Hi all, I'm a newbie. Had breast cancer 7 years ago followed by surgery, chemo and radio therapy, herceptin, tamoxifen and arimidex.

[Lily55]

Hopefully I'm cancer free. Have put on weight and had blood test came back as hypothyroidism. Am now on 50mg levothyroxine. Can all the above be related and how do you lose weight? Thanks

[silverfox7]

Welcome to the forum! 50 mcg is just a starter dose and you should be retested after about 6 weeks. Do you have a copy of your blood test which prompted the diagnosis? Do post the results of this and your next test and also give the ranges, these vary in different labs. You will then get loads of advice as to the next step. Hopefully your GP is on the ball but many haven't a clue!

Keep reading the forum, I've found/ been given loads of helpful advice and also there is loads of info on the Thyroid UK site

Weight loss is tricky. You need to get your optimum dose first and this takes time because each dose change needs around 6 weeks to stabilise so you can't do things quickly. Hope you start to feel little better soon and I hope your GP listens to how you are feeling as well as looking at the lab report. Remember any questions you have post them here, nothing is too trivial, we have all been where you are now! Good luck

[Lily55 in reply to silverfox7]

Thank you

[Hidden]

Hello welcome to the site.there really is a awful lot of help to be got from people here,far knowledgable than me! I just have to say that I am in similar boat to yourself.Breast cancer 8years back,and was 5 years in arimidex.a year or so after stopping arimidex things didn't feel quite right and last year was diagnosed hypothyroid,nothing too dramatic started on 25mcg,now up to 62.5 mcg daily.feeling pretty ok.so, in answer,I have no idea if it was linked to the cancer or treatment but personally I think it is more than likely but maybe would have come on anyway.I am probably bit older than yourself since arimidex the whole time and thyro problems can start out of blue as we get older. I hope so much that you get stable and start to feel good again soon.

[Hidden]

Oops forgot about weight!

I put a stone or more on whilst taking arimidex over the 5years but nothing too much,it didn't shift after stopping.I have been on thyroxine for 1year now and at last weight has gone back to my normal level.again,whether related to meds no one will say,but I do think it was/is. So for me the levo seems to have shifted the weight off.hope that helps

[Lily55 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[cat69]

hi

i was dx with bc in 2012, chemo, rads and surgery. I think i may have had problems pre bc as in being slightly hypo as i also had 5 miscarriages right up to finding out about bc. All seems too coincidental to me. lots of other symtoms too.

I can remember cyclin five miles almost 12 weeks after chemo and feelin ok. the next day i had four weeks rads and at end i couldnt function, lift arms etc so i am sure radition being fired at my neck excacerbated it, ( however much the drs say it didnt) since had yr of being almost bed bound at times so not a good time. but i am slowly figuring out what i need in terms of treatment.

i am sure when u are on optimum meds for you it will be easier and you will have more energy to be more active. i am overweight for height but recently got five pounds off in a week by cutting out flour. i can put it on just as easily though!!

[Lily55 in reply to cat69]

Thank you

[archipoeta53]

I had breast cancer which had spread to a lymph node. i was offered an aromatase inhibitor and refused, on the grounds that I was having trouble with my thyroid which no one appears to be able to sort out, that the cancer had been caused by exposure to wifi about which I can do nothing, and that I would not live any longer if I took it, I would merely die from osteoporosis and/or heart disease instead.

[Lily55 in reply to archipoeta53]

Thank you for responding. Hope the bc is no longer a problem

[Lily55]

I only became aware that I had an under active thyroid when the doc did a blood test and he said "it was a bit low". Not sure at the time what "it" was. 3 months later after 25mcg levo he said "it" had gone up and how did I feel. I felt exactly the same but it seems "it" had gone up from 12 to 19 so I've been upped too 50mcg. Just had another blood test again 3 months on and been told that everything's fine. I really am mystified. Am I ill, will I be ill or is this it?

[Hidden in reply to Lily55]

His again lily, is that your TSH that went up to 19? If so chances are that 50mcg is still not enough medication. Without full TSH. T4 and t3 tests it's difficult to know if you need an increase but sounds very possible.can you request your gp checks these or possibly get done private if necessary?

[archipoeta53]

It will come back, because we are surrounded by wifi, and my nervous system reacts badly to it. There is a huge pile of evidence for the harm it does, and Lloyds of London stopped covering telephone companies for health claims from the public in 1999, but we continue to use it. Like the asbestos and tobacco companies before them, the telephone companies continue to promote this technology, knowing it's a killer. In 5-10 years' time, when the evidence is too overwhelming to be further suppressed, we will have to go back to cables and landline again. By which time an awful lot of people will be very ill, or dead.

Check out the scientific evidence

bioinitiative.org You can search thyroid and cancer on the pdf. You'll be astonished, and switch off your wifi.

Let me know what you think!

[Lily55 in reply to archipoeta53]

Ok. But if I switch off the wifi I can't use the internet

[penny]

As someone has already mentioned, weight loss only happens when you are optimally medicated. (I know this from personal experience.) I used the 5:2 diet lose 24lbs - 2-3lbs per week, every week. I still do one day a month for its health benefits.

You have had/are having a traumatic time so do not put your body under more strain with a diet until you feel ready to do so. Be kind to yourself.

You may want to research scar/structural intergration treatment and the effects of trauma on the body. (The Molecules of Emotion by Candice Pert.) I have used scar release techniques on breast surgery scars and have found the results to be very good.

Take care and good luck.

[Lily55 in reply to penny]

Thank you. It seems I have a lot to look into and need to formulate what I must ask the doctor

[penny]

Lily55, the doctor will probably know nothing about structural intergration/scar work, molecular memory or the fascia.

[archipoeta53]

The internet comes into your home via a cable. It is possible to disable the wifi on your modem, and in your computer. My flatmate looked at the evidence and had our entire flat in Rome cabled - with fibre optic it's very fast. The wifi menace will eventually be defeated, as tobacco was in America, by people informing themselves, and their neighbours, and lobbying Congress.

The telephone companies know this stuff is lethal. Here's a patent application from the Swiss Company Swiss Re for a less damaging wifi that was never produced. The word they use is "genotoxic".

stopsmartmeters.org.uk/majo...

Incidentally, the same website will give you a notice of non-consent to the fitting of a Smart Meter. They're toxic and easily hacked.

[Lily55]

It's all a bit scary. Some of you seem to be very angry. Was only looking for support as I have a recent diagnosis and am still learning about it all. I don't understand T4, T3 or TSH. I don't know what I am supposed to be and I don't know what to ask either. I feel like ignoring it all and hope it will go away. Where did all the TLC go?

[HarryE in reply to Lily55]

Lily, I am sorry you are feeling so overwhelmed. Unfortunately you will need to learn quite a lot to be able to help yourself feel better. Could you start with getting copies of your blood test results from your GP? Then people will be able to offer more useful advice.

Your weight should be less of a problem when you are on the right level of medication. I'm not sure there is a link between breast cancer and thyroid, but am glad you seem to have recovered from that. Xx

[Lily55 in reply to HarryE]

Thank you. Yes very overwhelmed. Didn't know I could ask for a copy of the test results. I was wondering more if the treatment for the bc had had an effect on the thyroid rather than the bc itself, don't suppose there is an answer to that. If the doc says I'm on the right level of medication how can I argue. Mind you I had to keep asking to find out about my bc so I should be used to it now x

[HarryE in reply to Lily55]

Someone else may know more about a link, but I don't know really. You are absolutely entitled to see our blood results. I know it can be a bit daunting asking for them, but they cannot refuse. Just ask for them to be printed out for you at reception. Unfortunately doctors are very lacking in proper thyroid training and information, so you can learn enough to put your case across if you need to. How long have you been taking your medication? Please don't worry, it will all become clear xx

[Lily55 in reply to HarryE]

Been taking for 6 months, 3 @ 25mcg and 3 @ 50mcg

[HarryE in reply to Lily55]

Well they are very small doses and i think you should have been increased quicker than that personally. But if you get your results it will tell you more. How do you feel? What symptoms do you have?

[Lily55 in reply to HarryE]

Fat. No get up and go. Sad. No motivation for anything. Feel like life is on auto pilot

[HarryE in reply to Lily55]

Poor you xx time to go get those results and start to take control I think

[Lily55 in reply to HarryE]

Thank you Harry your support is very welcome

[silverfox7]

Lily55 often when a doctor says fine then let's say you probably could be better. The ranges they work from are not narrow enough and set too high and the TSH test is flawed. That is why we suggest you post your results for comments. It does take a while to get your head around having a thyroid that isn't working properly and the problems are many and varied. Consequently we don't all have exactly the same symptoms and we also can react differently to the medication. Many doctors don't seem to realise this or try to treat the symptoms and not the cause. Each cell in your body needs thyroxine so you can understand its pretty complex. Your brain needs a lot of T3 to function and that is why a thyroid person may well complain of feeling fuzzy or having brain fog. Don't worry in time you will understand more and learn to listen to what your body is telling you! You will see suggestions of things to read on this site and if my memory serves me well there are things on the Thyroid UK site as well which will explain as well in simple terms. Don't try to cram too much at the start or it will probably end up confusing you as well but do ask questions. Learning what you own results mean is a good starting point. Do what I should have done years ago and keep your results and tabulate as well how you were feeling at the time. You will be on a big learning curve not only about the topic but how your body reacts to it. I was only saying today that in many ways it was easier when I was first diagnosed. I was put onto extract-today we would call it NDT and it worked well. I only change to a synthetic tablet due to supply hit by a strike but because that worked so well treatment for me at least was straight forward. Now so much seems to be going on at once, different ways of treatment if you can get it, being td to get vitamins and minerals up to scratch, wondering if our adrenals are efficient and so many variables make it more complex but don't worry, as said earlier there are many out here to help and advice so read some of the literature and ask anything you don't understand but also share your story, feelings and results. Its a great site and its very rare that questions are not answered. Remember you are not alone and we are all here to help.

[Lily55 in reply to silverfox7]

Thank you any support is very welcome, I know this as I go to a breast cancer support group

[Lily55]

I am now clear of bc, had all my treatment 2006/7. Hope you get on all right