# Thyroidectomy in March of this year



## Epj2011 (Feb 19, 2011)

I'll give a little background first. Hope it is not too long. In January of this year I went to a doctor to establish status as a new patient. During a routine, exam, the doctor felt a lump on my thyroid. I was sent for an ultrasound which showed a 2.2 cm cyst on one side and a 3.4 cm solid mass on the other. I was scheduled for an FNA biopsy. I had the biopsy, waited several days, and got the results....inconclusive! I was immediately scheduled for another biopsy, waited, and low and behold...inconclusive again! This was all during a 6-7 week stretch of me not knowing whether or not I had cancer. Talk about stress and frustration! I was then sent to a surgeon. Due to the size, and a family history of thyroid cancer, it was determined that I should probably have it removed. I was told the only way to be 100% sure if it was malignant or not was to remove it and biopsy. By this point, I wanted it out. I was tired of worrying about it. I had the surgery. It was not too bad. I did get very nauseous afterwards and was sick most of the first day, but I was fine later in the week. I have 3 children under the age of 10 and I was on my own after a week. Thankfully, the biopsy came back benign! I cannot imagine if I would have had to keep going for repeat biopsies over the years. My parathyroid level dropped significantly low during the first 24 hours. I had to take 9 Oscal a day and have my parathyroid checked for several weeks until it returned to normal and it did. I was immediately prescribed .100 levothyroxine.

I had my thyroid levels checked again in July. Here is what it said. I have no idea what any of this really means, so if someone could help my decipher, I would really appreciate it. This is all new to me. I have never been on thyroid meds or had thyroid trouble before this.

T4 Free: 1.5
TSH 3RD GENERATION W/REFLEX TO FT4: 5.61
T4 FREE DIRECT DIALYSIS: 1.9

After this, they increased my dosage to .112. I had it rechecked 6 weeks later (which was about 1 month ago) and my TSH was 1.31. They told me to stay on the current dosage. My question is...how often should I have it checked this first year? No one has been really clear on that for me. Any other advice? Thanks for reading all of this if you made it through!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I'm still learning about T4, T3 and TSH...so I'm not much help there...but I suspect those who do know will ask you to post the ranges with the results...it helps in understanding what it going on.

I had a TT on Aug. 29th following by a RAI on Friday. Once I start on my replacement medication, I will have blood work every six weeks for the first year.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Epj2011 said:


> I'll give a little background first. Hope it is not too long. In January of this year I went to a doctor to establish status as a new patient. During a routine, exam, the doctor felt a lump on my thyroid. I was sent for an ultrasound which showed a 2.2 cm cyst on one side and a 3.4 cm solid mass on the other. I was scheduled for an FNA biopsy. I had the biopsy, waited several days, and got the results....inconclusive! I was immediately scheduled for another biopsy, waited, and low and behold...inconclusive again! This was all during a 6-7 week stretch of me not knowing whether or not I had cancer. Talk about stress and frustration! I was then sent to a surgeon. Due to the size, and a family history of thyroid cancer, it was determined that I should probably have it removed. I was told the only way to be 100% sure if it was malignant or not was to remove it and biopsy. By this point, I wanted it out. I was tired of worrying about it. I had the surgery. It was not too bad. I did get very nauseous afterwards and was sick most of the first day, but I was fine later in the week. I have 3 children under the age of 10 and I was on my own after a week. Thankfully, the biopsy came back benign! I cannot imagine if I would have had to keep going for repeat biopsies over the years. My parathyroid level dropped significantly low during the first 24 hours. I had to take 9 Oscal a day and have my parathyroid checked for several weeks until it returned to normal and it did. I was immediately prescribed .100 levothyroxine.
> 
> I had my thyroid levels checked again in July. Here is what it said. I have no idea what any of this really means, so if someone could help my decipher, I would really appreciate it. This is all new to me. I have never been on thyroid meds or had thyroid trouble before this.
> 
> ...


Hi there and welcome!!

Most of us have found that getting labs every 8 weeks so doc could titrate meds accordingly worked out really well. It is a process and the above is the accepted protocul.

I hate to inconvenience you but if you would be so kind to re-post those lab results with the ranges it would be so appreciated as different labs use different ranges.

Most of us feel best with TSH @ 1.0 or less and the FREE T4 and FREE T3 somewhere above the mid-range of the range given by your lab. This varies from person to person but in general the above is true.

How do you feel? Is your calcium good to go now?


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## Epj2011 (Feb 19, 2011)

Ok....here are the labs with ranges. This was before my dosage was increased.

T4 free: 1.5 (0.8-1.8 ng/dl)
TSh 3rd generation with reflex to FT4: 5.61 mIU/L
T4 free direct dialysis: 1.9 (0.8-2.7 ng/dl)
Synthroid was increased to .112

6 weeks later
TSH 3rd generation w/ reflex to Ft4: 1.31 mIU/L

I have been on the new dosage since the end of July. I feel pretty good overall, but I do have low energy and about 10 pounds that I have gained since the surgery. I always had a great metabolism and have never been overweight so I worry about possibly gaining anymore than that.


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