Anyone with hyper/hypothyroidism?

[RellaBelle 29]

Hey y'all! So I'm scheduled for vsg March 14th and went in for blood work on Monday to make sure all my levels were ok. The results came back saying my cholesterol was a little bit high and my thyroid levels were low. The nurse then called me back to say the Dr told her to tell me that I may have hyperthyroidism... which is od because I thought low levels meant your thyroid was under active and hyper meant it was over active, yes? I'm assuming she just got it backwards and meant to say I may have hypothyroidism. ANYWAY! The Doctor wants me to come back in 6 weeks for more blood work... why he wants to wait 6 weeks is beyond me, I guess to see if the levels change and maybe it was just a one time thing? I don't know. Either way, for those who have either hypo or hyperthyroidism... how has it affected [effected? lol] your journey? Did you find you lost slower than others? Thanks in advance!

TLDR: How has hyper or hypothyroidism impacted your vsg journey?

[kemepling 1]

Hi RellaBelle, I haven't been sleeved yet but was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism 9months ago. Went in for routine bloodwork and discovered that my thyroid isn't functioning at all. I attended a VGS seminar on Monday 12/7. I asked the surgeon if Hypothyroidism slows the weight loss process- he said not at all. In fact, 85% of his patients are diagnosed with Hypothyroidism! I was relieved to hear this! I submitted my paperwork Monday night and hopefully will be approved by my insurance soon. Good luck

[VSGAnn2014 12,990]

I have a less-than-normal functioning thyroid (hypothyroidism). Have taken levoxyl for nearly 35 years. I think a lot of WLS patients have thyroid issues.

There's no way to know how much (or even if) my hypothyroidism has affected my weight loss. Frankly, it doesn't matter whether or how much your thyroid affects your weight loss. It is what is is. And you just go ahead post-op with all the same behaviors you're supposed to use. And you will lose weight. And if you are consistent with your new behaviors / lifestyle you'll reach your weight loss goal and maintain your weight loss.

For the record, here's my pre- and post-WLS monthly weight losses. I'm 70 years old and 5'5" tall:

Highest weight - 235 pounds

Weight on surgery day - 216 pounds

(Weight lost pre-op) - 19 pounds

Post-op weight losses:

Month 1 - 10.4 lbs

Month 2 - 11.8 lbs

Month 3 - 9.2 lbs

Month 4 - 10.4 lbs

Month 5 - 6.8 lbs

Month 6 - 5.0 lbs

Month 7 - 6.2 lbs

Month 8 - 4.4 lbs

Month 9 - 3.8 lbs

Month 10 - 1.8 lbs

Month 11 - 2.6 lbs

Month 12 - 0.6 lbs

Month 13 - 1.2 lbs

Month 14 - 1.0 lbs

Month 15 - 1.6 lbs

[JenniferP1 75]

• Have Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism is a side effect. Was sleeved 11/5 and down 37 lbs since starting pre-op diet (2 weeks prior to surgery) -- so far so good!

[RellaBelle 29]

@@kemepling, @@VSGAnn2014 and @JenniferP1... thank you! That definitely makes me feel better.

[glitter eyes 1,396]

They may be concerned about hyperthyroidism if your TSH levels are low. It is an inverse relationship- if TSH is low then hyperthyroidism, if TSH is high then hypothyroidism. There are also additional levels they can check such as your T3 and T4 levels.

I have hypothyroidism and the only thing that has changed for me post surgery was as I lost weight I have needed less medication. I went from 250 of synthyroid down to 88.

[lauriev 71]

I have Hypothyroid and take Levoxy. I was sleeved on 12/4 and am down 10 pounds as of this morning,don't worry, you got this!!!

[songsmith 334]

My thyroid came out last year at this time. It took my PCP ten years of arguing with various ENTs and sending me for consults and tests--inconclusive. She could tell there was something wrong by looking at the way I swallowed. Guess what? She was right. My little butterfly had grown into a 9 1/2" Mothra! It's good your physician wants to keep an eye on this.

I am pre-op, but I have successfully lost weight while taking synthroid. You might say I'm the most "hypothyroid" you can get! As I understand it, medication will make your hormones act correctly so you may even see an improvement in ease of weight loss. I know I did.

One thing I did read (and which I have adhered to) is to not eat right after taking your thyroid medication. Have no idea if that's valid, but I have always waited at least an hour. I found that advice online, so definitely take it with a grain of salt!

[VSGAnn2014 12,990]

Yes! A common mistake is to take your thyroid medication with food.

We must take our thyroid med one hour before eating or two hours after eating for it to be fully metabolized and "work" effectively.

Please google that and learn more.

[SueAE 6]

I have hyperthyroidism but my t3 and t4 levels are normal so every doctor I've been to has been baffled. I took the medication for 2 months and nothing improved so I stopped and my symptoms are back full throttle.

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[MissB1982 75]

@@SueAE did they ever find out what was wrong with you? I'm in the same boat. Have had low tsh levels and hyper symptoms and been seeing an endo for about three years but wasn't put on meds because t3 and t4 are fine. Since my gastric sleeve my tsh is super low, even lower than it was before surgery (I had it under control actually before surgery for awhile) so I'm very concerned. I'm sooo exhausted and have bad heart palps and even with the surgery I feel I'm hungrier than I should be. I still don't eat over 800-900 calories though. Very concerned, I hate feeling like this. See endo next week.

[perksgirl119 9]

I'm hypo had half of mines removed due to goiter I take pills for it daily was just sleeved on 6th of September

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[OzRoo 1,492]

@@MissB1982

Glad you are seeing your Endo.

I have Graves Disease (Hyper thyroid). It is genetic, but I was diagnosed with it pre Sleeve, as part of the tests pre op.

I've walked around with it for decades .....

This put my surgery back for 9 months to get my thyroid stabilised. I tried anti-thyroid drugs but this was taking too long, so I was on Beta Blockers and had RAI done last year (radioactive iodine) to destroy my thyroid.

4 months later I went hypo, and was put on Thyroxine (Synthroid) 100mcg.

After my sleeve early March 2016 I started noticing that I wasn't sleeping well again, and my bad headaches came back.

In May my Thyroxine dose was reduced.

I was OK for a while, but with continuous weight loss, the Hyper thyroid symptoms came back: bad insomnia, awful headaches, high blood pressure and racing pulse, sweats. My TSH was back to less than 0.01 again!

I saw my Endo last week, and she reduced my Thyroxine to 50 mcg (half dose). She told me to have a week off Thyroxine, to stop it completely, and re-start it at 50 mcg this coming Friday.

I also had to go back on Beta Blockers to lower down heart rate and blood pressure. She confirmed that with weight-loss, this affects the med dose. It is very weight sensitive.

So far I am starting to sleep better, and my vitals have improved, rare headaches now and still bit hot at times.

@@MissB1982

I hope you get your answers from your Endo. You sound quite Hyper thyroid to me. It can put a strain on the heart, and the whole condition is very unpleasant.

There are anti-thyroid meds, such as Carbimazole, plus Beta Blockers to slower the heart rate, and there is RAI: Radioactive Iodine Tx.

Good luck, and let us know how you went.

[OzRoo 1,492]

@@MissB1982

I know you said you were not on any medication, however the weight loss could have made you more hyper thyroid.

So, hope you will get an answer soon, and treatment for your symptoms.

Good luck!

[perspectiveiseverything 105]

I have hypothyroid and the other important thing to remember about the medication (levothyroid) is that both Calcium and Iron inhibit its effectiveness so you can't take the medication within two hours either side of the Vitamins. Given how frequently we have to take Vitamins, the RN coordinator at Kaiser told me that the only good time to take levothyroid is in the middle of the night when you get up to pee. :-/

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