Needing help on hypothyroidism

Tattoomama4440
Tattoomama4440 Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
About a year ago, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism by my doctor. All she did was say here is some pills and that was it. Since then I have been on a few diets but however the scale does not move. I know for a fact that it is my thyroid. There seems to be something more that needs to be done for my thyroid to work properly. My first step is going back to my doctor and seeing if there are more test that need to be done. I am very interested in hearing from those of you who also have hypothyroidism and what did you do diet wise.

Replies

  • artanis50
    artanis50 Posts: 96 Member
    I would recommend seeing an endocrinologist. My General practitioner only treated my lab values. And while my labs would show I was in the normal range, I didn’t feel good. He wasn’t listening to my ongoing symptoms. I found a good Endo and he listened. We are trying a new / different mix of meds and while I still don’t feel great I know he will listen to me when I go back and we can tweak it again. Good luck and be your own advocate!
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    Calling @CSARdiver
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,745 Member
    When I was first diagnosed, my GP put me on the lowest dose and told me to come back in a year. I knew that was wrong, so I made her retest in 3 months and sure enough, the dosage needed to be altered. It can take a while to find the right dose, and even then, it can change with time. I seem to get an increased dose every 5 years or so. I get tested every year. With proper dosage, weight loss is no more difficult than it is for other people.
  • jockette18
    jockette18 Posts: 26 Member
    I have always found with my hypothroidism that diet is good but exercise is the key to weight loss for me.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    jockette18 wrote: »
    I have always found with my hypothroidism that diet is good but exercise is the key to weight loss for me.

    You are so right.
    As someone who have suffered with for over 30 years, exercise is the key.
    Having a good diet is important, but doing exercise really does the trick.
  • AlexandraFindsHerself1971
    AlexandraFindsHerself1971 Posts: 3,106 Member
    What I have found works for me (but I also have fibromyalgia and an exercise intolerance) is to keep my calories on budget, and to do some exercise every day. That's to overcome the deconditioning. After a month of this, I'm finally able to separate workouts into upper and lower body instead of doing low weights and low reps on everything every day to just get to where I can brush my hair without pain.
  • siridayton
    siridayton Posts: 1 Member
    I am hypothyroid and FINALLY have normal values after over a year of adjusting my thyroid supplement. I was diagnosed by an endocrinologist at Stanford, but only started to feel better after switching to a functional medicine doc who added supplements to support my thyroid and other hormones. It takes consistent careful follow up until things stabilize. If your dr just gave you a pill and sent you on your way, this is highly inappropriate.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    I don't even have a thyroid anymore because of cancer, and managed to lose 100 lbs by diet alone - no exercise. My experience has been that general practitioners tend to only know the rudiments of thyroid problems and that you really need to see an endocrinologist. In fact, the last two GP's I had didn't even try to deal with my hypothyroidism; they sent me on to an endo first (good thing since I later found out I had thyroid cancer).
  • Tattoomama4440
    Tattoomama4440 Posts: 26 Member
    @jockette18. I read that exercise is very important but nothing that over does the body. Things like walking and weight lifting is recommended. Also just getting on your feet and being more active.

    @bemeadows380. So glad that your cancer was found and hope that you’re in good health now. Right now I am only seeing a GP and have been tested two times. Each time she had to up my dosage. Wondering though if I should ask to be referred to an endocrinologist. Wondering also what test I should make sure is being done?

    I am very curious on the right supplements in combination with my multiple vitamin (which I am having problems taking because I have to wait 4 hours after my thyroid medication. Reminder on my phone isn’t working either. I think if I heard of other supplements that help the thyroid, I would make sure to take the multiple more often.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    Tattoomama4440 wrote: »
    @jockette18. I read that exercise is very important but nothing that over does the body. Things like walking and weight lifting is recommended. Also just getting on your feet and being more active.

    @bemeadows380. So glad that your cancer was found and hope that you’re in good health now. Right now I am only seeing a GP and have been tested two times. Each time she had to up my dosage. Wondering though if I should ask to be referred to an endocrinologist. Wondering also what test I should make sure is being done?

    I am very curious on the right supplements in combination with my multiple vitamin (which I am having problems taking because I have to wait 4 hours after my thyroid medication. Reminder on my phone isn’t working either. I think if I heard of other supplements that help the thyroid, I would make sure to take the multiple more often.

    I'm not saying you shouldn't go to an endocrinologist if that would make you more comfortable, but what you're experiencing is standard care for newly-diagnosed hypothyroidism: They give us an initial dose of thyroid hormone, we take it for quite some time to let levels stabilize in our body, then they retest and increase dosage if necessary, wait again, retest again, etc., until the correct dosage is reached.

    This is because too high a dose of thyroid medications can have rather dangerous side effects (like heart palpitations!), and the needed dose isn't directly predictable from starting test values. So, the "test and adjust" process is what's done.

    The thread I linked in my first reply to you goes into what tests should be run, and why.

    There are various web sites suggesting regimens of supplements (which they'd be happy to sell to you), but that's mostly B.S. Nutrition for hypothyroid people is like nutrition for non-hypothyroid people. The thread I linked previously talks about foods/supplements you should not take close in time to your thyroid meds.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    No one can entirely tell you what supplements you should be taking, because we don't know what you're eating or what's available in your water, etc. The first thing you need to do is REALLY work on your medication compliance. It helps a lot to *always* take your meds at the same time every day. When I first started, I needed a mnemonic to help me, so I put my thyroid pill in my morning coffee cup, because I drank coffee every morning. After a month or two that was steady and pretty reliable, as long as I was getting up at the same time every day. Now I remember to take my pill even if I'm going back to bed to sleep in.

    When you go back to get your thyroid level retested, (Thyroid medication takes 6-8 weeks to be absorbed and normalized in your body, so any testing more frequently than every 2-3 months is both expensive and mostly useless.) you can ask for a basic metabolic panel (blood test) which should give you an idea of what other supplemental nutrients are low in your normal diet, and you can ask your pharmacist about pill timing to idealize your uptake on the supplemental nutrients. It may be a good idea to just go over *everything* you're taking with your pharmacist anyway and get some idea of what groupings you can create for convenience.) Some items shouldn't be taken with your thyroid med, and some can be as long as you're very consistent.

    Walking is my first, best exercise. Low level steady state cardio seems to help reduce my water retention and keep everything moving along well in my system. My actual workouts outside of walking my dogs are heavy lifting, about 2-3 days per week - only about 30 minutes per session is enough.

    Be patient, be CONSISTENT, and follow up with your doctor(s). Thyroid disease is pretty easy to treat and you should be down to the "normal" number of weight loss woes in no time, once you've nailed down the really hard parts of this gig... Pill timing and consistency. :neutral: Sadly, this is the hardest part for many of us, because it's so ridiculously unremarkable, but also SO IMPORTANT.

  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Is it Synthroid? That's levothyroxine alone. That did not work for me at all. Go back to the doctor and explain what is going on, request a full thyroid panel to measure all the hormones involved. You may need a combination med like Armour Thyroid that has T3 and T4 in it.
  • Tattoomama4440
    Tattoomama4440 Posts: 26 Member
    @AnnPT77 yes I will certainly go to the link you shared. I’m always wanting to learn more. I have for over a year gone and tested my thyroid levels but I am not sure if my GP is testing for everything she should. She spoke in medical terms ( she thought because I am in the medical field, I knew what she was saying) in which I am learning now. Thank you for your help.

    @ElizabethKalmbach very true. I should find out from my dr or pharmacist what supplements are best for me. We have some minerals is all because I have well water. I’m leaning towards having more D and B vitamins. Thank you for the information.

    @gothchic I am taking levothyroxin only. I want to verify with my Dr. That my T3 and T4 are being tested and not just my TSH. I will find out soon. Thank you

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