Almost 5 mos. in post-thyroidectomy

[Arrigo]

The good, bad, and ugly thus far for me:

Good: Had Graves, eyes FREAKED out immediately after thyroidectomy, got put on dexamethasone for 1 mo., and thank God, they're doing better after that. They now look less bulged out than while I had Graves, they feel less gritty and irritated, and the stare is not glassy anymore. So a net plus vs. before thyroidectomy. I also feel calmer on the balance, but...

Bad: Whoo boy. They'll say, "you just take 1 pill the rest of your life, you'll feel so much better". Yeah, no. Stiff joints. Waking up tired, exhausted by 5 PM many days. Intense hair loss. Worst of all, a) +6 lbs despite 1.5 hrs of cardio 3x a week and 0.5 hrs of weight training 2x a week, and having given up sugar and alcohol at about 90%, and b) odd moods I've never had before: went from the Graves rage to some melancholy and weepy spells with some desperation thrown in... VERY not me, very disconcerting. I am a person who tends to get mad, not sad: I felt lost.

Ugly: Folks on here who say thyroidectomized patients need T3 might well be onto something... Due to the 'Bad' above, I did an fT4, fT3, and reverse T3 test on my own. fT3 at 3 on a 2.3-4.2 range, but rT3... sky high. Interestingly, I read that the Type III deiodinase enzyme responsible for rT3 has as one of its roles the protection of the brain vs. abnormally high levels of fT3... and with Graves raging for many years, it would make sense this enzyme would have been working overtime in my body. Add to that the fact that the T3 produced by the thyroid itself has obviously disappeared, plus any absorption issues I might be dealing with... So maybe that's the cause for the 'Bad'.

Took the results to a new doc, he rx'd TR T3 instead of the levo. I'm starting it and will report back: hopefully more in the Good column.

TL; DR: I personally feel that post-thyroid removal, I exchanged one battle for another. Was really not ready to have to do that so soon after the surgery, but it is what it is. You need patience with your own self. I am terrible with that, but trying to work on it.

Hope everyone is well.

[Batty1]

Oh my gosh .... I 100% relate to your bad column after thyroidectomy..... I too was extremely active (fitness teacher) and avid runner 1/2 marathons and after my thyroidectomy (cancer) my health crashed and burned with crazy, crazy full body pains that made every movement a nightmare and then the weight that just kept piling on in-spite of my trying to stay fit, I lost.

The above issues happened over the first 2 years after my thyroidectomy about two years ago now my excessive amount of body pains was diagnosed as psoriatic arthritis and my burning skin sensation was just diagnosed as small fiber neuropathy for unknown cause .... because you know people just randomly developed burning skin for fun.... Sorry Im not a believer in things happening for no reason thats a lazy diagnosis in my opinion.

I hope your pain issues clear up and you can keep your fitness up but you definitely need some T3 I was a mental mess before I was put on it.