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Killing thyroid when you're Hypo?

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Thyroid Disorders
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Posted 1/6/2010 3:13 PM (GMT -6)
has anyone had their thyroid removed or killed off b/c they are hypo? Would it lessen the problem of how much the gland decides to produce in a given day and make medication decisions easier?
Posted 1/6/2010 6:01 PM (GMT -6)
Surgical thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine are generally used only for hyperthyroidism (or for cancer).

How much hormone your body produces on a daily basis really shouldn't affect anything. The supplementary hormone you take has a long half-life. It really takes four to six weeks to get noticible improvement from starting on Thyroxine or other meds, so over the long haul your total natural + supplemental hormone levels are relatively steady.

Often people will feel better immediately when they start medications. This is usually just from the relief of having a diagnosis and knowing they are receiving treatment which will help. That's what they call the "placebo effect", and it's a marvelous thing.

But to get back to your original question, I've never heard of hypothyroidism being treated by these methods.
Posted 1/10/2010 2:23 PM (GMT -6)
Z's,
I'm not sure whether you understand what hypothyroidism is.

You become hypo when your body doesn't make enough of the thyroid hormone. Then, your thyroid sends out a distress signal to the body (called TSH). The TSH is what is measured in your blood work. The less thyroid hormone there is, the more distress signals are sent out. The standard way to treat it is by adding more thyroid hormone (using either T3 or T4 medications, or both).

Like Judy said, it takes a while for the synthetic hormone to build up in your body. You can start to feel somewhat better right away for a myriad of reasons, but the main benefit may not come until 60 days after reaching the appropriate dosage of the medication.

Here's a link for more info on what hypothyroidism is:
www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html

take care,
frances
Posted 1/26/2010 4:33 PM (GMT -6)
Yes, I fully understand what hypothyroidism is. I've been on meds for 4 years. Your thyroid can put out a different amount of hormone each day depending on many different factors. It's difficult to get a good replacement dose if what your gland produces is not constant. That was the basis of my question.
Posted 1/30/2010 10:35 PM (GMT -6)
If your Thyroid has been removed it is not possible for them to take your entire thyroid out.  My

Endocrinologist said that there is always possibility that there is enough left behind to produce a little hormone... hence the reason you have to get your levels tested so much.  At least I do.  I go sometimes, once a month to every other month. However,  I have had my thymus removed due to a massive tumor, my thyroid removed/ with Hashimotos and Decompression eye surgery on both eyes from Exomathalamus ( Bulging Eye Syndrome)  My synthroid dosage sometimes gets changed every other month.  Thank Goodness my doc gives me samples or I would go broke getting new meds every month.

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