Thyroid Disorder

I have an underactive thyroid which is being treated with Thyroxine. The condition shouldn't stop you from losing weight but in my experience the medication won't get the weight off on its own. You need to work at it and this site is a great place to start doing that.

I had my thyroid removed in late February this year, as I had several rapidly growing lumps throughout it. They biopsied it afterwards, and it turned out that I did have a small cancer in it, which thankfully was too small to require any further treatment. I was put onto Thyroxine, gained 10kg (22lbs), and felt like crap. Sure, it wasn't a HUGE gain, but I felt every part of it.

In June I found MFP, and am now within 3kg (6lbs) of my goal weight. I have met incredible people on the site, and have awesome friends that have become important and enthusiastic supporters of mine (and me of them, too!). The lessons I have learned will stay with me forever, and I am feeling a lot less overwhelmed and daunted by the fact that I will need to constantly be aware of and monitor my thyroid meds as I go through the rest of my life.

It took ages for the medication to get to the right level (or it felt like it, anyway), and I was doing a lot of exercise but felt like I was achieving nothing. In hindsight, I rode a constant seesaw from being determined to exercise the extra weight off, and being overwhelmed and discouraged. My eating was not consistent, and I really didn't understand what my body needed - at all.

Now, I make sure I eat my BMR each day (the amount of calories we would burn if we just lay in bed all day, or were in a coma - what we need to survive), and I don't eat back my exercise calories. This way, I figure that whatever I burn over and above what I eat will end up as a reduction. Check out this BMR calculator - http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/. It really does work - I tried to eat 1200calories each day, and was NOT losing weight. It frustrated the hell out of me!! So I increased what I eat, and started to lose weight. Confronting, but effective.

Thyroid problems can be overcome. We need to be extra vigilant about how we eat, how much we exercise. Listen to our bodies. I love that the great thing to come out of all of this for me, is that I am now fitter than I have been in a long time. I feel much more positive, proud of myself, and more able to deal with my everyday stresses better. I think I am easier to be around, and less anxious and depressed.

Good luck, friend. You sound like you are in a great position work-wise, you're in a secure and positive marriage, and obviously understand and appreciate the need to be active. A good start. Congratulations on having a clear diagnosis, and on finding this wonderful site. There is so much here that is helpful and you will meet and get to know some truly interesting and inspiring people.

Wil

Just read what the fella above said - yes, yes, yes. Do not take your meds at the same time as anything else, esp calcium or multi-vitamins. They can absorb the thyroid meds and render them useless. I take mine first thing in the morning. They recommend not having anything at the same time for at least half an hour, and I tend to wait an hour for breakfast and my morning cuppa. So first thing (before ANYTHING else, even a pee - sorry for being blunt!), that's my routine. Gives you time for a workout (not that that happens often for me - my daughter usually gets up within minutes of me - don't know HOW she knows, but the little darling times it perfectly!) or a walk before breakfast.

Ok so when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, my doctor told me that my weight would return to normal with synthroid. Well guess what? It did not...I gained 40 lbs. So when I went in to see her after being on the meds for 4 months and mentioned to her that I thought I would lose weight, her comment was sometimes it does you that way. So I have continued to spiral out of control until I reached 272 lbs, very close to 100 lbs above what I was when I was diagnosed. I was diagnosed around 20 years ago. I have lots of responsibility to handle and though I tend to be a bit lazy I can't lay around much, so I should not have gained that much. Anyway I decided this past January that something needed to be done so I started to eat less and move more and lost 10 lbs on my own and then joined MFP. As you can see I have had some success and should be reaching onederland very soon.
It takes a bit more effort than a person with a normal metabolism but it can be done. Good luck with your journey and feel free to add me to your friends if you would like someone to cheer you on who has been there.