i got my son back wat a happy time ,ive bn on my liothyronine for my first week out of hospital 3tabs a day then i went to the doctors on friiday on got another prescription and my doctor thought i was to get one a day so i thought that was normal o my god was i the doctor so wrong the pains in my head i was dizzy feeln sick n tired so on wednesday i called the doctor and she phoned the hospital and it was 3 a day i was to be one so at the moment not feeling very good or happy wat a mistake to make messing with me like that ,

I also took 3 Liothyronine tablets after RAI which I took for 3 months. Don't know how I'd have coped on one a day!!!

Then I had my follow-up scan so had to come off them again for 2 weeks. (I was a bit surprised about the scan, didn't remember being told about at the beginning but I guess I just forgot!)

This time, I went up to the hospital and had another "drink" but it was only a tiny percentage of the previous amount of RAI and I could go home. So I had my scan a few days later and didn't hear anything until my next review, when they said it had been okay. I wasn't off work before the scan but I wish I had stayed off as I did feel really tired off meds.

That was over 6 months ago and there's been no mention of any more scans, so fingers crossed.....

After the review scan, I was at last changed from liothyronine to 100mg thyroxine which feels fine.

Hope you feel better on the proper dose. good luck.

hi ther how are you ,just a wee question for you ,wen u got out of hospital n u wer on ur liothyronine how long did it take for you energy level to get back to normal ,i still get really tired and most days my body aches with pain mainly my bones on my face and i get really sore heads did u have any of these symtoms,it would just be good to get the body back to normal ,

Hi bubblymags,

After getting out of hospital I was exhausted for a week, then the second week I felt a bit better. Because no one suggested staying off work any longer, I went back to work after two and a half weeks and gradually felt back to normal after maybe a month. But everyone seems to take a different amount of time to feel normal.

There seem to be various possible side effects (although I think I've been quite lucky and not had any). Over on another forum, a girl who recently had RAI is getting pain in her neck and I think her ears, and also lost her sense of taste. Someone else got a blocked salivary gland. Others have also mentioned dry skin and hair and weight gain. Could be I'm just used to being tired though, cos I don't feel I've had much energy for years!!!!

I definitely feel better on Thyroxine than I did on Liothyronine, which gave me a really fast pulse and heartrate, but my medication wasn't changed until after my follow up scan 3 months later. Your consultant will recommend a dose for you (maybe 100 or 150mg) and will alter it according to your blood results.

Mention your symptoms to your consultant, they might be quite common and they'll be able to advise you. x

Hi bubblymags

I do remember feeling tired for quite a while. My nausea eased fairly quickly. The tiredness was really all consuming though..i felt it everywhere. This did ease off after a few weeks . I took thyroxin from the start,never the other drug you have mentioned. I don t know why that is different. I take 200mcg a day of thyroxin. Even though my consultant says it shouldn t ,i always feel very tired by the evening.The group of women i know who have all had thyroid cancer all say exactly the same. we are all on slightly different doses of thyroxin which we all take in the morning. Our consultants all say our levels shouldn t drop in the evenings yet we are ALL very tired in the evenings. Even 4 years on for me. I'm getting used to that now, and my husband has had to get used to me being a bit cranky when i'm tired!

speak to your consultant...they may need to change your dose, i know it can take a while for them to work out your required amount.

Remember, you ve been through a lot and you re body is learning how to work without a thyroid and is still getting over surgery and you RAI treatment. It s going to take a while. Don t give youself a hard time about it.

Vix x

Hi bubblymags

I do remember feeling tired for quite a while. My nausea eased fairly quickly. The tiredness was really all consuming though..i felt it everywhere. This did ease off after a few weeks . I took thyroxin from the start,never the other drug you have mentioned. I don t know why that is different. I take 200mcg a day of thyroxin. Even though my consultant says it shouldn t ,i always feel very tired by the evening.The group of women i know who have all had thyroid cancer all say exactly the same. we are all on slightly different doses of thyroxin which we all take in the morning. Our consultants all say our levels shouldn t drop in the evenings yet we are ALL very tired in the evenings. Even 4 years on for me. I'm getting used to that now, and my husband has had to get used to me being a bit cranky when i'm tired!

speak to your consultant...they may need to change your dose, i know it can take a while for them to work out your required amount.

Remember, you ve been through a lot and you re body is learning how to work without a thyroid and is still getting over surgery and you RAI treatment. It s going to take a while. Don t give youself a hard time about it.

Vix x

Vix, just a quick query -

I take my thyroxine in the morning too, as advised. ( I know some people take it in the evening but I haven't tried that yet, not sure what effect it would have).

I'm wondering, though, if I need to wait an hour after my dose before taking food? The consultant didn't mention this, and when I asked the chemist she was a bit vague and said maybe 15-30 minutes, but I'm sure I read somewhere that it should be an hour?

I'm just keen that my TSH level should be as supressed as possible, and want to give my thyroxine the best chance to work without taking any more than I have to, but an hour is not ideal as I end up rushing off to work with no breakfast! What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks x

hi cassie

I keep mine next to my bed and always take them as soon as i wake in the morning..first thing i do each day! I usually have breakfast about 20 mins or so later..after shower etc. I 'll do some asking around on that one and see what i can find out...i always try to leave some time before eating but as you say its always a rush in the morning.

I do always avoid eating soya products until later in the day as i have read that these can affect your absorbtion of thyroxin....

will chat to my very knowledgeable friend Bev and get back to you!

Vix x

Hi Cassie, me again!

Bev is indeed the fountain of all thyroid related knowledge!

Guidelines say...take first thing in morning on empty stomach. Wait around half hour before eating. Don t take any calcium tablets for another 4 hours as this can affect absorbtion also.

There is research looking at taking in evening on empty stomach..but results not conclusive as yet...

Hope that helps!

Vix x

I must get Bev on this site...

Thanks Vix,

Very useful to know that I only need to wait half an hour after food. I did think an hour might be a bit over-zealous, but am still at the stage where I'm a bit wary of letting my TSH creep up at all, and trying to give the medication as much of a chance as possible. I guess even if the level ever rose I would just take a higher dose, but I'll see how things go in the meantime.

Luckily I don't have to take calcium tablets, even after two surgeries, which I fully expected to cause some problems. However, my calcium level is still being tested religiously as apparently it could still drop - nearly a year later!

Anyway, thanks again for the info. xx

hello Cassie

I'm 4 years on now and my thyroxin dose hasnt changed since initial tweeks in the early days.i take 200 mcg daily. it still freaks out the GPs if they ever do a test at my local doctors surgery, so i always refer them to my consultant at the QE.

I only took calcium tabs for a short time..even after 3 surgeries, so i'm lucky too!

I know what you mean.. i try to give my tablets the best chance of working...i'm very careful with the soya products issue, which is an issue when you re a vegetarian like me..

vx