So there is something bugging me for a long time... I have depression for a long time now after my thyroid was removed when I was 15 years old and now I’m 27 years and it was because of enlargement but no cancer found.. but since I was a child they told my parents it would be too much of a risk to leave it in since it could turn into cancer, so my parents caved in since they were scared... this fact alone angers me since I ask myself what if... and for twelve years it was like time stood still for me while the world kept moving. I gained weight, couldn’t think clearly, dropped out of school because of anxiety and constant tiredness. People around me wouldn’t talk to me because they felt like I was dead inside with no life force. The doctors of course wouldn’t take me seriously and so I loved day by day feeling miserable and couldn’t connect to other people and wouldn’t experience things others my age would. I was home all day trying several jobs but couldn’t perform well because of low energy. So now I feel even more depressed because I keep thinking that my life could be so different and normal if I hadn’t had my thyroid removed. I would be so much further in my life and unfortunately I started to compare and keep thinking how unfair it is that others in my environment can live so normally while I feel like I’ve been cursed and it frustrates me.. so my question is how would you deal with it or have you dealt with something similar?
Overcoming negativity after thyroid removal? - Thyroid UK
Overcoming negativity after thyroid removal?
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Rachel you are not really depressed, you are hypothyroid and probably not getting enough thyroid hormones. Treatment in the uK for thyroid conditions is I am afraid terrible. You have every reason to be angry. What dose of thyroid hormones are you on and do you have your latest blood results?
I have been on different ranges from 75 mcg to 150 mcg over the years. Now on 100 mcg and no blood test until two weeks from now
Rachel3101
I think the first thing to try and do is accept the past, you can't change it, so look forward to the future and try to make that the best it can be.
Tell us about your thyroid journey.
What thyroid meds have you been on?
What were your results and how have you felt over the years?
If you haven't got any of your results, ask at your surgery's reception desk for a print out - get as many as you can.
What exactly are you currently taking and how long have you been on this dose?
We need to see your current results for
TSH
FT4
FT3
Thyroid antibodies
Vit D
B12
Folate
Ferritin
Once we see these results (include reference ranges) - tested after being on a steady dose for 6-8 weeks - do not test before this time - then we can see if we can help.
I have been on different ranges from 75 mcg to 150 mcg over the years. Now on 100 mcg and no blood test until two weeks from now
100mcg Levo? What about the T3 you were talking about yesterday? You need to leave 6-8 weeks on the same dose - with no changes - before retesting.
What about results from previous years on those other doses? What were they and how were you then?
And as was mentioned yesterday, and above, you need your vitamins tested.
First step is to get full Thyroid and vitamin testing after 6 weeks on constant unchanging dose of Levothyroxine (or Levothyroxine and SMALL 5mcg dose of T3 twice a day if you decided to stay on some T3)
Important to get vitamins optimal for that it's easier to tolerate adding T3 in very very small 5mcg steps
20% Patients with no thyroid can not regain full health on just Levothyroxine
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Indepth research into T3/NDT - very positive
Hello Rachel, you can live a good life without a thyroid. Although I've only had most, not all, my thyroid removed, the rest is non functional and I'm reliant on levothyroxine. The point of thyroid hormone replacement is to live symptom free.
Having said that, levothyroxine is not an easy drug to take as other drugs, some health conditions and foods can interfere with absorption. In addition, levothyroxines can vary in how you absorb them.
What I've learned is to be careful to always stick to one levothyroxine that suits me. Take it on an empty stomach with only water for an hour afterwards. I've gone gluten free which seems to help regulate absorption and support better vitamin levels. I have to keep an eye on calcium intake and vitamin D levels.
Optimal vitamin levels are really important. I also have a good, gentle exercise program and incorporate yoga and meditation for relaxation. I never thought I would have to make so many changes but I find it's essential if I want to continue to work full time, stay healthy, keep my thyroid hormone levels stable and avoid anxiety or depression.
Rachel, I found that adding T3 is what helps with my depression, foggy brain, head to toe pain, breathlessness etc. I read that you are trying T3 as well, but at a very high dose. It takes a long long time to find your sweet spot, and you do need to reduce T4 when adding T3. You should also start at a low dose of T3 and work your way up. I find it takes my body almost 4 months to adjust to any change in dosages. I hope I will be able to find my sweet spot before I die. I've recently gone from 75mcg T4/12mcg T3 to 75mcg T4/9mcg T3. I'm diabetic so too much T3 screws with my glucose so I had to stop taking my afternoon dose for a while and I've now recently re-introduced it at a reduced dose. I've read that people with no thyroid tend to require a combination of T4 and T3 to feel normal again.
Hello Rachel
I too am without a thyroid, having Graves disease as my thyroid was ablated in 2005.
I have learnt of my situation " back to front " and feel very angry about " the cure, and the totally safe procedure of RAI " which has burnt out my thyroid, rendering me hypothyroid, but has also caused damage to my internal organs, and for which I have received no help or acknowledgement from within the NHS.
Your parents acted on the information they were given and they acted with the best of intentions, why wouldn't they.
Rachal, we are where we are, I know it's difficult, but we need to turn the anger into getting even, and getting better. I am 72, your age turned around and you too can turn this around and find your way back to better health, as I have done, along with many other brave people with the support offered on this amazing website.
A fully functioning working thyroid would be supporting you on a daily basis, , with approximately 100 T4 + 10 T3 - this is just a guide line, we are all different.
T3 is much stronger than T4, and it's about getting a balance between these two hormones that works for you. There are suggestions of a ratio of T3 / T4 of 1/4 - but it's just a suggestion, some people settle on a ratio slightly higher, others, slightly lower.
As you can imagine, it will take time, patience, and a greater understanding of how your body works and what it needs to recover from many years on monotherapy.
The thyroid is a major gland responsible for full body synchronisation including your mental, physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual well being, and when not optimally medicated the symptoms experienced can be upsetting, confusing and hard to untangle.
It is essential that your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are high in their ranges, to support core body full strength as no thyroid hormone replacement will work effectively if these vital vitamins and minerals are not optimal.
As already suggested it would be a good idea to get a base line of where you are in all this so we can see and measure the improvements you will make over the next months.
It's a massive learning curve, but you can improve your health and have a life.
You might like to read a book, it has become one of my gotos :-
Your Thyroid and How To Keep It Healthy - it is written by a doctor who has hypothyroidism, Dr Barry Durrant - Peatfield. It's an easy, sometimes funny read about this gland and all that it does, and what we need to do to make up for its loss.
Hi Rachel, good advice above regarding the functional side. Depression is a symptom, but I would also say you are also angry and sad about your situation. Your reaction is not a million miles away from how we respond to a bereavement.
Years ago i went through a very difficult birth and subsequent surgeries and then the development of Hashimotos. I went from a very fit, healthy, active, young woman to - quite frankly in my eyes - a deformed, disabled, ill, disaster. It took me a while to realise that I was actually grieving for my old self. I had to eventually face it, cry, shout and scream and then let it go and accept that I would never be who I was and I am now who I am. Its a really hard thing to do, but you can still have a good life.
I used to think how would I respond if I had been in a car accident and lost my legs? would I want to be confined to a wheelchair, looking to the past, or would I be the amputee who set their sights on the paraolympics with all the heartache and pain that goes with it?!
The problem with thyroid problems, is they are transient, they are not something that generally can be fixed, but you do learn to listen to your body and work with it. You will have bad days, and you will have better days, and if you are one of the lucky ones and find a great GP, you may have great days!
I was very angry with the NHS for what they did to me, and then how they subsequently treated me. But at the end of the day, the NHS are not miracle workers. They can never recreate as nature intended, every 'cure' has a side effect. The old NHS joke goes "The operation was a success, but the patient died..." is very apt!
Don't be angry with your parents or NHS, they did what they thought was right. What you now need to do is take control of your destiny.
I went trough a period where I was so ill and untreated I was diagnosed with ME, I was told there was nothing they could do, I just had to manage my condition. This was the low point of my life, I thought of ending it. I has taken a long time to get treated for Hashimotos and have that mis-diagnosis removed from my records. Still, as people can confirm here, I still have a lot of problems, I am not optimally treated, I find myself being looked after by an endo that does not have a clue. It is a constant struggle some days physically and mentally. But I am not letting the condition or my quest for the perfect 'cure' consume me.
Your first step is acknowledge you are grieving for the life you could of had.
The next is to take control of your condition. Learn about it, and try to get the treatment you need. That is a lot harder than it sounds, but don't rely on the doctors 'fixing' you. They will come and go, you will find a good one, and they will disappear and come across a lot of bad ones, but you need to ask more, and be more intune with what works for you and what doesn't. You have already had great advice above and this site is full of help on that score. You also need to start nurturing yourself. Your body is amazing, it is trying to keep you going even though it has been damaged. Look after it, feed and water it well.
I also think you need to think of one SMALL thing that you really want to achieve on a personal level and set steps in motion to achieve that goal. With this condition it will take a while to reach your personal goal, with a lot of 2 steps forward and one step back, but you can get there. For me it was initially doing a 0-3km run. Almost impossible in the early days with my physical symptoms! I got there eventually (after my medication was upped a bit, and even then the after effects weren't great!) But I did it. Which was an achievement as I thought I would never run again. It has given me the confidence, that there will be other times I can do that, just not now.
A good piece of advice my mum gave me was try and do something physical, something creative and learn something new every year. To date I have tried, calligraphy, water-colour painting, crochet, needle-felting, running, yoga, surfing, ski-ing, Greek, RHS gardening course, swimming, creating a veg patch. These are little things that I think at the beginning of the year I want to do that year. They are not things I do constantly/regularly, I don't have the energy to maintain that lifestyle anymore. But I will sign up for a short course and overall it gives you a sense of achievement and well being. I wanted to achieve physical things as I was very very active (not ideal with a thyroid condition!). But for you it may be places you want to visit. Or something you want to see. Just build in the time to recover.
good luck lovely!
Are you the only member of your family with the thyroid problem. I too have no thyroid it was removed in Oct 2015 before it was working well and I was not on any medication.
After getting Levo I turned into a different person, ill, very sad etc.etc Then I joined this site I now self medicate with NDT it has taken a couple of years to get the right dosage but I now feel 85% of my old self and improving every day. You can feel well to if you take the good advice on this site.
Hi Rachel, I feel very sorry for you and fully empathise with the way you feel. I agree with others that your inability to be relieved that at least you were treated and did not develop cancer, but instead feel as if your life has be spoilt, could be a consequence of insufficient thyroid hormone, since being low does cause depression. If this is the case, it will be harder for you, than the average person, to summon the energy to get the doctor to sort it out. Hang in there, we are all with you, many of us have been the same and managed to come through and out the other side. Best of luck and hugs
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