Thyroid removal and weight loss

KateECorlett

I am wondering has anyone successfully lost weight after a total thyroid removal. My medication is at the right dose and I am in the gym 5 days a week lifting but I havent lost any weight since I had my thyroid removed 8 months ago. Any help would be appreciated.

cmriverside

How are you tracking/keeping tabs on the number of calories you are eating?

VioletRojo

KateECorlett wrote: »

I am wondering has anyone successfully lost weight after a total thyroid removal. My medication is at the right dose and I am in the gym 5 days a week lifting but I havent lost any weight since I had my thyroid removed 8 months ago. Any help would be appreciated.

I had a total thyroidectomy in 2015. Once you have your medication dialed in, you are no different than anyone else in terms of losing weight. It's all about calories. Have you been tracking your calories?

deannalfisher

are you sure your meds are at the right level? there is a pretty significant range for normal and it may take some dialing in to get it optimized...just because you are in the range, doesn't mean you are at the right level for you...after i had mine out in 2013, my dosage got adjusted 3 times in the first 9 months; and even now 5 years later it periodically gets adjusted

KateECorlett

My doctor has kept me at 150mcg since I had surgery. I am counting calories and working out 5x a week. My doctor doesnt seem concerned that I am not losing weight. He just keeps telling my I am in normal range. I am at a loss. I lost 40 pounts in the 6 months leading up to my surgery and now I am stuck.

cmriverside

Can you open up your FOOD diary? Are you tracking on this site? How did you come up with [whatever] calorie goal you are currently using?

If you haven't lost weight in eight months obviously you are eating too much so cut some calories.

If you've been tracking calories for eight months you already know your Maintenance calories, so cut 250-500 calories per day off that.

Keep as accurate records as you can for a month to six weeks. At the end of that time, adjust as needed based on results.

We all have to do this experiment. You're halfway there since you've been tracking.

collectingblues

KateECorlett wrote: »

My doctor has kept me at 150mcg since I had surgery. I am counting calories and working out 5x a week. My doctor doesnt seem concerned that I am not losing weight. He just keeps telling my I am in normal range. I am at a loss. I lost 40 pounts in the 6 months leading up to my surgery and now I am stuck.

First off -- Are you *weighing* everything that you eat, and are you selecting accurate entries?

Second -- Are you confident about your calorie burns from exercise, and are you measuring *those* with accurate tools? Remember: Lifting doesn't really burn that much, and the afterburn is negligible from a calorie perspective.

Third -- Are you 99 percent positive about the first two? Would you consider opening your diary so people can help?

Fourth -- "Normal" can have a range, and a lot of docs think that any TSH within the "normal" range is fine, when the reality is that most people who have normal thyroid function sit at a TSH of around 1.5ish, and if your thyroid was removed due to cancer, it's actually recommended to keep it lower. So if you're above that and symptomatic, you may need to have your medication adjusted. You also need to see where your T3 and T4 fall. If the T3 is low, it doesn't matter what the other two are -- your body needs the T3 to function. It creates the T3 by converting the T4. That can be managed either by adding a T3 medication *or* by titrating your Synthroid/T4 meds up to the point where your body has enough T3.

With the last said... uncontrolled/undermedicated hypo can and does result in water weight and fluid retention that are next to impossible to remove if you're not controlled -- and it can take 3-12 months to resolve (my PCP warned me that the tissues needed to be healthy for six months to a year before starting to let it come off, but my thyroid endo said 3 to 4 months, so...). The effects of hypo on actual metabolism are a relatively small percentage -- only 5 to 10 percent. That's why it's important to make sure that your eating and exercise are absolutely on point and accurate -- because that'll clear out the variables, and let you see what the actuality is.

So get the first three points figured out first. Keep meticulous data. Once you are *positive* that you are doing everything right, go back to your endocrinologist and demand that appropriate treatment be done.

VioletRojo

KateECorlett wrote: »

My doctor has kept me at 150mcg since I had surgery. I am counting calories and working out 5x a week. My doctor doesnt seem concerned that I am not losing weight. He just keeps telling my I am in normal range. I am at a loss. I lost 40 pounts in the 6 months leading up to my surgery and now I am stuck.

What do your labs say? Is your doctor an endocrinologist or a GP? Some doctors are satisfied that your blood work is anywhere in the normal range, but it may not be optimal for you. I do best when I'm a hair from being hyper. Also is he/she checking only TSH, or also T3, T4, Free T3 & T4?

KateECorlett

How do I get my doctor to listen to me? He just keeps telling me i am normal. Also No i do not weigh my foods. Perhaps start there and drop 200 more calories then?

collectingblues

KateECorlett wrote: »

How do I get my doctor to listen to me? He just keeps telling me i am normal. Also No i do not weigh my foods. Perhaps start there and drop 200 more calories then?

Start with weighing your food, and making *sure* that you are at a deficit.

If six to eight weeks pass, and still nothing, *then* bring him all of your data (I literally brought a spreadsheet to my thyroid endo) and ask him to either give you an explanation or adjust your meds.

VioletRojo

KateECorlett wrote: »

How do I get my doctor to listen to me? He just keeps telling me i am normal. Also No i do not weigh my foods. Perhaps start there and drop 200 more calories then?

Honestly, I'd just find a doctor who will listen. I know that in some areas endocrinologists are hard to come by and some systems require you to get a referral to see a specialist, but if I could do it, I'd find someone else. If you can't, go with @collectingblues plan. Document everything and bring evidence that you're doing everything right. It's a good idea to weigh all your food and track everything anyway, even if you're not going to find a new doctor.

AnnPT77

KateECorlett wrote: »

How do I get my doctor to listen to me? He just keeps telling me i am normal. Also No i do not weigh my foods. Perhaps start there and drop 200 more calories then?

Even if you are not normal, the direct calorie penalty is around 5% per clinical research. Beyond that, it's impacts via energy level (i.e., feel fatigued, move less), appetite, and water weight. All of that s*cks, but it's mainly you can control . . . though it may take white knuckling to do it.

I'm sorry you're going through this!

Yes, try using a food scale first. If using that for portion control doesn't yield results in 4-6 weeks, try cutting calories by a bit. Stay active (not just exercise, but also daily life) if you can manage it.

KateECorlett

Thank you all good your help. How do I open my food thing foe people to see?

Sharon_C

I'm getting mine out in December and have done a lot of research into this. What I've learned is that some people without thyroids have to eat a little less than those with a functioning thyroid. Not a whole lot less, but still less than you were with your thyroid. I've also been told that once your meds are stable, then we are no different than people with thyroids.

My doctor knows that I am very concerned about my weight loss and promises to help me with it. Hoping that stays true after the thyroid is removed.

cmriverside

KateECorlett wrote: »

Thank you all good your help. How do I open my food thing foe people to see?

Kate, go to FOOD > Settings, scroll to the bottom and click Public

CSARdiver

Welcome aboard!

Let's tackle the root causes one at a time.

If you aren't weighing your food you aren't tracking your intake. Do this first. Check the stickied forums on what to focus on first.

You need to know your full thyroid panel - TSH, fT3, fT4, rT3. If you had a total thyroid removal you want the lowest TSH result (0.2-2.0) and you want this as close to 0.2 as possible. Keep your own records of this - even log these into the notes section of MFP. Also track how you feel from day to day. Setup a chart from 1-10 on energy level and monitor yourself. See if there's a relationship between variables.

Thyroid has almost no impact on metabolism (~5% from clinical evidence) and this is almost in line with the degree of instrumentation error.

I had a total thyroidectomy in 2000 and put on ~70 lbs over the next 14 years. This had nothing to do with metabolism. I transitioned from a high active military career to a cushy desk job in academia, had no clue what I was eating, and rarely worked out. My wife had great success with MFP and I signed up, losing 60 lbs in the first year just tracking intake/output and making moderate changes.

danaberge

I had a Partial Thyroidectomy in 2015 and have struggled significantly to lose weight. I was on an anti-depressant for 2 years after, which will cause weight loss to be difficult. I have been off the anti-depressant for a year plus, also take prescription strength diet pills. I started kick boxing 3 nights a week, cut out all sugar and white flour and ate under 1500 Cal's a day. Lost. No. Weight. My Dr. Just prescribed t3. (cytomel) based off my symptoms. I'm on synthroid T4 and my numbers are normal. I lost weight with MFP in 2014. 90lbs!! Slowly I gained weight after Thyroidectomy. Anti-depressant + quit smoking! Now I'm praying hard work, cutting calories and kick boxing start paying off with the new addition of T3 to my mix. I was eating less calories and exercising more and on prescribed diet pills and not losing weight. So, maybe there is a small 20% of people who have a genetic mutation in their deonoids that cause a t3 conversion problem which directly affects metabolism. Very willing to supply NCBI articles as scientific proof. But that's no reason to give up. I'm not. 3 years later and I'm never going to quit trying! I thought I was losing my mind. Maybe I was. Send a prayer out for us who are eating less and exercising more and the weight doesn't move!!! Just less, listen more. Science proves we exist!!