My general care doctor suspects I may suffer from hypothyroidism. My grandparent has hyperthyroidism, and I have 4 out of the 6 most common symptoms that come with hypothyroidism.

To those that do have hypothyroidism, how has it effected you being banded? Do you find that you need lower levels of medication to control your thyroidism, etc?

Any other info is great! thanks!

Hi! I developed hypothyroidism about 5 years and gained over 100 lbs by the time they finally realized what it was. I have been struggling with my weight to get some of it off since then. I decided to get the band and was banded on 5/15/08 and have lost 27.5 lbs. My medication needs have not changed for my thyroidism. It has changed alot for my type 1 diabetes. I dont believe that is how the thyroid works though. I dont believe your need will change with weight change. But besides that, I love my band , am very excited, and dont have any concerns with it with my thyroid.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1993. I've been on medication ever since and regardless of how much weight I've gained or lost, the need for medication hasn't changed. I still go in every 12 months for re-evaluation and testing-- and sometimes more often if I'm feeling like it needs to be adjusted. I was banded in December, and though I've only lost 50 pounds, I'm currently weighing in at my lowest in 15 years. Once the medication is properly adjusted, I feel much more like my old self. I still struggled with carrying extra weight and all that entailed until being banded. I was more tired, less likely to engage in anything physical--just getting up every day was a struggle at 300 pounds. While I'm sure my thyroid contributed to my initial weight gain, I can't claim that I got to 300 because of it.....my meds are on target and I still kept the weight. I had to change my lifestyle, and only the band helped me do that. Good luck. It does take a while to get your medication on the right track--like upwards of 6 months, but it will make a huge difference. It just requires patience. Hope it all works out for you.

I too have hypothyroidism and have been taking meds for 15 yrs. It doesn't matter if I was at my highest or lowest my medication needs didn't change with weight (Iam not banded yet but have been up and down with weight). I think its typical to go every 12 months to have a blood test and exam done to check your levels.

3 days till surgery!!!

I have hypothyroidism as well I started medication back in my late 20's and I'm 43 now- my meds have not changed since having surgery on May 19 ,08- and I don't believe they will.

I have been taking 137mg of synthroid for the past 10 years . I got my band in march . The Dr. told me I would have to take synthroid for the rest of my life but, I'm off my cholesterol and high blood pressure meds.and blood test show I'm no longer at risk of developing diabetes .

I was diagnosed in 1993 and my meds haven't changed since. I was kinda hoping with the weight loss they would, but I get bloodwork every three months and my levels are the same.

There are no real issues with hypothyroid. Once they find what dosage you need, you just take the meds. Everything's fine.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1995. It went undiagnosed for years. I was miserable. As the years passed my dose slowly went up. After banding I went from .15 mg. to .112 mg. The doc told me that this hormone is stored in the fat cells. Since I'm losing fat, my body requires less. I lost about 50 pounds when my levels started getting to high. Low I'm leveled off, but may have to go down some more as I lose. It doesn't seem to be affecting my weight loss to much.

This is a very simple blood test and, if you have it, a lifetime of a pretty mellow medication like Synthroid. I've been on it for years and it's just not a big deal but it can really screw up weight loss attempts. I once went on a very strict diet and was walking about 4 miles a day but was gaining weight! After a month the pharmacy called to say they screwed up my prescription and it was only 10% of what it should have been. Grrrr.:wink_smile:

But other than that, as far as chronic conditions go, this is a very mild one. Your THS levels should have been tested in your preliminary blood work and if you haven't had the blood test you need to go today and get it. There's a tiny chance all your weight is thyroid related and you may not need banding once the meds kick in. (Very little chance of this - I stopped gaining for no reason but never lost anything thanks to the meds.) But in any case you need to find out about the hypothyroidism before anything else.

I hoipe this helped and best of luck! Please don't worry about hypothyroidism - it isn't a big deal.