I hope this isn't too serious a question for this place but I know there are some knowledgeable people on here!
My wife has just been diagnosed with a failed thyroid gland, after pregnancy. Basically she's been put on a replacement dose of thyroxine of 100mg.
The weird thing is that she has been putting on weight since she started the treatment, surely this is the opposite of what you would expect to happen? She's been on the treatment for about 6 weeks. She is not eating too much, counting calories she's on about 1800/day and she's average height.
Anyone know anything about this situation? Will this sort itself out?
Hi smaul. Actually a lot of woman have thyroid gland failure after pregnancy but end up having it go back to normal after some time. I do however find it weird that she's gaining weight while on the medication (if she is remaining active and eating well). Watching calories isn't the same as watching what you eat though. Make sure she passess on the high sugars (refined) and starchy carbs as much as she can. How often is the doctor checking her thyroid levels? After being on the meds for 6 weeks now she should have had her levels tested again. Did the endo also do a thyroid ultrasound or up-take scan on her?
I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer just over a year ago. I had to have my entire thyroide, plus the surrounding lymph nodes removed. I will be on thyroid medication the rest of my life as you cannot live without a thyroid or thyroid replacement medication. The thyroid although not really thought about much actually rules/controls every cell in your body. Without it, and/or replacement drugs your body will die (organs will malfunction). In fact today I just received my radioactive iodine for my yearly scan that I'll have on Wednesday to see if the cancer is still at bay. Even though the thyroid has been removed, I can still have residual thyroid cells hiding out in my body (anywhere in my body) that can be still holding/developing the cancer.
If this medication is not working for your wife, she may need to either have her dosage increased or have her medication changed all together. Cytamel will most likely not be an option as it is a short acting medication (in and out of your system in less than 24 hours per my doctor). Drugs like Synthroid and Levoxyl are longer term drugs quite effective (for me anyway - only her doctor can prescribe what is best for her). Just make sure she discusses everything with him. Have her keep a journal of everything she feels is different about her as well. Like: does her feet always feel cold, is her skin or hair getting very dry and course, or falling out more so than normal, is she tired alot, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, blurred vision, sensitive to light, cranky, headaches, weak joints, muscle pain, loss of appetite or increased appetite, the weight gain, bloated stomach, constipation, night tremors, etc. All those things IF NEW are signs of hypothyroidism and should be reported ASAP. ANY TROUBLE SWALLOWING or feeling PRESSURE on the neck like someone is squeezing her neck should also be reported.
Thanks Princess L for directing me to this thread so I could offer my input.
smaul, I hope some of what I shared is helpful to you and your wife. Take care of her.
