The agonies of being thyroidless

There was a time when I thought being hypo without a thyroid was really no different than being hypo with one. Hypo is hypo.
But I was wrong. There really is a difference in our journeys–even if we both end up with hypothyroidism—and four strong ones:
- It’s no picnic to lose one’s thyroid. Surgical removal, called a thyroidectomy, can come with neck soreness, loss of one’s voice, and other complications. including the loss of parathyroids. Treatment with RAI, or Iodine 1-131 to kill the thyroid, has it’s own lifelong side effects, including gastrointestinal issues, parotid salivary gland problems, and more. A good website about the controversy of RAI is atomicwomen.org.
- The stress of surgery and/or RAI can do a number on one’s adrenals. I suspect that there is a high percentage of those who had surgery and/or RAI who also have adrenal fatigue with it’s nightmarish side effects, whether simply from the physical stress of removal and/or treatment, or having a Synthroid, T4-only obsessed doctor. Being on T4 is the number one predictor of adrenal fatigue.
- Some have a unique anguish about their vulnerability. No one can live without a thyroid. And that thought with the absolute lifelong dependency on thyroid meds is not a comfortable state.
- Life long regret can be huge. Many patients came to realize, after removal, that they may not have needed the removal at all if they had known about the fallacy of the TSH lab test, or the idiocy of T4-only meds, or potential benefits of iodine, or natural desiccated thyroid like Naturethroid, compounded, or Erfa Thyroid.
Read the latest personal and gut-wrenching blog post by thyroid cancer Stephanie Buist, who is thyroidless after treatment for thyroid cancer nearly 10 years ago. Also see the Talk to Others link below to find the Thyroidless yahoo group.
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Curious what’s going on with Naturethroid or Westhroid production and availability? RLC Labs has a Patient Information Line you can always call for the latest information on Naturethroid and Westhroid availability: 877-600-4752.
Want to write a post for the STTM blog?? Beginning in 2010, I will be reviewing and accepting “thyroid patient guest posts” on the STTM blog in between my own. You can read about it here: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/writing-a-guest-blog-post-on-sttm/
Want to honor someone who has helped you?? See the blog post below and thank someone.
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You might have already known about her, but it was only a few days ago when I found out that the effervescent Jane Pauley, former host of the The Today Show and Dateline NBC, has had certain medical struggles in her lifetime. They have included hives (treated with steroids), depression (treated with an anti-depressant), a bip0lar disorder (treated with lithium), and the autoimmune thyroid disease called
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