Hi, my 1st post. I survived oral cancer after radio & chemo finished in feb 2014, i lost ALOT of weight and finally gained back to a healthy weight by Nov 14. I was placed on levy by March 15 due to my thyroid disintigrating from radio but i didn't really suffer, it was only picked up on reg blood tests for my cancer check ups. I honestly thought 'Whats the fuss all about' (sorry!) Now though, my weight has increased dramatically, mood swings, hair loss, severe joint aches, i swim 8k and cycle there and back twice weekly 17k each time and live on a low carb/low fat/minimal sugar diet eating loads of fruit and salad which i love as i don't produce saliva due my saliva glands dying from radio. Aaiting endo app at the mo which my dr is chasing for me.....i have 4 kids and fantastic husband and a thriving landscaling business but i feel my world is crumbling π sorry guys, i suppose i needed to sound off.....any advise would be gladly received π
Newbie π: Hi, my 1st post. I survived oral... - Thyroid UK
Newbie π
You may not be converting t4 to t3 adequately. One cause can be di02 gene defect and you can get a test for this through Thyroid UK.
I on t4 only and had remaining symptoms. Suggest that you ask endo for T3 to supplement the t4 and see if that helps.
Also ask about vitamin testing; Clutter or Grey Goose can give you details on what to ask for or look up other posts
One final thing; could you be peri menopausal as this may also have a bearing on some symptoms
One of the after-effects of radiotherapy is hypopituitarism. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/161...
You could easily be not just hypothyroid but growth hormone deficient too. That can cause weight gain. You are seeing an endo so he/she should sort you out. he/she should get all your pituitary hormones checked - that includes LH/FSH which stimulate your sex organs, and ACTH which stimulates your adrenals as well as growth hormone (and thyroid stimulating hormone, obviously, as you have already done), and anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) which controls how much you urinate. Maybe not that last one if you aren't weeing excessively.
I do hope everything goes well for you and your world does the opposite of crumbling - recomposing?
Weight gain sounds as if your T3 is low. In which case, you are not doing yourself any favours with all that exercise. It won't help you lose weight, anyway, because your weight gain is not due to calories. But it will use up your T3, making you more hypo. It would greatly help people understand exactly where you are if you posted your blood test results - with the ranges. Might be best to do that on a new post, because this one will be quite far down the list, by now!
Also, as you live on salads, you could be quite low in iron and vit B12. It would be a very good idea to ask your doctor to test
vit D
vit B12
folate
ferritin
These all need to be optimal - not just 'in range' - for your body to be able to use the hormone you are giving it.