weight loss surgery and thyroid?

  I have a friend who has Thyroid?...we were wondering , would weight loss surgery, help in anyway to reduce, fix, cure?..Thyroid problem, would it make it harder to lose weight even with surgery? or can you even have surgery when you have thyroid problems?..
  Anyone who knows, links, facts, etc....we have tried searches ourself and can't seem to find anything... my email is totalyclipse@ yahoo.com I don't know if I get a message in my email to this post is why I give my email.. Thank you anyone that has the knowledge...
  By the way I am doing great with the weight loss, I am at this point at 130.6, I go back and forth between that and 135... I had my non-invasive gastric bypass in 2007, I can handle 7 grams of sugar and no more or I get the dumps..yuk, I don't mind not having foods I used to eat, and I can have a small piece of chocolate or a sweet once in awhile which more than satisfys that need,
  I have found that I can't eat most breads or anything that sits heavy on my new stomach it protests loudly if I do.
  I still have trouble drinking the protein drinks and am probably not getting as much as I need but I can eat string cheese, and love it, so hopefully that is taking care of protein problems..
  I still have a hard time swallowing those horse pills they give me "Iron" 3 a day.. and of course the B12 injections once every 3 mo...
  I am very active again, and am on the go way too much, babysitting my 4 grandkids almost 24/7 and they keep me very busy, plus I take care of my husband (caregiver) who has cirrhosis of the liver due to methrotrexate which he was taking for psoriasis (head to toe) bad, and now he has diabetes 2 adult onset and is on injections...
   So I apologize if I don't get in very often...
   Well I guess I better quit now before this gets so big I put you all to sleep..
  Thank you Gaydria aka totalyclipse aka Gabby

HI.  I have thryoid issues and I don't think that will be an issue for WLS.

I believe once you have the thryoid issues, it's there for life, which is why we take meds for life.

It is really very common. 

  Hi Cheryl, thankyou for your reply, but my main question was if anyone knew if the weight loss surgery would help it as in, make it less of a problem? cure it? ect...You did answer one thing I kind of figured that it is for life, but there were a few people I have talked to that mentioned it did get better for them after weight loss surgery...
  As I don't really know anything about thyroid, I was looking for any and all info with proof for my friend to read so she can make her decision as to whether or not weight loss surgery would be good for her...before going thru all the red tape to get it done or even see a doctor about it...
  I was kind of hope some one would know of a write up on the subject that she could read or testimonials from others who have thyroid that have had the surgery versus lapband...
  I appreaciate the time you took to answer thank you Gabby

Thyroid---doesn't matter if one is heavy or light... still a medical problem --- not affected by WLS... Still take meds for it.

  Well darn ok, I appreciate the answers from both you ladies, Thank you both for your quick responses, now we know it won't do much of a difference we will move on with our talks..Thank you all for your patience with me...Hugs Gabby

I take thyroid meds also and was hoping my doses would come down a little after weight loss surgery but so far I am still on the same dose. I know I will never be able to stop taking it but my PCP thought my levels could get better after losing weight. I am 9 months post op/lap band and  have lost 66 lbs.

I will say that I thought it would be harder for me to lose weigh even with WLS with a thyroid problem but really feel that was an excuse I was using..... to not lose weight before surgery...it just fell off me post op and now I am having a little harder time losing. I need to exercise more and drink my protein shakes...........  ;)

Riky

  Ok so it hasn't really changed the thyroid problem much, but you have still lost some pretty good pounds there, congrats,.
  and have they had to adjust your doses at all along with the weight loss? up or down?..
   have you been able to compare to anyone else if the weight loss was harder for you with the thyroid, as to someone without?
  And is the lapband a non-invasive surgery? as my friend is afraid of the other types of wsl she is afraid of possible bleeding out...
   sounds to me like your doing very well Big hugs and thankyou for your info..
   Gabby

Hi Gabby,

I just realized we have the same Dr.  and live in the same area!! Cool!!

Nope, I am still on the same dose of meds I have been on for years and have not changed at all since my weightloss.

I'm not sure about the amount of weight loss compared to someone without thyroid disease but I think that I am doing pretty well losing 66 lbs in 9 months. I really was shocked I lost so fast since for years I blamed a lot of my weight on my thyroid. Well, I think for me this was just a good excuse and getting my lap band was the BEST thing I ever did (other then my children of course)

The lap band is a laproscopic procedure and I stayed at SF for only one night. My surgery was at 6pm and I left the next morning at 9 am. I will tell you it does HURT......around days 3-5 post surgery I wss thinking to myself "what did I do?" but you get ovet the pain and it is SOOO worth it. I have to also say it is a tool and you need to follow the Dr's rules in order for it to be a success. He is pretty strict compared to some of the other WLS Dr's. This was one of the reasons I picked Dr S since I felt I needed to follow some structure, I tend to procrastinate a lot ;)


Congrats on your weight loss.........I think I read on anther thread you reached your goal...that is awesome.

Riky

  Yes Riky, Same doc and he is a very good doc too, Thank you yes I reached my goal and only found out cause my hubby said here lets look..lol..I dread scales..so never look..then it was to see I had actually passed my goal 135 to 130.5.. I had the non-invasive proximal bypass..
   I think its wonderful you lost 66 in 9 that's is not bad at all, and yes I remember the pain though it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be...
  I think its the best thing that could have happened for me in my life, I feel ten times better, much healthier, definitly happier...
  Congrats on your weight loss too...and continued good luck..Hugs Gabby