Here's the link to the info right here on OCF as regards Radiation and (Hypo)Thyroid:
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/hypothyroidism.htm Lots more thyroid info if one does a search of that word at the foundation (not forum) level.
I've been taking synthroid/levoxyl for hypothroidism since about 1993-4, in varying doses from 50 to 150 mcg and needing adjustment every so often. Unfortunately, some of the hypo- symptoms are also present with hyper-thyroidism, so one can't always tell which way out of whack one is.
About two months ago, on 125 mcg (and ten months out of XRT), my TSH was 0.01, indicating too much hormone (between my thyroid and the meds); we waited a month on the same dose and it dropped to 0.00, so they had me stop taking anything and after a month it had rocketed up to 88.5!! Now we are trying me for a month on 50 mcg. Odd thing is I'm not really feeling any different through this part...
BTW, TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is what the pituitary gland puts out to tell the thyroid to produce (high TSH indicates thyroid underproducing, aka hypothyroid). The URL above finds that almost 70% of us will be hypo within seven years, so I find it strange indeed that I seem to have gone hyper, but someone has to be out on the ends of the normal distribution curve or it wouldn't be a curve <grinz>.
Usually, I get by with six months or a year between tests, but this has been different for sure. The seven years indicates to me that all of us who have been Chernobyl'd should be asking for thyroid function testing at least annually (probably sooner given the median to hypo is only 1.4 years). I printed out that URL text and gave a copy to my regular Doc for his info.
BTW, one should not eat for one hour after taking the meds or should not take the meds for two hours after eating -- Calcium is a real no-no as far as messing up this med -- I dunno about coffee -- I try to wake up, take it and go back to sleep for another hour or so.
