May 25, 2011 = 11 Months Off Cigarettes!
- I smoked for over 30 years. Five years ago I started losing weight without trying and didn't feel right. I waited too long to go to Dr. By the time I did my TSH was in normal range. Jan. 2009 I was awakened from sleep about 3:00 a.m. due to a choking or gagging sensation. I am making a long story short, I went to my internal medicine physician and he diagnosed me as hypothyroid. I started on 100 mcg. of Levo. After a Ct scan and more blood work test indicated very high antibody level. At the time I continued to smoke. I suffered from pressure in my neck due to my very enlarged thyroid (goiter). I was lined up with a surgeon who said I would have to have a total thyroidectomy. He suggested that I quit smoking 3 wks. prior to surgery. So I quit last June 25th, 2010. By my August appointment, my miracle had happened. My goiter had shrunk down so much that no surgery was needed!!!! Thank You, God!!
- —Guest Janet Jane, Peoria
Quit Smoking Big Weight Gain
- I was diagnosed with a hyper active thyroid. I used medication Neomercazol. After that I was given a radioactive capsule to destroy part thyroid to be under active. I then used Euthyrox. I also stopped smoking shortly after that. I have had heavy weight gain all over especially stomach. I have never had a stomach before. I have been wondering if the weight gain is in correlation to the mdeication I am taking.
- —lhtelkom
quit smoking
- I didn't know about the smoking and thyroid connection. I quit smoking Jan. 1st, 2005. I was so sick with bronchitis that I could barely breathe. I quit cold turkey. I asked God to get me off cigarettes and keep me off daily. I also applied the 12 steps to quitting. I had a cycle of smoking and quitting since I was 20 yrs. old. I'd smoke, then quit. One time it was 8 years before I started again. It's an addiction that is so hard to break. The last time I started, I was in the psychiatric hospital and they gave free cigarettes to the smokers & they got to go outside on the patio and smoke. It looked like a party that I wanted to go to and so I began again. I have been sober for 15 years from alcohol and I still get dreams that I began smoking and drinking again. It's very disturbing. I'm grateful for God's Grace in my life. I also realized that my sister died from breast cancer. I was smoking and giving myself cancer by choice. She didn't have a choice and she never smoked.
- —Guest Susie
Glad to be a non smoker
- I always thought there was a link between my giving up smoking and my thyroid problem. After giving up smoking, I waited for the new energy to kick in and to feel like a non smoker..it never happened. I felt extremely tired, my hair was thinning and brittle, my skin was dry, I put on weight., and so many other things. I thought it was my age, I was 35. I went to the doctor, who did a thyroid blood test., the test came back at 150 and the doctor asked if I was alright? I was put on levothyroxin and I have felt pretty good since. I feel knowledge is power and once I had researched my condition and read Mary's brilliant books and forum, I knew what I was dealing with. Now I feel pretty good at 41 and will never smoke again.
- —Guest Hayley
Quit Smoking, Then Two Weeks Later
- I smoked for over 30 years then quit. But, two weeks later the hypothyroid symptoms began: fatigue was first, the mood issues to the point I really thought I was heading to the mental institution, weight gain (over 30 lbs), joint pain sleep apnea and many others. It took my doctor 5 months to finally give me a TSH test which showed I was hypothyroid. I asked my Endocrinologist about the connection and he said it was very common in his 40 years of practicing, to see it in ex-smokers. He said it was one of those medical secrets we never hear about.
- —Guest Elvis Presley
Smoking and Hypothroid
- I quite smoking about the time I found out I was pregnant. I had smoked for about 17 years, but I was not diagnosed as hypothyroid until I was in my late 40s/early 50's. If I was hypothyroid during that earlier period, I would guess that it was borderline. I did have issues with being tired and lacking energy, but whenever I asked doctors my thyroid, I was told it was fine, even though I don't ever remember anyone doing any bloodwork to check it. I do wish I had pushed the point or looked for a new doctor and maybe I would have been diagnosed much earlier. I did pick up smoking again during the past year and when I had my blood work done several months ago, it came back abnormal and my meds had to be increased. I don't know if this had anything to do with it or not, but I have quit smoking again, and have no intentions of starting ever again. I have had other issues that could very well have come from the smoking.
- —Guest islandlady91
Smoking
- I never thought of a connection between quitting smoking & getting thyroid disease. I only smoked for about 3 years, though I was up to a pack a day. I got pregnant and cut down to about 2 cigarettes a day for a couple of months and then quit. A few months after my baby was born, I was diagnosed hypothyroid and have been on thyroid meds ever since -- he'll be 11 next month. I remember reading that smoking could possibly raise the risk of thyroid disease, but I never knew it could correlate with quitting. Looks like I'm off to read more!
- —Guest Carol
Was Quitting Smoking Worth It?
- In January of 2006 I quit smoking after 20 years. Not even 2 weeks after, I was having trouble breathing and went to the hospital they told me they found nothing. After the weight gain and depression set in I went to another hospital and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, after the right medication (Armour) and dose I started feeling better, but after I couldn't get Armour, I have not felt as good and have gained 40 lbs. I can not get rid of the weight, and more weight just keeps coming. I always thought it was connected with quitting smoking and have often thought of going back just to see if it would go away!! (But 5 years after quitting I still haven't gone back!)
- —Guest Karen
Quitting Smoking and Lethargy
- I have quit smoking over the years for several months at a time. I would become so lethargic that I would start again, as this seemed like a source of energy that I can't seem to find elsewhere. UGH! I have had TSH testing and it came back "normal". I continue to experience symptoms of hypothyroidism. I'm frustrated and was tempted to start again, UNTIL I read your information about thyroid and smoking. Thanks for the information. I will continue to study.
- —Guest AliceWM
Quit Smoking after 32 years
- I quit smoking after 32 years and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I thought that it was caused by taking in extra soy for hot flashes. Now it may just be because I quit smoking. It was very difficult because I wanted to eat everything and yet I was trying so hard not to gain extra weight from quitting smoking. Very rough time in my life. Glad it's over. Was taking Synthroid for about 4 years and felt horrible until I started taking Armour this past month. I've NEVER FELT BETTER. What a difference.
- —Guest RLP - Ohio
Double Whammy When I Stopped Smoking
- I was diagnosed as hypo in Sept 2009. I was prescribed levothyroxine and advised to take one (25) for two days then up it to two and then a further two days up the medication to 3 (75). I felt awful but tried to persevere with the medication. In Jan of 2010, I asked for this to be reduced to 50. I cant really say that I felt 100% well. In July 10, I quit smoking, I did this with the aid of a dummy cigarette. I struggled over a couple of weeks with a few lapses until, completely out of the blue, I became very ill. I wasnt sure what caused the illness, I couldn't breathe and I wasn't sure whether it was an allergy or something similar. My breathing became so bad I was given an nebulizer and taken to the hospital by ambulance. After three weeks, two nebulizers, countless steroids, antibiotics, I finally started to get better. I haven't smoked since and I am totally convinced that quitting smoking increased my thyroid problems.
- —Pebblesmum
Thyroid and Cigarette Smoking
- I was an on and off again smoker for thirty plus years and the reason I smoked was basically because it controlled my appetite and kept me thin. I knew this because each time I gave up I picked up around 10kg. At 50 I decided it was time to quit for good. All hell broke loose in my body, cellulite and lumpy legs took over as the weight piled on even though I did tai bo excercise and other. It is 7 years later and I still have 15kg extra weight even with the change of diet and learning to eat properly. I also went off to the doctor distressed at this drastic change and she found after tests that I had a low thyroid count and put me on medication. I realise that I must have had thyroid damage from smoking for many many years because from my early thirties had the symptoms of it even then, the thing is that I was ignorant about such things and turning a blind eye to the real inner damage that smoking does silently without me knowing. How sorry I am to have ever smoked.
- —Guest melody
Meds and Planning
- I got a prescription for Chantix and started it 2 weeks before a planned trip to visit family. Our first stop involved a sister-in-law who is so allergic to smoke that I had to walk around the block twice after each cigarette. Our next stop in we stayed at my niece's, where I had to smoke in the shed with her husband. When I realized that I hadn't gone out to the shed yet and it was 3 pm I just thought okay, I'm done. It will be 4 years this July. :-) My lungs hurt whenever I think I 'need' a smoke now.
- —Guest Shannon
Quit Smoking & Seveloped Hashi's
- I quit smoking in June of 2008 & developed hypothyroidism (eventually diagnosed with Hashimoto's) in the fall of 2008. I have often wondered if the two were related.
- —Guest Heather Jones
Quit after Thyroid Surgery
- I've always wanted to quit but never had a tangible reason until my doctor told me that I absolutely HAD to quit smoking while recovering from a total thyroidectomy. He said smoking causes the blood vessels to constrict and can do some real damage to my surgery wound. I got a prescription from my family doctor and quit within 12 days. Smoking wasn't the cause of my thyroid problems, but I finally had the motivation I needed to quit. Ironically enough, my grandmother also quit smoking post-surgery. I think there is just something about the experience of major surgery that makes one take a good, hard look at their health!
- —nancyniles
