15yr old girl with Hashimotos, and now cancer and complete thyroidectomy

[janedudman]

Hello folks,

My last posts were when my daughter was going to have her first surgery but things have moved on dramatically since then and I wondered if anyone knows if when she has her entire thyroid removed she will still have the autoimmune response somewhere else in her body.

Reading the posts here I am also very concerned that her thyroxine dose is appropriate as soon as possible.

We have had lots of advice from the surgeon who is great but the after care is something different. Her surgery isn't until December 21st so we will see the team around her before then but a mother worries - I like to know what I am dealing with so I can support my daughter.

Thanks in advance

[Clutter]

Janedudman,

If your daughter is having thyroidectomy due to thyroid cancer the surgeon will want to remove as much thyroid material as possible to avoid leaving any cancerous cells. After thyroidectomy the Hashi symptoms I had improved almost immediately. I'm pretty sure it burned out when there was no longer a target thyroid to attack. Hashimoto's only targets the thyroid gland. It doesn't go on to attack other organs as Graves can.

Your daughter will be prescribed thyroid hormone replacement the morning after surgery. It will be a 'suppressive dose' ie sufficient dose to suppress her TSH <0.1 which reduces the risk of cancer recurrence. No nonsense of starting on 25mcg and building up dose for us thyCa patients

I was to have RAI after thyroidectomy so I was given 3 x 20mcg Liothyronine starting the morning after surgery for 3 months as it has a shorter half life than Levothyroxine. After RAI I was switched to Levothyroxine. Oncologist over replaced me 200mcg and dose was titrated down to 100mcg over the next year.

[janedudman in reply to Clutter]

Thanks for that, you are obviously doing well on it. She is having RAI too but we are not sure when yet. What you say matches what we have been told, but it is reasurring to find out the Hashi autoimmune will not move elsewhere.

[shaws Administrator]

NDT is the very original thyroid hormone replacement (natural dessicated thyroid hormones which we used to get prescribed but Big Pharma seems to be so powerful that this was stopped being prescribed several years ago.

thyroidscience.com/Criticis...

Despite three yearly requests before his untimely death for a response they never did respond.

stopthethyroidmadness.com/m...