What can I expect....

What can I expect when go off my thyroid medication, physically speaking that is.  I hear many bad reports as to how bad I'm going to feel, i.e. hair hurting, eyeballs hurting, extreme tiredness (won't be able to get out of bed), exhaustion and who knows what else to "maybe expect" including 

hot flashes and mood swings. Is it true? What ELSE can I look for? I am really upset over this.  I don't know if I'll be able to work the 3 weeks I'm off my meds. 

One more thing: How soon after I re-start my thyroid meds. can I expect to feel my old self and have the energy back? Thanks.

Hi! I was exhausted! No, joke. I could hardly put one foot in front of another. I slept 15 hours a day. I didn't have any hair fall out or anything like that, but i was very moody. Going back on my Synthroid and then Cytomel (which they added to jump start my TSH) made me feel so much better.  I think I was off my meds about 2 weeks.  I hope yours goes better than mine. Good luck! : ) Thinking about you!

Hi, Everyone reacts differently. Some have not-so-bad experiences, some, not-so-good. If you are already worrying, that isn't going to help. Try to have a positive attitude going into it. Granted, it isn't pleasant, but... you will get through it. I worked up until the day before my RAI. My TSH then was 89. My job isn't overly physical but can be draining dealing with 25 5 year olds! I did get tired, was laying on the couch from about 5 pm until bedtime. I had no hair issues, but some nausea and headaches. I didn't gain any weight during that time because I didn't have much appetite due to the nausea. It took about a week after re-starting meds to begin to feel some improvement. I was still tired but after a week or so, it wasn't as bad. It probably took about 5 weeks to be feeling "almost good". When I would start to feel sorry for myself, I would remember a co-worker who had chemo for another type of cancer and all she went though. I was thankful that I didn't have to go through that, and realized, if she could make it back through her illness, I most certainly could. ((((Hugs)))) Hang in there, there is an end in sight. My RAI was in November, and it is all a faint memory.

 

On 7/3/2009 MissCyndie wrote:

What can I expect when go off my thyroid medication, physically speaking that is.  I hear many bad reports as to how bad I'm going to feel, i.e. hair hurting, eyeballs hurting, extreme tiredness (won't be able to get out of bed), exhaustion and who knows what else to "maybe expect" including 

hot flashes and mood swings. Is it true? What ELSE can I look for? I am really upset over this.  I don't know if I'll be able to work the 3 weeks I'm off my meds. 

One more thing: How soon after I re-start my thyroid meds. can I expect to feel my old self and have the energy back? Thanks.

I was without meds for RAI in Feb '09 (surgery was late december).  I felt pretty tired, but my spirits were generally good (although my fuse a bit short at times). I was able to get out of bed and do things, but would tire easily. Kind of like being sick, except no stuffy nose or anything. Could not walk real far (usually walk a mile or 2 every day, and could not do that then.)   I would cry over sad little snippets I would see on TV and the like.   

I did get a few minor aches here and there (arm cramps) but nothing I couldn't deal with.  I did have extremely dry skin on my elbows, which started to hurt.  I also had trouble with my cognitive processing (was trying to do some work from home)--was harder for me to "connect the dots".

I chose not to work during that time, primarily because my commute is about 45 minutes each way and I didn't trust my driving reflexes (and I was fortunate enough to be able to do this with my job). I was lucky in that I was able to put my focus on me and the "basics" of self-care.  If I didn't have to drive I could have worked probably half a day.

Took a couple of months to feel more fully myself, but I was newly starting medication and we didn't know the right dose for me yet.  I feel great now!!  :)