Anyone here trying to loose weight with Hypothyroidism?

Time4me2003

I had a total thyroidectomy due to thyroid cancer. It has been nearly 4 years now, but my levels are always all over the place. I am currently on 112mg of Synthroid. I started changing my eating habits the day after Christmas and weighed 199.9. Right now I weigh179.9. I feel really sluggish now and know I need to go in and have my labs rechecked.

fittocycle

I was diagnosed last summer with hypothyroidism. Even though I eat a very clean diet and exercise regularly, I have hardly lost anything! We're talking two pounds in six or seven months. I'm with the other person who said she can look at food and gain!
Even if I'm not losing much weight, I figure my body is healthier from eating a clean diet and exercising!

aneajo

FYI-The bad thing is, the physician accepted values on the thyroid chart may be too wide. The values should be narrowed.
People may already have thyroid issues but are not diagnosed because their tests show them in the 'normal range'.
My tests put me in the normal range and my thyroid was trying hard to do it's job, but it just had nothing left to give.

If the chart had a narrower range, and Dr's used it as a general guide, not an end all, absolute answer, then more people could be helped. For those of you who are still in that 'normal range', go talk to a naturpath, and visit your local health food store. They have supplements to help. I wiish I had done both of those things before it was too late.

In 2006, I was finally diagnosed with thyroid issues when I felt a lump in my neck. (after having gained 80 lbs)
The surgeon removed the thyroid. It had shriveled up to nothing. The Dr said it looked like a tiny, twisted, dried out prune.
I had hashimoto's which evolved into thyroid cancer. Now I am taking Synthroid 137 mcg. Have lost 20 lbs.
Author, Mary J. Shomon, is widely accepted as a patient advocate. Take a look at her books and website www.thyroid-info.com.

Just went to my local health food store today and picked up a supplement. Starting it tomorrow. I know if I went to get tested it would be low enough they wouldn't help me.
Im praying this supplement helps me.

traininglady911

BUMP

mamafoofer

Hypothyroidism is my arch nemesis! I was always very thin (underweight in my youth and teen years!), very active and never a really big eater (I liked my sweets but didn't really over do it). I was a 100lbs at 19 years, then...boom! By the time I was 20 I was up to 150lbs,utterly exhausted, with dry, frizzy hair that fell out in clumps, severly depressed with super dry skin (a real catch in the dating world,lol). It was awful- I knew something was wrong but couldn't figure it out. I tried diet, exercise, slim fast (back when you made your own shakes from the powder-blech!). I finally went ot my mom's doctor, very upset...he barely examined me, didn't do any blood work and gave me this wonderful bit of advice..."say for example, say you normally eat two peas, from now on, DON'T, just eat one"....basically telling me to eat less. Meanwhile I was chugging water to get full and living on slim fast-jerk!

I figured he knew what he was talking about, so I just kept on trying to diet and exercise (so much money wasted on gym memberships). I would lose a few lbs, take a day off working out or eat a cookie and gain 10lbs- it was a crazy roller coaster! Finally, in my late 20's at 180lbs I found a doctor who took me seriously, turned out my thyroid levels were super low (surprise, surprise!). WIthin two years on the meds I was down to 160lbs. I'm now up to 130mcg os synthroid, and I still am tired all the time. The hair has gotten better, my skin is still always dry, and the battle of the buldge is never ending. If I stay really focused and dilligent I can maintain at about 140-145, which is not at all where I want to be or should be. I did weight watchers a few years ago, and got down to 130 (which is a great weight for me looks and feeling wise)...but then my thyroid levels went screwy and I went back up to 145. Now, I'm at it again, I watch the calories, work out 6 times a week with Jillian Michales dvd's and yoga-it gets exhausting trying to keep the weight in check. And I know that look all too well, the look of "sure you have a thyroid problem"...the only person who really gets it is my husband, he sees how I eat, how hard I try and is very sweet about it.

Good luck my fellow thyroid fighters!

MostlySunny

I just started back up on trying to loose some weight. In college I gained 50lbs, and thought it had something to do with "the freshman 15." Then one day my mom was talking about how crappy she felt from menopause, and everything she was describing fit with what I was experiencing. I told her, "Mom, I think I am having menopause too!" (at 22 years old). She was way more concerned than I was and checked it out, and was the first to suggest that maybe there was something wrong with my thyroid.

I landscaped 14 hours per day for a summer and GAINED weight, I went on 1000 calorie diet and exercised five times per week and maintained the weight I was at. I have been getting blood tests religiously, and still, five years later, nothing is stabilized. It seems like it just keeps getting worse. My doctor just told me to eat less. On average, I eat 1500 calories per day, no chips, no fast food, no soda, no red meat, almost nothing processed, etc. Now, I am the biggest of all my friends and family, and something has to change. So here I am.

I have to think that there is someone out there who knows some alternative ways improve our thyroids, either as a supplement or substitute to medication. Is there something I am eating (or not eating) that makes it worse or better? Is there certain vitamins I should be taking? You know where I'm going with this. Any suggestions?

richiemcfc

Hi people,

My first post so please be gentle with me.............

My story is slightly different but you might find it interesting.

In the summer of 1999 I was Best Man at a wedding and I was amazed at the pictures - I looked terrible (really thin). At the time I was playing 5-a-side football (soccer) 3 times a week and put it down to that. I'm 6ft 1in and weighed 11.5 stone (161 pounds).

A couple of weeks later, I felt really drained and had swollen glands. Fearing glandular fever, I went to the GP where I was diagnosed with an over-active thyroid. Most importantly, this was putting a strain on my heart which was beating far too quickly. Straightaway I had to quit the football and was put on beta-blockers for my heart and carbimazole to slow down my metabolism so that they could do something about my thyroid.

To cut a long story short, over 24 months I ended up having three courses of radioactive iodine which in effect killed my thyroid gland and it is now controlled by 125mg of levo-thyroxine every day.

The thing is, I went from 11.5 stone to 17 stone whilst on the beta blockers & carbimazole and have never been able to shift it. Last summer (2010) I was Best Man again (different friend thankfully) but when I went for the fitting for my morning suit, I was embarrrassed by my measurements (44in waist, 52" chest) and so weighed myself again and was upto 19 stone 6 pound (272 pounds).

Since then (October) I have been to the gym regularly and have managed to lose 18 pounds. I put a lot of this success down to MFP.com (I fill it in religiously) and a really helpful PT (who doesnt charge - we just chat football & fitness etc) who has given me some great tips. I now run for 30 minutes straight (approx 4.22k) and have recently run a mile in less than 10 minutes for the first time since high school! I'm still however 18 stone 2 pounds and people look at me wierd when a big bloke outruns them on the cross trainer and is still going strong on the X-trainer or Exercise bike when theyve had enough. I've also started to lift weights (it's a reward for my hours worth of cardio) and I now have 'guns' for the first time ever and my lumps are now through muscle rather than purely fat. I wish that I could have measured my fat percentage when I started because I am sure that the amount of muscle I have put on has meant that my overall weight loss isnt as much as it would have been (any thoughts on this people??)

So the thing is that I believe that 'big' can still be healthy and whilst I would like (and am going to) loose another 3-4 stone I know that it will be slow steady progress - but I WILL SUCCEED and I hope that you all will too.

Steve

aneajo

I just started back up on trying to loose some weight. In college I gained 50lbs, and thought it had something to do with "the freshman 15." Then one day my mom was talking about how crappy she felt from menopause, and everything she was describing fit with what I was experiencing. I told her, "Mom, I think I am having menopause too!" (at 22 years old). She was way more concerned than I was and checked it out, and was the first to suggest that maybe there was something wrong with my thyroid.

I landscaped 14 hours per day for a summer and GAINED weight, I went on 1000 calorie diet and exercised five times per week and maintained the weight I was at. I have been getting blood tests religiously, and still, five years later, nothing is stabilized. It seems like it just keeps getting worse. My doctor just told me to eat less. On average, I eat 1500 calories per day, no chips, no fast food, no soda, no red meat, almost nothing processed, etc. Now, I am the biggest of all my friends and family, and something has to change. So here I am.

I have to think that there is someone out there who knows some alternative ways improve our thyroids, either as a supplement or substitute to medication. Is there something I am eating (or not eating) that makes it worse or better? Is there certain vitamins I should be taking? You know where I'm going with this. Any suggestions?

I went to my health food/vitamen store and got Thyroid care by Terry Naturally. But they had a few different things there. Do you have a health food store you could look at what they have?

MostlySunny

I'm sure going to look for one! Thanks for the info! I will keep you updated on the outcome.

mamatu2

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in Oct of 2010 and put in .25mcg of l-thyroxine. I had been feeling tired and depressed and just thought that it was due to advancing age and the death of both parents. So I religiously took my med and exercised and dieted off 13 pounds. When I went in for my check-up six months later I was surprised that my numbers had gotten worse. The doctor upped me to .50mcg and lectured me about loosing weight. I am 5'9" and he wants me down around the 150's. I went from 194-181 in the six months between appointments and thought that I was doing great. He said that he had never seen anyone get worse while taking meds. Six months from now I am expected to go back again and have it all rechecked. I also has high blood pressure and high cholestorol. I do have "white coat hypertension", I wonder why?
I have made some changes in takng my meds to make sure I have and empty stomach I take my pill and hour before I get up and have coffee. Do you think that is enough time for the pill to be absorbed? I am also religiously dieting and staying away from most of the foods that I have read that are bad for my thyroid. I even wait to eat my oatmeal for at least three hours after pill so that won't get in the way of absorbtion. I'm exercising between 90-120 minutes every day. This is so difficult ! I was hoping that the cholestorol and blood pressure would come down on their own. My blood pressure does run normal at home but prove that to the doctor. He wants me to run around town and take my pressure in the free drug store machines. I don't want to have to take more meds.

Well that's my sob story. I'm just keeping on keeping on the best I can and trying not to get too depressed over it.

mamafoofer

Hi tu2mama. An hour is plenty to time to wait before eating after you take your pill (my prescription says take 1 hour before or 2 hours after eating). What do you take your medicine with? A lot of juices, like orange juice, can counter-act the medicatiosn effects. Also, .50 mcg isn't a whole lot of medication, that is usually the starting off point, the dose will gradually increase. It took a while for me to get up to the level I am now (and I still don't think it is a high enough dose). ALso, check with your pharmacist, make sure the other meds you are taking don't interfer with the thyroid meds.

Good luck with everything!

ReneeOfTheFae

Hey, there! I, too am a hypo and, once I was diagnosed I scoured the net for any and all info so I could know what was going on with my body. In that time, I came across an article about different things you could do to make your meds work better. For the life of me, I can't recall the article or site, but I felt I should mention it to you. It had said something about thyroxine working better if taken before bed instead of in the morning before breakfast. Now, I mentioned this to my nurse practitioner, and she didn't really know what to say about it. Because of that, I didn't switch to night time dosing, but maybe your doc will have more info or suggestions for you? Good luck! *^_^*

Renee

mynewyorkad

YES! I have hypothyroidism myself! I was just diagnosed about 10 months ago, and have been on medication ever since. I gained 100 pounds in two years.The same time I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I was diagnosed with PCOS. The combination made it nearly impossible to lose weight and so easy to gain it.

I'd love to be friends with all of you!

sdereski

I too have hypothyroidism. Was diagnosed at 18 and am 50 today. Have been on several different dosages over the years as much as .200 to as little as .125 where I was for several years and feeling good. About a year ago, my levels went all wonky and am now in the process of trying to get it back on track. Currently taking .137

Have struggled with weight loss all my life. Like many of you, I am active and watch what eat and never seem to lose. I can eat on bad thing and be up in weight by as much as 5lbs the next day. :grumble:

My concern is the long term effects of taking this medication for years on end. All we do is monitor and medicate.

If anyone has any great ideas, I am all ears.

mamatu2

I started to take my thyroid med at night and it's working out better for me. I HAVE to start the day with a cup of coffee and setting an alarm, taking my med and trying to go back to sleep wasn't working for me. I also feel that I'm not conflicting my med in the morning by eating oatmeal. I don't see my doctor until September. I'm assuming that my condition is not that severe or he'd be seeing me sooner. My last visit my numbers had worsened and he said he'd never seen that before and sent me on my way with a stronger doseage. I do feel better than before but the weight loss is lagging. Sticking with it is hard! Barely eating is a drag. I miss eating fresh brocolli, cabbage, strawberries and radishes. Those were my were my go to diet veggies. I miss tofu and soy products!

jackiekjames

I have just been diagnosed and started taking my meds about 1 month ago. I am only taking a very small does though...I'm so happy that there are others out there just like me!

KPstartingover

I've been hypothyroid since my first child was 4 months old (13 years ago). My dosage of synthroid has changed several times, but I fully expect to be on synthroid for life. I get my levels checked every year, or more frequently if I get other symptoms. If my levels get too low, I also get joint pain.

One thing I haven't seen here - you shouldn't take your synthroid with any other supplements (like vitamins) because the vitamin inhibits absorption of the synthroid. I haven't tried taking it at night versus in the morning. I'm afraid I would forget to take it before bed, so I just take it in the morning, then take my multivitamin at lunchtime.

darece

Was you told not to eat fresh brocolli, cabbage, strawberries and radishes?
Just wondering cuz I have never been told not to eat something.
I was hyper (and 120lb), then after iodine radiation went hypo (now 180).