[Bella1]

#1060302

Howdy all. My Grave’s has been pretty balanced for a while. However, 3 weeks ago a fast-growing goiter started squeezing my trachea and now I choke, cough, and have trouble breathing while talking, eating, etc. So new (amazing) endo sent me to thyroid surgeon and the old bugger’s coming out 1/3 (TT). I’ve been researching T4 (& T3) replacement for post-surgical hypo state and think that Nature-throid is for me. My question is, has anybody had good/bad experiences with dessicated thyroid?? Any advice appreciated. Also, how bad is the post-surgical hyper to hypo hormone experience overall? Surprizingly, I’m not too worried about the surgery itself.

[snelsen]

#1181838

Hi, fellow Midwesterner! (I’m an Iowa City native.) YAY! So glad you found a wonderful endo, and equally happy (and relieved) that you have a TT scheduled for the very near future in January. Fast growing objects that compress your trachea and esophagus are NOT our friends.

Good that you feel relaxed about the TT. Every reason to feel good about it. There are so many very good, and fairly recent posts of TT experiences on the forum. Hope you find a few of them. Alexis comes to my mind right away, but there are others, too.

Re Nature-throid, I am not a good resource, though I think a few posters do take it. I take Synthroid, and all has been fine for me. Perhaps if you begin a new post, simply mentioning Nature-thyrold in the title of the post, you will hear from others who do take it.

Again, so so glad you have a great endo. People are always looking for that right mix of knowledge, compassion and active listening.
Do continue to write to let everyone know how you are doing.
Incidentally, I did not have any hyPO feelings or experiences after TT.
Shirley

[Kimberly]

#1181839

Hello – Hopefully, you will get some additional responses, but the vast majority of patients start with T4 alone, and then consider adding T3 if they aren’t feeling well, despite normal/stable levels.

The European Thyroid Association published a detailed protocol for T3/T4 combination therapy a couple of years ago. They recommend T4-only therapy for at least six months and ensuring that the patient is compliant with dosing guidelines (taking meds consistently on an empty stomach, avoiding soy/calcium/iron within 4 hours, etc.). If the patient is still experiencing symptoms after that time, they recommend a *short* trial of synthetic T3, with a follow up evaluation to see if symptoms improve.

(Note on links: if you click directly on the following link, you will need to use your browser’s “back” button to return to the boards after viewing, or you will have to log back in to the forum. As an alternative, you can right-click the link and open it in a new tab or new window).

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowFulltext&ArtikelNr=339444&Ausgabe=257225&ProduktNr=255331

Take care – and keep us posted!

[Author]

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