Thyroid cancer survivor

coburngirl
coburngirl Posts: 69 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I've been away for a while dealing with my health. Any one else dealing with thyroid cancer or if you just want to help each other stay on track I would love to hear from you.

Replies

  • Marla82
    Marla82 Posts: 5
    Hey There!

    I saw your post...I have thyroid cancer - was diagnosed in July 2012. Got the last of my thyroid removed in August.

    How are you doing? Do you find it difficult to lose weight?

    Take care!
  • coburngirl
    coburngirl Posts: 69 Member
    Hi. I had my total thyroidectomy the end of August and the RAI treatment in October. My whole body scans came back clean so just need follow up in a year. My body does not want to cooperate with losing weight at all how bout you? How are you feeling after all this?
  • Marla82
    Marla82 Posts: 5
    I haven't had to have a body scan yet - will be having an ultrasound next summer though. It's hard to say how I've been managing to lose weight - I got sick a couple of weeks ago (just when I was starting my diet) and had next to zero appetite so I lost quite a bit of weight in the first week or so. But now my appetite is coming back and with the holidays now here, I'll find out how easy/hard it will be to actually lose weight. My doctor recommended a high protein/low carb diet. Otherwise, been feeling really good!
  • coburngirl
    coburngirl Posts: 69 Member
    Definitely agree on the high protein/low carb way. It's always helped me and I need to get back on track. I just try and follow some sort of eating plan that I can keep up with and maintain over the years instead of 1 diet book after the next. Hate that. I'm glad you're feeling good. That's awesome! I have more good days than bad but am still getting meds regulated.
  • Redheadthyca
    Redheadthyca Posts: 9 Member
    I was diagnosed in 2008 and had surgery and RAI. I lost the majority of my weight prior to my thyroid cancer diagnosis, but I did lose 30lbs. after my diagnosis. Personally, I don't eat out and try to eat very little pre-made/ packaged food. If I'm cooking it, I know what's in it and that is what works for me.

    I find that some people have a difficult time losing weight with a supressive dose of Levothyroxine since it can increase hunger and make you fatigued (sort of like being hypothyroid).

    coburngirl - getting a correct dose can take time. I'm on my 7th dose!
  • Marla82
    Marla82 Posts: 5
    Eating out....definitely one of my downfalls, especially on the weekends! I'm getting a little better at not eating as much pre-packaged foods. Hard for me to figure out healthy foods since I was raised to think that eating cottage cheese on potato chips was healthy and that adding a LOT of butter to pretty much all foods was normal. My husband doesn't like it that I don't have any soda at home...can't help it, it's my weakness, if I have it, I will drink it before I drink water.
  • coburngirl
    coburngirl Posts: 69 Member
    I grew up with the whole "clean up your plate" crap which is fine but not when you're feeding a child as much as an adult and all veggies either had cheese, butter, gravy or ranch dressing :) We usually eat out 1 day a week but hubby can't stand fast food so it's always a sit down restaraunt. If I eat to many high sodium foods I gain 5-6 lbs in a day. I like to think I'm magic but not in a wow I'm a unicorn kind of way:laugh: Our downfall is hubby loves his ice cream and won't eat it alone and only eats certain ones (choc chip cookie dough or the choc covered cherry one) and likes it in bed just before he goes to sleep. Ive learned to at least measure out a serving instead of having too much. Still doesn't help me I'm sure! He is a soldier so of course he is all fit and trim. Pisses me off LOL
  • coburngirl
    coburngirl Posts: 69 Member
    I was diagnosed in 2008 and had surgery and RAI. I lost the majority of my weight prior to my thyroid cancer diagnosis, but I did lose 30lbs. after my diagnosis. Personally, I don't eat out and try to eat very little pre-made/ packaged food. If I'm cooking it, I know what's in it and that is what works for me.

    I find that some people have a difficult time losing weight with a supressive dose of Levothyroxine since it can increase hunger and make you fatigued (sort of like being hypothyroid).

    coburngirl - getting a correct dose can take time. I'm on my 7th dose!
    7th dose? WOW. I just got moved to my 2nd dose from 164 mcg to 200 mcg. I also read you are supposed to take it on an empty stomach which I never knew before. Congrats on your weight loss and I agree with you on the whole eating out thing which doesn't happen on a regular basis around here. This has been a 10 year struggle and I refuse to give up :)
  • Redheadthyca
    Redheadthyca Posts: 9 Member
    I like your attitude about never giving up! All we can do is keep trying and never let little set backs keep us down! Most of my dose changes are decreases, and, yes, we should take our medication on an empty stomach.

    I am SOOOO sensitive towards any extra sodium. I get so bloated, but I always make sure to drink extra H2O and potassium-rich foods to get rid of the bloat.

    *****Let your endocrinologist know ASAP if you lose/ gain 5+ more LBS since your Levothyroxine dose will likely have to be changed.*****


    http://thyca.org has been a life-saver with learning about and connecting with people about thyroid cancer.
  • coburngirl
    coburngirl Posts: 69 Member
    I love the thyca website. I referred to them a lot in the beginning and their cookbook saved me during treatment! I drink tons of water but definitely need to get some more potassium-rich foods. I had the best eating habits while hubby was deployed last year and lost 25 lbs with little effort other than my daily walks. He got back and within 6 months the weight was back on. My body just doesn't handle sodium or carbs well at all. I still do full portion control but there are some things the body just doesn't want lol. I have been focused on the prebaby body and other things for 13 years since I had my last child but now since the cancer scare I am focused more now on being healthy and strong to endure more treatment if it happens down the road. I quit smoking and I have been consistent with my workouts and improving my eating habits. The scale is bound to catch up eventually:bigsmile:
  • grammiemaggs
    grammiemaggs Posts: 93
    Hi there; I just got the results from my needle biopsy last week, Papillary thyroid cancer. I'll be seeing the surgeon on Monday morning for the first time. The endocrinologist told me that I'll have my thyroid removed and most likely require the radioactive iodine therapy as well. I had no symptoms that I was aware of. I was seeing a physician about other things, blood tests showed I have a glucose intolerance and my hormones were wonky. I said, funny that I show hormone imbalances when it's my sister who has thyroid cancer. The physician then sent me to the endocrinologist for what I thought was some advice on diet to help with the glucose/hormone thing and he said no, I'm going to check out your thyroid. The rest is history. Now I'm just waiting to see what happens next. Weird how life throws you a curve ball when you're not looking isn't it? I bought myself a new bracelet with the Thyroid Cancer colours and the awareness ribbon charm to cheer myself up.

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