What Resources Do You Have For People With No Thyroid?
My email inbox is always filled to overflowing with questions from readers. Many readers ask whether I have information for people who don't have a thyroid gland. Here's my response.
A reader writes:
"Are there resources for those of us who have had the thyroid removed? We are completely dependent on thyroid drugs since we have no thyroid, so is your advice to hypothyroid patients applicable?"
With thyroid disease, it seems that all roads lead to hypothyroidism. Ultimately, while there are some considerations for people who have a thyroid gland, generally, the advice at my website regarding hypothyroidism is applicable whether you're hypothyroid due to surgical removal, radioactive ablation, or autoimmune shutdown.
There are, of course, some special considerations for people with no thyroid.
For example, without a functioning thyroid, you don't need to be particularly concerned about soy or other goitrogenic foods (i.e., brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc.) and their ability to interfere with your thyroid function.
You may have less fluctuations in thyroid function and find it easier to stabilize your dose and maintain an optimal TSH level on a consistent dose. (This is compared to those who still have a thyroid, who will find that it occasionally sputters in and out of life, making regulation of levels more difficult.)
Thyroid cancer patients are in a unique situation in that they are given thyroid hormone replacement drugs at "suppressive" levels. This means that the objective is a nearly undetectable TSH level close to 0. This is considered "hyperthyroid" by most lab standards, but suppression is necessary for most thyroid cancer patients to prevent cancer recurrence. So, some thyroid cancer patients consider themselves hyperthyroid, although again, the underlying condition of having no thyroid gland means that your condition is actually hypOthyroidism, and so much of the advice about hypothyroidism still applies.
You may want to review an article I put together about having "no thyroid" as a starting place.
But the site's various articles on hypothyroidism are relevant to you, and should provide additional help on how to manage your condition and live well.
Live well,
Mary
Comments
over 50 years ago, I had my thyroid gland removed and my parathyroid gland was removed by mistake. Do you have any information on this? I have to take a lot of calcium each day or my arms start to get stiff and cold.
I just had a total thyroidectomy on October 23rd, 2007. Best thing I ever did for my Hashis! I had uncontrollable Hashis with amazing thryroid storms. A WONDERFUL resource I found is a Yahoo group called thyroidectomy@yahoogroups.com. The folks there either had the surgery or will soon have it. Lots of good links, photos and bios. If you need it removed, don’t worry! It was one of the easiest surgeries I ever went through!
Hi, I had RAI treatment and went into thyroidtoxicosis (storm) and was extremely ill. Ten years later developed a thyroid tumor. Removed my thyroid. Easy Operation. Then twenty years later a parathyroid nodule. Removed one parathyroid gland. Complications paralyzed vocal cord and right arytenoid. Lost singing voice and usual voice. And now am stuck with a blockage and throat obstruction! I am vacillating between active hyperparathyroidism again. Whats the connection between parathyroid and thyroid? I have Graves, opthalmic eye disease and was operated on last year and expect subsequent surgery. Can you also tell me about thyroid DERMOPATHY as this has now appeared. I understand that there is a direct connection between graves opthalmic disease and thyroid dermopathy. Would really like infor on the skin problem. Thanks, your site is the best. Victoria