# Hypothroid for 4 weeks..??



## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

I went to the endo today and we decided that since I just had the thyroid out last week and I've never been on Synthroid that we will keep me hypo until the RIA, which is in 4 weeks.

She said I will start to feel progressively more tired, depressed, cold, constipated, etc... any time now. She said it takes about a week and half for my body's natural T4/T3 to leave my body, so I will become more hypo as the days go on.

I have no idea what to expect. Except for what seems a constant mild headache, and some fatigue on and off during the day, I have no symptoms and feel normal.

Will this change? What will it feel like? I'm assuming that everyone who has no T4/T3 in their body will eventually start feeling lousy. So... what is the general average amount of time without hormones before a person begins to feel the effects?

I start low iodine diet tomorrow morning as well. Yay, 4 weeks of that. I better lose weight!

Thanks again for all of your input, it's very comforting to know I have somewhere to go for support!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Uh, usually it's two weeks on the LID...but it won't hurt you to do it longer.

I had my RAI at four weeks. I was pretty run down at that point...lots of fatigue and muscle aches...fatigue...brain fog and also more fatigue.  It's doable, but not fun. Hang in there, stay hydrated, and get lots and lots and lots of sleep.


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## Greg (Aug 21, 2013)

Joplin-

We're you able to get through work days without too much of a problem while you were hypo? I don't know if I could perform my job requirements feeling the way you describe them.

Thanks for any information!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Yes, I was. That said...

1) My job is not physically demanding. I work in an office.
2) I have pretty understanding supervisors. They helped lighten my work load and if I needed to go home, I was told to do so (I did not, but the option was there). 
3) All of this doesn't mean I didn't stare at my computer screen for long periods of time, usually around 2pm or so. I distinctly remember one day where I was totally at my wits end because I could not get a spreadsheet to total numbers like I needed it to. I might have yelled "WHY WON'T YOU ADD UP!!!" My boss came in a fixed the problem in about 30 seconds. It was...humiliating. 

A lot of people ask about short term disability and, frankly, for me, I can't see the logic in going on disability. It was tiring and I hope I don't have to do it again, but it was manageable.


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## Greg (Aug 21, 2013)

Ok, thanks. I have plenty of vacation/sick time, so I guess I could use if I need to.


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

Well I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Dr. said I'd begin to feel symptoms in 7-10 days after the TT. I'm at 12 days post op and I'm fine so far - except for a seemingly constant headache, which is probably unrelated. Hopefully this is the way it will stay for the remaining 4 weeks before RAI.

I'm struggling today trying to figure out this LID. I have the cookbook, and I'm about to make bread...My biggest fear is suddenly getting tired and not having the energy to cook - and then cheating on the diet.

I know, I'm paranoid. I just want this RAI to be as effective as possible, so I'm taking the diet very seriously.

Ok, that's my vent for the day.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss that headache. That was my #1 symptom .

I did get tired near the end and ate a lot of PB&J sandwiches, on home made bread & with natural PB. It wasn't ideal, but it's very doable.


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

Headaches have subsided. So far the only thing I've noticed are extremely cold toes!

I hate this diet. Im frustrated with the ccokbook, when I double check certain ingredients for iodone content I'm finding conflicting info. Can I have Jasmine rice? Diet Coke? Mushrooms? Watermelon?

I can see why you ate a lot of pb&j sandwiches!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I have diet coke. I have basmati rice...not sure about jamine, but basmati is fine. I eat mushrooms and watermelon.

I'm on day two of it and...yeah, I know.  Tonight I'm making Franci's brownies. I hear they are fabulous and I need a pick me up!


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

I was under the impression you were already done with all this stuff! Are you going in for another scan?

Do you follow the 5oz meat per day rule?

Im going to have a diet coke right now! I need caffeine! I am not motivated to do anything lately.. Im getting zero exercise 

P.s. Brownies sound amazing right now!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Ah, the joys of thyroid cancer. I was done with the treatment (hopefully!!), yes, but for the annual scans, they require two weeks of the LID, in case another therapy dose of RAI is required. This will only be my second scan so recurrence is well within the realm of possibility (although I don't have any reason to expect it!).

I don't weigh the meat so I suppose I'm not exceptionally strict about it, but I do try to limit my meat intake to one meal a day and try to make sure the meat is no larger than two decks of cards (one deck is -- speaking VERY generally -- about 3oz).

Today I had scrambled egg whites with tomatoes, onion, and red peppers and a banana, an orange for my pre-workout snack, ~5oz of ground beef with homemade taco seasoning, black beans, peppers and onions over basmati rice for lunch...and tonight for dinner will be black bean soup and a salad (romaine, tomato, cucumbers, and "croutons" made with homemade bread). I'm also going to try to make homemade tortillas tonight...if they turn out, I might cut them up and bake them for "tortilla chips" to dip into my soup. And, of course, the brownies!


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

Yum to all of your meals. I may copy them tomorrow. I'm now happily enjoying my diet coke, and I feel a little better. Hearing you talk of pre-workout meals is making me think I should try hopping on my elliptical this evening for a little exercise. I was about to switch gyms when all of this started, and I never went in to finally sign up at the new place. When the doctor told me I was going to be kept hypo for more than a month I thought I might want to hold off on the membership and save myself the money.

However, since I seem to be having no effects of hypo, maybe I should just go join? Or maybe I feel fine because I'm lying around on my butt all day? I work from home, so the most I have to motivate myself is to get to the keyboard, which is not much effort, lol.

Anyway, if you feel like sharing more of those meal plans of yours, I'd love to read them (hint). I am marinating chicken tonight and I found that if I mix garlic & herb Mrs. Dash with iodine free salt, olive oil & vinegar it tastes exactly like the store brand seven seas stuff I normally buy (score!). So I'll pair it with a salad..and possibly have some rice.

I called the doctor to see if I REALLY have to do this for 4 weeks, but am still waiting for the call back... my fingers are crossed.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

ariabel said:


> Anyway, if you feel like sharing more of those meal plans of yours, I'd love to read them (hint). I am marinating chicken tonight and I found that if I mix garlic & herb Mrs. Dash with iodine free salt, olive oil & vinegar it tastes exactly like the store brand seven seas stuff I normally buy (score!). So I'll pair it with a salad..and possibly have some rice.


Will do! I have to do some planning tonight. 

And, yum! That sounds good.

You know...I'd hold off on the gym membership. I did lots of walking in between surgery and RAI. I think I mentioned that my husband and I re-roofed the house at 11 days post-op. I did it and felt ok, but what ended up happening is I burned through all my excess hormones so quickly that when I crashed, I REALLY crashed hard and felt awful. On one hand, it was good to be ready for RAI so quickly, but on the other hand, I learned a good lesson about going slow. So, there's my unsolicited advice.  Walking for now...and after RAI see what happens.


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

I'm so glad you said that! I have been searching relentlessly online for how long and how quickly you burn through what's left of the thyroid hormones after surgery - and didn't find much of anything. I was thinking that since they directly control metabolism, and exercise increases metabolism, that I may use them up quicker.. and then feel like crap. I guess I'll just do what I'm doing and hope I don't gain too much weight.

What was your fitness level like prior to all of this? Were you active? I found that I could eat about 1800 -2000 calories a day when I was doing 45 minutes of cardio 5x a week and weights 3x. Now that I'm doing pretty much nothing, and am now missing my thyroid, I probably only need about a 1000...which is miserably low 

Glad you're here


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I was what I call obnoxiously active prior to surgery.  I have a small horse farm, so barn chores twice a day, plus a noon-time work out (I usually run about 25 miles a week, do a few boot camp classes and left weights), and then I ride horses for about an hour after work. This all happened in the late summer/early fall, which is hay time for us, so I was also loading, unloading and stacking hundreds of bales of hay regularly, too.

My metabolism was screwy before surgery so I'm probably not a good measuring stick.  I was eating between 1,000-1,200 and just barely maintaining. It's much easier now and I confess I eat more.

Really, though, I think a good rule of thumb is to eat when you want, get light work outs in when you feel like it, but be willing to forgive yourself if and when you start to feel not so great. If you gain a few pounds or lose some fitness, it does sort itself out over time. Right now, your body is all "WHAT THE HECK!" so I'm all for doing whatever it is that makes you feel good or, on the bad days, good.


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

I have another question for you (there are just so many).

When they finally got your Synthroid dosage right, did you find you had more energy and an easier time of maintaining your weight? My pharmacist told me that once I had that at the right level I probably won't be struggling anymore with weight. I'm also diabetic, and she said she's hoping that helps me lose some and possible get off the diabetes medicine. I don't have a lot to lose, but about 25 lbs have crept on me this past year and it makes a big difference in my blood sugar levels.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

YES!

Don't get me wrong, I still am about 10 pounds over weight over my target and while I stay very active, I have to count calories closely to lose. That said, I've found I am no longer gaining inexplicablely either...previously, I was on weight watchers and consumed the lowest number of points and worked out and did the horses and still would not lose weight. In short, it didn't add up. But now the calories in, calories out line of thinking rings very true for me.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Today:

Breakfast: apple cinnamon oatmeal, cooked overnight in the crock pot. It was ok...but I just like milk in my oatmeal, so I'll probably ditch the rest of the batch.

Snack: banana

Lunch: left over black bean soup, over basmati rice topped with tomatoes and mashed avocados (I did not have time to make the tortillas last night....tonight!).

Dinner: grilled sirloin steak topped with sauteed peppers, a salad (romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, and "croutons" with balsamic dressing), and thinly sliced potatoes (peeled) deep fried to make "chips"...I sprinkle them with non-iodized salt and use no-salt ketchup. The way my mind works is if I can get one "gluttonous" item a day, I can make it...the "chips" are a staple of mine because I no longer feel deprived.

Another note: I made France's brownies last night (thyca cookbook page 115). They were really chocolately and gooey, but they didn't "set up" or firm up like normal brownies. Which means there was a big gooey mess, but that was fine with me! They tasted great.


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

Funny, I woke up this morning thinking about an oatmeal recipe for the crockpot I saw a while back. I like milk in my too though, so I decided against trying it!

I had the most amazing pasta last night. I buy the dreamfield's carb control thin spaghetti, it has very little effect on my blood sugar, and contains no eggs. I sauteed slices of garlic in olive oil with basil and roma tomatoes to top it off - delicious. I could eat that every night or day!

This morning was egg whites and blueberry muffins I made from the cookbook - they were disappointing. I was definitely missing the whole eggs, milk & brown sugar!!!

I've been marinating chicken for this evening, so tonight is a salad with chicken night!

Also, I managed 20 minutes on the elliptical. I started to feel like I was in outer space at around 21 minutes, so I decided to stop. I'm hoping to get at least that in each day - I won't feel so much like a bum!

I hope you have a great day!!!


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## ariabel (Jul 29, 2013)

Boy did I screw up!

I just realized today that I had been taking my fish oil supplements for 9 of the 12 days I've been on the LID. What an IDIOT! I have no memory of the doctor telling me to stop taking them, but my mom (who was with me at the appointment) said I discussed it with the doctor. I have no recollection of that at all, and that is scary. Also, I KNOW that fish is the #1 do not have on this diet so why did it not occur to me that fish oil supplements are fish? I have been suffering through this darn diet and all but the last 4 days have been for nothing!

I only realized it when I was OUT of fish oil and went to buy more this evening. Then it hit me! I'm so mad at myself!


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