# How long after TT till meds work well and levels are good



## Flutterby (Aug 30, 2013)

Hello,
I am new to this board and having TT on Sept 3rd. I was wondering how long after surgery it took till your levels were good TSH/T3/T4 and how many times you had to change the amounts of medicine you were taking. This is specifically for those of us with thyroid cancer that have to be suppressed. Also what did your doctor decide the ideal TSH was for you. I think I am going to have my GP handle my meds, she has thyroid disease herself an I think it will work well (if I have a problem I can also than see an endo). My GP is very available which to me is a big win and she listens really well. I'm really hoping to go see my parents soon after surgery but not sure how that will work out if I need to have RAI and if it takes a long time for the meds to work right. They live over 1000 miles from me and are 90 and 84. I haven't see them since Feb


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

My target TSH is 0.1-0.5...I was terribly under medicated after surgery so it took about eight months in total. It's much quicker for most people, longer for others. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that you can't plan around.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Flutterby said:


> Hello,
> I am new to this board and having TT on Sept 3rd. I was wondering how long after surgery it took till your levels were good TSH/T3/T4 and how many times you had to change the amounts of medicine you were taking. This is specifically for those of us with thyroid cancer that have to be suppressed. Also what did your doctor decide the ideal TSH was for you. I think I am going to have my GP handle my meds, she has thyroid disease herself an I think it will work well (if I have a problem I can also than see an endo). My GP is very available which to me is a big win and she listens really well. I'm really hoping to go see my parents soon after surgery but not sure how that will work out if I need to have RAI and if it takes a long time for the meds to work right. They live over 1000 miles from me and are 90 and 84. I haven't see them since Feb




I did not have the thyroid surgery but wanted to welcome you. Due to the holiday you may not get much response until next week.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

It didn't take long at all for me. Unlike joplin above, I was started out on a decent amount of replacement hormone...125 mcg. Then I moved to 150 mcg, and settled on 137 mcg. I felt good right away on both the 125 and the 150; the 125 dose was just a temporary dose because I had to wait several weeks to get RAI treatment, and they wanted to start me on something. When I got into the care of the oncologist, he moved me right to 150, and I stayed on that for several months and felt great. When I started to go to spinning class again, it became a problem because my heart rate would skyrocket and would take far longer than it should to slow back down after I finished exercising. So the doc took a look at my labs, and decreased my dose to 137, which is where I have been for over a year and a half (I'm about 2 and a half years post-surgery).

My oncologists goal is to keep my TSH as close to zero as possible (I'm generally right around 0.05, and he's happy with that) while keeping my Free T4 at the top of the range.

Hope that helps, and welcome!


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Also, as long as your doctor starts you out in a reasonable dosage, you should have no problem at all visiting your parents.


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## Flutterby (Aug 30, 2013)

Thank you everyone for the welcome and the replies. Hope you all got/get to enjoy this labor day weekend.


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## Flutterby (Aug 30, 2013)

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to activate this thread again to get some more answers. I am now 16 days post surgery and 15 days post starting synthroid. I was started on 100 mcg which seemed low to me since I am quite tall and while not fat I am not thin for sure. My guess based on information I have read would have me at 125mcg or 137mcg. Anyway when I saw my surgeon he agreed that the dose was pretty low for me (the ent resident wrote the scrip) but since I had already been on it for two weeks he wanted me to wait till I get blood work before making a change. Anyway I was wondering how long after the surgery till your body realizes that you have no thyroid and is just relying on the meds. My endo says it takes up to a month for your original thyroid hormone to be totally out of your body. What kind of reactions did you guys have. I am planning a trip right around the one month mark and I'm really afraid of feeling crappy while on this trip. We are driving half way across the country. If my dose turns out to be too low I figure I'm going to start having some hypo symptoms on this trip.
Thanks


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Fatigue will likely be what you notice.

Since you are only two weeks out, and your doctor believes your dose is too low, I wonder if there's any room for negotiation here. I would rather start on the higher dose right away and have my next labs delayed by two more weeks than stay on a dose we already know won't be right simply because I've already started on it. That makes very little sense to me.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I like Octavia's suggestion.

We cancelled a big cross country trip after my TT because of the fatigue and headaches. I was (and still am!) a little bitter about it...I'd hate for you to have the same experience!


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## Flutterby (Aug 30, 2013)

Thanks Octavia and Joplin,
Unfortunately the doctor did not want to make a change (this was the endo) but I do see my regular doctor on Wednesday next week and she is the one taking the blood and having the labs run. I will get the results before leaving to see my folks so I'm guessing I will be going on the trip with a change in meds. My guess is they will only make a small change and than need to be adjust again but I guess its one step at a time. I don't want to take too big a dose and deal with some of the possible side effects from that. I wish it did not take so long after a change to be able to see the impact on blood work but it is what it is.


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