Thyroxine side effects after thyroid gland removal due to cancer

[Imenti]

Hi everyone,

My dad has just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is due to have the rest of his thyroid gland removed in a few weeks - half has already been removed when they took the lump out.

He will then be on thyroxine for the rest of his life. I'm wanting to find out what kind of side effects he might experience directly after the surgery whilst the new medication gets balanced in his system as I understand this could take some time. Most things I've read just say tiredness but I am hoping to hear from anyone who has been through this, or knows someone who has so we can be a bit more prepared for what he may experience and if there's anything more severe we need to be aware of. At this stage his consultant hasn't been that forthcoming with what might happen at that time. He does have a call with a Macmillan nurse this week and will try to find out more then.

Many thanks

Tiredness,yes. It's closer to fatigue than tiredness - pervasive, wearing, depressing. Also weight gain and feeling cold. I have a malfunctioning thyroid and a GP who's always reducing my levothyroxine, and a friend of mine had your Dad's operation six months ago.

The NHS tends to downplay these fundamental symptoms, but his specialist team will know all about them. Being prepared is helpful so you don't judge yourself for being a lazy, fat, misery guts 😂 The weight gain normally has a limit and it isn't really worth trying to fight it: your metabolism has changed; it's not a straight energy in/out equation any more.

He might experience other things: itchy skin's common, as are thinning hair and dental problems. Take extra care of teeth & gums (difficult with the lethargy, but still).

Some people have absolutely no adjustment issues. Hoping he turns out to be one of them, but if not: it can be unpleasant but it's tolerable. He just needs to be patient with himself.

@GarlicSmilethank you so much, really appreciate your reply x

Happy to share, @Imenti. I should have said these are symptoms of thyroxine deficiency, not side effects of the hormone itself. After removal, thyroxine is kept very low for a time as it can interfere with the monitoring for any missed bits of the cancer. They'll gradually increase it until he feels himself again - this isn't a fixed time period, as far as I know. Excess thyroxine is dangerous so I think they're very cautious these days.