Thyroid info?

TraciStivers

I am pregnant so not actively trying to lose.

However, my best friend, Brandy is struggling. She is about 100-125 overweight. We've been friends for 20 years and she has always been heavy, however I would say in the last five years she has put on 75-100 pounds of it.

She claims she has tried Weight Watchers, exercising, MFP, and every other diet known to man. We live 35 minutes apart so I don't know, we talk every day, but only see each other once a month or so. Her husband was Army, so for many years it was impossible to see her.

Yesterday she went to the dr to have her thyroid tested, because she says that no matter what she eats, how much she exercises, or what she does, she just continues to gain. She called me very upset after the appointment and said that the doctor gave her the order for the tests but informed her that he could not order any type of treatment until she lost some weight. She told him she had tried and he suggested gastric bypass, which is something she is not in favor of.

I am totally ignorant about thyroids and thyroid conditions. Sure I can google, but can anyone offer me and first hand experience? Suggestions, questions to ask the doctor, etc??

hinatakatana

Well I was born withoput a thyroid. I spent most of my life gaining a lot of weight because of my thyroid problems and the constant changing of my medication dose. However I will say that I did use not having a thyroid as an excuse a lot of the time because I joined a slimming club about a year ago because I had got to 280lbs (20 stone) since then I have lost about 106lbs (7st 8lbs)
It is possble to lose it without such drastic measures as a gastric bypass. Its hard, very hard.. I cant deny that. But she can defineatly do it. I never thought I would be able to lose weight, but i managed just fine

RoseLady08

Hi: 3 t4
Yep I have this gained lots of weight very fast. It is discouraging. Weight watchers generally track what is causing the gain eg my aunt found herself that an apple a day makes her gain weight...Back to the thyroid...proper meds, t3, t4 in balance go to someone knowledgeable in thyroid. There is a balance to everything.

Now with better meds I am not gaining unnecissariely however, now discouraged it is a pycological challange for me I had to do other stuff.....digestive enyzmes have helped to get proper nutrition Low stomach acid was my issue...now I have some energy.
I also, take b6 b12, selenium (for thyroid) (iodine for thyroid watch this one do with Dr) (too much can give mor thyroid issues that you are tryig to work on) So the story goes on.

She needs to take control of her life, to be a go getter and find out if something else is slowing her down. Perhaps get another Dr that is knowledgable ....What is her age? Cause I may know someone that can help her visit once and do the rest on phone long distance. But, depending on where she lives she can find help locally.

The body has an alchemy, a balance, and she may need to locate the hormone balances, and other things that may be slowing her down, specific foods, digestion, or other things often related to low thyroid. Every so often I take suppliments for thyroid, it has lessened my medication.
Let me know if you need clairification
Mary

tekwriter

She needs a new Dr. Telling someone that they can't have thyroid medication until they lose weight is insane. You will never lose weight without it. The lack of thyroid will eventually kill you. Even if the test were to come back negative she should change Dr.'s, this one is a jerk and will obviously never treat her appropriately. If she is still going to the base tell her to make sure they give her the TSH number. It should be lower than 3.0 that is the latest number from endocrinilogist. It it is higher than that and the Doctor does not treat her, she should ask for a referral to an Endocrinilogist. We are retired military. Please message me if we can be of more help.

J4rv0

My Thyroid is underactive (Hypothyroidism), and I take a rather large dose of Thyroxine daily. The way it is supposed to work is:

* Thyroid overactive ... you lose weight quickly
* Thyroid underactive ... you put on weight

By getting the doctor to prescribe Thyroxine, should get your body to the right balance. But watching what you eat, and certainly logging it on here, purely for the fact of knowing what you eat at all times can help tremendously. Exercise too will be beneficial, not just for burning fat, but also the feel-good effect.

Remember that eating correctly is like 95% of the battle to losing weight, or maintaining a healthy weight.


Backstory:
About 6 years back, I was due to go on holiday and had popped over to help a doctor friend of mine with her wireless network. Once I'd fixed it, she said "Right, I think it's my turn to fix you". I was perplexed and asked why? She asked me to pee on a stick, and return the stick to her. Slightly embarrassed as in my eyes she is a friend and not a GP, I complied.
She took one look at the colour of the stick and said "Go TOMORROW and see your GP".

I'd noticed that I couldn't touch the tip of my little finger with my thumb, and my ankles had disappeared ... my arms and legs were having trouble bending. I had massive water retention, apparently the indicator to her that I was hypothyroid. She also noticed that I was really having problems forming a sentence.

Long story short, the GP diagnosed Hypothyroidism, and slowly my medication was increased in small dosages up to 350mcg.

I still feel lethargic quite frequently, and "cloudy head" where I know what I'm trying to think through but just can't quite string it together.

My friend later confided in her brother, by best friend, that if it had been another week or more without diagnosis, the outcome would have been radically different!

sconfer55

hey.
i was diagnosis with Hypothyroidism - often referred to as underactive thyroid.

Hypothyroidism is the opposite of hyperthyroidism – or overactive thyroid

here is a websight with symptoms of hypothyroidsm

http://www.synthroid.com/hypothyroidism/symptoms.aspx

but i was diagnosis when i was 12 i have to take a daily dose of levothyroxin every day for the rest of my life. when i was diagnosis i was a tiny thing. but my sister was about 250lbs when she was diagnosis with hypothyroidism (or too much) she was about 4'10 then.

i dont know the weight of your friend. but i do know that if she is indeed has one of these types of thyroid she needs the medicine. maybe she should try a different opinion. because when i was tested they did a blood test and they took pictures of my thyoid after they made me drink dye. i don't see why she would need to lose weight for these test.

and if this doctor was smart they would realized that its not weight gain due to eating overmuch it is due to a hormonal inbalance. which is impossible to lose weight (unless you starve yourself) until you fix the inbalance

TraciStivers

She needs a new Dr. Telling someone that they can't have thyroid medication until they lose weight is insane. You will never lose weight without it. The lack of thyroid will eventually kill you. Even if the test were to come back negative she should change Dr.'s, this one is a jerk and will obviously never treat her appropriately. If she is still going to the base tell her to make sure they give her the TSH number. It should be lower than 3.0 that is the latest number from endocrinilogist. It it is higher than that and the Doctor does not treat her, she should ask for a referral to an Endocrinilogist. We are retired military. Please message me if we can be of more help.

I suggested she find a new doctor as well. She was upset and said that he made a joke about her husband leaving her. I thought that was tacky. However she says he is the only one around. I appreciate your input.

TraciStivers

Well I was born withoput a thyroid. I spent most of my life gaining a lot of weight because of my thyroid problems and the constant changing of my medication dose. However I will say that I did use not having a thyroid as an excuse a lot of the time because I joined a slimming club about a year ago because I had got to 280lbs (20 stone) since then I have lost about 106lbs (7st 8lbs)
It is possble to lose it without such drastic measures as a gastric bypass. Its hard, very hard.. I cant deny that. But she can defineatly do it. I never thought I would be able to lose weight, but i managed just fine

Thanks! I do wonder how much of it is a problem and how much is an excuse. I don't see her often but when we do get together I have never noticed her eating crap. She eats reasonably, so I tend to believe her. I just wish there was more I could do to support her.

carrieous

I have an underactive thyroid that wasnt diagnosed until I was 26. My dr puts me on meds right away and instantly i felt better. I only lost about 8 lbs though but ive never been overweight and my thyroid isnt terribly underactive.

If she does have an underactive thyroid a dr would put her on meds right away and monitor her to make sure the dosafge is correct.

islandmonkey

Yesterday she went to the dr to have her thyroid tested, because she says that no matter what she eats, how much she exercises, or what she does, she just continues to gain. She called me very upset after the appointment and said that the doctor gave her the order for the tests but informed her that he could not order any type of treatment until she lost some weight. She told him she had tried and he suggested gastric bypass, which is something she is not in favor of.

I am totally ignorant about thyroids and thyroid conditions. Sure I can google, but can anyone offer me and first hand experience? Suggestions, questions to ask the doctor, etc??

She needs a new doctor, NOW. That is ridiculous to tell someone they can't go on thyroid meds until they lose weight. That's like saying "I won't put gas in your car until you fix that dent in the bumper". Your body NEEDS thyroid hormone and if you don't have enough, you need to add it.

Getting her thyroid levels to optimal won't make the weight melt off, but would allow her to be basically the same as anyone else when it comes to food and exercise. In my experience with both hyper and hypothyroid, it also helps with being able to decline and resist certain foods.

islandmonkey

Well I was born withoput a thyroid. I spent most of my life gaining a lot of weight because of my thyroid problems and the constant changing of my medication dose. However I will say that I did use not having a thyroid as an excuse a lot of the time because I joined a slimming club about a year ago because I had got to 280lbs (20 stone) since then I have lost about 106lbs (7st 8lbs)
It is possble to lose it without such drastic measures as a gastric bypass. Its hard, very hard.. I cant deny that. But she can defineatly do it. I never thought I would be able to lose weight, but i managed just fine

Thanks! I do wonder how much of it is a problem and how much is an excuse. I don't see her often but when we do get together I have never noticed her eating crap. She eats reasonably, so I tend to believe her. I just wish there was more I could do to support her.

I agree - I was hypothyroid from anti-thyroid meds and lost 20 lbs in 4 months, just by eliminating sugar and doing 20 minutes of exercise 4-5x/week.

As I noted above, I did find that it was easier to eat well when I wasn't hyper or hypothyroid - your body processes carbs and sugar differently when your thyroid is out of whack, which can cause additional weight loss issues.

If her thyroid is indeed off, and she's able to get it to a good place, then there's still all the work on her.


(PS You mentioned being pregnant. Has your doctor tested *your* thyroid? Really common for pregnancy to induce thyroid issues; it should actually be standard testing)

shivvie1969

There is a website called 'Stop The Thyroid Madness' which has loads of information on there.

The following link details the many symptoms of hypothyroidism. I have Hashimotos disease, which is an autoimmune disease. My body basically attacks my thyroid and it will eventually disappear. I am on medication for it and am able to lose weight (only if I exercise though), but I need to increase my medication when necessary.

Hope your friend manages to get something sorted. For her doctor to say that he wouldn't prescribe medication until she loses weight is disgraceful.

Here is the link:

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/long-and-pathetic/

aa62579

Yesterday she went to the dr to have her thyroid tested, because she says that no matter what she eats, how much she exercises, or what she does, she just continues to gain. She called me very upset after the appointment and said that the doctor gave her the order for the tests but informed her that he could not order any type of treatment until she lost some weight. She told him she had tried and he suggested gastric bypass, which is something she is not in favor of.

I am totally ignorant about thyroids and thyroid conditions. Sure I can google, but can anyone offer me and first hand experience? Suggestions, questions to ask the doctor, etc??

Are you sure that he wasn't saying that he wouldn't prescribe "diet pills"? Seems very odd that if her thyroid comes back "off" that he wouldn't treat appropriately. To my knowledge, there is no extra risk from being overweight when taking thyroid meds (as opposed to things like certain birth control, etc.)

I do feel like I should point out something - I suspected my thyroid for many years, and may have even used that as an excuse. I had multiple tests run and even had a sonogram of my thyroid done once when it was enlarged. A few years later, when I was off the thyroid kick, my annual bloodwork came back abnormal on the thyroid numbers. More specific tests later and I am now diagnosed as having hypothyroidism. I take a small amount of levothyroxine each day for it.

In the first 6 months after diagnosis, I did start to feel better - a bit more energy and maybe clearer thinking - BUT I DID NOT LOSE ONE FREAKING POUND. So, do not let your friend get consumed in thinking that it is related to her thyroid and that once she starts taking meds for it, all will be fixed and the weight will start to go away.

Have her go through with the blood test and do a follow up with that same doctor. She should request a copy of her blood work results. If the numbers are off, and she feels she should be on meds, and the doctor will not prescribe it, then she can take her results to another doctor, maybe even an endo.

Doctorpurple

I'm a medical student so I would tell you that your friend either lied, gave you a misinformation or visited a really incompetent doctor. I'm leaning with the first two. Are you sure that's what the doctor really said? Honestly I know it's hard to tell since you were not in the exam room yourself and weren't there when the conversation happened. But if she is telling the truth, just ask her to go to another doctor. Just for clarification there is absolutely no reason for a person to be tested for thyroid disorder and not given medications because she is overweight. In actuality if she was in fact hypothyroid she needs to be in medication ASAP. Your body needs thyroid hormones to survive and function well. I'm leaning to think she asked something else totally unrelated to her thyroid.

lorcart

She needs to RUN....not walk...to find a new doctor!

islandmonkey

I'm a medical student so I would tell you that your friend either lied, gave you a misinformation or visited a really incompetent doctor. I'm leaning with the first two. Are you sure that's what the doctor really said? Honestly I know it's hard to tell since you were not in the exam room yourself and weren't there when the conversation happened. But if she is telling the truth, just ask her to go to another doctor. Just for clarification there is absolutely no reason for a person to be tested for thyroid disorder and not given medications because she is overweight. In actuality if she was in fact hypothyroid she needs to be in medication ASAP. Your body needs thyroid hormones to survive and function well. I'm leaning to think she asked something else totally unrelated to her thyroid.

My experience, and the experience of hundreds of other women that I've talked to about thyroid issues, is that by and large most physicians are not up to speed on thyroid issues.

Unfortunately this is the case in many places, and I no longer doubt when someone tells me about their horrible doctor experiences.

Doctorpurple

I'm a medical student so I would tell you that your friend either lied, gave you a misinformation or visited a really incompetent doctor. I'm leaning with the first two. Are you sure that's what the doctor really said? Honestly I know it's hard to tell since you were not in the exam room yourself and weren't there when the conversation happened. But if she is telling the truth, just ask her to go to another doctor. Just for clarification there is absolutely no reason for a person to be tested for thyroid disorder and not given medications because she is overweight. In actuality if she was in fact hypothyroid she needs to be in medication ASAP. Your body needs thyroid hormones to survive and function well. I'm leaning to think she asked something else totally unrelated to her thyroid.

My experience, and the experience of hundreds of other women that I've talked to about thyroid issues, is that by and large most physicians are not up to speed on thyroid issues.

Unfortunately this is the case in many places, and I no longer doubt when someone tells me about their horrible doctor experiences.

Oh I'm sorry to say this but your experience and the experience of many women you talked to doesn't qualify you to say that "most physicians are not up to speed on thyroid issues". Do you know how many doctors are out there? I'm not saying none of them are not well up to speed with thyroid issues. But don't overgeneralize and say most of them. Some of the issues that most women experience is due to miscommunication with their physicians and their expectations from the junk they read online. I don't know your education background but thyroid issue is very simple. Even a pre-med understands the basics of it. With all the knowledge you acquire from medical school, and residency all doctors know more about thyroid than some pseudoscience believing person online.

jbbrannon

She definitely needs to get a new doctor!!!

fiberartist219

I'm a medical student so I would tell you that your friend either lied, gave you a misinformation or visited a really incompetent doctor. I'm leaning with the first two. Are you sure that's what the doctor really said? Honestly I know it's hard to tell since you were not in the exam room yourself and weren't there when the conversation happened. But if she is telling the truth, just ask her to go to another doctor. Just for clarification there is absolutely no reason for a person to be tested for thyroid disorder and not given medications because she is overweight. In actuality if she was in fact hypothyroid she needs to be in medication ASAP. Your body needs thyroid hormones to survive and function well. I'm leaning to think she asked something else totally unrelated to her thyroid.

My experience, and the experience of hundreds of other women that I've talked to about thyroid issues, is that by and large most physicians are not up to speed on thyroid issues.

Unfortunately this is the case in many places, and I no longer doubt when someone tells me about their horrible doctor experiences.

Oh I'm sorry to say this but your experience and the experience of many women you talked to doesn't qualify you to say that "most physicians are not up to speed on thyroid issues". Do you know how many doctors are out there? I'm not saying none of them are not well up to speed with thyroid issues. But don't overgeneralize and say most of them. Some of the issues that most women experience is due to miscommunication with their physicians and their expectations from the junk they read online. I don't know your education background but thyroid issue is very simple. Even a pre-med understands the basics of it. With all the knowledge you acquire from medical school, and residency all doctors know more about thyroid than some pseudoscience believing person online.

As a thyroid patient myself, I can assure you that it is frequently misdiagnosed or shrugged off as the patient just being whiny and not really ill.

My current doctor is great, because he takes my symptoms seriously, and he runs the appropriate tests to see what my Free T3 and Free T4 are, and then prescribes accordingly. A previous doctor simply invited me to a nutrition support group when I told him about the problems I was having. There are several conditions that can case a person to sleep a lot or gain weight or feel tired. A good doctor will run the tests to confirm if his or her theories are correct, and then treat it from there. You'd be surprised how many doctors may have studied the thyroid in medical school, but when they are actually in their office, act like it's not really a big deal. After you see 10 patients with heart problems that are 70 years old, and then a 20 year old woman comes in your office and "just doesn't feel right" do you take her seriously, or do you rush her out the door so you can see the next patient who might not live until next week if you don't check his blood pressure?

So, many of us go for years, or even decades, with a lack of treatment, because we have a hard time getting a doctor to take us seriously, look up the current research on thyroid labs, and give us a real diagnosis.

Furthermore, many doctors follow only the TSH lab tests, which don't really show you what the T3 is doing... and the T3 makes all the difference in the way we, as patients, feel.

No, it isn't right to insult doctors as a profession, but at the same time, it isn't right for us to go on feeling miserable and unable to get help for years at a time.

islandmonkey

I'm a medical student so I would tell you that your friend either lied, gave you a misinformation or visited a really incompetent doctor. I'm leaning with the first two. Are you sure that's what the doctor really said? Honestly I know it's hard to tell since you were not in the exam room yourself and weren't there when the conversation happened. But if she is telling the truth, just ask her to go to another doctor. Just for clarification there is absolutely no reason for a person to be tested for thyroid disorder and not given medications because she is overweight. In actuality if she was in fact hypothyroid she needs to be in medication ASAP. Your body needs thyroid hormones to survive and function well. I'm leaning to think she asked something else totally unrelated to her thyroid.

My experience, and the experience of hundreds of other women that I've talked to about thyroid issues, is that by and large most physicians are not up to speed on thyroid issues.

Unfortunately this is the case in many places, and I no longer doubt when someone tells me about their horrible doctor experiences.

Oh I'm sorry to say this but your experience and the experience of many women you talked to doesn't qualify you to say that "most physicians are not up to speed on thyroid issues". Do you know how many doctors are out there? I'm not saying none of them are not well up to speed with thyroid issues. But don't overgeneralize and say most of them. Some of the issues that most women experience is due to miscommunication with their physicians and their expectations from the junk they read online. I don't know your education background but thyroid issue is very simple. Even a pre-med understands the basics of it. With all the knowledge you acquire from medical school, and residency all doctors know more about thyroid than some pseudoscience believing person online.

I don't think it was fair of you to more-than-imply that her friend lied. Just because you're a medical student doesn't make you qualified to diagnose someone's psychological state.

My background is in neuroscience, research theory, and 20 years of dealing with thyroid issues (hyperthyroid from graves, thyroid cancer and thyroidectomy, and now hypothyroid).

Unless you can elaborate on why you think thyroid issues are "simple", I think you've just proved my point about most medical practitioners not "getting it". Because I can tell you from my 20 years of research and experience that thyroid issues are ANYTHING but "simple". Sorry to say that YOUR experience of just being in med school with a few others doesn't qualify YOU to comment on the knowledge of all the doctors out there. Physicians get busy, and start focusing on the areas they are interested in. There isn't time to be an expert on every medical subject out there.

TraciStivers

Thank you all for your input, I am absorbing it! LOL, theres a lot to absorb!

Marliesdick

Your friend should look for another doctor. Low thyreoid function lets you put on weight easily, she should get thyreoid hormons (tablets, easy to take, L-Thyroxin usually) not only for reasons of overweight but thyreoid should work exactly, it definitely has to be treated. There are specialists for this disease. Your friend will find after correct treatment she will lose weight. Good luck.