Frustrated after my doctor visit

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  • heather752
    heather752 Posts: 17
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    you really need to be eating more calories! You body is likely storing what you eat, it is in starvation mode! And yes...unfortunately..exercise! You said you drink a lot of water...How much water do you drink? You might be drinking to much as well! Which can cause water weight and bloating, just a few ideas and things you can experiment with : ) Best of luck! :flowerforyou:
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    I follow the MyFitnessPal formula and only eat below 1200 calories and only drink water.

    You should not eat below 1200 calories, you should appoximate 1200 calories per day, trying to come as close as possible if you are not exercising. If you are exercising you should eat your 1200 calories net, not gross.
    I drink gobs of water and find that I retain it and my feet get puffy from time to time.

    I'm reading "my feet get puffy from time to time" and thinking "your issue is probably sodium, not water.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
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    I can come up with low T4. That happens. However, my TSH never gets elevated. It doesn't matter if I'm medicated and energetic and losing weight or if I'm sleeping 16 hours a day, swelled like a balloon, and losing half my hair. Thyroid tests suck.

    My doctor ruled out other stuff (congestive heart failure, etc.) and then treated me according to symptoms. Once I got on dessicated thyroid, I started getting better. Amazing. It's not perfect, but at least I have far more good days than bad.

    With that said, I would address that low D before I jumped to anything else.
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
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    I have to disagree with people saying 1200 is too few calories for a 5'4" 178 pound woman. I think 1000 or 1100 might be too few, but 1200 seems like its within the range of reasonableness. It sounds like its a medical or genetic issue of some sort, I think you are right to have your doc check you out.

    I agree with this.

    I'm 5'3", and if I go over 1250 net, I stop losing weight. But, you don't want to really go below 1200 net and it sounds like you might be doing that.
  • minnie86
    minnie86 Posts: 187
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    Maybe you should ask your doctor whether you might be have some sort of insulin resistance? My friend had that and when she took some meds, she started losing weight. Also, I wonder if there is a test that could check for your response to thryroid hormone. Although the levels might be ok, whether the response to thryroid hormone are effective is completely different thing.
    It might be good asking. I've also felt like that when I go to the doctor, Sometines doctors forget that medicine is not simply diagnosing or treating an illness, is about delivering compassionate medical care.
    Don't be discouraged. Whatever it is, I'm sure things will work out for you.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
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    Always under 1200? You need to shoot for minimum 1200; and any activity you need to eat more (so that your net calories are 1200; not just your food calories). Are your settings at losing 2lbs a week? Set them to lose 1lb a week for awhile and with the increase of calories that that allows you, you will see the weight come off. and dont try it for 2days and think "ok, this isnt working"; it takes weeks, if not longer sometimes, to come out of starvation mode. You can be eating enough to feel full but still go into starvation mode. I could eat under 500 calories a day i feel stuffed if i chose the right foods; but that doesnt make it healthy or right. If you see a slight gain at first; dont be scared, its just your body adjusting and it will go back down quickly.

    I lost my first 40lbs without excercise; so i dont believe its "key". I started my excercise routine about 10pounds ago in order to help with loose skin and muscle tone, but other than that, it hasnt helped me lose weight any faster.

    you could also try zig zagging calories. one day set your diary at losing .5lbs a week; the next shoot for 1.5lbs a week, next shoot for maintenance, then back to 1lb a week; .5lbs a week, then 2lbs a week....and so on... that works for alot of people when they are unable to loose when their calories are set at 1200 aday. This keeps your body guessing, as well as puts you out of risk of starvation mode with the increase of calories on multiple days a week.

    be sure to drink half ur body weight or more a day in water; watch sodium levels (which shouldnt be a rpoblem for you since u eat well), and im alot heavier than you and my vitamin d is fine; so being low vitamin d has nothing to do with being overweight. make sure your getting enough vitamin d; as well as potassium, and other vitamins.

    diet coke helps you bloat and its chemicals are far worse for you than regular soda, and coffee depletes water in your system..
  • Windedhl
    Windedhl Posts: 17
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    it sounds like you have simalar issues that i do. always cold, swollen feet/ankles, foggy headed, not really any energy. though i'm not 5'4 i'm 6'1. couple months ago i switched to soy milk and don't eat cheese or ice cream anymore and it seems the puffiness has almost gone away. though most importantly i started taking 5000 IU of D3 a day. my head isn't foggy anymore, i'm more energetic, and i've been in a better mood too. it's possible your vitamin D isn't low because your over weight, but that your over weight because it's low. If nothing else adding viamin D to your diet wouldn't hurt. also watch the water, if you drink too much your sodium and potasium levels could get too low.
  • fittocycle
    fittocycle Posts: 827 Member
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    I was wondering which range your doctor used for the thyroid TSH test. Many doctors still believe that anything over 5.0 is high. However, other doctors use a range with 3.0 as the upper level. Also, did your doctor check your ferritin level (iron stores)? You can have perfectly normal hemoglobin levels and still be anemic. Most doctors rely on hemoglobin or hemocrit to check for anemia. I could pass that screening and donate blood, even though I was anemic. Might be something to ask about.

    I wish all the best and I do understand your frustration. Let us know if you find out anything!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    I have to disagree with people saying 1200 is too few calories for a 5'4" 178 pound woman. I think 1000 or 1100 might be too few, but 1200 seems like its within the range of reasonableness. It sounds like its a medical or genetic issue of some sort, I think you are right to have your doc check you out.

    I agree with this.

    I'm 5'3", and if I go over 1250 net, I stop losing weight. But, you don't want to really go below 1200 net and it sounds like you might be doing that.

    Goes to show how different everyone's body is, I'm 5'3" and if I didn't exercise and was under 1200 calories I wouldn't lose, and I'd be ravenous. Now, I wouldn't net my 1200 when I exercised, but to be fair I was burning a minimum of 600 calories a day and usually closer to 1000 when I first started this . . .
    So . . . she's been under and isn't losing, this would indicate to me that she needs to try something different, like going slightly over.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    Eating less than 1200 calories a day will surely sabotage your efforts. Unless your doctor told you to eat that few, do not do it. What does MFP recommend you eat? I wouldn't recommend more than 1 lb a week deficit, so that's 500 less than your BMR. 2 lbs a week is just not sustainable for most people. No matter how much you want to lose and how fast you want to lose it, you just can't create a huge calorie deficit. Your body will not take kindly to it.

    And watch your sodium. Drink lots of water. I'm talking take your weight and divide it in half - that's how many ounces of plain water you should be drinking a day. More if you exercise.

    These are all my opinions, of course.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
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    I was wondering which range your doctor used for the thyroid TSH test. Many doctors still believe that anything over 5.0 is high. However, other doctors use a range with 3.0 as the upper level. Also, did your doctor check your ferritin level (iron stores)? You can have perfectly normal hemoglobin levels and still be anemic. Most doctors rely on hemoglobin or hemocrit to check for anemia. I could pass that screening and donate blood, even though I was anemic. Might be something to ask about.

    I wish all the best and I do understand your frustration. Let us know if you find out anything!

    Good point. I'm gonna have doc check my iron stores (and vit D levels) when I go in for my thyroid panel next month. I've made dietary changes, and my energy's flagging a tiny bit. Always something to keep on top of.
  • michne
    michne Posts: 2
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    I agree with Minnie that it could be an insulin resistance issue. Based on the figures that you posted on your A1C and glucose counts, you are in the pre-diabetic range. This means you may need medication to stabilize your blood sugar and that you need to cut the amount of carbs/sugars that you eat. It sounds like you eat pretty healthy, but you may need to increase your protein and decrease your sugar/carbohydrate levels. The American Diabetes Association provides model diets to control your blood sugar on their website. I have a friend who was recently diagnosed as insulin resistant and is now on a doctor prescribed diet. She has been able to lose weight since she began this diet. Good luck!
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
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    see another doctor for a second opinion!!
  • shellgoff
    shellgoff Posts: 189 Member
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    My first thought was PCOS.
    My 2nd thought was show your dr your food/exercise diary! Or get a 2nd opinion.
  • rtmama
    rtmama Posts: 403 Member
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    you really need to be eating more calories! You body is likely storing what you eat, it is in starvation mode! And yes...unfortunately..exercise! You said you drink a lot of water...How much water do you drink? You might be drinking to much as well! Which can cause water weight and bloating, just a few ideas and things you can experiment with : ) Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

    too much water? No, water doesn't make you gain weight or bloat.
  • KimmyEB
    KimmyEB Posts: 1,208 Member
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    I understand the frustration of "My doctor looks at me bad"...last time I went to the doctor a month ago, the woman that weighed me, who weighed over 100lbs than I do, literally down-talked me and told me I was at-risk of being morbidly obese, and told me to stop eating so much fast food (I don't eat fast food, unless it's grilled chicken and even that is rare, and I've had a Five Guys burger all of ONCE this year), as she was eating Oreo cookies and drinking a Pepsi. I know I'm overweight, and I don't mind being told by a medical figure that I am...but her approach was really tacky and downright rude.

    As for the feet swelling, I have heard that too much salt can cause that. I wish I had advice for the rest. :ohwell:
  • Pridgenization
    Pridgenization Posts: 65 Member
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    weird question... but are your cycles normal? Your elevated blood sugar and weight gain made me think of PCOS which is a women disorder where insulin effects your cycle but can also cause unexplained weight gain.. just a though.

    I thought the same thing. I had very similar lab results lately, too (A1C, Vitamin D definiciency, high cholestoral). I have insulin resistance and PCOS, which makes it hard to lose weight. There are several posts on here about what to eat to lose weight with PCOS. Stay away from processed foods, limit carbs, eat lots of vegetables and lean protein.
  • sonybalony
    sonybalony Posts: 335 Member
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    Yeah, my thought was insulin resistance and PCOS as well. Can't hurt to have it checked! my doc kept giving me the "yeah right" look when I told him what I ate (for a year now just at 1500 cal). I brought in the printout from MFP and showed him that I log EVERY morsel that goes into my mouth, as he still gave me that look. After he ran tests (instead of just telling me eat less, exercise more) he found I had PCOS and insulin resistance. Can't hurt to check it out!

    Good Luck and much Joy to you!

    Sonia
  • LivLovLrn
    LivLovLrn Posts: 580 Member
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    I understand your frustration. I go to a naturopathic dr and what he told me is that if you have a lot of mercury in your system (from fillings, fish etc) that the results can be off. Don't know if getting another opinion is an option for you, but I would see about another opinion if possible (ps, there is a lot of controversy about the mercury thing)
  • lbgano
    lbgano Posts: 234
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    "Any chance you have stomach/gastro issues? You sound a lot like me a year ago. I see you eat whole wheat (which is great, unless you've got a wheat allergy. Try cutting gluten/wheat out of your diet for 1 week. See if you sleep better, if the brain fog is again and if you have more energy. You seriously sound JUST like I did a year ago. " (quote - sorry, I messed up the quote code)



    I thought the same thing when I read your post - gluten issues. You remind me a lot of my sister - she eats an extremely healthy diet, is active, and could NOT lose weight. She went gluten free and has lost 20 lbs - she has some type of intolerence. I don't fully understand it but I can see the difference. She was also having trouble sleeping, etc.

    More than that, she had the same experience with some doctors - they just didn't believe that she wasn't secretly eating twinkies and doritos on a daily basis. They just assumed she was lying. Made me livid!!

    Good luck!

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