Is it normal after a thyroidectomy to get sudden tiredness. It doesn't happen often but sometimes it just hits me and I feel tired and it makes me anxious.
I don't remember feeling like this before my thyroidectomy so wondered if other people have felt like this since theirs?
contrary to what you were probably told, having a thyroidectomy is a huge assault on the body and you will need to keep on top of your health and watch for changes that may be indicative of your body needing more help in the form of Liothyronine. This is another thyroid hormone, not routinely offered but invaluable to some people, who find Levothyroxine is not helping enough. It would be useful for you to ask for full thyroid blood tests and for these to include your T4 and T3, as well as TSH which they will do automatically. This will show how well you are turning your Levothyroxine into a useful hormone for your body and will indicate whether you would benefit from having the second hormone, Liothyronine, which produces T3 in the body. If this is low, your body will be struggling in many ways and you may particularly feel tired. I suffered also from infections that would not clear up with antibiotics, plus all manner of annoying changes to my health that I had never previously suffered. Starting on T3 was like a miracle but it still took weeks and months to find the right dose, so be prepared to ask lots of questions and gradually learn how to manage being without a thyroid. Be prepared to have a battle with doctors over being given Liothyronine, if your blood tests show you need it. Good luck. It is a long journey.
Welcome to forum
Why did you have a thyroidectomy & How long ago.
What if your current replacement dose? Do you always have same brand?
Do you have any results? Tracking your own results & understanding what they mean & how best to guide treatment can help you progress.
Some practices offer online access to results which is useful if can be set up otherwise ask receptionist for printout with lab ranges, ranges varys so print out is Important.
Often doctors focus on the TSH results which is the pituitary signal to stimulate thyroid. It’s not a reliable measure and you need to know what your FT3 & FT4 levels are. Your FT4 & or your FT3 may be too low causing tiredness.
Levothyroxine work work well unless nutrients optimal, have folate,ferritin, B12 & Vitamin D been tested?
Hi I had my thyroidectomy 3 years ago due to thryoid cancer but also graves disease.
I am on 150mcg daily and have the same brand
Here are my latest results
T3 4.5 Range 3.1-6.8
T4 23.1 Range 11-25
TSH 0.05 Range 0.27 - 4.2
Thyroglobulin <0.1
Thyroglobulin antibodies 847
The FT4 is extremely good in range & this keeps TSH low, to stop stimulation of remnant thyroid cells. But FT3 Is much lower in range - showing poor conversion, which can result in hypo symptoms.
Arrange testing of Folate, ferritin, B12 & vitamin D. Private options if doctor refuses. Bringing to optimal levels might improve FT3.
The accepted conversion ratio when on T4 monotherapy is said to be 1 / 3.50 - 4.50 T3/T4 once the T4 is up in the top quadrant of its range and we generally feel best when we come in this range at 4 or under.
So to find out how well you are converting the T4 into T3 you simply divide your T4 by your T3 and I'm getting yours coming in at 5.13 showing your conversion wide of centre and with poor conversion of T4 - Levothyroxine.
Optimal vitamins and minerals may help improve the ratio but it's obvious having lost your thyroid you have lost your own natural production of T3.
Your TSH is low suppressed but this is seen as ok in some sorts of cancers.
Having Graves Disease means that you may well need higher levels of T3 / T4 to feel well as your body will have adjusted and tolerated higher levels than ' normal ' when diagnosed Graves;
You might like to read around Graves - as we are looking at an auto immune disease for which there is no cure - and something has triggered your immune system to turn and attack your body rather than defend it.
There is likely a genetic predisposition to Graves and it does tend to be a stress and anxiety driven auto immune disease.
The most well rounded of all the sites I visited has to be that of the Elaine Moore Graves Disease and AI Education Foundation - elaine-moore.com
Hello Cymru girl and welcome to the forum :
In short - yes - but it's a bit more complex than this one liner.
Can you please give us more information such as why you had a thyroidectomy and when and what had been prescribed in the way of thyroid hormone replacement and can you share with forum members any blood test results and ranges you have had both pre and post surgery.
The thyroid is a major gland and responsible for full body synchronisation which includes your physical, mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual well being, your inner central heating system and your metabolism.
A fully functioning working thyroid would be supporting you on a daily basis with trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin + a measure of T3 at around 10 mcg + a measure of T4 at around 100 mcg - with T3 said to be around 4 times more powerful than T4.
Some people can get by on T4 - Levothyroxine - only.
Some find T4 seems not to work as well it did / might :
Some can't tolerate T4 and need to take T3 - Liothyronine :
Some need a combo of a little T3 + a measure of T4 - to likely try and replicate the basic amounts thought that their thyroid once produced :
whilst others find their health restored better taking Natural Desiccated Thyroid which contains all the same know hormones as the human gland and derived from pig thyroids, dried and ground down into tablets referred o as grains.
No thyroid hormone replacement woks well until your core strength vitamins and minerals - those of ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are up and maintained at optimal levels.
Food for thought - so as suggested - the answer is yes and the reasons much more complex so we need more information before we can help you take the first steps back to better health.
Yes this has been my life since my Thyroidectomy in 2016 don’t care what or how much meds you take or how many vitamins you woof down the tiredness hits you like a freight train …. Its a bizarre experience.
It's horrible isn't it, one minute i can be fine and the next it just hits me. It's not tiredness as in I want to sleep just as if my body doesn't want to do anything
Hello there, I had a total thyroidectomy last June due to graves disease.I do not regret my decision in any way, but it is true that it is something that has to be managed( for me anyway).I suppose when you have a healthy thyroid it adjusts the amount of thyroid hormone it produces according to your body's needs ,where as when you take a tablet it is a fixed amount.I have documented my journey on my profile if you would care to read it.Of course it is only my experience and everyone is different.I am taking the time to regularly check my thyroid levels and my vitamin levels too.Something I would never have done before.I sometimes pay privately for these.I am trying to look after myself better.Pacing things, resting, decent food, a little excersise. Things I used to take for granted before I now think about,but long term this can only be for the better.If I need to rest I rest and that's it.Hope this helps and I hope you feel better soon.
I think pacing myself is where I go wrong, at home I do housework and then rest a little but at work I don't pace myself and get really tired.
I have just found out I am in the lower levels of vitamin D so I am now supplementing that.My daughter has long covid and has had to completely rethink everything.Luckily she is managing to keep working but help from the long covid clinic has given her small ideas and different ways of doing things to save her energy.Even small things such as trying to do all her "upstairs" things in a morning before coming downstairs so she's not wasting energy going up and downstairs unnecessarily.You are right, a little planning can make such a difference.
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