Hi all. I had rest of my thyriod removed last week Thursday. I m om 100mg levothyroxine.
I was wondering is it normal to have a increased appetite, keeping in mind i have been working out allot pre surgery and not sure why i feel like i need to eat more now.
I have changed my diet over to mostly plant based but read Soy products isnt good with the meds anyone had any issues eating and using to much soy on this medication
Thanks allot 😊
It's nothing to do with the medication. Soy stops thyroid hormones - exogenous or endogenous - from getting into the cells. So, you could have very good levels in your blood, but because it isn't getting into the cells, you're still hypo. 
NHS guidelines on Levothyroxine including that most patients need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine.
nhs.uk/medicines/levothyrox...
Also note what foods to avoid (eg recommended to avoid calcium rich foods at least four hours from taking Levo)
There are some foods and drinks that don't mix well with levothyroxine.
Drinks containing caffeine, like coffee, tea and some fizzy drinks, can reduce the amount of levothyroxine your body takes in. Leave at least 30 minutes after taking levothyroxine before you drink them.
Calcium-rich foods, such as milk, cheese, yoghurt and broccoli, can reduce the amount of levothyroxine your body takes in. Leave at least 4 hours between taking levothyroxine and eating calcium-rich foods.
Soya in food and supplements may stop levothyroxine working properly. If you regularly eat soya or take soya supplements your doctor might need to do extra blood tests to make sure you're getting enough levothyroxine.
Kelp (a type of seaweed) can contain high levels of iodine, which sometimes makes an underactive thyroid worse. Do not take supplements containing kelp if you're taking levothyroxine.
Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime
verywellhealth.com/best-tim...
Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.
Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.
Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet. So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half
Teva and Aristo are the only lactose free tablets
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Teva poll
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.
Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away
(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)
academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...
Physicians should: 1) alert patients that preparations may be switched at the pharmacy; 2) encourage patients to ask to remain on the same preparation at every pharmacy refill; and 3) make sure patients understand the need to have their TSH retested and the potential for dosing readjusted every time their LT4 preparation is switched (18).
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after starting on levothyroxine
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with Graves’ disease
Ask GP to test vitamin levels
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
List of private testing options
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin
medichecks.com/products/thy...
Medichecks often have special offers, if order on Thursdays
Thriva Thyroid plus vitamins
Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes vitamins
bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...
If you are pretty much vegetarian or vegan are you supplementing B12 and regularly testing iron and ferritin?
Thx allot 😊 I have read all that up on NHS too, I m not currently supplementing anything no, i haven't restarted my Vits and supplements yet.
I used to take a Vit B complex but not in last two weeks.
I do weight training and couldn't find any information on musle growth and affect after thyriodectomy.
I dont think i m actually hypo or hyper at the moment my thyriod was removed due to cancer and goiter s.
I am trying to go full vegetarian but will be a bit difficult without the soy products 😬🤷🏼♀️
Thx allot for the links and reply.
On levothyroxine we need optimal vitamin levels
Can be difficult to maintain iron and ferritin levels on plant based diet
Which is strange cause before this i read up on how food plant based diets is but i guess thats when u still have a thyriod and not on the meds. I ll have to get in touch with a dietitian i think to help me navigate this early on
Best option is to get full thyroid and vitamin testing at 6-8 weeks on levothyroxine
Yes the doctor did mention that for 6 weeks post surgery.
Thank you for the info what a difficult time i m having finding answers lol
Many, many people after thyroidectomy need the addition of small doses of T3 alongside levothyroxine
But first steps are to fine tune levothyroxine dose and getting vitamin levels optimal ....then see how well you convert Ft4 to Ft3
Thx a million it s all so new and confusing to me at the moment. I ll definitely get the bloods done 6 weeks post surgery and see whats up, is it normal to get light headed in the beginning of using this or can that just be the recovery process. I appreciate your advice and help 🙏🏻
K2 from soy (natto) - OK or not?
1 month post op blood results. Feedback please.
6-week post-medication adjustment visit with MD 
TSH reduction in 1 week
NHS TSH test 1 week apart from Medichecks test
