How long after thyroidectomy did you start to feel “normal”?

I had all of my thyroid out as well as several lymph nodes. I would say I started to feel myself in around 6 or 7 months. Just give it a little time.

Hi @catealexis
I had a lobectomy and one parathyroid removed, due to a large nodule that turned out to be Hurthle Cell Carcinoma. Since I still had one lobe, I was not immediately put on Synthroid, however as the weeks moved on I started picking up symptoms. In my opinion, it is very hard to tell what are thyroid related symptoms and what are just little events (i.e., headaches, burning mouth, unfocused, depression, weight gain, etc.). I did not feel like myself and things kept increasing. The endocrinologist prescribed Synthroid which helped with some issues but I was till experiencing issues. The doctor kept increasing the dose of Synthroid and I just kept feeling worse. I did not feel like the Endocrinologist was listening to me since she just kept telling me that the goal was to suppress my TSH to prevent cancer…..the fact that I felt terrible did not seem to be one of her concerns. I changed Endocrinologists and as soon as the dose was decreased some of the symptoms started to diminish. Unfortunately, I have been having a very hard time getting regulated on thyroid medications due to the side effects. It is hard to know if the issues are due to Hypothyroidism, a side effects of the medication, allergy, or some other issue interfering. The one thing that seems to be consistent with me, is that when I am on medication that brings my TSH down too low, I feel terrible and have a lot of symptoms. My doctor was trying to use my blood levels from before I hade surgery and try and get my numbers closer to that range. My thyroid numbers have always been in the “normal range,” (before and after surgery), however when I am in the low normal range, I feel terrible and have a lot of unwanted side effects.
Getting regulated on medication is challenging!! It is problematic that the symptoms can seem like isolated issues and you don’t always realize they are associated with your thyroid; there are soooo many variables! So yes, it CAN take awhile to start feeling yourself again (for some of us), but I think it is just something you have to be aware of, so you recognize when it might be related to thyroid and get help from your doctor. Good luck!

I had an entire thyroidectomy several years ago and never felt like myself even on high dose synthroid. I like you didn’t feel my endocrinologist was listening as they were only interested in the fact my TSH was low enough not to stimulate any remaining thyroid tissue. I never felt right until another doctor started me on NP thyroid in addition to the synthroid. I wish you luck it is a miserable time until you get back to feeling normal.

@catealexis, how long ago did you have surgery? How are you doing today?

Numerous years ago like about 20+. I was not prescribed the additional NP thyroid until about 10 years ago. What a difference.

Sorry, forgot this part of the question. I feel wonderful now. Just like I did before I had the thyroidectomy.

hi, lilyann here. please tell me what NP thyroid is. thank you. march 28th will be a year since my second thyroid surgery. the first surgery was for the right side which was radical. that was january 31, 2023. no i have not felt up to par, my oncologist gave me 6 months to 10 months to live. but i do not know what NP means. thank you. wish all of you the best.

The first 24 years after my 1st surgery, and on Synthroid, I never felt great. I was always tired, even after my second surgery, until I started taking Armour. It has T4 and T3 both. The T3 finally made me feel alive again. After 5 years, however, the Armour no longer seemed to help. I don't know if is because I switched to a new pharmacy during my course with Armour, but something changed, be it my chemistry or a manufacturing issue. And Armour can be tricky to adjust because the ratio of T4/T3 is something like 4:1, whereas human ratio is more like 14:1 (if I am remembering correctly). That means if you need alittle more to get your T4 into range on the bloodwork, your T3 levels can suddenly be too high. I've read that there can be 5% variance in the stated dose and the actual batch of thyroid medicine. So, I had my doctor try me on Synthroid again, and I immediately and for several months felt horrible. Now I take Tirosint (the last 6 weeks) and I may feel a tinge better, but I am still always tired. MD Anderson told me whenever I gain or lose 15 lbs, I should have my labs drawn again and dosage adjustments for T4, and I'm very diligent about doing that. At one point while on synthetic thyroid, I also tried Cytomel, a synthetic T3, but the side effects were terrible for me. Now days, it seems like doctors are reluctant to prescribe T3 at all. My reality is probably different from a lot of folks, and I may be facing recurrence again now, which could be part of my issues. Hope you get feeling better.

Check the website Drugs.com for info on NP thyroid. There are other websites that offer info too by searching under the medication name.

Hello! Sorry I saw your reply. Were you in NP with the Synthroid or just by itself? I have been on Synthroid since last year and I feel like I have gained weight and my workout performance has decreased.