I'm almost 65 and recently had to have my thyroid removed due to cancer. FYI, it's PTC which is very treatable and I think I'm more likely to die in a car wreck going to the doctor than from the cancer itself.

I'm sure there are BF members who have also had a thyroidectomy or other issues with their thyroids. It's early days for me (been about a month) and too soon to know what my new baseline will be with the levothyroxine hormone replacement. I do seem to have more fatigue. Possibly because of disturbance to my parathyroid glands disrupting calcium levels. And of course the thyroid hormones themselves.

Oh, and yay for me. The cancer destroyed my right vocal cord nerve so, that cord is paralyzed. That's actually the symptom that brought this to light.

It's hard to know if my fatigue is from the thyroid stuff or just life. Life has been one kick in the balls after another this year. Things have been bad enough, that I was looking forward to the day of my surgery as a day off from a lot of family drama dealing with older family and sick family members. Having to move people ASAP, death of a close family member. Case of the flu etc.

So, stress has often been at 11 for days at a time, if not weeks. So, I'm not sure how much fatigue is from the thyroid, stress, lack of riding, or stress eating crap food. I've literally done maybe 150 miles this year. Where I would normally have about 1,000 miles in by now.

Anyway, aside from complaining a bit, I'm interested in any BF member's stories or comments about dealing with thyroid issues.

Hypothyroidism.
A daily pill and it replaces what my lazy thyroid should be doing.

I take the pill and my weight is more easily controlled, I have energy, and my toes don't get cold.
I don't take the pill and my toes get easily cold and I struggle with energy.

Pretty simple.

My wife has hypothyroidism for many years. From my experience helping her it seems once the meds get leveled off and your body adjusts, things should go back to normal. I had a medically difficult year when I hit 65 as well. Things have settled down and I’m back to good place. Hang in, stay strong, you’ll get better. G-d Speed.

Thread moved from General Cycling to 50+ Pills and Ills.

Just underactive but has been so since the late 90s. Synthroid once a day.

I'm on hormone replacement and it's simply too soon to know how well this will work. And as mentioned, so much stress in my life it's hard to separate one thing from another.

I've read about and watch videos, and even talked to someone recently that said, it's much more involved for them than simply taking some T4 replacement. Either they've never felt right after a thyroidectomy, regardless of spending years trying to get dosages right. Or learning they needed T3 and T2 supplements as well.

I'm just hoping this won't be a big deal for me. It could turn into a downward spiral of feeling too fatigued to ride or ride much. Then the lack of exercise leading to more fatigue. And ending up having to buy one of those electric recliners that tip up so you can get out of it. I'm not making fun of people who do need such things. I just don't want to become one that needs that. Of course, nobody does.

But it's good to know there are some on BF getting along fine with T4 replacement.

I’ve been on some generic form of Synthroid for decades. Fully stable at 137mcg. Tested twice/yr. No worries. I lead a healthy and active life. Retired with 23 bicycles. Gym, large property with plenty of horses and dead green ash trees and, this past winter, lots of snow shoveling. It can be done. No issues with controlling my weight (skinny ole cus).

No getting cold all the time either. Just before we found out about it, during a real hot summer, I could just not get warm enough. My Primary smiled and ordered the blood work. For me, easily controlled, despite my tendency to auto immune things.

Taking daily levothyroxine for a couple of years - took a while of dosage adjustments to get levels into the low normal range. Current dose is 75 mg daily except two pills on Sunday. Energy levels better than before. Felt less bothered by cold temps this past winter in spite of periods of really bad weather.

Hypothyroid since 2009, Graves Disease.
Levothyroxine dose and periodic TSH values were solid and stable.
Year ago things started to go to heck.
TSH jumped to 8, then 12, then 15.
At this point I did not have an Endocrinologist, I do now.

Normally my Primary/Cardiolgist takes care of my thyroid.
I had recently added a Rheumatologist to my team, as part of his usual testing given my history, he ordered TSH.
With the high TSH he raised the Levo dose from 137 to 150, next TSH came back at 4. Problem solved.

Few months later, Problem Not Solved. TSH shot up to 18.
Dose increase 150 8 pills/week, more testing.
TSH still 18.
Off to see my new Endocrinologist.
Exam, more blood work, contine 150 x8
More testing, more visits
Last test was for Free T4, value good.
New dose 175 x7

I feel fine
Doctor is convinced I am okay.
Still no expanation of the high TSH.

29 months since my wife passed away.
Neurologist put me on deloxetine 60mg for depression
My new Psychiatrist put me on 300mg of Bupropion

Since Esther died sleep has been a huge problem.
Primary prescribed Trazodone 50mg, turns out if you take it, as prescribed at bedtime it works well. I had been taking it with dinner and surprise, not much help.

I see my new Nephrologist soon, hoping to not get any bad news about my kidney function.
Oh, and my sleep doc diagnosed Mild Sleep Apnea.
On the plus side, my Pacemaker and I just celebrated our third anniversary.

Other than all that, life is just a Flippin bowl of cherries.
Still much to be thankful for.

fat biker

I've been hypothyroid since 1994 -- partial replacement really boosted my energy level. Thyroidectomy in 2007, so total replacement since then. Strictly levothyroxine at 137. No particular change in energy levels after the surgery.

My energy levels are lower now, some 18 years later, but I'm 75.

I'm curious about you're levothyroxine. Is 137 your dosage in mcg? Seems like a very odd value.

I'm having my first post-op endocrinologist visit tomorrow. I already saw the blood test results and T4 is higher than normal and TSH low. I already cut back mt levothyroxine from 175 mcg (150 + 25), to just the 150 by not taking the 25 mcg pill. It's clear it's more than I need.

I think I'm still feeling a bit wonky. I suspect that my parathyroids have not fully recovered. I've read that can take weeks to never after a thyroidectomy.

Well, 137 is 125 + 12.5, and is a standard dose. Depending on my TSH levels, sometimes they move me back down to 125. They seem to do things by eights, for some reason.

I had only seen increments of 25 mcg, so that's what had me wondering. Good to know it is available in smaller increments.
Thanks