Q&As
Thyroid Gland Removal
[Q&As are placed in reverse chronological
order. In other words,
the latest Q&As come first. Earlier ones are further down the
page.]
July
23, 2002
Question: At the age of 21, my
thyroid gland was removed because it was hyperthyroid. Afterward, it took
six months of complaining to my doctor about weight gain and feeling awful
before he prescribed Synthroid. I’ve been on it now for over 20 years.
After gaining a lot more weight and feeling weaker and worse, I finally
wised up and got a new doctor. She believes I have fibromyalgia. I’ve been
reading a lot of information at drlowe.com, and now for the first time in 20
years, I feel like my problems are not just lack of self control. As I read
down the list of hypothyroid symptoms, I was amazed at how many of them fit
me to a tee. My husband has said for years "You’re always
tired!" I’m sick of feeling tired, fat, and useless all the time!
Have I read your website correctly? Can having your thyroid gland removed
cause fibromyalgia?
Dr. Lowe:
Indeed, symptoms we diagnose as "fibromyalgia" commonly develop
after surgical removal of the thyroid gland. The so-called
"fibromyalgia" symptoms of the patient whose thyroid gland has
been removed are largely hypothyroid symptoms. The patient’s fibromyalgia
symptoms are sustained by doctors (1) denying her the use of thyroid
hormone, or (2) restricting her to "T4 replacement" therapy. T4
replacement is an approach to thyroid hormone therapy that’s little better—and
in many cases no better!—than being denied thyroid hormone therapy
altogether.
I said the patient’s fibromyalgia symptoms are largely those of
hypothyroidism. What I mean by this is that her symptoms usually gradually
become compounded and intensified by other metabolism-impairing factors. For
example, the patient’s continuing hypothyroidism makes it tough for her to
exercise. As a result, she loses muscle mass, and this lowers her metabolic
rate even further, worsening her symptoms.
In that you’ve been troubled by being "fat" for these 21
years, you’ll probably find interesting a recently published report.[1]
In the report, conventional endocrinologists finally admit essentially that
obesity following surgical removal of the thyroid gland results from T4
replacement therapy.[2]
To learn about the monstrous harms caused by T4 replacement therapy, I
encourage you to read our official
denouncement of it. Then I strongly recommend that you persuade your new
doctor to treat you with unconventional thyroid hormone therapy, as we
describe it on various pages here at drlowe.com.
References
[1]
Tigas, S., Idiculla, J., Beckett, G., and Toft A.: Is excessive weight gain
after ablative treatment of hyperthyroidism due to inadequate thyroid
hormone therapy? Thyroid, 10(12):1107-1111, 2000.
[2]
Toft, A.D.: T3/T4 combination therapy. Endocrine Abstracts, 3, S40,
2002. <http://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0003/ea0003s40.htm>
