Good luck getting it back. I'll be bashing on their door in around 8 months to get my class 1 back. Always nice to see people getting better.

Euthyroid
 

Hi, great to know that the carbimazole regime worked for you. It did for me. However it was supposed to suppress the immune system, somehow something strange happened to me. When I was fully on the high dosage of carbimazole, I was very fit and illness free ( well, except for the hyperactive thyroid and its associated maladies ). However once I became euthyroid, I found myself more susceptible to flu and colds; I already had 2 bouts of that since being declared euthyroid! Anybody else had similar experience?

Only on it for a short while before Iodine treatment, but no, I felt far worse under carbimazole - however - I was on a high dosage as the T4 levels had been off the scale.

Ongoing I tend to have non-specific gut complaints, probably linked to dosage variations.

Cracked it!!! Got my Class 1 back after a mere 'hyper' 8 weeks. Just a currency sim, 3 takes off, there goes number 4 etc, and nurjio is back in the Dickens Bar - with a vengence. Awesome. Just an orange juice for me though :) Thanks be to the Endocronologist - top man. :D

nurj :}

Edited to say, I've had no snags at all - yet - on carbimazole.

...by the way Baba', colds and flu? Hmmm, get your liver checked! :}

nurj :}

HI Guys,
I've been diagnosed with Hypo about 6 months ago and am on Thyroxin 100mg daily. I'm currently finishing off my CPL and am wondering if this will affect my medical. The only thing i noticed was that my HR was very slow (around 48 bpm, everyone thought i was really fit haha) and i was tired all the time (still am but blood tests are normal now).
I'm told i have had Hypo for years and probably inherited it from my mother as she has it. I was a late developer so if there are any docs on board here, could that have been the reason and what could happen if i don't take the treatment? At least i'm saving heartbeats haha

Research with mice suggests that you last longer with higher thyroxine doses, so definitely don't skip the pills!

Tell the Aus CAA in the first instance, and you will be advised to ground yourself until you are stabilised on a dosage (and are no longer tired!) - two blood tests that are stable on TSH and T3/T4 - or whatever you condition requires.

I don't think anyone knows truly why this develops, as the symptoms can be so mild in many cases (many old people are reckoned to be hypo and undiagnosed...) - it is an autoimmune-linked disease nonetheless...unless you have been playing with radioactivity.

Speak to your AME, as the docs and fellow sufferers on here can't answer to your whole condition based upon the text alone...and don't be tempted to fly without having stabilised and told the Aus CAA. They are - at least in the UK - extremely helpful in the medical department.

OK Thanks Re-Heat.

I'll have a chat to my AME. I'm due to renew my Class 1 anyway.

My last blood test about a month ago showed that my thyroid levels are normal. This was after 6 months of taking the 100mg Thyroxin. I have to have another blood test in 6 months time and if everything is okay then i think once every year or two yearly. To tell the truth, i dont feel a hell of a lot different though. I guess i'm still tired but not dead tired anymore.

Does anyone know how thyroid function (either Hypo or Hyper) affects your health besides feeling tired or having a fast/slow heartbeat?

Hey Marty.
I too suffer from hypo was diagnosed with it about 8 years ago and have been on thyroxin ever since. I was mis diagnosed for years with docs saying that my weight gain, lethargy etc was all due to age and things just naturally "spreading out", needless to say it was a nightmare couple of years.
Now everything is much better and have had no probs with gaining medicals.

It does take a while for the meds to kick in and i dont think you ever feel quite the same as before but thing will get better.
Don't miss taking any meds you'll start noticing when you have, your body gets quite sensitive to the lack meds, oh yeah and my memory is cr@p now.... hey but thats probably just age.

I too would be keen to hear any storys from hypo's.

cheers

Knox

Hi Knox,

Thanx for that. I guess It's not that bad of a problem in the scale of things i could have. How old are you? I forgot to bring my wallet to work today. Hopefully that's not a sign of things to come hehe. I am 39 btw.

I'm mid 30's.
I forget wallet, watch, keys, sometimes my name and i know i'd forget my :mad: if they weren't in a bag.

Marty 1468 - the usual caveat of discuss your medical issues with your AME/GP applies, but from what you've posted so far, it is likely that the need for treatment of hypothyroidism in your case will be lifelong.

It's very unlikely that your condition/treatment will affect your life in any adverse way, (bit of a generalisation I'm afraid.), other than having to remember to take your meds. Regular monitoring is the key to successful treatment, and once stable, you will require blood tests once or twice yearly.



The list is endless, but the aim is to keep your thyroid function normal! So keep taking the tablets unless otherwise advised.

And remember to claim for your free prescription pass:)

Cheers and good health....ginge:)

(Sorry just noticed you live in Aus, do you have to pay for your tabs there?)

HI Ging,

Yeah nothing is free here anymore :bored:. In fact , i've just come back to Aus after 9 years working in Saudi and my how things are expensive here now. I would say on par with Blighty with the cost of living and housing now.

Might have to go back to Saudi to earn some decent cash.

..just been diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, after a total thyroidectomy for my original thyrotoxicosis!! - removal of thyroid was planned as a toatl cure for hyperthyroidism. This is a bolt from the blue as my consultant was not anticipating pathology to reveal any abnormal thyroid tissue. There were two microscopic foccii papillary tumors. So, 15 months after regaining my class1 and Command in BA on Short-Haul - my license is pulled again for further investigation and possible I - 131 treatment to mop up any remaining thyroid cells in my body. Bugger.

...on the +ve side, this would not have been detectable without histology so I could have gone on a few years with this growing without my knowledge. So early detection = excellent prognosis, but, as ever, with this suff going on in your body you never know. :eek:

I'll keep posting with updates.

Rgds to alll thyroid sufferers - although mines gone now!!

Bad luck Nurj...but also good news it was caught so soon.

My consultant advocated I131 total destruction of the thyroid as a non-invasive way to remove all potential hinderances to recovery - might be useful to get a referral to my chap (NHS) if you need it - let me know if you need the details.

Did you have regular samples taken for pathology post-surgery then?


If it helps, I131 treatment was not only totally painless, but extremely quick. You get a session with the nuclear physicist who gives you the radio-nuclear pill, and basically have a chat for as long as you want before you are comfortable enough to take the pill. (I did not realise this, and thought it strange that he was prepared to answer all my off-point questions about nuclear treatment and radio-nucleides...!) Only issue is staying away /sleeping away from partner / children for 10 days or so, and using different bathroom facilities, as the wastes comes out in sweat, urine etc.

..Re-Heat, thanks for that. I have no thyroid left, so post surgery, I have nothing left to take a sample from. The discovery of PTC was from the routine Histology of my hyperthyroid gland.

The reason my thyroid was taken out was for a total cure for hyperthyroidism. I was on carbimazole for 1.5 years and it was felt that long term exposure was not good. Good job really, as the cancer would not have been discovered - therefore, I have been, and could have still been ,flying a commercial service for BA hosting PTC. Not anymore though. I-131 is scheduled for May 26th - a 4 day process in isolation at Addenbrookes, Cambridge.

...now, this is just unbelievable. My wife has had a lump removed from her neck. (Last week). She has just been diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer too - more advanced than mine. Gulp. The consultants are incredulous that man and wife have, within 3 weeks of each other, been hit by the C disease....


Prognosis still good though.......my kids are paranoid. :ooh:


Begining to think that our house is built on a nuclear waste dump.

Right now I'm in the RAI room at Addenbrookes - isolation. Have got my computer and T-Mobile dongle (what a Godsend). Dose of I-131 swallowed at 14.00hrs. Scan on Friday, then results 8th Jun. I no 'mets', just uptake where the thyroid was and decent thyroglobulin result, am hoping for 4-6 weeks to euthyroid, then Bingo. It's been 2 weeks plus without any medication for hypothyroidism and it's rough going. After scan on fri I can take T3/Thyroxine together for a week to kick start recovery - can't f@ckin' wait.

How's your Mrs?

All the best.

Mrs is OK ta, she's had her thyroidectomy, 2cm papillary tumour and 8 infected lymph nodes removed, is on the low iodine diet and stops the liothyronine (T3) next monday ready for RAI 15 Jun in the same facility that I'm leaving in about 3 hours - hurrah!

What a freak show we present though? Slashed necks together.

We've been married 26 years this year, been through thick and thin together, including 20 years flying Harriers and surviving that - the padre never took the walk up the garden path!! But nothing could have prepared us for this. It's awesome in the way it plays on the mind. The battle is, I believe, 90% mental and we're getting there.

Cheers for now

I'll keep posting to keep a record going should anyone wish to refer to what is an intriguing experience.

The main thing though is you're both still here and fighting away.

I can confirm that mental attitude makes an enormous difference to how you cope with it all. It made a massive difference to me anyway.

All the best to you both.

I said I'd keep posting so here I am. Got my Class 1 back after Post RAI scan showed no metastasis. 4 weeks it took to recover my blood to Eutyhroid status. CAA sanguine, less than 1% chance in the next 5 years of lung metastsis leading to incapacitation - bingo. Quick Sim - Quick recency fliight with a Trainer and whamo, back into the Short Haul fray at LHR. Typing this on the Champs Elysee, Paris on a layover. Wife also doing well. She's clear too and back to work.

Cheers to all who offered advice and support.

Update:

Challenge scan clear, thyroglobulin score showing no thyroid activity, still flying, feeling good.

If anyone out there has a thyroid issue please pm me

dear mrs n.

thyroid cancer link to breast cancer is suspected. evidence (you know the internet garbage can) suggests increased risk once you have thyroid cancer treatment. unclear if it is the radioactive iodine or just a straight link. (doesnt appear to be a link for women the other way). personally i think it is the sudden and complete onset of menopause about a nanosecond after they removed my thyroid that triggered the breast cancer mite. mine is a story about looking out for yourself. advice was dont worry about the lump in your throat, multiple tests show it is benign. i then asked for removal of affected half as i didnt want to deal with it being a problem later. hey, guess what - its follicular thryroid cancer!.... goodbye other half, go via lead room for radioactive I and a year and a half to get stable. after finding internet suspected link to breast cancer kept a good lookout. ending up down that sorry path, lost another year of life. all good now. look after yourself Mrs N and dont take any amount of specialist advice that 'its benign' as ok if they or you find a breast lump...get it out / off.

ps i worship the ground my gp and surgeon walk on. (pathologists - well, ya got it wrong repeatedly. nuf said). gp and surgeon looked after me wonderfully once it was clear what was happening.

pm me if you want to talk about it.

now back on track to gaining CPL Heli and blowing my super on a small heli some time soon. K.

Does anyone know if hyperthyroidism can be an issue for Emirates Cabin Crew process? I'm literally desperate!!! although I have my thyroid controlled, my TSH is normal at this moment. if someone can share experiences I would appreciate :) thank you

do a search on "adrenal fatigue"....adrenal gland experts say that if you have thyroid issues you also have adrenal gland issues and that you must heal your adrenal glands first before you heal your thyroid issue as you can damage your thyroid. Stress and poor diet can cause issues with our adrenal glands = pilots life style while at work. search "adrenal fatigue symptoms" and "adrenal fatigue hypothyroidism".

Our adrenal glands regulate our blood pressure, blood sugar, cortisol and adrenaline levels and over 50 hormones...they are a big deal and often over looked by most doctors as the root cause of health issues.

To heal your adrenal glands you need a good clean diet no sugar, alcohol, junk food, caffeine as all of these put more stress on the adrenal glands, you may also need vitamins/minerals/hormonal balancing.

see the book Eat to live and the authors PBS special on you tube on how a good clean diet can heal the body as it will give you a good idea of what type of clean diet will help you to heal your thyroid issue or at best prevent you from having to take any meds that might cause issues with your flight medical.

check into a cortisol saliva test

Wishing you all the best for a speedy recovery.

Whilst both the thyroid and the adrenals share a common controller - the pituitary - and so we often see problems with both, there is no evidence that the adrenal controls the thyroid or vice versa. It would turn the pathology of pituitary disease on its head. We can easily measure the output of the adrenals so if this were the case we would see it and we dont. Anyhow, failure of the adrenals is called Addisons disease. It was common in the 1800s with TB and the like. Death follows in a month or so. We dont see many people with thyroid disease coming to grief if under medical supervision.

Sorry to be a killjoy, but uncontrolled hypo or hyperthyroidism is dangerous. If your thyroid is over or under active you need to see a doctor. Advising people to change their diet instead is just :mad:

Radgirl, I am not saying to not go to a doctor....the opposite...but I am saying that a diet change is necessity also to build the immune system back up which will also heal the adrenal glands and in turn may prevent the person from having to take meds long term for their thyroid issue. A diet change such as eliminating sugar, junk food, caffeine, alcohol etc is needed to heal the adrenal glands and flood the body with much needed vitamins/minerals this is just common sense.

Addison's disease is not the only adrenal gland issue...Adrenal Fatigue is the early stages of Addison's disease. Adrenal fatigue is our bodies check engine light to make changes in our lives. Adrenal Fatigue was discovered over 100 years ago, doctors back then took it seriously as this issue effect peoples health greatly just as it does today. Sadly though the pharmaceutical companies want people to pop a pill for life so they make more money vs first seeing if a diet change will heal the person's immune system which in turn will heal other health issues. Also doctors are not educated enough in med school about adrenal gland issues.

I personally suffered from adrenal fatigue without knowing it for many years and it was not until I found a doctor who not only tested me for it but also changed my diet to a plant based diet did I get better.

There is a connection between adrenal fatigue & hyperthyroidism just do a search on the net.

Ah yes, the conspiracy theory that the pharmaceutical industry is deliberately hiding data to maximise their profits combined with medical schools around the world too stupid to train doctors properly raises its head again to explain a theory that runs counter to basic science. The other problem with your hypothesis is that the drug involved is good old thyroxine which I suspect has never been under any patent. It is a generic tablet that doesnt make the pharmaceutical companies diddly.

Sorry, dont buy it.

Radgirl you seem to be angry over this topic, not sure why?

Anyway Pilots are very methodical about doing their due diligence at finding the right answers to their health issues as our health is the most important thing with regards to our job security/long term career. I have every confidence that these pilots (& cabin crew) who wrote on this thread will do plenty of research on adrenal fatigue and how it correlates to their thyroid issue which will guide them to a return to good health. ;)

I am not angry at all, just sad.Those regular posters will remember a parallel thread on statins - that statins were dangerous, that the drug companies only made them to make money at the cost of peoples' health, that all doctors were under trained, and that doctors were taking backhanders and bribes from the drug companies.

All untrue I might add, and since then several more national bodies have endorsed widespread use of these generic drugs that are out of patent.

I dont have a problem with anyone doing whatever they want in health terms, but those of us who are medically or paramedically qualified have a responsibility to point out when something is advised which has no scientific basis and indeed may be harmful. People can then try the snake venom or eye of newt on the basis of informed consent.

The problem with your hypothesis is that endocrine medicine is a massive nidus of international research. There are literally hundreds of researchers and trainee doctors desperate for publications looking for new angles. If these abnormalities of the adrenal gland existed, they would have been measured, published and accepted.

Lets leave everyone to make their own mind up - as you say they are intelligent and indeed educated people. If you want to persuade me PM me any research and I will happily look at it

I posted on this a day or so ago, then had second thoughts.

Suffice it to say, Radgirl has nicely summarized the view of the vast majority of physicians.

Given the choice between therapies which have withstood the test of time, research, and experience, versus whatever woo treatment pops up on the internet or late night TV, people should think carefully about their choice.

Good health requires healthy food not a pill!!
 

Hippocrates the "Father of Medicine" said "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food".....Hippocrates a physician back in 460BC knew full well food was what kept people healthy and what made them sick. He was a great observer and after much observation he advised people not to eat animals with slit hooves especially swines because they stood in their own bacterial laden deification causing people to become grossly sick. He also advised people to eat lots of veggies, fruit, seeds/nuts. Many religions adopted his food eating ideas for health safety which some stand still to this day. "Medical historians generally look to Hippocrates as the founder of medicine as a rational science. It was Hippocrates who finally freed medicine fromthe shackles of magic, superstition, and the supernatural.
Hippocrates collected data and conducted experiments to show that disease was a natural process; that the signs and symptoms of a disease were caused by the natural reactions of the body to the disease process; and that the chief role of the physician was to aid the natural resistance of the body to overcome the metabolic imbalance and restore health and harmony to the organism". How did Hippocrates do this back in 460BC long before pharmaceutical companies came into profiteering I mean the picture? By directing people towards eating a healthy diet.

How do you ignore the adrenal glands based on simply saying there is no "research to substantiating adrenal fatigue"? Have you check with the largest Med school libraries, Library of Congress or the American Medical Journal or other medical journals around the world and found absolutely nothing on adrenal fatigue? If you did you would find plenty on this very subject all the way back to the 1800's when it was discovered how important they are to our health and well being.

The Adrenal glands sit DIRECTLY on top of our Kidneys....our kidneys are one of the most important organ in our body...would you not think that the adrenal glands being placed on top of the Kidneys to regulate our blood pressure, blood sugar, cortisol & adrenaline levels (fight or flight mode) and over 50 hormones including all the female/male hormones are the lest bit important? Would you also so bluntly assume that the glands would not get fatigue by working to hard? fatigued by not fueling the body with healthy rich in vitamin/mineral food? After all look what happens to your kidneys if you eat a poor diet = you can die!

Adrenal fatigue was discovered in the 1800's...why do you think our soldiers upon returning from WWI and WWII were sent to "Rest and Recovery Hospitals" to deal with their "shell shock" (now known as PTSD = adrenal fatigue)...because doctors knew back then that the adrenal glands could become fatigue due to continual stress and poor diet something all of these soldiers endured along with soldiers today...and they knew to heal the soldiers adrenal glands the soldiers needed a good clean healthy diet to flood their body with much needed vitamins/minerals, plenty of rest & recovery and plenty of sleep to get their adrenal glands back in proper working order. Something pilots can relate to = stressful job, lack of sleep a set bed time on the road/getting less then 8 hours sleep, poor diet (hotel/airline food).

Remember the old saying: You are what you eat...popping a pill is simply a band aid in most cases...eating a health diet WILL build your immune system up while at the same time detoxing your digestive system which house 90% of the good/bad bacteria in our bodies (and detox all organs including the kidneys, liver, blood stream etc)...detoxing helps the good bacteria fight off the bad bacteria = keep you healthy!!

Changing your diet is not "snake oil" as you put it. :ugh:

What is the first thing a doctor tells a patient with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart issues or other health issues that can easy be corrected = CHANGE YOUR DIET!! Why? Because changing their diet works better then a pill!!

Changing your diet to a healthy diet will improve your immune system, detox your organs, flood your body with vitamins and minerals including your adrenal glands and return you to good health with LOTS of energy but most importantly it will allow you to NEVER stress again when going for your flight medical!!! ;) Why would you not try a change in diet to not stress about your next flight medical? ;)

ps Hippocrates was 90 years old when he died..pretty astonishing to live to that ripe old age considering he was born in 460BC. Clearly he knew a good diet led to a long healthy life! read books like eat to live and see the authors pbs special on you tube...it may just open your mind to how you can achieve good health again.

We all make our choices. Best of luck to you, Irish21.

Does anyone on here have recent experience of the CAA and hyperthyroidism?

I have been on carbimazole and propranolol just over a week ago. I'm feeling good now but the endocrinologist says that is because of the medication. I'm going back in two or three weeks, in the meantime it'll be golf for me.

I was just wondering if anyone has gone through this recently and how did your AME deal with it? The CAA seem to have handed everything off to the AME's. I found a thyroid document on the CAA website, it would be much nicer though to be able to call someone though.

Also, what diet or supplement changes did you make?

Thanks.

Graves Disease
 

I had Graves Disease diagnosed a few years prior to attempting to obtain a commercial license.

It did not hinder me. I had mine completely ablated via I-131 and was on a full replacement dose of Synthroid/generic that kept my thyroid levels stable and in the normal range.

Looking back, I would have probably preferred to have it partially ablated, so as not to need the daily replacement medications for life.

That being said, as long as I listed "previously reported" on my medical renewals, it never was a problem.

That was 20-some years ago and it has not caused me any major problems. The synthetic thyroid hormones do their job as long as you are diligent in taking them. Even with missed doses, TSH is slow to move, so missing taking them one morning won't have any noticeable impact from my experience.