Total or partial thyroidectomy, a good reason to monitor bone density?

[Nanaedake]

Reuter health article, research is flawed as its a retrospective study but one good point made is that current recommendations do not include monitoring bone density which seems to be a fairly obvious requirement in Thyroidectomy - for thyroid cancer at least. Vitamin D and calcium levels ought be checked regularly at least once a year as status can change especially in women but NHS does not do this. The article doesn't mention it either.

reuters.com/article/us-heal...

[Poniesrfun]

It’s also flawed because they are blaming TSH suppression rather than levothyroxine over medication. Suppression can be achieved with T3 without overmedicating with T4.

This will always be an issue as long as TSH is used for dosing in patients with total thyroidectomy. And it’s a preventable problem perpetuated by current anti-T3 guidelines.

Patti In AZ

[MaisieGray]

It's an article about a study, rather than the study report itself, so we don't have the exact detail; but based on what is written there, I'd say that the study being retrospective is the least of its shortcomings. It seems to be plucking out of thin air, that the blame for osteoporosis should be laid at the door of a suppressed TSH with no supporting evidence other than correlation, but as I say, we don't have the study itself to know the detail. The commentators reported in the article are as worrying too, regurgitating the same old same old about suppressed TSH always = over-medication = bone thinning. And as for the guy who thinks that you solve osteoporosis by not performing surgery on those with thyroid cancer, the mind boggles. I wonder if we'll ever see a study into the long term effects of giving those without their own endogenous T1, T2, T3, T4, and Calcitonin, a paltry T4 in compensation.

[annnsandell]

As far as I am aware the danger with a partial or total Thyroidectomy is if that your calcium regulating parathyroid glands are damaged or removed. They are attached to the back of the thyroid. Usual practice is to test after operating to check that they are still working is successfully left in place. There seems to be conflicting research about Vit D traditionally held to help maintain bones. However, all that said aging and female hormones play a big part in bone density. I still don't understand TSH.