New to Fitness Pal - Thyroid Prob Sufferer

lesliejsilva

Hi everyone, I'm a 24/f and mom of a 3 year old. Always struggled with my weight, lost 50 lbs after I had my son and looked great in my wedding in Oct, but since then I've gained nearly 40 lbs. I have pretty bad hypothyroidism, on 200 mcg/day of Synthroid, and battle with it daily. Coming close to prediabetes.

I just CANT stick with ANYTHING to lose this weight! I have to work twice as hard to lose a lb b/c of the thyroid issues, and I'm pretty much gaining .25 - .5 lbs a week.

Anyone have any recommendations or suggestions about dieting w/ thyroid problems?

I am really hoping I can stick with tracking on here and on my iphone!

ANewLucia

Hi, I too have hypothyroidism. I'm on 150mcg. At first it was hyperthyrodism and I had the radiation treatment many years ago. I have issues with it when pregnant (the body requires a higher dosage. Just found that out with the last pregnancy. If you plan to have more babies, your ob should refer you to a high risk to monitor the thyroid closely).

Anyway, I did find that there is a range of normal and I don't feel good and hold on to weight when I am in the lower range. Is it possible to have your doctor check your blood to see where you fall in the range? Being too low makes you lethargic, so it is extra hard to get moving. When I am in the upper range of normal I feel great and the weight just rolls off.

RushinBruisette

I know you already saw my other post, but WELCOME!!!! :happy: If you want to check out of few threads that help me stay motivated, here they are:

:glasses: Labor Day Challenge(make your own goal, whether it's a certain amount of weight or another healthy goal):
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/94171-labor-day-challenge

:noway: Lose 5lbs a month (A possible goal to obtain and with lots of friendly 'faces', 5lbs a month can make you 25lbs lighter by December, and maybe a little more! Although this thread is about to be replaced for July, you can get a good idea!): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/99431-lose-5-pounds-a-month-june-2010-challenge

:drinker: 100mile Challenge(you don't have to do 100miles, you can do more or less, whatever is best for you, I've upped mine to 200miles):
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/100747-my-100mile-challenge

When you are ready to amp up a boring walk and can stick with this plan for 9 full weeks, check out:
Couch to 5k (coolrunning.com for the plan) http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/98489-couch-to-5k-anyone

I know it's a lot of links and info at the same time:indifferent: , but remember to pace yourself and don't push too hard to where you injure yourself or decide to give up. If you ever need anything, feel free to message me and I'll do what I can to help!
:flowerforyou: Bru

lesliejsilva

Thank you for your input
My endo and ob monitored me when I was pregnant, and then my endo closed down/went out of business.
I just switched to a new one. He was very motivational, switched me to brand since I was on generic for a while and it wasn't working. I started to feel good, but still couldnt lose weight.
He put me on Symlin, an injection, he said it would make me lose 1 lb/ week.....I hated it, it was terrible, and I'm pretty sure it put me close to being a diabetic...I fainted last week b/c my blood sugar dropped so low. I go back July 22 and I'm going to have to stand my ground...I feel like he's using me as an experiment to see what works!
I have to get bloodwork in a couple weeks, I'm anxious to see how my levels are.

ANewLucia

Oh wow, please research all drugs before you start taking them...sounds like he is experimenting for sure!

Yes, make sure to ask him where you fall on the range. Wow, you sound like my cousin, she had thyroid cancer, so they removed hers and it is as though her body just won't accept and utilize the synthroid.

RachSuzanne

Wow!

Hi, I too suffer w/ hypothyroidism. It's very difficult, I find, to trust a doctor when they say anything with certainty about what a drug will or will not do in regards to the thyroid.

Modern science still doesn't entirely understand the endocrine system. My former physician told me a few years ago that I was normal and didn't need to be on any medication. I'm still not sure why I took her word for it after being treated by 3 doctors previously. Anyhow, a year later I ended up in that really horrible place you go to: confusion, lethargy, anger, Vitamin D deficient...you know. So I found a new doctor.

That's when I decided to stick to the advice of the Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypothyroidism/DS00353

I read everything they have to say on it. Basically, stick to some form of Levothyroxin (consistency is important), exercise and eat a HEALTHY diet.

Well, that's my take on it. It's hard to say for another, cause every thyroid patient is different. I think you're right, stick to your guns and get on name brand Synthroid. Then eat right and exercise. Don't let a doctor tell you how you feel.

Good luck.

kiffypooh

Welcome! I too am hypo and I too have a 3 year old, mine is a girl though. I struggled trying to get my thyroid in a place that I feel good and I finally went to see an endo. He put me on the name brand of Synthroid and another medication. I go in every 6-8 weeks and get my blood work done to find a place I'm happy. As I lose weight that number changes. I finally started feeling good and did the blood work, they called me the other day and said I'm hyper now and I need to lower my meds :sad: My endo believes that it's more important to listen to the body rather then looking at the number, within reason. There's a range of "normal" like someone else said, and I don't feel great where most people do so they just try to get me in a place that is "normal" and what works for me. So maybe you need to ask your to adjust your meds until you get to a happy place. Mine also said Syntroid may affect someone differently then Levoxal, etc so a change of medication may work. They thyroid is so sensitive little things make a huge difference. I would love to help more, but my thyroid has never caused any problems with my weight loss. When they put me on new meds I was hoping that the weight would just fall off, then I realized eating McDonald's an other junk is probably why I was fat, not my thyroid :laugh: I just try to look at my diet as a way to be a good example for my daughter and to make it well balanced and full of healthy filling foods.
Best of luck!

July24Lioness

Hi, I am also Hypothyroid, PCOS and Diabetic..............I also recently found out I have a Pituitary tumor.

I am going the natural route and have ditched the Synthetic Thyroid Hormone...........I just started Armour Thyroid and it is making more of a difference than Synthroid ever did (I took name brand and generic)............

I am also dropping weight again since the switch to Armour Thyroid. I actually dropped 7 pounds in one week due to the switch.

To control Diabetes (and also Pre-diabetes) I control my carb intake and have ditched the grains...........and I feel so much better!!!

eblandry

Thanks for discussing this issue. I have Hypothyroid but as someone else posted, it is not why I am overweight. Good luck with finding a doctor that you can trust.