ask: how long can a body survive without thyroid hormones?
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Anonymous
January 10, 2010 - 9:51pm
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I am being screened for recurrance of thyroid cancer. Thyroid removed last year and radioiodine treatment completed. Have been off synthroid for 3 weeks; 3 weeks left before screening. Feeling cold and tired. Was wondering how long the body can sustain life without hormone therapy. How does it take in nutrition meanwhile without the homones?
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Anon,
This may be a question best left for your doctor, who knows your history and can answer you personally. Can you tell us what she or he told you?
However, if you can hang in there for a few days with us, I would like to submit your question to one of the experts on our Medical Advisory Board.
January 12, 2010 - 9:16amThis Comment
Anon,
Here's our response from Theodore Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., the Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine (and chief of the Endocrinology Division) of UCLA:
"What most endocrinologist do is to follow your thyroglobulin. If it's low, then you don’t have to worry. If it's going up, then you can do a thyrogen-stimualted WBS plus thyroglobulin. This avoids you having to go thru hypothyroidism.
"Withdrawal for monitoring is no longer being recommended. If you need treatment, your endo can put you on Cytomel (T3) 6 weeks before ablation, then nothing for the last two weeks . You can survive for several months without thyroid hormones, but will feel miserable. Your reaction time will be low, so I wouldn’t drive."
Does this help, Anon? Could you talk with your doctor about why she or he believes you must withdraw from the Synthroid before your screening?
January 13, 2010 - 9:24am