Taking Thyroxine After Thyroidectomy. Having Tiredness And Weight Gain. Suggest Treatment

Posted on Sun, 10 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 10 Nov 2013 Answered on

Fri, 29 Nov 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi my name is XXXXXXX and I had a complete thyroidectomy in august 2009. My thyroxine dosage is continuously changing because my levels are above normal. started on 100mg went to 200mg back to 150mg and now am on 100mg, I feel tired and lethargic all the time. my weight continues to balloon, even though I exercise all the time with work and after work and am on 1200 cals per day. everyone keeps telling me that because I don't have a thyroid gland I should be taking t3 medication as well as the t4. I am totally confused and really don't know what else to do to get my weight back down and feel healthy again. any info would be greatly appreciated. sincerely yours XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Dattaprasad (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Propranlol is known to cause lethargy. Detailed Answer: Hi XXXXXXX Welcome to XXXXXXX Propranolol is known to cause excessive sleep, lethargy & tiredness. You can consult your physician to switch-over to some other non-sedative medicine for migraine prevention. Regarding your second query; Thyroxine is sufficient thyroid replacement & contains T4. T4 gets converted to T3 in your body & you don't need T3 medication. As long as your T4 & TSH levels are within normal limits, you need not worry about thyroid replacement. Hope this helps you. Let me know if you have other concerns. If not, you can close the discussion & rate the answer. Wish you good health. Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dattaprasad (22 hours later)

thankyou so much for the prompt reply. the only other issue i have is my weight, do you have any suggestions to help me lose my excess fat. I'm on 1200 cals per day, walk approx 8kms per day at a reasonable speed, but cannot move the weight. I'm currently 85kg, my normal weight before the hoshimoto's/hypothyroid issues was a healthy 65kg. any info would be greatly appreciated

Answered by Dr. Dattaprasad (25 minutes later)

Brief Answer: No shortcut to success. Detailed Answer: Hi, Welcome back. Whatever measures you are taking for weight reduction appear sufficient. It will take time for weight loss. Meanwhile follow few things to help weight reduction/avoid side effects. 1. Take multivitamin supplements to prevent vitamin deficiency which can occur due to low calorie diet. 2. Continue same life style without interruption, as breaks are known to aggravate weight gain. 3. Keep T4 & TSH within normal range. 4. One ayurvedic remedy is to drink a teaspoon of honey on empty stomach with lukewarm water. You can take Thyroxine tablet empty stomach early morning, followed by honey with water after 30-45 minutes followed by your breakfast after 20-30 minutes. Hope this helps you. Let me know if you have other concerns. If not, you can close the discussion & rate the answer. Wish you good health. Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar