# thyroid surgery.. or no?



## smelliebellie (Oct 14, 2012)

i was recently diagnosed with hashimotos. and i just want to avoid meds and the side effects and tired of seeing people on several forums say they are just miserable. i have yet to see success stories on anti thyroid drugs or synthroid or levoxyl. is it just better to get a TT early so i can avoid the torture? my endo wants to a wait and see approach. all my labs are normal. my tpo is 933 my tgab is 212 and my tsi is 89. i think i have hashitoxicosis because i had a severe hyper episode that lasted a week end of sept. im currently experiencing hypo symptoms. extreme fatigue, pain, and depressed. whats ur take?


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Well, you can't avoid meds if you have surgery...so, if that's your priority, well...

That said, I'm thriving after surgery. Much, much better than before. If you have someone willing to remove it, I would recommend looking in to it.


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## Texaschick (May 26, 2012)

Everyday I wake up so thankful that the "beast" is gone...I have not felt this good in sooooo long. I happily take my pill every a.m. (which I was doing any way since diagnosis) - its not a big deal at all...To me it was surgery/meds or feeling awful every single day - experiencing about every possible symptom of hashis/hypo...ahhhh it was easy and by far the best decision I have made in a reallllly long time. If you read the posts here - there are WONDERFUL HAPPY SUCCESSFUL post thyroidectomy stories! Life is back to normal - well, better than "normal" - before I became sick I was thankful for my health - but now I truly appreciate each good day on a whole different level. God bless you - hope you get to feeling better!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

smelliebellie said:


> i was recently diagnosed with hashimotos. and i just want to avoid meds and the side effects and tired of seeing people on several forums say they are just miserable. i have yet to see success stories on anti thyroid drugs or synthroid or levoxyl. is it just better to get a TT early so i can avoid the torture? my endo wants to a wait and see approach. all my labs are normal. my tpo is 933 my tgab is 212 and my tsi is 89. i think i have hashitoxicosis because i had a severe hyper episode that lasted a week end of sept. im currently experiencing hypo symptoms. extreme fatigue, pain, and depressed. whats ur take?


Have you had an ultra-sound? Your extremely high antibodies do suggest that cancer should be ruled out.

That said, "I agree with you!" If I could do it over, I would have gotten rid of my thyroid a lot sooner."

Please read.................

cancer TPO and thyroglobulin
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1699-0463.1994.tb04888.x/abstract
http://www.wikigenes.org/e/gene/e/7173.html

Understanding Thyroglobulin Ab.
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroglobulin/test.html

Thyroglobulin Ab and cancer
http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/2/429.full.pdf

If you were diagnosed w/Hashi's on the basis of your antibody results; that is a misnomer.

Here is info on that.....................

Histologic diagnosis of Hashimoto's
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/120937-diagnosis

Hashimoto's Hurthle cells
http://www.pathconsultddx.com/pathCon/diagnosis?pii=S1559-8675(06)71549-2


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## smelliebellie (Oct 14, 2012)

andros,
my thyroid us showed no cysts, mass, and no nodules. just a mildly enlarged right lobe. i know, no endo will suggest TT at this time. but i cant take my symptoms. im literally couch bed bound at times. from extreme fatigue and pains i know this is the hashi's. my endo didnt suggest a RAIU or FNA probably because the US was negative. nothing i take can help, or at least help me go back to work. this is really taking a toll on me at times but im trying to stay positive. my ENDO said he wouldnt treat me because my labs were normal too but yet im suffering.


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## smelliebellie (Oct 14, 2012)

andros! replyyyy


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## surge (Aug 15, 2012)

I'm sorry you're suffering and I absolutely understand why you want to just start over. It will be harder to convince doctors/surgeons that you need to surgery b/c there aren't suspect nodules, so you do need to make sure you have a sympathetic primary care physician who wants to treat your whole system and who believes all the symptoms are thyroid related. You'll also need some documentation of the effects of the illness-- I carry information about my increasing heart rate and my antibody tests with me as well as information about TSI affecting TSH and FT3 and FT4 readings. I think you need an endo who is on your side, too. It's going to take persistence and you have to be able to communicate clearly how much you're suffering. You'll have to advocate for yourself fiercely. Keep a symptom log.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

My take is that I agree with the other posters -- convincing a doctor that you need a TT is going to be an uphill battle without laboratory or ultrasound evidence or to back it up. With the numbers you have, certainly thyrotoxicosis could be the culprit. But getting those numbers properly interpreted is going to be tough. Not trying to discourage you here; just want you to know what you're up against. I know there are folks here who have had success, the trick is finding the right doc to be in your corner.

Keeping track of how you feel, your temperature, pulse, weight, etc. as suggested is an excellent idea. In fact, I keep a spreadsheet on the computer with these things. Whatever data you do decide to collect, just be consistent about it.

hugs3


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