[HRHDi]

Okay, I know of 3 other .oRg members here in the Lair who have thyroid issues - underacitve or no thyroid. I thought that was a pretty high percentage and thought it might be a good place to ask questions, give support, etc.

Just to recap, here's my thyroid history in a nutshell (I promise to all of you who have already heard it).

Nov 2007 - nodule found on my thyroid
Dec 12 2007 - positive cancer diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer
Jan 2008 - total thyroidectomy surgery, thyroid and surrounding lymph nodes were removed
Feb 2008 - prep for radioactive iodine treatment - the worst part of this entire ordeal.
Mar 2008 - radioactive iodine treatment. 1 week of isolation in my bedroom - no family, no pets, plastic over everything, etc. because I was radioactive.
Sep 2008 - follow up scan found 3 suspicious lymph nodes, biopsy confirms cancer
Oct - Nov 2008 - lots of tests and prep for surgery
Dec 2008 - radical left neck dissection. 24 lymph nodes removed, 8 confirmed with cancer.
Jul 2009 - next follow up scan. Keep your fingers crossed for a clean scan.

I had one of the most curable kinds of cancer. It's almost never life threatening. I have a wicked scar on the left side of my neck, from my ear down across to my right collar bne - kind of like a big J.

I take 150 mcg of Synthroid every morning - about 5:30 on weekdays and 7:00 isd on weekends. My endocinolgist prefers Synthroid because she feels that her paitients do better on that one. She told me (and I've confirmed with my research) that I shouldn't change brands because thyroid replacement hormones are kind of tricky and changing brands can mean that you body may go through another entire adjustmet phase. I've not had any adverse side effects with Synthroid and, considering how bad the iodine prep time was, I don't ever want to feel that way again.

I have a co-worker who had one lobe of her thyroid removed and she uses the generic (only 20 mcg) with great results. So, I think it's up to you and your doctor.

I'm not remotely an expert, but I'm very open to sharing my experience and give my support

BTW - I don't want to limit this to just thyroid stuff. If anyone else is having some health issue that she needs support on...we're here.