Had thyroid cancer can't lose weight

Teresa041749

Hi all,

I'm new and would like to say that I am 56 have been post menopausal sine I was 45 and I had my thyroid removed due to cancer 8 years ago. I was able to lose weight and maintain it up to the past few years. My tsh, t4, free t4 and t3 were normal according to the doctor. I convinced her to add cytomel to synthroid hence she lowered the synthroid to 88 MGM and added cytomel .5 (2 in the am 2 in the pm). However she lowered it to 2 because the test stated I was hyper!! I go to the gym 5 days a week, takes umbra,cardio kickboxing, stepping muscle mix classes and I keep a journal of what I eat and have not lost an ounce! I don't eat sugar, eat lots of veggies and fish, chicken and little carbs such as bread, potatoes and white rice. I have always been able to maintain my weight and have always exercised and watched my diet.

I thought of joining Weight Watchers but if keeping a journal is not he.ping me why join? I am not hungry and sometimes I eat because I need to. I even tool green coffee bean extract and garcignia cambogia after watching Dr Oz and nothing!!

Any thought for me??

Teresa

missymc16

I had my Thyroid removed in 2005 for Papillary Cancer, and yes it is harder to lose weight. But you might ask your Doctor exactly what your blood levels are, not just normal. I say this because I feel better if my numbers are a little bit higher than what the Doctor likes, he likes me TSH at .02 and I like it closer to .75 or 1. I understand his reasoning for keeping my numbers so low, the hope is that my thyroid and cancer won't grow back. I have just decided that weight lose is a long term project, I didn't gain it over night and I wasn't going to lose it over night. It's taken me about two years to lose 50 lbs, but I just keep working at it. Yes, it's a mindset.

RozayJones

I also had my thyroid removed due to cancer almost 2 years ago - I am just now starting to see the weight I gained come off and it is not easy so I can relate! I keep hearing about Armour (I believe that is the name) in place of synthroid and have thought about asking my doctor for the change. I take 450mg of Synthroid (which is a lot) and also 25mg of Cytomel. If I eat 1 calorie over I gain automatically. It's a struggle
Missymc what do you mean by grow back?

JayMri

I had mine removed 4 years ago and have finally started to drop weight. It took a lot of trial and error. I work out a lot and eat 1400 calories per day, anything less I do not loss. I've also added in Vitamin D supplements which help with my energy level. What is your TSH level? Mine hangs around .17, I've had it as low as .03 and as high as .65 and felt best at the .03 range.

There are the guidelines for "normal" range:
http://www.thyca.org/pap-fol/more/tsh-suppression/

missymc16

RozayJones - From how it was explained to me it's very difficult to completely remove the Thyroid, which is why most people with Papillary cancer do a high dose of Radioactive Iodine shortly after their surgery. I had to go off my meds and do the Low Iodine Diet before the RAI. Then for the next 3 years I had Whole Body scans, again with the Low Iodine Diet and off my meds, I did get to do Thyrogen injections, which was much easier than going without meds for 30 days. Now I have yearly ultrasounds of my neck, to check that the remaining piece of my Thyroid has not grown any. I was also told that this is why they keep your TSH so low, compared to a person with a normal Thyroid. I should state that my cancer was considered stage 3, due to my age and the size of the cancerous growth (2.5cm).

I will say that THYCA.org has some great information and some helpful support groups. I attended a workshop this year and found it very informative. More things effect how your body absorbs your meds than I realized.

Teresa041749

Hi all,

Thank you for your feedback. My tsh is on the higher end hence she lowered synthroid to 88mmg. It's frustrating because as I said I go to the gym 5 days a week and eat healthy under 1200 calories. I went to a dietitian two years ago and had a BMR test that revealed in order to maintain my weight and my organs functioning I should only eat 980 calories, he thought it was an error then did it again. I am following a low carb diet and no sugar including the fruits with higher sugar content. I am soooooo frustrated!!!! I joined this site and keep track of my food,drink intake and exercise, and no weight loss. Do not waste your money on those supplements mentioned by Dr Oz they don't work. I too had RAI and continue to see the doctor biannually. They keep the synthroid on a slightly higher dosage so the cancer cells don't comeback.

JayMri

Teresa,
Have you tried upping your calories? From all I have read most thyroid cancer survivors actually burn more calories then those with a thyroid. It takes about 2 weeks of doing that to see any results but I would recommend it. My BMR test says that I need around 1250 but if I stick to that I gain weight, if I up it to 1400 I lose weight. BMR is not simple when you factor in thyroid issues. This is an interesting article:
http://thyroid.org/wp-content/uploads/patients/brochures/Thyroid_and_Weight.pdf

Here's a post about higher calories that is good too:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/311959-the-big-1200-vs-1500-calorie-debate

JayMri

Another good link
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/dietweightloss/a/eatingenough.htm

MeepleMuppet

*waves* New to MFP. Joined when I found out that my weight gain was NOT due to my thyroid medication, but all on me (so said the doctor) so I'm glad to see this thread. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last July, total removal that August, ablation this past Feb. New mom on top of all of that so my diet was screwed up to begin with. I was on a higher level of synthroid to reduce the risk of reoccurance as well, but docs explained to me that that was only for the first year. They recently reduced my medication (125 everyday except one day when I'm supposed to take half a pill) and I have to admit, my energy is much better.

I would be interested to hear more about what may effect the medication. I've been making sure I wait an hour to eat after taking it, and I take my multivitamin at night instead of in the morning. What else is there? (I have to admit, I grew frustrated with the Thyca website because it was so darn ugly. I see it's been redesigned but haven't had time to poke around again.)

JayMri

Hi MeepleMuppet. I was told to make sure and drink a glass of water with my meds, not just enough to swallow them. I don't drink a big one but do get a small glass in. If you are looking of more Thyroid Cancer related stuff Inspire.com has a great Thyroid Cancer forum with lots of info. Your weight may not be totally due to your thyroid levels but it does play a part.

MeepleMuppet

Hrm. I do skimp on the med-water. I'll try to be better about that. And I'll check out that website at lunch as well. Thanks!