Underactive Thyroid

Bianca42

I can totally relate.

I can normally lose my counting calories and maintaining a deficit. My levels have been stable for years, but in the last couple months my levels have gotten all crazy. My hair is falling out like crazy, I'm super pissy all the time and I'm gaining weight even though I'm still eating the same. It's maddening. I've got another appointment next week to see if we can get things under control and I'm hoping that I can take the weight I've gained back off.

Psychgrrl

deannalfisher wrote: »

it sounds like your levels might be funky - while your blood work might show you in the medically acceptable range; your personal range may change of over - @CSARdiver can probably talk more about the geeky science stuff behind it

many endos are hesitant to prescribe armor, because the dosage can vary within the same bottles of pills - its harder to maintain a consistent dose

personally, I can't take synthroid, but I can take levo (weird I know); also if you are on levo, it could be that the changed their supplier and the fillers in the pills changed

Not only the fillers, but the binders, colorings and coatings. There are hundreds of generics out there and if your pharmacy stocks whatever is cheapest, you could be getting a different brand/medication each time.

Psychgrrl

sjd421 wrote: »

I have blood work next week and will see my Endo early Oct. I was going to ask her about Armour Thyriod. I have always had issues losing weight and now that have I had a baby, it's even worse. I would also like to hear if anyone is taking it and feels better with it then Levo/Synthroid.

I was on armour for about 10 months and it did not work for me. But it might for you. Ask your doc about all your options. There's a normal RANGE for a reason--maybe you're not at the right part of it for you.

CSARdiver

ClaireBeneymfp wrote: »

CSARdiver wrote: »

ClaireBeneymfp wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

Are you weighing your food on a scale? That's the biggest secret to weight loss.

Hi - yes I weigh everything. I can lose weight easily when my thyroid is under control its when it's a problem that I can't. My Dr once told me that I wouldn't lose even if I was eating 200 calories until the meds were at the right level.

Your physician is incorrect. Most haven't the first clue about weight management.

Have you received a full thyroid panel? TSH (0.2-2.0), fT3, fT4, rT3. All of these values need to be reviewed by a trained professional for a proper diagnosis.

Thyroid impacts your Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) by ~5%. So that's 60 kcals/day out of a 1200 kcal/day budget. REE is the amount of calories required for a 24-hour period by the body during a non-active period (laying in bed).

Doctors are apprehensive about Armour Thyroid simply because the safety profile is not as established as it is for levothyroxine. The typical protocol is to run a number of cardiac tests during the med change to minimize risk of palpitations and other known adverse events.

Any way you look at this the best course is to continue to lose weight through moderate and safe changes in diet and exercise. Simply walking 10 mins every hour adds up. Hormones are free cycling, so simply being overweight makes it impossible to maintain hormonal balance. Many patients who lose weight have their doses lowered to adjust for this.

I'm 6'4" - 222 lbs and on 175/200 mcg alt daily. I had a total thyroidectomy in 2000 due to cancer - put on ~70 lbs over the next 14 years due to leaving a high active military career to a cushy civilian job in academia. I found MFP in 2014 and lost 60 lbs the first year.

@CSARdiver thanks for your long post. Yes I've had all the blood tests that are possible as my thyroid doesn't seem to want to fit anything like 'normal'. I've been in a Research Hospital for numerous tests on things like the REE to see what is going on with my body. My blood tests show that I'm overmedicated but physiologically I don't have any hyper symptoms. I have had ECG's as well as a DEXA scan (to check bone density levels). The Consultants have had numerous theories about what's going on with my thyroid - and the working hypothesis is that my body doesn't convert T4 to T3 in the right way..but this is an educated guess as no tests are showing exactly the problem.

I exercise regularly (running 50 miles per month plus competitive hockey and badminton) and I eat sensibly ....if I'm 'well' then I have no problem being slim and feeling full of energy....and when I'm not well I struggle with fatigue as well as low level depression and gain weight by looking at food!!

I'm 5'5'' and 154 Ibs and take 175mcg of levothyroxine daily with 20mcg of liothyonine - in the past few years I've been around 124 Ibs but put on 30 Ibs in past year or so. In that time I've been focussed on maintaining and subsequently losing weight. I don't blame all weight gain on my thyroid and I really trying not to let it impact my life and when I'm feeling ok you would never find me on such an open forum talking about it but when things aren't good it does become a bit overwhelming.

So for me I'm interested to hear how others beat this stupid illness Thanks for sharing and I hope you are well now.

Thank you for the detailed response as well. Are you in the UK and under NHS?

What you describe is not unusual and quite common among endurance athletes. If you can get your physicians to do some research have them look up the work of Jeffrey S. Brown, MD - he revolutionized the treatment regiment and getting more endocrinologists to look beyond TSH and levothyroxine. I'm thinking they are on the right track and that there is an issue with T4 to T3 conversion - as much value as internet diagnosis is, but this fits your reported symptoms.

Hope this helps - sounds like you're on the right track. All I can recommend is to bring data to your physicians - they do well with data and not so good with feelings. Show them your exercise logs and MFP logs and help them eliminate as many variables as possible.

Best to you!