Should I or Shouldn't I?

[Nis 0]

Hey everyone! *waves*

THE SHORT STORY
I've been hypothyroid for fifteen years. Is bariatric surgery effective and worth the risk for hypothyroid patients?

THE LONG STORY
So, I'm considering WLS. I can't believe I'm actually thinking about it.

My husband had WLS about three years ago and is doing fine. He's regained some weight but is still far ahead of where he was.

My son had WLS around the same time. He did not do well. He had extreme absorption issues and had to have a feeding port installed just weeks after his surgery. We lost him in November 2015. The official cause of death was cancer, but we wonder if the malnutrition contributed to his developing cancer.

For me, my thyroid died somewhere around 2002. I was on the Atkins program, had lost about 70 pounds, and was on my way to single digit clothing size! Then, bam - one week I gained four pounds. The next week six. And then eight. All while still working out daily and eating the Atkins way. DNA? Age? Splenda? Who knows the cause, but my thyroid was done ... completely.

The weight gain, it turns out, wasn't the worst part of hypo for me. It was the depression. My doctor put me on synthetic thyroid that didn't help at all. Finally, in 2009 I found Nature-Throid and a doctor who would prescribe it. Nature-Throid eased the depression, but my weight slowly and steadily continued to climb.

In 2015, my hair began falling out. My skin had always been dry. Now it peels off in sheets. And I put on an additional fifty pounds within months.

I chalked a lot of those symptoms to stress. The last few years have just been awful.

In January 2015, my husband had emergency surgery to place a stent in his heart and I blew out my knee. Mid 2015, I had to shop for a nursing home for my mom. If you've ever done that, you know there aren't any good nursing homes. Mom died on Christmas Day 2015 ... six weeks after losing my son. August 2016, my brother was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Next, I made a super poor career decision and lost my job in December 2016. My brother died January 30, 2017.

Yet, I'm still standing ... just barely. Because both knees are now bone on bone.

My blood pressure is fine. I'm not diabetic. No heart disease. Except for that damn thyroid, my blood work is all healthy. But I'm at an all-time high of 311 lbs. It hurts to move. It hurts to stand. I carry a lot of the weight in my hips and thighs which even makes it hurt to sit.

I hurt and I don't want to hurt anymore.

If you've read this far, thank you for letting me rant.

I'd love to hear from other hypothyroid patients. What has been your experience with WLS? Pros? Cons?

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

Well, I don't have your medical thyroid issue. However, I have had a knee replacement - 8yrs ago. I have arthritis in a few joints. The joint stress has been greatly reduced since wlsurgery in October.

I have had some work/family tragedies along your lines, add my brother's suicide/homicide, my best friend's son's suicide, outsourced job, and a house fire into mine but I don't consider those issues relevant to deciding on needing wl surgery. Ask yourself if your present conditions will ever improve without surgery? Or will your current path continue with even more weight gain and more joint misery? Only you can decide.

I offer condolences for your losses. Your son very likely had cancer prior to surgery, and while malnutrition contributed to the his condition, it could also be said the obesity could have been a bigger factor as well.

Good luck with your decisions.

[FluffyChix 17,418]

Wow! ((hugs)) You've been through the wringer backwards haven't you?!!!

I don't know the answer to your question, but I do know you must do something. It can't hurt to start the process and schedule in a teaching hospital if possible. That way you may have more access to the surgeon to ask your questions. I do know you need to have your med issues sorted out prior to surgery...especially when they deal with thyroid and psych meds. But I don't think it's impossible. But I'm just a schmoe on the internet that makes crap up all damn day!

I'm hypo. Take endocrine therapy to keep me in cancer remission. Have so many comorbidities and am on 3 bp drugs and still fight with blood pressure every day. My metabolism is crap. But I'm pursuing this surgery with the hopes that I will have a metabolic reset that might make it easier to lose the weight.

Hang in there and congrats on fighting your way through the massive grief you've experienced. You're a fighter and survivor!!!

[BigAussieGirl 162]

I can't offer any medical advise, I read you post and I wanted to say I'm sorry for your losses. You have had a very rough few years. Thinking of you.

[JohnnyCakes 593]

6 hours ago, Nis said:

For me, my thyroid died somewhere around 2002. I was on the Atkins program, had lost about 70 pounds, and was on my way to single digit clothing size! Then, bam - one week I gained four pounds. The next week six. And then eight. All while still working out daily and eating the Atkins way. DNA? Age? Splenda? Who knows the cause, but my thyroid was done ... completely.

The weight gain, it turns out, wasn't the worst part of hypo for me. It was the depression. My doctor put me on synthetic thyroid that didn't help at all. Finally, in 2009 I found Nature-Throid and a doctor who would prescribe it. Nature-Throid eased the depression, but my weight slowly and steadily continued to climb.

In 2015, my hair began falling out. My skin had always been dry. Now it peels off in sheets. And I put on an additional fifty pounds within months.

this sounds almost exactly what happened to me.

the last time i was able to lose weight (without bariatric surgery) was in 2012. it took me almost 2 YEARS of very, very strict no-carb Keto (like spoon-feeding coconut oil) with a lot of intermittent fasting to lose just 30 measly pounds. my will/discipline would not break, so my thyroid did. i woke up one day without the energy to put my socks on. i gained those 30lbs back in about a month. then kept gaining, despite being on Armour thyroid. 20lbs a year for 5 years until i was 370lbs this spring and i finally had enough and got the surgery.

long story short, YES, it fixes subclinical hypothyroidism which is what it sounds like you had/have. definitely keep doing deep thyroid blood panels after the surgery, but my thyroid function was completely resolved. my last TSH test (i'm 6-mos post-op) was a 1.5. all the energy and weight loss in the world.

it's funny, i asked my surgeon the same thing in our initial consultation. i was like "yes, doc, this sounds great, but my thyroid is f'ed up. will this surgery still work for me?" he didn't hesitate to say "yes. any other questions?"

p.s. - i'm really sorry for all the bad fortune you've been thru lately. good lord. please do yourself a favor and get this surgery. you deserve it.

p.p.s. - no, malnutrition did not cause your son's cancer. that said, find a top-notch surgeon. do not settle for anything less than the best. even if you have to pay out of pocket. a good surgeon almost ensures no complications. bad surgeon = strictures, leaks, etc.

Edited December 26, 2017 by JohnnyCakes

[Sullie06 1,047]

I'm hypothyroid and have been on Levothyroxine since my early 20s (I'm 34), I have never been able to lose a significant amount of weight since I started getting heavy at age 12. The most I've lost was 30 pounds, twice, and both times I put the 30 + back on.

I've lost 115 pounds since my VSG on 12/30/16. My thyroid is still underactive but I was able to decrease my Levothyroxine dose by half and my PCP thinks I may be able to decrease it more once I hit maintenance. I'm currently 11 pounds from my goal and while my weight loss has been on the slow side, I've been able to successfully lose. I have no mal-absorption issues personally but I also had the sleeve vs. the by-pass which can make a difference as well.