I’m debating having half of my thyroid removed. I found a fairly sizable lump in my neck a few months ago. After tests and then a fine needle extraction and biopsy, the results came back benign. However, there’s still a chance that it’s cancerous. The surgeon said there’s still a high probability (80%) that it’s benign but there is a risk that cancer is present, or may develop, and the FNA missed it. The only 100% way to find out is to remove it, and half of my thyroid along with it, and biopsy the whole thing.
Sounds like a no brainer, however, I’ll have to be on hormone replacement, synthroid, the rest of my life because (assuming it’s not cancerous) I’ll only be left with half of my thyroid and they want to protect it from getting overworked. I hate the thought of taking medicine every day, but I’ll do it if I need to. But I would like to know if anyone out there takes synthroid and if they’ve had any problems, side effects, or concerns with it.
I’ve taken a thyroid supplement for about 30 years now. I can’t say that it’s ever given me any problems, other than some brands don’t have a coating on the tablet, and the tablet tends to dissolve on my tongue and taste nasty. I think (but IANAD) that the biggest problem with thyroid supplements/replacements is getting the right dose, and even that is fairly easy.
Hi! I’ve been on 1.5mg of synthroid for the last fourteen years now. I had a huge goiter (ugh…I simply loathe that word…) and couldn’t get up off the couch after I had my daughter.
Of course, I was so fat, I didn’t know I had the goiter until I went to the doctor. I had been gaining weight, but barely eating, because that required energy. Moving my eyelids was a conscious effort, I exaggerate not.
Synthroid literally saved my life. The goiter went down in (if I remember correctly) about 3 months, if not sooner. Within days, I felt so much better, I began to wonder how I’d lived without it at all.
My lump (goiter) wasn’t cancerous. So not being a medical person, I can’t tell you how it may affect you, I only know that it literally saved my life.
The only ill side effects I’ve had were hair falling out (LOTS of hair falling out) but that was only during a 3-5 month period, and I was told it could be either the thyroid condition itself (hypothyroidism) or the side effects of synthroid. And btw, my hair is back to being thick and full.
I am very sorry your problem is so serious. I thought mine was bad until I read about yours. While not dispensing medical advice, I once again say the effects I had with synthroid make it inarguable not to take it. YMMV, as with any medicine, of course.
I’ve been on Synthroid for ten years, due to autoimmune hypothyroidism. I know two people who had their thyroids irradiated due to Graves’ Disease (which is an experience more similar to what you will have, should you pursue the surgery). They seem to have had a difficult time finding the correct dose, and to have been uncomfortable during that time; due to the nature of my condition, my ideal dose is always changing, so it’s never quite right, but I have never felt as bad as they claimed to feel (but they were both attention grabbers ) It is a tiny little pill, has no side-effects to my knowledge, it’s no biggie. Just get used to having blood drawn.
I have an intact thyroid but it’s pretty much just taking up space in my neck. The doctor found out that it wasn’t funtioning when a annual blood test showed a cholesterol count of over 330. I actually didn’t feel the least bit tired or sluggish but that was one scary number so I went on Synthroid about ten years ago.
The first dosage that they gave me was way too high. I didn’t feel any ill effects but the numbers in my blood tests were out of whack the other way. Eventually they came up with the correct dosage and it hasn’t changed at all in a decade. Sometimes I’ll forget to take my pill for a couple of days and I feel exactly the same.
Best of all, there was some sort of class action against the good folks who make Synthroid a couple of years ago. I filled out a form that I found in an ad in the paper and a year or so later I got a check for $200.
My wife has been on Synthroid since before we were married (Grave’s disease) and the only real problem has been maintaining the proper dose. It seems to vary occasionally, depending on activity level. Regular blood tests, a couple times a year, help keep things in check.
(Between thyroid, PMS and now menopause, I’ve had my fill of raging hormones and associated mood swings.)
I had the surgery that you’re contemplating about four or five years ago. The nodule was benign and recovery was uneventful, as they say. I was surprised at the number of things I used the muscles in my neck for, but that’s kind of beside the point.
Anyway, I’ve been on synthroid since, and I really can’t tell any difference when I take it or when I don’t. I think it’s the long-term you have to be concerned about. One little pill a day, and oh, well. For me, it’s not a big deal.
I’ve been on Synthroid since I was six (hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto’s) and never had a problem. My thyroid gland has basically atrophied to the point where the doctor can no longer feel it (kinda fun when I have a new doctor, since I guess this is a little unusual).
The only tip I have is that some vitamins (I believe either vitamin K or B) can lessen the effectiveness of Synthroid, so you shouldn’t take them together.
It’ll probably take a little fiddling to get the dose right at first, and your dose might need to be changed from time to time. I normally get my TSH level checked every year just to make sure.
I’ve been on Synthroid for only 5 months. When I first started taking it, I was having night-sweats. I mean, soaking the bed, washing the sheets daily kind of sweats. Plus, in the late evening, I would notice my heart racing. But my doctor cut the dose in half and I’m fine now. In fact, as soon as the dose was lowered, I had no trouble at all. The adjustment period isn’t long, in my experience. I didn’t notice my hair falling out, but I’ve heard of it and everyone’s different.
I started Synthroid about 6 years ago. Went to see a new doctor, she took one look at me and guessed I might be hypothyroid, due to my fatigue and weight. I tried arguing that the fatigue was well-deserved (I had 2 young kids, both horrible sleepers who never slept through the night), ditto the weight (overeating / stress eating) but blood tests etc. confirmed it.
Doc started me on a low dose of synthroid and I felt somewhat better (like I said, the fatigue has numerous causes; this just treated one of them).
They do have to monitor your thyroid levels periodically - in my case, every couple of years the doc bumps it up a bit as my natural thyroid production slows down. The beneficial side effect for me is that my weight has crept down a few pounds.
Some people swear that a naturally-occuring supplement is better (Armour thyroid, which is extracted from animal tissue I think) but I’ve had OK luck with synthroid. Also, the ranges of TSH which are considered “normal” are being narrowed down a bit, I think; used to be something like .5 to 5.5, now it’s .5 to 3.0 or thereabouts - oddly, the higher the TSH level, the lower your body’s natural production of thyroid hormones.
I was on Synthroid a few years ago after they found a cyst on my thyroid. The Synthroid was to make my thyroid go inactive. Then aspiration, etc.
Like your situation, my doctor said that they couldn’t say for certain if the cyst was benign. There was no evidence that it wasn’t, but they couldn’t actually say. I chose not to pursue any further action. He told me that thyroid cancers are extremely slow growing, and I decided to take the risk. Because of the nature of my cyst, it pretty much sounded like they were eventually going to have to take out the thyroid entirely in order to be certain it wasn’t cancerous, and that seemed like a fairly big step to me.
Synthroid didn’t have any side effects on me that I could tell. I was replacing normal thyroid function, so you might be in the same situation–neither of us with depleted thyroid levels at the time we started the drug.
Right. I think that’s because TSH is “thyroid stimulating hormone.” If you have elevated levels, it means your body is trying like crazy to tell your thyroid that it has to produce some hormones of its own. I think TSH is actually produced by the pituitary.
I’ve been on it for about 8 years. I’m on one of the lowest doses there is (.05mg) but I can definitely tell if I haven’t taken it. I get bad tremors in my arms, fatigue, joint pain, all that.
I was tested every year by my pediatrician from the age of six or so, because the glands in my neck are always swollen. I didn’t come up as even borderline until I was in college. They put me on it and I was shocked at how many of the little problems I had dealt with my whole life were fixed by synthroid.
I haven’t had any bad side effects when I’m on the correct dose (my doc upped my dose once to (.075) and I started having anxiety attacks, heart racing, etc.). Dropped my dose and they stopped immediately.
Synthroid is the least of your worries. Plus, the pill is tiny, and the brand I get is sweet tasting, so if it does dissolve a bit, it’s not too bad.
Graves Disease. Been taking it for almost a decade now. Never had any real side effects, except for the constant questioning by my mother whenever we meet (“are you taking it every day?!”) as she had to take synthetic thyroid most of her life, and when she went off it she got some -really- bad health problems.
I was diagnosed about five years ago (after I had managed to sweat and tremble my way down to 112 lbs). My doc was stunned that I was capable of breathing, and my T3 level was the highest on record in N.J. for non-fatal cases. I was given a dose of radioactive iodine, and told that I would be on Synthroid for the rest of my life.
After three years of monthly blood tests and dosage adjustments, it seems what’s left of my thyroid found its own equilibrium, and I’ve been off medication ever since. I still go to an endocrinologist and get blood work done every six months, just to make sure everything is still in the safe range. But basically, “medication for life” doesn’t necessarily mean what it sounds like it means.
As for the Synthroid itself, it was nothing. Having a doc tell you “you’ll need to take this every day for the rest of your life” was oddly devastating to me, so I understand your point. But after a few weeks, it was second nature. The pills are so miniscule that I could keep weeks worth in my little keychain pill caddy, and they went down like nothing.
I’ve been on Synthroid and Cytomel together for several years. No side effects that I can tell. It did take some time and patience and a very good endocrinologist to get my dosage right, and I go back twice a year to see if it needs tweaking.
I would reiterate the advice that you must watch what you eat and when you eat it, and the same goes for other meds/vitamins. For example: you need to avoid any foods or vitamins high in calcium for several hours before and after you take your Synthroid. I always check out drug interactions for anything I take. You also need to take your thyroid meds on an empty stomach.
Another point my doc always hammers me on is that you will do much better if you exercise regularly.
Thanks for all the information folks. I was leaning towards the surgery but now I’m not so sure. I’m going to call my family doctor and discuss it further.
But sounds like if I opt for surgery and medication, I’ll just have to be patient at first to get the correct dose. And I’ll have to exercise regularly? Oh crud. I was hoping that someone was going to say that it was best to take synthroid with Peanut M&M’s.
) It is a tiny little pill, has no side-effects to my knowledge, it’s no biggie. Just get used to having blood drawn.