Thyroid Cancer

I had gastric bypass 3/24/2005. Lost a great deal of weight. Very happy with my results. October 9, 2006, I had my thyriod removed because of cancer. Since I have had vocal cord parlysis (could not speak for 2 months), calcuim defincies, iodine 131 radiation treatments, all kinds of complications. To add injury to my current status, I have lost my job and began to regain some weight. The job thing does not bother me as I have been on medical leave for three months already and I understand that they had to replace me and once I am well again I will have no problem finding another position. What is bothering me is that I have been gaining weight at a rate of about 10 lbs every week and 1/2 because of the hypothyriodism I have experienced throughout the many procedures that were necessary to fight the cancer. How do I stop the weight gain as I am so scared to put back on the weight that I had fought so hard to lose. As it is I eat a high protein diet, my diet has not really changed but the hypothyriodism is the cause. Any else out there had hypothyriod and if so how did you battle the weight gain?

Hi Karri, I've been doing some research on line about thyroid cancer and read that after your thyroid is removed you go into Hypo and with that you gain weight till you get your meds the right dose. I read that could take a little while. It's noting you are doing wrong. I'm sure once your medication is the right dose for you, you will lose that weight. I'm in a discover stage of a node on my neck and trying to find a decent doctor here to help. Finding one is making me more stessed than I already am. One doctor I went to feels sure, or at least felt sure that I have a thyrodossal duct cyst, then he says it's a lymph node then said it could be my thyroid that didn't drop all the way down where it should be..I moved my records to another doctor and haven't heard back from either doctor yet..I have never been asked to get a blood test for my thyroid nor did that first doctor order a scan of the nodule on my neck..he just wanted to set up a surgery date and cut the knot out and see what it is..Naaa..I don't think so.. I would be interested in knowing how you discovered your condition..Please email me or post here..it could help more of us who find ourselves in this situation. I wish you well, Karri..Keep us posted on how you are doing.? Janet

Hi Karri, I didn't see this post until today. I had thyroid cancer 9 years ago and had WLS this past September. I was afraid that being hypo would slow down my weight loss post op, but it hasn't. Most thryoid cancer patients do gain some weight after their thyroid is removed, but not a tremendous amount (I was difference and gained quite a bit but this was PRE gastric bypass). Are you still gaining now? One thing to keep in mind is, if you are on synthroid, take it on an empty stomach and do not take any other medications with it. Also, do not eat or drink for a minimum of a half hour (preferably an hour) after taking the meds. Food and other drugs will keep the synthroid from absorbing properly. Also, limit soy products as they can also affect your synthroid. I still use soy products, but will see how my labs on Thursday turn out and decide if I should back off on soy after that. I am 4 months out and 73 pounds down. I am right on track according to my surgeon, so my hypothyroidism hasn't slowed down my weight loss. It will take a while for your meds to stablize, so try not to worry. If you have any questions or want to talk, just PM me. Heather

Hello I was reading your post. I had my thyroid removed Feb. 6 2006. I also did the radation therapy and all the good stuff (on the synthroid off the synthroid) I just found out before x-mas the cancer is gone. My synthroid is still not right but I know that I have to keep up on it. I get to be good friends with the doctors nurse. I call with any question I have. My wieght stayed about the same, gain 5 loose 5. I haven't really lost anymore but I hope when I get the synthroid right I loose the last 20.

Hi there. I have had thyroid cancer now for 5 years. I was wondering how it would affect the wls. My levels have never been right in the past 5 years. They are always changing. This is one reason I got so big. I gained well over 150 pounds since the radiation. I was wondering if losing would be hard after WLS? I was also wondering what if my levels don't get normal? Will they still do the surgery? I just can't get it right. I just had it tested again, and doc boosted my synthroid from 200 to 300! I hear you have to lose weight before the surgery. WHat if it doesn't come off? I am so worried my surgeon will delay the surgery. Any advice? Were you all on low carb diets before the surgery? How many calories did you consume per day? I have been on a diet for 3 weeks and only lost 1.5 pounds. Thanks for reading!!

Hi Barbara! I was DX with thyroid cancer 9 years ago. I gained about 120 pounds over those 9 years. No matter how much I exercised, how well or how little I ate...all I did was gain. Finally the over the last 4 years I was able to maintain the weight...and those 4 years were spent dishing out big bucks for personal trainers (former marines from hell LOL) 3 times a week, an hour each session. I would do diets like South Beach and Atkins and only lose a few pounds then nothing else. I even spent two weeks as a weight loss spa busting my butt from 7am to 9pm...eating whole food, low fat, high fiber, yadda yadda yadda...and only lost 5 pounds. My levels have never stablized either. I don't necessarily believe that it was my thyroid cancer that caused the weight gain, although the slow metabolizm didn't help, but rather it did prevent me from losing any weight. In other words...where most people will gain 10 pounds over christmas, but then be able to take it off after the holidays...i would gain the 10 pounds, but no matter what, I could not get it off again because of the hypothyroidism. My surgeon's requirement for me to get the WLS was that my cancer was non-detectable for 5 years and I needed to get the OK from my oncologist. I had the surgery on 9/11 and so far have lost 82 pounds. I am right there with the other people that had surgery around the same time. I have been a stop and go loser all along, but it IS coming off. I was on a low carb diet pre-op, but that was more because I had developed insulin resistance and that is how I was able to control it. I'm not sure about how many calories I was consuming...but it was within normal ranges for the most part. Good luck with everything...email me if you want to chat! Heather

Hi!  I've also had thyroid cancer with no reoccurance in 6 years.  I'm scheduled for the RNY on 5/22 but am concerned about my calcium levels because I've also lost by parathyroids during the surgery.  I see you have had some calcium issues.  Was that an issue in your weight loss?  I take 0.25 mcg calcitriol daily and 50,000 IU Vitamin D three times a week to control my calcium levels.  My calcium levels are well maintained at around 9.   Thanks for your reply!