Hypothyroid and weight gain/loss
Replies
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karas_journey wrote: »Just looking to see if there are any members who have subclinical hypothyroidism or hypothyroidism and if you have had excess abrupt weight gain and / or if you have had weight loss success?
I've been struggling for over a year... had lost 85 lbs then something changed I stopped losing weight January to May 2018 (last spring) them June to end if September gained 35 lbs!! I've struggled and struggled to get this 35 back off. I'm on 25 mcg synthroid since March 2019.
Hi. I also have low thyroid (since age 20) and am on 225mcg of synthetic thyroid. I am now 60. I have lost and gained large amounts of weight several times during my life. It IS possible, perhaps a bit harder than the average person. I am back on My Fitness Pal and have lost 20 pounds, with another 50 to go. I totally agree with other posters that I need to carefully log all my calories. Don't let the Facebook naysayers stop you!!
Thanks ... again this is encouraging because I know it can be done I definitely have to stay away from the naysayers!!!
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hi there, Hashimoto's hypo here and yes, it is possible. it took me three years to get the medication dosage to a point where my body is functioning but for the last three years my energy levels were so low that everytime I exercised I crashed and I was craving carbs all the time. then when the dosage reached optimal levels I saw a shift in how my body seemed to be back to its old routine, not struggling with excess appetite, muscles and joint inflammation, so that walking became possible again. I am 10 weeks in and have lost 22 lbs with calorie counting and a high protein diet with limited carbs and sugar, though keeping it soft and reasonable as I have other 100lbs to lose. hang in there! PM me if you want to chat. it is possible! I am one of those who had almost given up because of the thyroid craze..2
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cheryldumais wrote: »karas_journey wrote: »Thanks for all the feedback I feel more optimistic that this weight will come off! Just can't be lazy I'm 45 now so things aren't quite as easy. Thx everyone!
Just one more note that will hopefully give you hope. I was 59 when I started to lose. It's amazing when you get rid of all the garbage that the diet sellers try to tell you and just eat within the calorie range that you're given. I went to 1200 calories because yes I was silly and wanted to lose as fast as I could. I averaged about 1.7 pounds per week at that and as my weight went down it slowed down of course as my deficit shrank. After my diet break I went to 1350 because I just couldn't face 1200 anymore, lol. Then my losses were slow but at least I'm maintaining. Also on the exercise front... I would suggest doing some weight lifting if you can handle it with your MS. I regret I didn't do that. All I have ever done is walk for exercise and I started slow and worked up. For a very long time my goal was 6,000 steps per day then I went to 8,000 for the rest of my weight loss. I now average around 12,000/day 5 days a week. That's it.
I was just at the nutritionist after my endocrinologist recommended it. We looked at my weight through out the years the yo yo etc and my set point is high my body just wants to stay here but thats from a depressed metabolism from age and years dnd years of yo yo weight fluctuations.
I lost 155 lbs in 2003 to 2005 and the thing I did that was a game changer I did weight training constantly totally transformed my body I think my original pics before and after are on mfp?? I think I kept them there. But I can do some weight training just not what I used to and my fatigue can be. Crushing sometimes but I'm giving it my all... lol
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collectingblues wrote: »karas_journey wrote: »karas_journey wrote: »karas_journey wrote: »How do I reply to someone individually? I've been on MFP for 1290 plus days think and never really used the forums lol
I'm on 25 mcg synthroid which brought TSH from 8.92 to 4.78. But that wasn't optimal so I now have a new script for 50 mcg. I took 12 weeks of vitamin D3 50000 IU. All iron is great T4 is right at mid point of range and T3 is above mid point almost upper 3rd. I have multiple sclerosis but I lost the 85 lbs or so so I don't think that is impacting my weight.
This is a very good sign. That is a strong reaction in TSH from such a small dosage, so no indication of competing molecules or medicine. Optimal range for TSH is 0.4 - 4.0, but it's a tricky metric. What "feels" normal for you would be what your normal level was during your developmental years.
I would also agree that the MS isn't impacting your weight and kudos to you and whoever else made such an early diagnosis.
One thing to consider is that since you have an issue with a gland the best course is to establish a solid routine to your life, so the more consistency you have, the better your body will manage.
I'm in Canada and my lab is 0.5 to 5.0 but states is up to 4. But recent news and research says that the range should be lowered to 3. Optimal is 1 to 2 from what I've learned. My number goes down quick but I don't feel any better still have a lot of symptoms and crushing fatigue is one that is unmanageable. I have nodules and have had an ultrasound but not not enough for a biopsy I'll get it checked in another 6 months. Thyroid is very tricky and frustrating
You probably know this, but in case not: It will take some time of taking your new, higher dose of levothyroxine/synthroid for you to feel the full effects. Here's hoping you'll get some symptomatic improvement as that kicks in!
Hang in there: There are quite a few people on MFP who've lost weight while hypothroid, even some who weren't fully normalized on medications yet. It's a complicating factor, but it isn't universally a complete barrier to weight loss.
Best wishes!
I think I got into a forum where people aren't getting better or haven't and aren't losing weight etc.. not all but if i posted about weight loss it was soooo deflating and negative. I know it's possible I just have to tweak things now and shave off some calories and try to get moving more! I've been fine on 25 mcg and in normal range so to speak... but fine is not optimal! Thx for your thoughts words and encouragement
And my experience with a lot of people in those disease-focused FB groups is that they don't want to put in the work for losing weight, and would rather blame the condition.
But you're doing the right thing! You're working hard.
I'm hypothyroid, too -- feel free to post-stalk me here to get the full rundown of my history, and what happens when thyroid is poorly, poorly, managed. When I'm medicated *properly*, I lose weight exactly like other people who have endocrine organs that actually *work*. It's when the meds aren't right that you start to have problems.
This is What is happening now I am just increasing slowly to 50 mcg I was 25 mcg now 37.5 and then I'll go to 50 my body is very sensitive to all medications. I hope I have the same success you did!!0 -
Lenascrivente wrote: »hi there, Hashimoto's hypo here and yes, it is possible. it took me three years to get the medication dosage to a point where my body is functioning but for the last three years my energy levels were so low that everytime I exercised I crashed and I was craving carbs all the time. then when the dosage reached optimal levels I saw a shift in how my body seemed to be back to its old routine, not struggling with excess appetite, muscles and joint inflammation, so that walking became possible again. I am 10 weeks in and have lost 22 lbs with calorie counting and a high protein diet with limited carbs and sugar, though keeping it soft and reasonable as I have other 100lbs to lose. hang in there! PM me if you want to chat. it is possible! I am one of those who had almost given up because of the thyroid craze..
I have a 100 to lose as well and definitely think I haven't quite found my dose trying 37.5 now... I don't feel like myself but all the anxiety that came before I gained weight suddenly and also the low low mood... crushing fatigue mixed with ms fatigue. I want to get my level right!!0 -
Lenascrivente wrote: »hi there, Hashimoto's hypo here and yes, it is possible. it took me three years to get the medication dosage to a point where my body is functioning but for the last three years my energy levels were so low that everytime I exercised I crashed and I was craving carbs all the time. then when the dosage reached optimal levels I saw a shift in how my body seemed to be back to its old routine, not struggling with excess appetite, muscles and joint inflammation, so that walking became possible again. I am 10 weeks in and have lost 22 lbs with calorie counting and a high protein diet with limited carbs and sugar, though keeping it soft and reasonable as I have other 100lbs to lose. hang in there! PM me if you want to chat. it is possible! I am one of those who had almost given up because of the thyroid craze..
Sent you a pm message hope you got it i get lost in these forums lol0 -
Thank you to everyone who responded here... I wasn't getting notifications and looked in today and saw 8 new messages... my apologies I get very lost in the forum the format is a bit hard to follow messages and then my responses.
Still working on my dose saw a nutritionist through my endocrinologist and had a big conversation about set point Weight depressed metabolism from years and years of yo yo.. but not sure how helpful I found that I left depressed thinking I'm stuck at this weight.. but these messages have encouraged me to not give up.. thank you!!! xxxxx3 -
I convinced my GP to up my dose the sneaky way yesterday. Booh to doctors that don't listen to how people feel but only look at numbers or use arbitrary numbers of what's good and isn't.1
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karas_journey wrote: »Thank you to everyone who responded here... I wasn't getting notifications and looked in today and saw 8 new messages... my apologies I get very lost in the forum the format is a bit hard to follow messages and then my responses.
Still working on my dose saw a nutritionist through my endocrinologist and had a big conversation about set point Weight depressed metabolism from years and years of yo yo.. but not sure how helpful I found that I left depressed thinking I'm stuck at this weight.. but these messages have encouraged me to not give up.. thank you!!! xxxxx
Oh goodness.
There is no such animal as set point. No such thing as depressed, high, or low metabolism. Fire these people.5 -
karas_journey wrote: »Thank you to everyone who responded here... I wasn't getting notifications and looked in today and saw 8 new messages... my apologies I get very lost in the forum the format is a bit hard to follow messages and then my responses.
Still working on my dose saw a nutritionist through my endocrinologist and had a big conversation about set point Weight depressed metabolism from years and years of yo yo.. but not sure how helpful I found that I left depressed thinking I'm stuck at this weight.. but these messages have encouraged me to not give up.. thank you!!! xxxxx
Oh goodness.
There is no such animal as set point. No such thing as depressed, high, or low metabolism. Fire these people.
I left in tears I barely got to the elevator... I did not want to go in the first place but I went just because she kept suggesting it or medications contrave and saxenda! I have ms and enough meds I dont need more...I have been doing what I did to lose weight before 86 lbs before thyroid hit. Intermittent fasting low carbs berries only for fruit and a sweet potato or plain oats the rest is veggies and lean protein and good fats avocado nuts seeds etc. I dont get it... I set my thing at 1430 cals and eat approx that or just below and nothing but lose 2 gain 1 lose 3 gain 2 gain 2 more lost 3... omg insanity 🤦♀️🙄3 -
Another note. Adjusting to thyroid medication can be a real roller coaster ride. I am now on 225mg, but started very slowly at 12.5mg I believe, and increased over many months. It was a shock to my system, after being so depleted for so long, and I had lots of symptoms and side effects as my body adjusted. Just my way of saying, don't be too hard on yourself. Your body is adjusting to what it needs, but this takes time. Be kind to yourself.4
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Another note. Adjusting to thyroid medication can be a real roller coaster ride. I am now on 225mg, but started very slowly at 12.5mg I believe, and increased over many months. It was a shock to my system, after being so depleted for so long, and I had lots of symptoms and side effects as my body adjusted. Just my way of saying, don't be too hard on yourself. Your body is adjusting to what it needs, but this takes time. Be kind to yourself.
I started subclinical and theres a lot of debate about whether to medicate or not. But I had so many symptoms like hair loss super dry skin loss of libido depression really bad anxiety low heart rate and the 30 lbs weight gain in under 4 months... so I started at 25 mcg because I wasnt in a big deficit but recent went to 37.5 mcg on my way to 50 mcg but I'm so sensitive to meds I increased slowly too. But I dont see much improvement at all which is disappointing. Started early March. My hair started falling out again when I went up to 37.5 and I'm back to constipation and bloating... this must happen each time I adjust the dose...but I have not lost any weight. I'm trying to be patient but its July and nothing to show for my efforts... so I get frustrated and yesterday I cracked and ate 6 wafer cookies. It was like my mental bough broke! I hope the side effects go away and I'd give anything for just 10 lbs 💜 2 -
I just found out that being low in hormones does another rather unpleasant thing: I can't run. Or rather, now that I'm feeling better again I'm not only not tired anymore, brains are working, no more reflux.. and I increased my utterly and totally slow 5k running pace by nearly a minute per kilometer towards a slow pace
No more heavy legs, no more heavy breathing. Running turned from nearly impossible to 'hey, I do enjoy this'. 7 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?2 -
karas_journey wrote: »Another note. Adjusting to thyroid medication can be a real roller coaster ride. I am now on 225mg, but started very slowly at 12.5mg I believe, and increased over many months. It was a shock to my system, after being so depleted for so long, and I had lots of symptoms and side effects as my body adjusted. Just my way of saying, don't be too hard on yourself. Your body is adjusting to what it needs, but this takes time. Be kind to yourself.
I started subclinical and theres a lot of debate about whether to medicate or not. But I had so many symptoms like hair loss super dry skin loss of libido depression really bad anxiety low heart rate and the 30 lbs weight gain in under 4 months... so I started at 25 mcg because I wasnt in a big deficit but recent went to 37.5 mcg on my way to 50 mcg but I'm so sensitive to meds I increased slowly too. But I dont see much improvement at all which is disappointing. Started early March. My hair started falling out again when I went up to 37.5 and I'm back to constipation and bloating... this must happen each time I adjust the dose...but I have not lost any weight. I'm trying to be patient but its July and nothing to show for my efforts... so I get frustrated and yesterday I cracked and ate 6 wafer cookies. It was like my mental bough broke! I hope the side effects go away and I'd give anything for just 10 lbs 💜
honestly thyroid dosage is based on body size and its likely that your dose is too low - i'm 5'3" and 165 and my dose is 150mg a day - they started me on 100 when i first had my thyroid removed and its been adjusted up over the years
did they show you what your bloodwork results were? have they tested your testoterone? i figured my hair falling out was due to my thyroid, but it turned out that my testosterone levels were slightly out of funk
enjoy those wafer cookies - just log them - you shouldn't stress out over eating an enjoyable food0 -
I joined Hypothyroid groups on Facebook too and they gave me so much anxiety that I had to leave all of them. I had my thyroid removed in December and had a long talk with my endo. I've spent years losing weight and shaping my body to what I want and I was not going to destroy that because I didn't have a stupid thyroid.
Since having my thyroid removed I have diligently tracked my weight, logged my food and adjusted accordingly. We are still adjusting my medication but so far I have not gained weight--and neither do I plan to.
I think you really have to be on top of the medication and have a good endo you can discuss your concerns with.0 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?
Honestly, I doubt that being "over-medicated" (which it really wasn't, BTW, before you got hyper symptoms) is going to explain your weight loss, or any major portion of it.
The estimates I've seen are that completely untreated hypothyroidism has a penalty of around 5% of RMR, at the top. That would be about a 60-calorie slowdown on my estimated 1200-calorie RMR. If there are further effects of being hypo (beyond RMR), they are primarily from fatigue (thus reduced activity, possibly including inobvious things like fidgeting), from water retention (so temporary), or through increased appetite.
It doesn't make sense to me to assume that mildly overtreated hypothyrodism would have a much more dramactic effect on RMR in the opposite direction. I don't have any proof (or expertise
) but it seems very unlikely that if you got some bizarre (and not worthwhile!) weight loss benefit from heart palpitations and other bad stuff to the tune of more than 50-100 or so calories daily, and if there was any at all it was probably much less than that. Losing 35 pounds since February is way more than a 50-100 calorie deficit. It's got to have been something in the vicinity of 750 calorie average daily deficit, as just a back of the envelope calculation. (35 pounds over 6 months, if months have 4 weeks approximately, would be about 1.46 pounds/per week on average, so 3500 calories in a pound times 1.46 is 5110 calories' deficit weekly, or 730 a day).
So, if there's a weight-management penalty from being properly treated (which I do think is unlikely to be noticeable at all) and at a lower dose of meds, it might be water retention (which wouldn't be huge, and wouldn't keep accumulating indefinitely), reduced activity (something you can largely perceive and counter), or through appetite (which you're managing through calorie counting and attentiveness, so it isn't going to mysteriously overtake you).
Clearly, you don't want to be overtreated: Dangerous. So the dosage change is necessary. It's not always easy, but there's no point in questioning or fearing necessity: It's stressful, unproductive, and a waste of emotional energy (without actually burning any extra calories for expending that emotional energy ).
Going forward, you'll be running the experiment to see if there's any observable effect on your weight loss. It seems logical to expect that if there is any effect at all, it will be quite small, possibly small enough to be lost in the noise of unavoidable estimating approximations for food, exercise, activity level, etc.
Why not run the experiment, see how things end up after 4-6 weeks, before being distressed about it? The outcome is pretty unlikely to be dramatic; making it dramatic in advance of data is IMO pretty optional.
Best wishes!3 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?
Honestly, I doubt that being "over-medicated" (which it really wasn't, BTW, before you got hyper symptoms) is going to explain your weight loss, or any major portion of it.
The estimates I've seen are that completely untreated hypothyroidism has a penalty of around 5% of RMR, at the top. That would be about a 60-calorie slowdown on my estimated 1200-calorie RMR. If there are further effects of being hypo (beyond RMR), they are primarily from fatigue (thus reduced activity, possibly including inobvious things like fidgeting), from water retention (so temporary), or through increased appetite.
It doesn't make sense to me to assume that mildly overtreated hypothyrodism would have a much more dramactic effect on RMR in the opposite direction. I don't have any proof (or expertise ) but it seems very unlikely that if you got some bizarre (and not worthwhile!) weight loss benefit from heart palpitations and other bad stuff to the tune of more than 50-100 or so calories daily, and if there was any at all it was probably much less than that. Losing 35 pounds since February is way more than a 50-100 calorie deficit. It's got to have been something in the vicinity of 750 calorie average daily deficit, as just a back of the envelope calculation. (35 pounds over 6 months, if months have 4 weeks approximately, would be about 1.46 pounds/per week on average, so 3500 calories in a pound times 1.46 is 5110 calories' deficit weekly, or 730 a day).
So, if there's a weight-management penalty from being properly treated (which I do think is unlikely to be noticeable at all) and at a lower dose of meds, it might be water retention (which wouldn't be huge, and wouldn't keep accumulating indefinitely), reduced activity (something you can largely perceive and counter), or through appetite (which you're managing through calorie counting and attentiveness, so it isn't going to mysteriously overtake you).
Clearly, you don't want to be overtreated: Dangerous. So the dosage change is necessary. It's not always easy, but there's no point in questioning or fearing necessity: It's stressful, unproductive, and a waste of emotional energy (without actually burning any extra calories for expending that emotional energy ).
Going forward, you'll be running the experiment to see if there's any observable effect on your weight loss. It seems logical to expect that if there is any effect at all, it will be quite small, possibly small enough to be lost in the noise of unavoidable estimating approximations for food, exercise, activity level, etc.
Why not run the experiment, see how things end up after 4-6 weeks, before being distressed about it? The outcome is pretty unlikely to be dramatic; making it dramatic in advance of data is IMO pretty optional.
Best wishes!
@AnnPT77 you're an absolute star! That makes so much sense! I just need to keep plugging away and continue doing what I was doing. Interestingly, I has put my stats into MFP to lose 1lb a week but was losing a little faster then that while eating all my calories most days, sometimes over. So I was quite happy. I may have underestimated my workout calories. So it will definitely be an interesting experiment.
Thanks so much, you've out my mind at ease.
Oh, the mind games!
Best wishes to you too.4 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?
Honestly, I doubt that being "over-medicated" (which it really wasn't, BTW, before you got hyper symptoms) is going to explain your weight loss, or any major portion of it.
The estimates I've seen are that completely untreated hypothyroidism has a penalty of around 5% of RMR, at the top. That would be about a 60-calorie slowdown on my estimated 1200-calorie RMR. If there are further effects of being hypo (beyond RMR), they are primarily from fatigue (thus reduced activity, possibly including inobvious things like fidgeting), from water retention (so temporary), or through increased appetite.
It doesn't make sense to me to assume that mildly overtreated hypothyrodism would have a much more dramactic effect on RMR in the opposite direction. I don't have any proof (or expertise ) but it seems very unlikely that if you got some bizarre (and not worthwhile!) weight loss benefit from heart palpitations and other bad stuff to the tune of more than 50-100 or so calories daily, and if there was any at all it was probably much less than that. Losing 35 pounds since February is way more than a 50-100 calorie deficit. It's got to have been something in the vicinity of 750 calorie average daily deficit, as just a back of the envelope calculation. (35 pounds over 6 months, if months have 4 weeks approximately, would be about 1.46 pounds/per week on average, so 3500 calories in a pound times 1.46 is 5110 calories' deficit weekly, or 730 a day).
So, if there's a weight-management penalty from being properly treated (which I do think is unlikely to be noticeable at all) and at a lower dose of meds, it might be water retention (which wouldn't be huge, and wouldn't keep accumulating indefinitely), reduced activity (something you can largely perceive and counter), or through appetite (which you're managing through calorie counting and attentiveness, so it isn't going to mysteriously overtake you).
Clearly, you don't want to be overtreated: Dangerous. So the dosage change is necessary. It's not always easy, but there's no point in questioning or fearing necessity: It's stressful, unproductive, and a waste of emotional energy (without actually burning any extra calories for expending that emotional energy ).
Going forward, you'll be running the experiment to see if there's any observable effect on your weight loss. It seems logical to expect that if there is any effect at all, it will be quite small, possibly small enough to be lost in the noise of unavoidable estimating approximations for food, exercise, activity level, etc.
Why not run the experiment, see how things end up after 4-6 weeks, before being distressed about it? The outcome is pretty unlikely to be dramatic; making it dramatic in advance of data is IMO pretty optional.
Best wishes!
Preach!
I've been keeping a journal and logging things such as the time I take my supplement, what other medications I'm taking, full thyroid panel, weight, my energy level, quality of sleep, etc for 19 years. I started MFP about 5 years ago and began tracking intake as well with other factors and the only impact I note is my weight fluctuations based upon CICO - my behavior. I do note that my appetite increases as TSH increases, but this is behavioral and mitigated with the knowledge of logging into MFP.
My case is a bit different as I had a total thyroidectomy, so there is little variation and my supplement is significantly higher to mitigate cancer.
Perception is honestly the primary driver in this. If you believe you can attain your goals, this dramatically increases your chances of success. The other aspect is that weight impacts thyroid more than thyroid impacting weight.2 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?
Honestly, I doubt that being "over-medicated" (which it really wasn't, BTW, before you got hyper symptoms) is going to explain your weight loss, or any major portion of it.
The estimates I've seen are that completely untreated hypothyroidism has a penalty of around 5% of RMR, at the top. That would be about a 60-calorie slowdown on my estimated 1200-calorie RMR. If there are further effects of being hypo (beyond RMR), they are primarily from fatigue (thus reduced activity, possibly including inobvious things like fidgeting), from water retention (so temporary), or through increased appetite.
It doesn't make sense to me to assume that mildly overtreated hypothyrodism would have a much more dramactic effect on RMR in the opposite direction. I don't have any proof (or expertise ) but it seems very unlikely that if you got some bizarre (and not worthwhile!) weight loss benefit from heart palpitations and other bad stuff to the tune of more than 50-100 or so calories daily, and if there was any at all it was probably much less than that. Losing 35 pounds since February is way more than a 50-100 calorie deficit. It's got to have been something in the vicinity of 750 calorie average daily deficit, as just a back of the envelope calculation. (35 pounds over 6 months, if months have 4 weeks approximately, would be about 1.46 pounds/per week on average, so 3500 calories in a pound times 1.46 is 5110 calories' deficit weekly, or 730 a day).
So, if there's a weight-management penalty from being properly treated (which I do think is unlikely to be noticeable at all) and at a lower dose of meds, it might be water retention (which wouldn't be huge, and wouldn't keep accumulating indefinitely), reduced activity (something you can largely perceive and counter), or through appetite (which you're managing through calorie counting and attentiveness, so it isn't going to mysteriously overtake you).
Clearly, you don't want to be overtreated: Dangerous. So the dosage change is necessary. It's not always easy, but there's no point in questioning or fearing necessity: It's stressful, unproductive, and a waste of emotional energy (without actually burning any extra calories for expending that emotional energy ).
Going forward, you'll be running the experiment to see if there's any observable effect on your weight loss. It seems logical to expect that if there is any effect at all, it will be quite small, possibly small enough to be lost in the noise of unavoidable estimating approximations for food, exercise, activity level, etc.
Why not run the experiment, see how things end up after 4-6 weeks, before being distressed about it? The outcome is pretty unlikely to be dramatic; making it dramatic in advance of data is IMO pretty optional.
Best wishes!
Preach!
I've been keeping a journal and logging things such as the time I take my supplement, what other medications I'm taking, full thyroid panel, weight, my energy level, quality of sleep, etc for 19 years. I started MFP about 5 years ago and began tracking intake as well with other factors and the only impact I note is my weight fluctuations based upon CICO - my behavior. I do note that my appetite increases as TSH increases, but this is behavioral and mitigated with the knowledge of logging into MFP.
My case is a bit different as I had a total thyroidectomy, so there is little variation and my supplement is significantly higher to mitigate cancer.
Perception is honestly the primary driver in this. If you believe you can attain your goals, this dramatically increases your chances of success. The other aspect is that weight impacts thyroid more than thyroid impacting weight.
I was hoping you'd show up and contribute actual expertise (almost tagged you, but hate to bug people) . . . and I can't tell you how relieved I am that you seem to feel I didn't go too far afield into lala land, scientifically speaking. Thanks! 1 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?
Honestly, I doubt that being "over-medicated" (which it really wasn't, BTW, before you got hyper symptoms) is going to explain your weight loss, or any major portion of it.
The estimates I've seen are that completely untreated hypothyroidism has a penalty of around 5% of RMR, at the top. That would be about a 60-calorie slowdown on my estimated 1200-calorie RMR. If there are further effects of being hypo (beyond RMR), they are primarily from fatigue (thus reduced activity, possibly including inobvious things like fidgeting), from water retention (so temporary), or through increased appetite.
It doesn't make sense to me to assume that mildly overtreated hypothyrodism would have a much more dramactic effect on RMR in the opposite direction. I don't have any proof (or expertise ) but it seems very unlikely that if you got some bizarre (and not worthwhile!) weight loss benefit from heart palpitations and other bad stuff to the tune of more than 50-100 or so calories daily, and if there was any at all it was probably much less than that. Losing 35 pounds since February is way more than a 50-100 calorie deficit. It's got to have been something in the vicinity of 750 calorie average daily deficit, as just a back of the envelope calculation. (35 pounds over 6 months, if months have 4 weeks approximately, would be about 1.46 pounds/per week on average, so 3500 calories in a pound times 1.46 is 5110 calories' deficit weekly, or 730 a day).
So, if there's a weight-management penalty from being properly treated (which I do think is unlikely to be noticeable at all) and at a lower dose of meds, it might be water retention (which wouldn't be huge, and wouldn't keep accumulating indefinitely), reduced activity (something you can largely perceive and counter), or through appetite (which you're managing through calorie counting and attentiveness, so it isn't going to mysteriously overtake you).
Clearly, you don't want to be overtreated: Dangerous. So the dosage change is necessary. It's not always easy, but there's no point in questioning or fearing necessity: It's stressful, unproductive, and a waste of emotional energy (without actually burning any extra calories for expending that emotional energy ).
Going forward, you'll be running the experiment to see if there's any observable effect on your weight loss. It seems logical to expect that if there is any effect at all, it will be quite small, possibly small enough to be lost in the noise of unavoidable estimating approximations for food, exercise, activity level, etc.
Why not run the experiment, see how things end up after 4-6 weeks, before being distressed about it? The outcome is pretty unlikely to be dramatic; making it dramatic in advance of data is IMO pretty optional.
Best wishes!
Preach!
I've been keeping a journal and logging things such as the time I take my supplement, what other medications I'm taking, full thyroid panel, weight, my energy level, quality of sleep, etc for 19 years. I started MFP about 5 years ago and began tracking intake as well with other factors and the only impact I note is my weight fluctuations based upon CICO - my behavior. I do note that my appetite increases as TSH increases, but this is behavioral and mitigated with the knowledge of logging into MFP.
My case is a bit different as I had a total thyroidectomy, so there is little variation and my supplement is significantly higher to mitigate cancer.
Perception is honestly the primary driver in this. If you believe you can attain your goals, this dramatically increases your chances of success. The other aspect is that weight impacts thyroid more than thyroid impacting weight.
I was hoping you'd show up and contribute actual expertise (almost tagged you, but hate to bug people) . . . and I can't tell you how relieved I am that you seem to feel I didn't go too far afield into lala land, scientifically speaking. Thanks!
Not at all - I feel there's a solid number of people here who understand the limits of hormonal disorders and can push back against the woo.
I would mention that when I lost 60 lbs the first reaction of my endocrinologist was to lower my Synthroid, but monitoring my panel revealed no discernible change - meaning I'm utilizing the hormone and that lowering would not be worth the risk. I have a great relationship with my physicians and I don't know what I'm going to do when he retires.4 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?
Honestly, I doubt that being "over-medicated" (which it really wasn't, BTW, before you got hyper symptoms) is going to explain your weight loss, or any major portion of it.
The estimates I've seen are that completely untreated hypothyroidism has a penalty of around 5% of RMR, at the top. That would be about a 60-calorie slowdown on my estimated 1200-calorie RMR. If there are further effects of being hypo (beyond RMR), they are primarily from fatigue (thus reduced activity, possibly including inobvious things like fidgeting), from water retention (so temporary), or through increased appetite.
It doesn't make sense to me to assume that mildly overtreated hypothyrodism would have a much more dramactic effect on RMR in the opposite direction. I don't have any proof (or expertise ) but it seems very unlikely that if you got some bizarre (and not worthwhile!) weight loss benefit from heart palpitations and other bad stuff to the tune of more than 50-100 or so calories daily, and if there was any at all it was probably much less than that. Losing 35 pounds since February is way more than a 50-100 calorie deficit. It's got to have been something in the vicinity of 750 calorie average daily deficit, as just a back of the envelope calculation. (35 pounds over 6 months, if months have 4 weeks approximately, would be about 1.46 pounds/per week on average, so 3500 calories in a pound times 1.46 is 5110 calories' deficit weekly, or 730 a day).
So, if there's a weight-management penalty from being properly treated (which I do think is unlikely to be noticeable at all) and at a lower dose of meds, it might be water retention (which wouldn't be huge, and wouldn't keep accumulating indefinitely), reduced activity (something you can largely perceive and counter), or through appetite (which you're managing through calorie counting and attentiveness, so it isn't going to mysteriously overtake you).
Clearly, you don't want to be overtreated: Dangerous. So the dosage change is necessary. It's not always easy, but there's no point in questioning or fearing necessity: It's stressful, unproductive, and a waste of emotional energy (without actually burning any extra calories for expending that emotional energy ).
Going forward, you'll be running the experiment to see if there's any observable effect on your weight loss. It seems logical to expect that if there is any effect at all, it will be quite small, possibly small enough to be lost in the noise of unavoidable estimating approximations for food, exercise, activity level, etc.
Why not run the experiment, see how things end up after 4-6 weeks, before being distressed about it? The outcome is pretty unlikely to be dramatic; making it dramatic in advance of data is IMO pretty optional.
Best wishes!
Preach!
I've been keeping a journal and logging things such as the time I take my supplement, what other medications I'm taking, full thyroid panel, weight, my energy level, quality of sleep, etc for 19 years. I started MFP about 5 years ago and began tracking intake as well with other factors and the only impact I note is my weight fluctuations based upon CICO - my behavior. I do note that my appetite increases as TSH increases, but this is behavioral and mitigated with the knowledge of logging into MFP.
My case is a bit different as I had a total thyroidectomy, so there is little variation and my supplement is significantly higher to mitigate cancer.
Perception is honestly the primary driver in this. If you believe you can attain your goals, this dramatically increases your chances of success. The other aspect is that weight impacts thyroid more than thyroid impacting weight.
I was hoping you'd show up and contribute actual expertise (almost tagged you, but hate to bug people) . . . and I can't tell you how relieved I am that you seem to feel I didn't go too far afield into lala land, scientifically speaking. Thanks!
Not at all - I feel there's a solid number of people here who understand the limits of hormonal disorders and can push back against the woo.
I would mention that when I lost 60 lbs the first reaction of my endocrinologist was to lower my Synthroid, but monitoring my panel revealed no discernible change - meaning I'm utilizing the hormone and that lowering would not be worth the risk. I have a great relationship with my physicians and I don't know what I'm going to do when he retires.
You've piqued my curiosity there. When you say weight can impact thyroid, would you say my need for medication may be reduced as I lose weight? That would be a nice perk. Who knows, maybe that's why my thyroid improved in the first place?
You've all been very helpful, thanks! I'll let you know how the experiment's going in a couple of months....1 -
Update and panicking!
So I've been hypothyroid for a very long time. I've been taking 100 MCG levothyroxine and had no symptoms. With each of my pregnancies I needed a little more levo, 150, but within 3 months after birth it settled back to 100. With my youngest (she's 15 mts), it didn't settle back and I stayed on 125mcg.
I joined MFP in February and lost 35 lbs so far (another 30 to go).
Recently, I started having some symptoms; heart palpitations, hand tremors and occasional dizzyness. So I've been retested and it's finally gone back to my pre-baby level, back to 100.
Here's my panicking: obviously, taking a little over has helped me lose weight (although I was super carefull with CICO and regularly work out). Now, I feel so down that I can't even get credit for all that hard work + I'm stressed that my weight loss will stall/slow to a trickle on just 100. Obviously, I'm happy to be taking less medication but at the same time, feeling stressed too.
I know this is unreasonable, as I've successfully lost (and gained!) in the past on 100. But I can't help the mindgames I play with myself.
Any words of wisdom?
Honestly, I doubt that being "over-medicated" (which it really wasn't, BTW, before you got hyper symptoms) is going to explain your weight loss, or any major portion of it.
The estimates I've seen are that completely untreated hypothyroidism has a penalty of around 5% of RMR, at the top. That would be about a 60-calorie slowdown on my estimated 1200-calorie RMR. If there are further effects of being hypo (beyond RMR), they are primarily from fatigue (thus reduced activity, possibly including inobvious things like fidgeting), from water retention (so temporary), or through increased appetite.
It doesn't make sense to me to assume that mildly overtreated hypothyrodism would have a much more dramactic effect on RMR in the opposite direction. I don't have any proof (or expertise ) but it seems very unlikely that if you got some bizarre (and not worthwhile!) weight loss benefit from heart palpitations and other bad stuff to the tune of more than 50-100 or so calories daily, and if there was any at all it was probably much less than that. Losing 35 pounds since February is way more than a 50-100 calorie deficit. It's got to have been something in the vicinity of 750 calorie average daily deficit, as just a back of the envelope calculation. (35 pounds over 6 months, if months have 4 weeks approximately, would be about 1.46 pounds/per week on average, so 3500 calories in a pound times 1.46 is 5110 calories' deficit weekly, or 730 a day).
So, if there's a weight-management penalty from being properly treated (which I do think is unlikely to be noticeable at all) and at a lower dose of meds, it might be water retention (which wouldn't be huge, and wouldn't keep accumulating indefinitely), reduced activity (something you can largely perceive and counter), or through appetite (which you're managing through calorie counting and attentiveness, so it isn't going to mysteriously overtake you).
Clearly, you don't want to be overtreated: Dangerous. So the dosage change is necessary. It's not always easy, but there's no point in questioning or fearing necessity: It's stressful, unproductive, and a waste of emotional energy (without actually burning any extra calories for expending that emotional energy ).
Going forward, you'll be running the experiment to see if there's any observable effect on your weight loss. It seems logical to expect that if there is any effect at all, it will be quite small, possibly small enough to be lost in the noise of unavoidable estimating approximations for food, exercise, activity level, etc.
Why not run the experiment, see how things end up after 4-6 weeks, before being distressed about it? The outcome is pretty unlikely to be dramatic; making it dramatic in advance of data is IMO pretty optional.
Best wishes!
Preach!
I've been keeping a journal and logging things such as the time I take my supplement, what other medications I'm taking, full thyroid panel, weight, my energy level, quality of sleep, etc for 19 years. I started MFP about 5 years ago and began tracking intake as well with other factors and the only impact I note is my weight fluctuations based upon CICO - my behavior. I do note that my appetite increases as TSH increases, but this is behavioral and mitigated with the knowledge of logging into MFP.
My case is a bit different as I had a total thyroidectomy, so there is little variation and my supplement is significantly higher to mitigate cancer.
Perception is honestly the primary driver in this. If you believe you can attain your goals, this dramatically increases your chances of success. The other aspect is that weight impacts thyroid more than thyroid impacting weight.
I was hoping you'd show up and contribute actual expertise (almost tagged you, but hate to bug people) . . . and I can't tell you how relieved I am that you seem to feel I didn't go too far afield into lala land, scientifically speaking. Thanks!
Not at all - I feel there's a solid number of people here who understand the limits of hormonal disorders and can push back against the woo.
I would mention that when I lost 60 lbs the first reaction of my endocrinologist was to lower my Synthroid, but monitoring my panel revealed no discernible change - meaning I'm utilizing the hormone and that lowering would not be worth the risk. I have a great relationship with my physicians and I don't know what I'm going to do when he retires.
You've piqued my curiosity there. When you say weight can impact thyroid, would you say my need for medication may be reduced as I lose weight? That would be a nice perk. Who knows, maybe that's why my thyroid improved in the first place?
You've all been very helpful, thanks! I'll let you know how the experiment's going in a couple of months....
Possibly - one of the many determinants of dosage is your body mass. This issue with thyroid and most endocrine glands is that if they begin to produce diminished levels of hormones, these organs rarely go back to full functional levels, but I'm speaking in generalistic terms. None of this matters in your specific case.
I used to think what a curse it was that I needed to take that little pill of 200 mcg...then I realized what a wondrous time we live in that all I have to do is take a small pill and can lead the life I've always lived.4 -
Tagging @Rines1594 you may find this thread helpful0
-
I know this thread is old, but got some great advice here and hoping for the same again.
Recently, I'm starting to feel like there's a lump in my throat. I feel it when I swallow and I'm finding it difficult to swallow some foods like raw carrot.
I suspect it has something to do with my thyroid (hypothyroid for 9 years, on levo 100mcg, never had symptoms)
I will obviously go see my doctor if this persists but I'm curious if anyone has any insight.
Thanks everyone!
Tagging @CSARdiver @AnnPT771 -
I know this thread is old, but got some great advice here and hoping for the same again.
Recently, I'm starting to feel like there's a lump in my throat. I feel it when I swallow and I'm finding it difficult to swallow some foods like raw carrot.
I suspect it has something to do with my thyroid (hypothyroid for 9 years, on levo 100mcg, never had symptoms)
I will obviously go see my doctor if this persists but I'm curious if anyone has any insight.
Thanks everyone!
Tagging @CSARdiver @AnnPT77
I hope @CSARdiver will pop in, because I have no relevant specialized scientific/medical knowledge, just knowledge randomly gleaned from my experience/reading as a long-term hypothryroid person.
The only relevant things I know are:
* At regular appointments every 6 months to get my hypo meds refilled, my doctor always checks my neck for swelling, in the vicinity of the thyroid (but this could be about my breast cancer history, or both things: I haven't asked).
* IMO, you really should see your doctor. Maybe call and ask them if this is something you should be seen about more quickly, vs. waiting.1 -
I know this thread is old, but got some great advice here and hoping for the same again.
Recently, I'm starting to feel like there's a lump in my throat. I feel it when I swallow and I'm finding it difficult to swallow some foods like raw carrot.
I suspect it has something to do with my thyroid (hypothyroid for 9 years, on levo 100mcg, never had symptoms)
I will obviously go see my doctor if this persists but I'm curious if anyone has any insight.
Thanks everyone!
Tagging @CSARdiver @AnnPT77
I hope @CSARdiver will pop in, because I have no relevant specialized scientific/medical knowledge, just knowledge randomly gleaned from my experience/reading as a long-term hypothryroid person.
The only relevant things I know are:
* At regular appointments every 6 months to get my hypo meds refilled, my doctor always checks my neck for swelling, in the vicinity of the thyroid (but this could be about my breast cancer history, or both things: I haven't asked).
* IMO, you really should see your doctor. Maybe call and ask them if this is something you should be seen about more quickly, vs. waiting.
Thank you for your reply! Interestingly, I was originally diagnosed 9 years ago, purely by my doctor spotting a swollen neck and referring me for testing. I was pregnant and attributed my tiredness, weight gain and other symptoms to pregnancy and thought my neck was just 'fat'. This time though, I can't see any swelling. I'll book an appointment anyway but will be interested to see what @CSARdiver come up with.1 -
karas_journey wrote: »cheryldumais wrote: »I'm hypothyroid as well. 125 mcg/day of synthroid. I lost over 100 lbs. I do however find my maintenance calories are about 200 below what they tell me they should be. Am I weighing every bite... no. Maybe I can't measure correctly but either way I know how I have to eat to maintain. Having said all that I hit a plateau after I lost about 80 lbs and the answer for me was a diet break. I ate at maintenance for a week then went back on plan and lost another 20 lbs. You might want to give that a try. They say you should actually break for 2 weeks but I was terrified of gaining it all back. Good luck.
This is very encouraging because I joined a thyroid Facebook group and everyone says you can't lose weight. I originally needed to lose 155. I was down 85 when I plateaued for 6 months and went hypo as I wasn't while losing weight. I do know breaks are beneficial. I originally lost 135 lbs in 2004 and kept it off till 2012 when I got on several weight gaining medications for MS. But things went very wrong last summer. I'm hoping to get things optimized and get this weight off!! Thx for the encouragement i know it's possible.
Sadly you'll find the same phenomenon everywhere. Victim status is en vogue currently and there are many who embrace this, so thyroid disorder becomes a convenient excuse for failure.
Hormones are free cycling, so you'll likely find yourself needed less supplement as you lose weight. Thinking of your body as a mass of water - it is used to a specific amount of hormone cycling through. If you increase your body mass by 25% you cause your endocrine system to work 25% harder to maintain, which creates a great deal of stress, inflammation, and if carried out over time organ and system damage. In all cases weight management becomes key and calorie counting is a very effective system for success. Much like balancing your finances, your food intake needs to be managed.
Really great analogy!0 -
karas_journey wrote: »Another note. Adjusting to thyroid medication can be a real roller coaster ride. I am now on 225mg, but started very slowly at 12.5mg I believe, and increased over many months. It was a shock to my system, after being so depleted for so long, and I had lots of symptoms and side effects as my body adjusted. Just my way of saying, don't be too hard on yourself. Your body is adjusting to what it needs, but this takes time. Be kind to yourself.
I started subclinical and theres a lot of debate about whether to medicate or not. But I had so many symptoms like hair loss super dry skin loss of libido depression really bad anxiety low heart rate and the 30 lbs weight gain in under 4 months... so I started at 25 mcg because I wasnt in a big deficit but recent went to 37.5 mcg on my way to 50 mcg but I'm so sensitive to meds I increased slowly too. But I dont see much improvement at all which is disappointing. Started early March. My hair started falling out again when I went up to 37.5 and I'm back to constipation and bloating... this must happen each time I adjust the dose...but I have not lost any weight. I'm trying to be patient but its July and nothing to show for my efforts... so I get frustrated and yesterday I cracked and ate 6 wafer cookies. It was like my mental bough broke! I hope the side effects go away and I'd give anything for just 10 lbs 💜
I'm guessing the 25/37.5/50 refers to Synthroid/Levoxyl/etc. or a T4 supplement. Have you had your T3 tested? Your body is supposed to convert T4 to T3, but some bodies don't do a good job of it. The research about T3 improving (lowering) TSH is not consistent. However, test subjects did report an improvement in quality of life when also supplemented with T3 (name brand: Cytomel), even with no change in TSH. I take both. When I moved here and my new doctor wanted to take me off Cytomel, I sent her New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Journal of Endo articles about T3 supplementation and she referred me to the endo who kept me on it (she is a GP and I have an HMO--need a referral to see a specialist). I brought up the T3 to my old doc after my cousin told me about it. She's hypo, too.
Just something you might want to discuss with your doctor.
0
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