed in the hospital for one overnight to monitor him so he went home next day. He is doing fine.

Yes, he has scar on his throat.

Click to expand...

Wow! That's a lot of gram. I'm glad it's not cancerous. Some people I know had the same thing like your brother had and they become hypo-thyroid so now they have to take the pill for the rest of their life. Does your brother have to take pills?

SherryCherish said:

My good friend has underactive thyroid too, she been on the pills, and when she forget her pills, her neck getting enlarge. and gain some weigh. So she had to suffer take it further.

I know about weigh, except after preggy, it been long time for me back on that track about one yr and half. So, now i'm preggy again, but its more less weigh than my first preggy. I'm forward to keep up to lose weigh to make myself feel good abt myself. Sometime we have to deal w/ our health but don't give up and make it right.

Click to expand...

Oh no, I'm very sorry to hear about your good friend. I hope she takes better care of herself because thyroid is not a funny business to deal with!

Are you on Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) pill? When I was pregnant with my daughter I was told by my doctor that I must notify that I'm pregnant so, I did. I had to have blood test EVERY MONTH to make sure that my level is in within normal range. By 3rd month or 4th month my test indicated that it was low so they had to increase the dose for me. For my entire pregnancy they increased the dose twice. It is very important for moms and babies to have thyroid level within the range otherwise they'll have problems. Mine went fine. Whew!

As for your pregnancy, how are along are you? You must be so excited.

Catmandu said:

You just made a positive statement "Disease does not define us - it is just a part of us" and how I admire you for it. Disease what makes us stronger because we deal with it everyday and like you said, it's part of us.

psst cut back on the hours you consumed at work *pray*

Click to expand...

i m sorry u and others got one, i agree with Gemtun, everyone got different diseases, i got lump on my right breast, far high near my neck, more likely on chest, found out its benign(sp?), i was supposed to have biopsy to remove soon but afraid hurt touching bones on chest u know :Ohno:

sorry if its offtopic

fei ku said:

hey i do have thyroid plm too but i got it early by took blood test .....it make me sleepy alot and when i walk....i feel normal walk but people around me walk faster than me which they walk in normal speed....i walk in normal speed but people look at me that i walk slow....it weird....thyroid can cause u do something weird inside ur body like sleep or something like that.....and also it help me lose weight too if i stop taking medicine it will gain weight....i have no plm with weight until took blood test and lucky they found it early and so i took medicine for rest of my life it dont bother me at all

Click to expand...

yeah I do same slow walk .. my ex boyfriend keep telling me come on fast walk!! I told him realx! I cant catch walk too fast.

Catmandu said:

Yesss if I forget to take a pill in the morning then later at night time I would CRASH. It takes few days for my body to recover. I vow myself NOT to forget to take my pill! I really learned my lesson. I put my thyroid pills in my Medicine Daily Dispenser so that I don't forget it. It works. I've been on the pills for 7 years now and it doesn't bother me now because it's part of my routine. It's like taking vitamins. It's no huge deal.

A year after I had my daughter, I had all kinds of symptoms of low thyroid AGAIN and I went to see my local endocrinogolist about it. I went through another blood test and she said yes my thyroid level is very low! ARGH! So, she had to increase the dose and now I'm feeling much better. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to that effect.

Thyroid disorders are very common today. Millions of people walk around with this and not know it! I had it since I was 11 years old because I remember that I was feeling so cold all the time, sleeping a lot like 12 to 16 hours a day (too long for childhood kid) and I didn't get myself checked until I was 26! I wish I had known and get myself checked LONG time ago. I probably would have done more especially with sports in junior high and high school, but I didn't.

Click to expand...

Ahh when I was in school from junior school and high school I go involed alots of sports from grade Kingterdgren (sp) till graduated that I play alots volleyball, baseball, hockey, badmation, swimming, etc expect not ballet and rubgy lol that I involed lots and have no plm with my thyriod till found out in march 2002. then I use pills rest of my life .. doesnt bother with my throat from pills.. but I hate PILLS! lol

fei ku said:

hey i do have thyroid plm too but i got it early by took blood test .....it make me sleepy alot and when i walk....i feel normal walk but people around me walk faster than me which they walk in normal speed....i walk in normal speed but people look at me that i walk slow....it weird....thyroid can cause u do something weird inside ur body like sleep or something like that.....and also it help me lose weight too if i stop taking medicine it will gain weight....i have no plm with weight until took blood test and lucky they found it early and so i took medicine for rest of my life it dont bother me at all

Click to expand...

LOL yesss same here... just thinking back old days my mom used to complain to me all the time. "You walk so slow!" "Hurry up!" "What's taking you so long?" "You are one speed girl!" LOL I know, I know. But we didn't know what was going back then. We figured it out seven years ago and said, geez no wonder! At the mall, when I tried on 5 clothes, it took me 1/2 hour from start to finish. It used to annoy the hell out of my mom. Ha!

Thyroid glands are the tiniest organs that controls all over your body. Unbelievable! I just looked up in the dictionary to find out what's involved with thyroid.

http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery...wp=19&curtab=2059_1&linktext=endocrine system

See how important that is to maintain thyroid level? Yeah...