Hello all
Just a quick question for a friend. She's just had her thyroid removed ( 4 months ago) due to large goitre and is having terrible depression and piling on weight. Her doctor has not prescribed any thyroxine. So she has no thyroid gland and no thyroxine , Surely this can't be right?
Surely to goodness this is an oversight. I expect the hospital thoughg the Dr would prescribe and vice versa. She needs to attend the Dr's surgery to get it straightened out. We need thyroid hormones to exist. I'm not sure how long our natural hormone lasts but it can't be 4 months.
Yep def not right - call docs/consultant and demand to be seen tomorrow!!
It states here that:
You will be given a date for a follow-up appointment to check on how you are, and your doctor will arrange for blood tests to check your thyroid function about six to eight weeks after the operation. If you have a total thyroidectomy you will need to take levothyroxine tablets for the rest of your life immediately after surgery to replace the thyroxine that was produced by your thyroid gland.
btf-thyroid.org/information...
Should have had follow up with consultant and doc should have done tests and started on levo immediately so let down all round!
I'd also be wanting to get my parathyroid and calcium levels tested to ensure not damaged or removed during the op. States on the same guide that they should recover after 6-8 weeks after op if no damage so should have been tested at the same time.
Bad bad bad docs!!!!!
In fact I'd be tempted to go to A&E right now to kick up a fuss and make an example of the docs in question!!! And I would consider it urgent personally!
Thank you. I will let my friend know. I've advised her she should be going back to gp but she doesn't want to cause a fuss as he says she doesn't Need meds !
What the F*** (excuse my language lol)
Did she definitely have a full thyroidectomy or partial and has she had any tests done??
If definitely full and not tests, I'd be kicking up a right fuss, they can get into trouble if she presents at A&E due to negligence.
If she has no thyroid and no meds, she will basically die a long slow death or myxedema coma so she can't just leave it?????
90% gone. Hypo before the removal and on thyroxine then. I'll check to see what tests she had done, if any tomorrow. Thank you.
I' m sure I read somewhere that death can even occur within 3-6 months so maybe remind her of this as the remaining might not even be functioning much at all and she doesn't want her organs to start shutting down?
This doesn't really make much sense especially if on thyroxine even before op???
I know. I just couldn't understand it and started to doubt myself and my knowledge. Thank you god your replies. I'll see her tomorrow and have a word.
Well if she has happened to have tests and were in range by some luck, post the results here for advice 
If she was had graves or was hyper, I could imagine a possibility that 10% remaining could produce enough to function. However, you said she was hypo which means diminished function anyway and only had removed for goiter, meaning she will most definitely needs much more - this just isn't making sense. Either something missing from story or GP is trying to sadistically murder someone lol!!!!
She was definetly hypo like myself before op and yes only removed due to goitre causing swallowing problems.
That will be the underactive sorry untreated hypothyroidism talking!!! It can make you desperately depressed, slow, cold, overweight (fluid build up). A young doc felt I didn't need a blood test after Radio Active Iodine despite my saying I was going under and a few weeks later I could hardly walk talk eat and just managed to cal my doc who knew from my lowered voice I needed meds. Get your friend to the docs ASAP . . Even go to a good chemist local to doc's before appointment . .they may be able to advise emergency appointment. The longer you are untreated the longer it takes to get back up to normality! Good luck
This is disgraceful. Your poor friend. She needs thyroxine soon. Maybe you could attend her urgent GP appointment with her? Post surgery and low hormone it's hard to think straight. I hope she gets help soon. I was left after my partial thyroidectomy for too long until my TSH went up to 110 ( it should be around 1) and my resting pulse was 44. I was very unwell and as I trusted the doctors I let them take the lead. I wish I knew then what I knew now. So much unnecessary suffering.
I would suggest she needs someone to go along with her to the doctors. She is probably too unwell to realise her situation
That was my thinking, she doesn't realise how ill she is everything is on a go slow.
I will speak to her today and offer to go with her.
I would call it clinical negligence. Someone needs to be severely reprimanded, oh but we don,t do that any more just let the patient suffer and see who you can push the blame onto!
Then ....her doctor needs to re sit his final exams !!!
It definitely can't be right and if it were me , tonight , I would be heading to the nearest casualty department to urgently get some thyroid. Tomorrow , somebody would be about to lose their job.
I am a newbie here, but not to hypothyroid. I had 90%of my thyroid gland removed in 1986 due to thyroid cancer. Your friend needs to find a new doctor immediately. She will be on thyroid medication the rest of her life. It's terribly difficult, even with meds.
This is a dreadful situation, I belong to a group on Facebook (UK without a thyroid) and there is a member on there who had a total thyroidectomy and no, doctor or surgeon prescribed thyroid medication, only when she went into a myxoedema coma and was taken into hospital did they do something about it, some doctors are so very ignorant about thyroid issues, please tell her to inform her GP that she MUST have thyroid medication, so sorry she is having this problem.
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