I must not freak out. I must not freak out.....

So I had a dr appointment a week ago today, they did the whole blood draw shebang to test my cholesterol and was told to start monitoring my blood pressure at home.

 

So I've waited.  Twiddled my thumbs for a week while my cholesterol tests are being analyzed, fretting.  Last time it was checked, my LDL was 165 and my Lipids were 169, high.  Yucky high.  I watched my cholesterol intake, walked, did what a good little patient would do, and came back to get my levels check again.

 

I get 'the call' today, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  Miss Nice Nurse said, "well, the doctor would like you to come in as soon as possible to review your test results.  Your thyroid is severely underactive, and she wants you to bring in your journal of blood pressure monitoring, and talk to you about your cholesterol results."  Translation: freak out time.

 

So what does this mean?  Is an underactive thyroid causing me to be a water buffalo?  Would this affect my chances of the VSG surgery go out the window?  If I start on thyroid medication, will I lose weight, gain weight, turn into the Loch Ness Monster??  What does this mean?

 

So I have 4 days of nail-biting anxiety until I find out from Miss Skinny Doc what the deal is.  My BP has been crazy up here, averaging about 148/94 so I know I'll start BP meds.  But now I'm scared.  Will hypothyroidism cause any issues with my candidacy for WLS? 

 

Any advice is appreciated.  Or feel free to point me to the right board for my multi-illness.   Can't I just have the surgery and make all the bad stuff go away and be replaced with all good stuff?  *sigh*

 

Thanks for listening to my rants.

 

-Josie

I already had an established dx of hypothyroidism when I started my preop process, but it didn't cause any problems.  I also had the co-morbidity of EBP, but it was well-controlled with medication.  Postop I am still on meds for those issues, but I'm also 55yo. Since stuff happens when you hit middle age and menopause, that doesn't bother me.

I wasn't severely hypothroid, but even so it took some time to find the right level of medication to put things into balance.   I am talking months and months.  Your case may be different.  FWIW getting my thyroid into balance didn't result in tremendous, rapid weight loss, but being sleeved and following my postop rules did.  :)

Can't speak to the cholesterol issue personally.

The good news in all of this is that you're going to get some answers and can begin to fix those health concerns.  Try not to freak out too much and increase your BP even more in the process.   B e   c a l m  .

There's nothing you can do until you see the doctor, so time to pull up the big girl panties and just make up your mind to set it aside for now.  It's a beautiful autumn weekend, so go do something fun to keep your mind off it.

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." - Leo Buscaglia

 

I was diagnosed as hypothyroid over 25 yrs ago...severly..however, no amount of that medication ever took any weight off of me...other symptoms were alleviated, but it never effected my weight.  depending on your bmi, it shouldn't make a difference.  best of luck to you!  and breath deep :)

Sophie

Hi Josie,

The best advice I can give you, that really works:  breathing exercises.  Nice deep breaths.  It gives you more oxygen, makes you think clearer and LOWERS your blood pressure.  The last thing you need to do right now is worry yourself into some other type of medical issue.  Try to have a relaxing weekend and think positive.  I don't know if thyroid would effect surgery or not, or if the surgery will help that issue, but at least now you know what's going on so your dr can help get it regulated.  It's best for them to know everything before surgery so they can react accordingly.  Keep the faith, things will work out.......

Smiles:),

Lisa