i have had a hysterectomy in last 6 weeks and the tiredness and lack of interest/concentration is overwhelming. I am starting to wonder if the effects of surgery/anesthetic would be a contributing factor to this. I am only on 25mg of medication and one doctor in my practice said that she would not have prescribed it as my levels were really only borderline. yet, the have made such a difference to my life but at the minute I feel I could be doing with a further boost. could anyone advise?
Hello there!
Well it's certainly feasible. Your operation will have been rather stressful on your body to say the least.
Your 25mcg (take it this is levothyroxine) is really a starter dose. Did your doctor do follow up blood tests 6-8 weeks later? Do you have any of your blood results so we can advise. Sometimes doctors say you are borderline because the guidelines are under different interpretations in the UK. Some countries will start treatment with a TSH of around 2.5 whilst many doctors here will not initiate treatment until TSH rises to around 10....by which time most people will be feeling very lousy indeed.
It is your legal right to have your blood results. All to often we are told to telephone and are told "normal, no action necessary" which doesn't really mean anything and there is plenty of room to increase dose until you feel better.
Some surgeries may ask for a nominal payment of £2 to cover ink and paper to print out but many don't or let you copy the results verbatim. Make sure you give us the ranges too, they are the figures after the result in brackets, as many labs have different parameters.
There are many things that can be dealt with as sometimes our vitamin and mineral levels are not up to snuff and these are needed to enable the body to convert the T4 to the active component T3 required by every cell and our metabolic processes in our bodies. If this is not working properly we wind down like a toy that has lost its key. Your doctor should be testing your levels for:
Ferritin
Folate
Vitamin B12
Vitamin D
Also antibodies. If positive this means you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, over 90% of hypothyroidism is this.
You can get loads of help here from fellow sufferers, we are not doctors but are in the same boat and some on here have a wealth of experience and can give you advice on what to do if your GP is putting a brick wall up or you feel you are not being listened to. 
rudi, rarely does ANYONE take 25 mgs and stay there. What hormone are you taking? Should we assume it is levothyroxine or Synthroid? You need to keep your blood results and the increases arranged closely. A big process is going on and since every cell of your body needs thyroid, you cannot afford to neglect any of it. You can learn something helpful here:
If there was Nitrous Oxide in the anesthetic then that would negate all your B12 and produce the symptoms you have described ....
Hi rudi1
I agree with the advice above and it sounds like vit b12 would be helpful. I had a hysterectomy 15 years ago and I've been hypo 30 years. I found it took me a good 3 months to get back to the same energy levels I had before the op. Certainly at 6 the week stage I was still shattered. Its a massive operation and your body takes time to heal. Supplement where necessary, eat well and take it slowly, get lots of rest. Hope you feel better soon.
Hi - split the two things out - surgery and hypo. Your surgery was major (I had it myself 2 years ago) and recovery does take time, 6 weeks is not a lot even if you were in excellent health and fit before it. As Marz said, anaesthetic can deplete B12 so worth checking that or, as it is water soluble and excess is not harmful, just buy some 5000 sublingual metylcobalamin and see if 1/day causes improvement. Please ask your GP for a copy of all blood results and post them here to get more specific advice. We often have a different take on "normal" or "borderline" than GPs and will advise on your actual numbers. 25mcg is likely to make you feel worse rather than better due to your body easing off on your own production slightly and hence it probably needs an increase.
Take it easy
Gillian
Thanks for all these replies, they have helped me realize that I have just left it all in the doctors hands and not questioned anything. I have no idea what any of my results have been as when I ring up or ask I am told they are normal. I accepted this as I wouldn't have understood anyway. I am going today to buy some supplements to see if that will help. I will also ask at GP practice for printout of all my results to date. I will post again when I get them, though I am very ignorant of what I should be looking for.
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