Help! Synthroid and weight loss

JamieBrandeis

This web site is helpful!
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

cindy_0414

I am on Synthroid, 112 daily plus another 1/2 tab once a week. I apparently had hashimotos disease and never knew it, and it developed into hypothyroidism. And this is the incredible part, ALL my thyroid tests came back NORMAL!!! A tumor developed in my thyroid and it turned into cancer so I had to have my entire thyroid removed. I wasn't the only one in my family with these results.

My daughter thought she had strep throat, her tonsils were swelling up to where she couldn't hardly swallow and there were places on her throat that appeared to be strep! We kept taking her to the dr. With NO relief! Finally, after taking her to a different dr. The dr walks in the room and takes one look at her and says "you have a goiter"; I look at her like she is crazy because my mother had a goiter and I knew what one looked like and I didn't see one, Then I looked at my daughter again, and noticed her throat looked puffy but I still didn't think "goiter"........

So after running a thyroid test, the test came back "NORMAL". They decided to do an uptake scan. And sure enough, She had Hashimotos disease, and her thyroid was in the last stages of burning up, a few days later she went into Hypothyroidism. They put her on Levothyroxin (the generic for Synthroid) and after getting her meds adjusted, she has been doing fine ever since.

My mother's story is the same - her thyroid tests came back NORMAL - woke up to a goiter one morning and had to have a partial thyroidectomy.

I've learned several things during my journey that you might find interesting. Including the cramps!!! lol - It is food related!!! But you have to figure out the foods that are causing it for you! You may also need to increase your water intake, even being slightly dehydrated can cause it!!! Mostly for me it was carbohydrates, and eating late. I have to eat early, like around 5:00. But I never eat any later than 5:30 if it can be helped at all. If I do, I will be up pretty much all night! There are times now, (but this one is due to a medicine I'm on bc of the cancer) when I actually begin feeling cramps coming on before I'm done eating. If I don't stop eating even though I'm still hungry. I'll be cramping after the rest of my food reaches my stomach and I'll be paying for it for a while. So as soon as I get that "feeling" - I just push my plate away and stop and it usually keeps the cramps from coming on. Usually by the time the rest of the food reaches my stomach I'm not hungry anymore either. lol - so I guess it's working out! Also, my daughter's doctor told us to try the "NEW COOKBOOK FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION" since we had both gone into Hypothyroidism we had both gained weight, she had only gained about 20 pounds but I wasn't as fortunate. So, I bought the cookbook and we immediately started the diet, and kept our exercise routines in place. We made sure we got at least 3 days of exercise a week. But for the most part we were able to exercise more than that (usually 5 days) It takes about 30 minutes to get your heart rate up to a good rate if you only do a moderate exercise so that means you need an extra 30 minutes to burn calories. So an hour a day would be ideal!!! Then go by the cookbook like it is your bible!!! It is wonderful!!!! I've lost 50lbs!!! I would have lost more but I've had surgery, radiation. All in all I've been a broken down mess for a while! But just the staying on the diet I've been able to maintain my weight loss!!! We have pretty much just cut out red meat all together with the beef prices like they are and I'm sure that's contributed to our success also! lol I should add that I put my entire family on the same diet, I figured since I was cooking I may as well just cook it for the whole family. My husband lost 40lbs and my other daughter lost 47lbs!!! So we've all enjoyed the cookbook!!!!

I've also learned that spinach has been a BIG BOOST in my weight loss! I make smoothies out of it, if I can't get my salads in. And I try to increase my spinach intake especially during the week of my period. And it helps soooo much with my cramps that week! (that and I've cut out ALL caffeine and drink mainly water now - If you have bad menstrual cramps try this as well! Caffeine increases menstrual cramps and so does being dehydrated so get plenty of water!!!)

Now, the difference between Synthroid and Levothyroxin.(the generic) and you can verify this with your pharmacist and your Doctor. Synthroid will always be the same dose no matter what. I started out on Levothyroxin because that's what my pharmacist gave me, but I didn't know that my dr. had told them NOT to give me the generic! I found my hair falling out and my nails becoming brittle with ridges and other symptoms. My doctor couldn't understand it. We finally discovered the mix up! And he told me to get off of the generic! He said the generic is made in batches and one batch may not be the same dosage as the next batch. (Which I'm still foggy about why they can't get it the same every time!) But the pharmacist gave me the paperwork on it and I read it and sure enough one time you might get the right dose and the next time you might get a lower dose and the next time you might get a really high dose. which means you are gonna be on a roller coaster ride and never feel the same all the time. So my advise for this is to get off of the Levothyroxin and take the "name brand" Synthroid. - (Check it out for yourself - ask your dr. ask your pharmacist!)

Also, It takes 6 weeks for changes to reach your body so once you start your Synthroid, you won't even notice a change for 6 weeks because the thyroid is such a slow organ. If you change your dose, it will be another 6 weeks before you will see the difference in the dosage. So don't expect any sudden changes because that's just not going to happen. Sorry.

Hope this helps! If you have any questions for me, feel free to contact me thru MFP!!! Good luck on your journey!

Lisan33

I lost a lot of weight on synthroid I bought it at one of those "no prescription pharmacies" Goodrxpills.com

erinb419

For full effectiveness of the Synthroid, take it two hours or more after a meal and wait half an hour before the next meal. It helps to take it first thing in the morning.

rowlandsw

I wake up a bit early and take my synthroid and go back to bed.

Oscarinmiami

I am a thyroid cancer cancer survivor '99 and I take Synthroid now, make sure it is not the generic version as it could give you heart problems...Take it as soon as you wake up with 8oz of water...Do not eat anything for 2 hours, drink lots of water, and do lots of cardio and the weight will start to drop off. Try eating small meals several times a day so your metabolism increases. Everyone is different but for me I lost my appetite completely and sometimes I forget to eat, so I have reminders on my phone telling me to eat and drink water. good luck

Mich170

Thank you, thank you, thank you to sleepytexan!!! I was just prescribed synthroid 25mcg and have not picked it up yet. I'd seen naturalpath's previously and I DO believe in their ability to heal with natural remedies. I'd forgotten about it until I read your review of synthroid and your advice to go natural. I've been subclinical hypothyroidism for about 12 years. My numbers finally went completely out of range to hypothyroidism. I'd been telling my doctors for years that I'm losing my hair, I can't lose weight, I am so fatigued and lethargic during my days. I have to push myself through my day and literally CAN'T wait for bed time again. Which, isn't much of a relief since I am in menopause and get super hot which wakes me up all night, but it's little snippets of sleep and I'm grateful for them. I couldn't focus and my mind was always fuzzy. So, my primary physician put me on Welbutrin SR (Bupropion HCL ER 200MG). I have to say this has worked miracles in my life to give me back a lot of what I've been missing. I have energy (though I still have the underlying fatigue) if that makes sense. I can focus and maintain intelligent conversations without losing my train of thought constantly. I'd been taking Ambien for years for insomnia which causes a lot of fuzziness in thought processes during the day and stopped taking it before going on Welbutrin. (the combination can lower your threshold for seizures). My pulmonologist/sleep study physician prescribed me Nuvigil 150mg to wake me up for the day. You see the pattern... drugs, drugs, drugs!! Drugs to help me sleep, drugs to help me wake up and be alert. Sigh!! I just completed a weight management class and defeating diabetes class, which teach you proper nutrition and how you can overcome nearly any illness with the proper foods and exercise. Natural!!

bellabonbons

I have Hashimoto's and I'm hypothyroid. I was on generic thyroid and my doctor highly suggested that I only go with brand-name Synthroid. My hair is never fallen out I feel great I lose weight normally. My late husband was an obstetrician gynecologist he also said stay away from the generic Synthroid replacement. The symptoms you're describing. I think you need to see a specialist ASAP.

Psychgrrl

sleepytexan wrote: »

Synthroid is horrible. Get off before it's too late. All the thyroid drugs shut down your thyroid completely. Google this and found out the truth before you are one of the unlucky.

Instead of replacing the hormone that your thyroid is sluggishly producing, thus causing your thyroid to give up altogether, instead you need to kick your thyroid into gear.

You might want to consult a naturopath, holistic health provider or chiropractor (yes! natural, non-drug prescribing physicians actually work), you may get some advice on supplements to build your thyroid back up instead of shutting it down by replacing the hormone. One such supplement is called Thytrophin PMG; you can buy it on Amazon; it's very cheap and very effective.

I was on thyroid drugs for 7 years with no effective symptom management. It was only when my prescription (Armour Thyroid) became temporarily unavailable in the US, that I looked for an alternative and found this. It literally saved my life.

2 years later, I have NO hypothyroid symptoms (previously had been diagnosed with Hashimoto's), and that means I have completely normal blood levels, throat scans show NO goiters, no fatigue, no more hair loss, no more gray skin, cracking nails -- none of the problems I had, that never improved with drugs.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to hear more.

blessings,

I've been on synthroid for 10 years. Along with cytomel. Lost 85 pounds and feel great.

While this path may have worked great for the poster, please exercise extreme caution before dropping the regimen you're on. If the posters solution worked for everyone, we'd all be doing it and hypothyroidism would not be the plague it is. If the approach that worked for her really is the magic pill, ask yourself why no one knows about it.

It takes 8 weeks for the synthroid to fully integrate in your blood stream. If you're having difficulties, please talk to your doctor, do not adjust your dosage or self-medicate. You'll likely only be prolonging the hypo symptoms.

BoomstickChik

Synthetics are no good. NDT.

I've had Hashimotos for 8 years. I'm down 58 lbs so far.

I couldn't lose before, but found out i didn't just have hashi, i had celiac disease as well (which actually almost killed me). Once i was diagnosed and gluten free, I've been healing my body and losing weight.

lithezebra

Congratulations on your weight loss! Getting thyroid medication is a very good thing. If Synthroid doesn't work for you, you could try the generic, which works for me, and natural thyroid as well.

I've been taking synthetic thyroid hormone for decades, and the effect on my weight loss was generally positive although not dramatic. My appetite increased when I got medication, and I adapted by changing my eating habits to a lower carb diet with more protein, more fat, larger meals, and less snacking. I feel fuller, and have an easier time tracking than I did when I grazed on carbs.