Weight gain prevention just after total thyroidectomy?

I have a total hysterectomy at age 32 and a total thyroidectomy at age 34. I weight 135 pounds at the time of the thyroidectomy and withint three months weight 175 pounds. I have been that weight for the past 12 years. Nothing I do seems to get it off, no diet, no exercise or anything has been able to sway the scale or the inches. I wish I had kept the thyroid - it was the worst decision of my life to allow them to take it. I am only 5'0" and 175 pounds, can't breathe, I ache all the time, and no amount of thyroid medicine has changed anything for me. I has been an uphill battle to any early grave as far as I am concern.

I had my total thyroidectomy last November. I lost a few pounds to start off but since then I have gained about 10 pounds. I am only 4'10 so I can see how this is changing my shape and I am getting so depressed about it. I live in UK and my doctor has reduced my levothyroxine as she said too much can affect your heart rate, I was on 100 to start with and felt fine, she reduced it to 50 and I felt tired, cold and depressed as I could see the weight piling on.
I don't know what to do, I work full time, I am almost afraid to eat anything now, although obviously I do eat....before this total I had a partial in 1982, I could eat what I wanted, and did...no weight gain..I was on thyroxine but lots of days I forgot to take it and still felt ok.
Now, I hate the stuff, I am scared of getting any bigger, I weight 8st 4lbs, sorry, I don't know kilos being from UK, and older..52....haha
I try to walk every day, I walk to work and home again, I walk my dog but I can't seem to lose weight....please guys, if anyone has any idea where to go from here please tell me...I wish I had never had the op but it had grown multi nodular and was choking me so I had no choice..
I was 7st 4lb before my op...which is right for my height. I feel all achy when I have been sitting for a while, my joints are aching and I am so tired...my hair feels like straw and it was lovely before my op, all shiny etc...It sounds vain I know, but being so small in height this weight gain is serious to me. Any ideas guys?

I had total thyroidectomy 2 weeks ago. I'm a little on the small side. No one told me about the weight gain possibility until after my surgery which I had to get due to a small lump which was cancer. The Dr. has been starving my thyroid because I am getting an iodine treatment. I am completely confused about everything the doctor didn't tell me anything about the cancer except that it was not something to worry about. I have no idea what to expect except what I've read online so far I just feel like eating all day so, I guess I'm going to gain weight!

Hi All,

I had a total throidectomy when I was 15 due to cancerous nodes found on my thyroid gland. But I was actually born with a thyroid deficiency which was discovered when I was 2 weeks old....so I had this all my life. However, despite this fact, I was never over 55kg (which was normal for my age and height) until after my surgery. Being 15 at the time of my surgery, I was a reasonable active teenager, had PE twice a week at school plus I was in the military cadets so I was constantly moving and on my feet. I am now 22, and constantly fluctuate between 80 and 90kg. And I have an extremely difficult time losing weight. I was on Lite & Easy for 12 weeks, went to the gym for an hour 4 times a week and I lost 3kg in that time......yes, only 3kg......

As horrible as this all sounds, it is an unavoidable fact. YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT!!! But keep in mind I have had this condition all my life, others develop it as a result of the lifestyle, age etc, there are many factors that contribute to Hypothyroidism.

I wish I could make it prettier for you, but unfortunately it gonna happen.

i had a total thyroidectomy in nov of last year after being over active for 3 years , i was not informed of the possibility of "WEIGHT GAIN" . since the surgery and only being given 100mc of thyroxine i have gained 8 kilos YES 8 KILOS . i didnt eat any different than before , ive always had a very healthy diet .....now im on 275 of thyroxine and still no change in my weight . the doctors tell me that i didnt gain weight from having the surgery but every one ive chatted to have all gained weight ,,, some more than others ... doctors and surgeons should really explain to people about the "POSSIBILITY OF WEIGHT GAIN" if i was told prior to my surgery i would have thought twice about having it ............DOCTORS PLEASE GIVE PEOPLE THE FACTS BEFORE RUSHING INTO SURGERY .....

Okay, everyone needs to just take a chill pill. I had a total thyroidectomy 8 months ago, and actually have lost 22pounds. Granted most of that weight was from steroids I was on prior to surgery. Anyway, you need to quite panicing. If you stay active and eat right, you have nothing to worry about. You should also monitor your 3rd generation TSH, Free T4, and Free T3 on a regular basis, usually every 3months until your levels are stable. I have been on the same dose of Synthroid since surgery, and feel better now than I did before surgery. The people who gain the weight fail to tell you the whole story of their weight gain. Theoir diets are probally horrible, and they probally are not active like they should be. Yes, post thyroidectomy you have a greater chance of gaining weight, but stay on top of everything and you will do g=fine.

I had a total thryoidectomy, couple of lymph nodes removed, and some muscle in the same region about 8 years ago, thanks to cancer. The first few years were fine, but I have battled with my weight over the last 5 years. I eat well and exercise 3-5 x's a week. The weight is extremely hard to keep off. I need some solid advice. Are there any books or legit medical references our there?

Guest wrote:

Okay, everyone needs to just take a chill pill. I had a total thyroidectomy 8 months ago, and actually have lost 22pounds. Granted most of that weight was from steroids I was on prior to surgery. Anyway, you need to quite panicing. If you stay active and eat right, you have nothing to worry about. You should also monitor your 3rd generation TSH, Free T4, and Free T3 on a regular basis, usually every 3months until your levels are stable. I have been on the same dose of Synthroid since surgery, and feel better now than I did before surgery. The people who gain the weight fail to tell you the whole story of their weight gain. Theoir diets are probally horrible, and they probally are not active like they should be. Yes, post thyroidectomy you have a greater chance of gaining weight, but stay on top of everything and you will do g=fine.

I'm sorry, but this is spoken like someone who has no flippin idea what these people are going through.

Your experience is your experience; however you cannot negate the FACTS and experiences of others just because you are amongst a fortunate handful of patients. If you READ THROUGH these posts, and believe what these people are saying (because lets face it, they don't know you and have no reason to lie to you), you will realize that diet and exercise are not enough for all patients post thyroidectomy. There is a SUBSTANTIAL amount of research published by both practicing/respected physicians and publications like the New England Journal of Medicine that CORROBORATES what these women are saying. That T4 replacement, on its own, for as much as 60% of patients post thyroidectomy is insufficient and leads to weight gain, fatigue, muscle and joint pain and stiffness, mental fog and a whole other host of symptoms including adrenal fatigue.

Feel good that you haven't suffered like these women have. Heck, feel BLESSED! But don't mock them or belittle their plight without walking in their shoes. I've managed to "only" gain 20lbs in the past 5 months post surgery...sad to say ONLY but a twenty pound weight gain is low average! It is NOT because of my eating habits. My fiance snatched the phone from me and completely lost it when he heard me trying to convince my endo's nurse that I was not "cheating" and was being faithful in my exercise regimen. He worries constantly because he SEE's my eating habits and the fact that I am spinning my wheels. He thinks it's utterly ridiculous that so called trained medical professionals deny what their patients are saying. And he's right.

I follow a low glycemic index diet and consume approximately 300 calories LESS per day than what it should take to just MAINTAIN my body weight. I walk a minimum of 45 minutes per day at a brisk pace. I eat no refined sugar and only whole grains and complex carbs in addition to my proteins. Please do not do me or any of the other sufferers here the disservice of ASSuming that we are simply not following protocols and whining. I also am the mother of 3 yr old quadruplets...so please don't tell me I sit on my backside all day eating, because common sense should tell you based on that alone that it simply ain't true.

This is real, it's horrific and it's painful for SO MANY patients. Again, count your blessings and don't judge what you don't know firsthand.

Ladies, please...RESEARCH. SOME weight gain is normal going from hyper to hypO..but the reality is, most of us are being undertreated. Thyroxine replacement IS NOT ENOUGH for the majority of patients and numerous studies show that patients truly do need to be treated with a combination of both T4(levothyroxine) and T3 (common brand name is Cytomel). The problem for most of us is that we do not convert the thyroxine we ingest by pill into T3, which the body needs to metabolize fat and calories. Period.

FIGHT with your doc if need be. If he simply won't listen, then pursue a new one. It's my ongoing struggle and I know I'm not alone. After only 5 months I realize that to leave this alone simply because I'm tired of being shut down everytime I try to EDUCATE (yes, educate an endocrinologist) is only going to end up making me more sick and miserable. Do your own homework because most endocrinologists close their minds to recent findings if they are already established physicians. It's sad but it's true.

Hi everyone,
There's this confusing mixture of symptoms and problems between the thyroid and the adrenals. A lot of weight gain can be due to poor adrenal function. Have a look at this website: and look at some of the links they have there. I found it really, really helpful. By the way, my doctor started me on adrenal therapy about a year before the total thyroidectomy and I'm certainly glad he did!


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I am 28 year old female. I run and work out 5-6 days a week. I have lost around 7 lbs post-op. 5 ft. 7 1/2 inches (was 132 lbs, now 124 lbs). I am concerned about the weigth loss. Is this normal? Will it come back? I am on the low iodine diet right now and can hardly eat anything. My TSH as of last week was .054. I know this is very low. My energy level feels the same as before. I was back running 1 week post-op. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Best to all.