how long can a body survive without thyroid hormones?

I don’t know how long someone can survive without a thyroid but I think I am going to find out. My thyroid was removed in 1994 because I had thyroid cancer and I was put on synthroid after that. Now my primary care physician has moved and I can’t get my prescription renewed. My thyroid is gone completely and it is never coming back. It’s my understanding that without synthroid which I can not seem to get, I will die. Or so I’ve heard. In two days starts the count down. I will be out of synthroid and apparently will not be able to get more. Hopefully I make it to Christmas.

To the original poster; it's my understanding that without a thyroid gland and no medication the human body will start shutting things down gradually and death would occur after about 3 to 5 months of misery and illness. So don't stay off the medication for too long!

To everyone else, I fully sympathise with all of the responses here. I have hypothyroidism and luckily have not had thyroid cancer so I still do have a thyroid gland, though it barely functions. I take 150mcg of Levothyroxine every day and have done for about 30 years. For the past five years I have also taken Sea Kelp capsules, which I read about on a blog. I take one along with my thyroxine and one mid-way through the day, as a top-up. They are amazing and really help with the chronic tiredness. It never completely goes away and I am still weary and can't lose weight, but the Kelp really does make a difference, especially in helping with concentration.

I went for years of my adult life feeling completely ill and exhausted before I was diagnosed on my very first visit to a new doctor whom I had randomly selected when I changed jobs and had to change to their health coverage. He likely saved my life.

He knew what was wrong before he even ordered the blood tests and said he was amazed that I was even able to get myself into his office - and I'd actually gone in for something completely unrelated. My blood pressure was so low he said he'd not seen anyone ambulatory in that state before. I am angry at the doctors mentioned on here that will not even write repeat prescriptions when they are needed. This brilliant doctor actually gave me free sample packs of thyroxine if some months I couldn't afford my prescription co-pay, which was a ridiculous amount of money. He said I needed it to function and it would be unethical and cruel not to give them to me when he had them right there in the cupboard. He was one of those very rare doctors not in it for the money, as the majority of doctors seem to be in America.

Seventeen years ago I married an Englishman and moved to the UK. The care here is not based on profit and it still stuns me. Not only am I covered by the NHS for any health needs, because hypothyroidism is a chronic condition I get my Levothyroxine free, and because I have this one chronic condition all of my other prescriptions are free as well. I am automatically sent a letter every January to come in for a thyroid blood panel to monitor my condition. Because my eyelids were starting to droop due to Graves Disease my GP asked me if I'd like them sorted and referred me for surgery. This would have been considered non-essential plastic surgery in the US and I never even thought to mention it, it was my GP's suggestion all the way. The difference this made to my field of vision was brilliant and enabled me to wear contact lenses. And not a penny left my pocket for this. Not having to worry about being able to afford healthcare is a huge weight off my mind. I work and it comes out of my pay as a tax, that anyone who works pays, but regardless of financial circumstances everyone here is covered from birth,

I'm not meaning to be on a soapbox here but having lived in both America and England I have experienced healthcare in both countries and want to encourage Americans to fight for universal healthcare. You deserve it! It should be the responsibility of your government to implement a plan that actually takes care of people, rather than lining the pockets of Big Pharma, insurance companies and HMO's, etc. Every citizen has the right to healthcare, shelter and affordable food - that's pretty much the ethic in every major country except America, where folks are left to either make it on their own or they don't. If you haven't seen Michael Moore's film 'Sicko' please watch it. It will open your eyes to healthcare available to citizens in other countries, which you are being denied.

I've been without a thyroid gland for 26 years, and the creepy side effects of jitters, fatigue, and lack of concentrating are real. And even though this is one of the ailments that qualify for disability, you will be denied. I have other medical issues, but this one is the worst. Denied 4 times. I haven't worked in 6 years, and it looks like I may have to get my levothyroxine from abroad, without a prescription, since my husband is about to retire, and I will not have any insurance. My son, went to a doctor in Poland, way cheaper than America.