Well I will only give you my experience in this.  I had a total and I was hyper 
when I had mine removed, as well as cancerous, so I had to do the radio 
iodine.  Initially I was starte on the lowest level of Levoxyll i think it was 25 
mg, then every 6 weeks they went up until they surpressed it.  But after a 
couple level changes I started having allergic reactions to it and was switched 
to Synthroid. I was finally on 200mg for two years which supressed my TSH 
levels to .05.  This was done because of the cancer, so unless you have 
cancer then they probably won't surpress it and bring your levels that low.  
The weight gain, well let's see I had gained about 30lbs the year before my 
surgery, maybe more, i can't recall, but it was alot and as soon as I had it 
removed I lost it all then began gaining it back, a side note (MY DR. SAYS I'M 
WEIRD, BECAUSE I GAIN WEIGHT WHEN I'M HYPER AND LOSE IT WHEN I'M 
HYPO) Now with that said, I lost 10lbs within a week of having it removed, so 
who knows.  The thyroid is so crazy that one really never knows what, how, 
or when you body will react to changes or to the different types of meds.  I 
just recently changed from Synthroid/Levothyroxine to Armour, mainly because 
of pregnancy reasons and the whole natural thing.  

I wish you luck with your surgery and after care, as we all need it because 
throid disease is difficult to control and making sure that your levels are good 
and you feel good is KEY, so listen to your body, it WILL tell you when 
something isn't right, believe me, I am still trying to get my levels under 
control, and it's been 3.5 years for me.  GOOD LUCK.  Bridget


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