Question:
Will hypothyroidism have a negative or positive effect on insurance approval?

I was diagnosed with Hrpothyroidism about three months ago. My doctor and I are still trying to get the dosage of medicine that my body needs figured out. I was looking into the surgery prior to finding this out. I am still considering the surgery and was wondering if my newly discovered condition will have a positive or negative effect on the insurance approval. I have no know morbidities. But my weight is about 280lbs at 5'4". I have been on some diets in the past but only one was documented and that was redux. Please let me know if you may have any advice or answers. Thanks to everyone for putting up with these silly questions.    — Crystal K. (posted on May 16, 2001)

May 16, 2001
It shouldn't really have any effect. I've taken Synthroid for hypothyroidism for 20 years, and it wasn't an issue. My thyroid level hasn't changed with surgery, and have never heard of anyone getting better. I don't think the thyroid ever functions better after surgery. One item of info I didn't know until recently is that if you take a calcium citrate with vitamin D after surgery (which you should), you should never take it with your Synthroid as it makes the Synthroid ineffective. You must wait several hours after taking Synthroid to take your supplement. Hope this helps.
   — Susan S.

May 16, 2001
Hello, I have had hypothyroidism for 4 years now. Sometimes I don't take my medicine like I should, when I went to the doctor, he told me that my thyroid had to be at the normal level before surgery. I had not taken my synthroid for about a month and a half before my surgery. It took me that long to get normal thyroid levels. The good thing is that because I already knew I had hypothyroid the insurance couldn't use that as an excuse to hold off on the decision for surgery until I had thyroid testing done. They already knew I had it. Also when you go for your pre-op testing your thyroid level has to be normal or they will not do surgery. At least my doctor will not. Your thyroid runs alot of things in your body that need to be running right to help you so you have no problems during and after surgery. Just keep taking your meds and get it to a normal level before your pre-op testing. Good Luck!
   — Katrina D.

May 16, 2001
I've had hypothyroidism for 20+ years. I listed it as a comorbidity along with my others medical problems. If your thyroid level is normal at the time of surgery, it should not impact your surgery. However, I recommend having it tested every few months following surgery because every time I have lost large amounts of weight on diets (~50 pounds), I've had to have my thyroid adjusted a little. For me, my weight did impact the amount of medication I took - less weight meant I took less synthroid. But I have never got to goal weight in years so I don't know if it will totally go away or not when I do reach goal. Good luck!
   — Anika R.