3 weeks post-TT, weight gain

Similar situation – same problem and same concern. I am scheduled for TT one week from today and the blood work drawn 10 days ago shows that I am finally in the low end of normal. It FEELS so much better than being hyper, but I got on the scale today and saw that I put on 1.5 pounds. I immediately thought… “Uh oh, if that’s the result of not being hyper, what the heck is going to happen when I have no thyroid?!?!” I decided that I would immediately start a diet right after surgery but had previously thought that for that week or two I would probably be lying around not moving much and was HOPING to pamper myself a little, not munch on carrot sticks and celery!

I pretty much decided that the two weeks post-op will be for recovery and healing, and THEN I will decide how serious of a regimen I have to develop to get to and maintain my ideal weight. Will be curious to read other comments.
Sue

Hi Talley!

I really don’t think that this is going to be the “new” you!!!

I had my TT 5 months ago, so thought I’d chime in here. The day after surgery I was started on 100 mcg of Synthroid (weighed 128 pre-op). Felt great (other than normal post-op fatigue & stuff)…but I did gain about 5 lbs during those first few weeks. I think part of it must have been water retention as I was unknowingly heading toward becoming hypo (which didn’t show up on labs until about a month out). When I became symptomatically hypo, I called my doc even tho I wasn’t due for new labs yet, he ordered them & then increased my dose to 112 mcg. At that point, the weight gain stayed level at that 5 lb weight gain for the next month or so despite getting back into Pilates & watching my diet (didn’t gain anymore, didn’t lose anymore), but I also began to feel the other symptoms of being mildly hypo for the 1st time despite the dose increase. I called again, only about 3 1/2 weeks after the dose increase since they were quickly getting worse, and my doc increased my dose to 125 mcg (which is where I’ve been ever since). The hypo symptoms completely disappeared after about 6 weeks on that dose & I’ve lost the 5 lbs that I gained post-op. Since I’d like to lose another 5 to get to what I believe is my “perfect” weight, I’m continuing w/ exercise and a healthy diet (but not a weight loss diet, since I truly believe that good nutrition is critical right now). I wouldn’t worry too much about 5 lbs, but do stay on to top of it. Easier to prevent, than to lose – in my opinion!

I totally agree w/ Sue. The 1st few weeks after surgery are about recovering & stabilizing, adjusting to coming off all the various meds that we needed pre-op. Right now, you’re in the place where you still want to baby yourself. You deserve it! And you have plenty of time to fine-tune everything later when you’re stronger and your levels are normal AND stable!! (Honestly, the swings in levels – even swings toward normal – did more to make me feel bad than being either hyper or hypo did.) Once that’s accomplished, a healthy diet & exercise will go a long way as you tweak your replacement hormone to its optimal level & your body begins to relax from the war it just waged. At least that was true in my case. I felt better each month, pretty good at month 3 and by the 4th month I felt great. Now at month 5 – I feel NO effects of thyroid disease or Graves’ other than some remaining eye swelling that is improving VERY slowly (but improving, so I’ll take it!) & the thin hair from all the meds, hormone swings, & trauma. My endo says that this will be the last thing to get better – and will begin to reverse itself after I’ve been off the pre-op meds, recovered, and with stable/optimal levels for several months.

So try not to worry too much just yet – hard to do – but DO keep an eye on how you feel & DO call in between appointments if you feel yourself moving hyper or hypo. It’s easier to be proactive, then to come from behind.

Good that you’re exercising already…just give yourself a chance to get at your ideal levels. It usually takes a few months. But once there, in my experience, everything gets pretty “normal”.

Oh…and Sue…I saw one of your posts hoping for the possibility that your anxiety may be related to your thyroid issues & not a separate issue. My endo and I were just talking about this last week. She deleted a whole host of diagnoses off my medical history since they’ve all resolved since my TT and we can now assume that they were related to my thyroid and not independent diagnoses on their own (anxiety, depression, SVT, chronic fatigue, insomnia, lidocaine reactions, joint pain, etc.)

Thanks for the support, Kimberly and Christina. I am so eager to feel good (finally!) that I almost don’t care if I put on a few pounds, and I (and the people I’ve said that to) can’t believe what they’re hearing. I guess no one realizes how bad it gets living with Graves but for me to want to be “fat and happy” over thin and miserable speaks volumes. Of course I won’t let myself get out of control but I’m certainly not going to worry about it for at least the first 2 or 3 weeks.

The surgeon’s office called today to go over some stuff, see if I had any questions, etc. and she said that the T4 in my system would still be in there for 4-6 weeks post surgery (much longer than I expected). She said that she’ll start me on Synthroid 5 days after surgery and in most of her patients that allows for a fairly seamless transition between me getting rid of my natural T4 and me taking the artificial one. And she mentioned that we would definitely adjust doses according to how I feel, not just the lab results.

Hope you’re feeling better about weight gain, Talley…… I think it’s much too soon to be worried about it. Sorry if I hijacked your thread.
Sue