Thyroidectomy symptoms and conditions

After reading so much about Armour, earlier this year I decided that I would like to try it. I was actually feeling very good on Synthroid but wondered if I could feel even better. I was on Armour for a month and got very ill. Dizzy, legs swelling, hard time walking and standing. I went back to the Synthroid and it has taken me about six months to recover. I had a thyroidectomy about 3 years ago and never gained any weight until I was on the Armour, about 15lbs. My Endo says everyone is different with the meds. I really wanted the Armour to work out for me and will be hesitant to try anything else now because of my terrible experience.

I have been taking Levoxyl for six months since a thyroidectomy in December 2008. Started on 137mcg, reduced to 125mcg, reduced to 100mcg, and now on 88mcg. I take it every morning on an empty stomach with plenty of water. I feel great and have not gained weight. I continue to eat healthy but probably don't exercise as much as I should. I consider myself a very lucky 54 year old woman.

I'm fed up. About 4 years ago I had a complete thyroidectomy and OMG my life has been a mess ever since, Yes, I needed the gland removed (it was a goiter pressing on my air way and esophagus), it needed to come out but OMG what a nightmare. Synthroid is a drug I can't figure out. I am convinced that this has ruined my life. I have developed chronic/non-stop head pain and pressure. My B.P. has gone up and now I'm on B.P. medicine. (still have severe head pain). It just never leaves me. E.R. visits/hospital stays and on and on. They treat me like I'm a complete lunatic because they can't seem to find anything organically wrong with me. Ummm-it hurts(my head). I am starting with a new Doctor who is a D.O. rather than an M.D. and I am praying that he finds what the **** is causing my pain. I feel like crap. The T.S.H. is in normal range but I have learned that the T.S.H. is not everything (even though my thyroid is gone). The isiots for lack od better description, are just too lazy to go the extra minute to find out what is wrong here. I just want to be able to function and this head pain will not let me do that. It is a nightmare and I have nothing but sympathy and empathy for anyone who suffers with pain on a daily basis.

The only constant is the Synthroid. Maybe I can't take this stuff. It has to be that my body just can't tolerate it and need something else or T3 added (I don't know). I just pray that this new doc can figure it out because I feel so helpless with this. My pain is always there squeezing and pressing. It is horrible. Maybe Synthroid is the culprit. Good luck to everyone.

Boy, this could take a while. Have been on generic Levoxyl for more than 7 yrs(can't say exactly how long since I stay "fuzzy headed" all the time). Anyway, about a yr ago I became so depressed I went off all my meds -- I'm a diabetic on insulin and also have high blood pressure. I felt good!To try and make this story a little shorter, I went on a diet and lost 70 lbs -- went from 310 down to 240. Then I went back on meds. In less than a yr, have regained all the weight I lost. Also, my legs swell and ache so badly it makes walking painful. Hands, wrists and knees throb constantly. Intermittent headaches so bad I have to wear sunglasses just to tolerate indoor lighting. Hair loss is so severe I'm considering a wig. Skin is dry and itchy and lotions help not at all. Any work I have to do I must accomplish before noon because by early afternoon the fatigue is debilitating. I'm currently on 300mcg of Levothyroxine (up from 250mcg 2 months ago) and doctor wants to increase dosage even more. Had no idea there were other people suffering the same problems until I stumbled upon this site. I take the medication as prescribed (with perhaps less than the recommended full glass of water) but plenty of coffee. Discovered on another site that the coffee may be inhibiting the drug's absorption. I feel so helpless/hopeless. Am considering going back off the Levothyroxine but am seriously worried about high T3/T4 levels. Thanks for listening; guess I just needed to vent.

I was diagnosed with graves disease last year, I had a really acute case that turned me into a total nut job.
In October after going through several thyroid storms and the doctors not being able to keep me stable with medications, I had a full thyroidectomy in October.
I started on .100 mcg of levothyroxine and then the dosage was gradually decreased, I started having a lot of random body aches, mood swings, lots of muscular pains and no energy.
They ended up raising my dosage and detected that I had a large vitamin D deficiency, after several treatments of taking 50,000 units of vitamin D, and also adding my levothyroxine dosage I started feeling better. I still have mood swings here and there, and feel sad periodically, but the last month or so I've been feeling more fine than I have in a long time. They have me on .170 mcg of levothyroxine for two months now. Last week I started getting headaches more frequently, and one of the times I got this nose bleed.
This past weekend I got a headache, and then later that night I had another nose bleed.
I don't usually get nose bleeds or this many headaches so I'm a little concerned.
Also the last time I was getting headaches and constant nosebleeds was when I was really hyperthyroid.
As far as the doctors go, I'm in between insurances and quite honestly I've been frustrated with both my pcp and endocrinologist...

I had a thyroidectomy on 4/16/08 and started on the generic synthroid right after that. The reason for the surgery was nodules and pre-cancer cells( I have had breast cancer and mastectomy 12/06. Since starting it, I have had swelling all over my body and was wondering if it could cause it. Since reading all these blogs, I see it is probably the cause. I am taking 75 mg and was wondering if maybe it's to high a dose.(?) I don't go to my Endo for a month but was planning on calling him tomorrow to see if I can half the dose until I see him-Is that a good idea or should I increase it? I'd appreciate all replies. Theresa

I have been on Synthroid since about 1995. I had a thyroidectomy and do not have a thyroid anymore. I have been on 0.175 mcg for about 10 years and did not have any side effects except for fatigue and a little depression.Everything else was pretty good. My TSH is registering low so my doctor moved me to 0.1 mcg of Synthroid and 5 micrograms of Cytomel. I took this for about three weeks and for the last 1.5 weeks have had awful headaches and the dryest eyes ever. Something, I have not experienced before. My doctor keeps saying he wants to help me but does not listen to
any of my symptoms. I actually pulled off the symptoms from the list online of hypothyroidism and have 15 out of about 20. I am wondering why I felt so much better on the higher dose than this low dose. Can anyone releate. I am starting to think maybe my body is not processing this right. The funny thing is is that my lab work came back with normal results today, which means my doc is probably going to keep me where I am and I feel the worst I have felt in ten years.

I was diagnoed back in november with Hashimoto Disease and had a complete thyroidectomy in December. I have been switched three times since Dec. 07 (only April 6 '08) to different doses of Synthroid. I still experienced weight gain and cannot lose weight, irritability, depression, hair loss, exhaustion... I decided last month to stop taking it all together and was wondering what effects this may have on me. Any clues as to the effects of NOT taking the medication after having a my thyroid completly removed?? I feel the same (depressed, irritable, still losing hair, exhausted...) but am sure this is probably not a good thing to not take any medication when I don't have a thyroid anymore.

Had total thyroidectomy 9 months ago and started taking Synthroid immediately thereafter. For the last 4 months I have noticed significant hair thinning. I have always had very thick, healthly looking hair but now it's just dry and brittle all of the time. I always feel tired and bloated around my stomach area in particular. I have always been a size 4-6 but have inexplicably gained 6 pounds in the last month. Is there an alternative to snythroid without these side effects?

I just read all the posts on this site and was wishing there was an answer after each one from someone who knows. I had a thyroidectomy a year ago and have had several things. The pop up rashes only lasted a few weeks and my sister-in-law had them too only lasting a few weeks when she started on another thyroid medecine. My psoriasis that I had didn't get worse but I got it on my face and had never had that before. I didn't get medecine for 10 days and I don't think that was a good idea. I got stiffness in a couple fingers which has gotten better now. Another lady I know didn't get medecine for 30 days and got carpel tunnel. I can't imagine why she didn't go into a coma by then. My gripe is that my tongue swells so that my teeth make it sore and especially when I lay down to go to sleep. I am so confused on the numbers and levels cuz when it looked like the levels were low, the Dr. put me on 125 instead of 137. I guess it goes backwards from what you would think. I was too tired on that level and my periods were screwed up and my tongue was too swollen so I cut up pills to bring myself back up to 137. I am alright for someone with a mild schedule but I take too many naps and can doze in a very interesting bible study or lay down on the couch and visit a friend and fall asleep on them and feel like a dork. I would appreciate any input from any of you. I do think there must be a lot of people happy on this drug because us who arent are the ones who would find a site like this so if you are new and reading this. Hey you might love it and do well. Reading all the problems would be enough to depress anyone. love y'all

Well....I had missed a few days of my synthroid because I was on vacation, and started to feel really sluggish and just "off". I had a thyroidectomy a few years ago due to a growth in my thyroid that was only getting bigger. So...after reading all of these, the few problems I have been having over the years (hair loss, insomnia, horrible leg cramps), have gotten me worried. What are the options for someone like me? Who doesnt have a thyroid? What happens if I totally STOP taking this?

I mostly feel good. I had a thyroidectomy in Jan. 2005 and am on 137 mcg. I developed pop up rashes on my hands and arms mostly and they would disappear overnight. I was getting them every day until I went to a homeopathic doctor who gave me stuff to boost my other gland that suffer when the thyroid (the big dog) isnt perfect. In a couple days the rashes disappeared as well as dry skin. I no longer need lotion. The latest issue I have is my tongue seems too large so that it hurts against my teeth especially when I lay down at night. Has anyone heard of that?

36 year old female. I've used levoxyl for almost two years now after have a complete thyroidectomy. In the last two months I've experienced skin discoloration around my lips. anyone else having this problem?

Not sure if this is side effect. Had Thyroid Cancer, Had radiation. became hypoparathroid. Taking large doses of calcium 7200 mg. daily. Taking 200 mcq Synthroid daily. Still hypocalcemic, just increased calcium to 9000 mg. daily. Having heart palpatations so severely, my head feels full. It lasts approximately 1 minute with each episode, skin is really dry, even peeling, leg and feet cramping, finger, hand and arms have episodes of tingling, and hair texture has changed.Doctor has tried to regulate calcium and synthroid for almost 2 years now. Is this normal??