thyroid

marta07
marta07 Posts: 79 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
so my mom told me her friend checked her thyroid and said she has some problem with it and the doctor gave her meds to help. then her friend lost tons of weight . my mom said i might have that and to check myself out. i have no idea what shes talking about lol . anyone know anything about this ? thanks.

Replies

  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Having an underactive thyroid can cause weight gain. Here is a list of symptoms (weight gain is not typically the most noticeable symptom): http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hypothyroidism-symptoms
  • marta07
    marta07 Posts: 79 Member
    Having an underactive thyroid can cause weight gain. Here is a list of symptoms (weight gain is not typically the most noticeable symptom): http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hypothyroidism-symptoms

    thank you
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    soooo....

    here goes:

    I know you didn't ask for it, but I checked back through your food diary. Not losing weight is more likely because you're not eating enough food to properly fuel your body.

    Just putting in my .02
  • AndreaMerrill
    AndreaMerrill Posts: 24 Member
    Only your doctor can determine if you have a thyroid that is not working properly. They run a blood test. If it's underactive or hypothyroid your thyroid is not producing enough hormone for your body to burn it's food for fuel (in short). So in return you'd be run down, tired, cold, hair loss, brittle nails, and weight gain. If you show a thyroid that is underactive they will give you synthroid - a perscription medication that you would be on for life. The blood work will be done regularly to help maintain the correct dose.

    note: most doctors will notice you have an enlarged thyroid at a physical exam and request the blood work be done.
    This was the case for me as a child and my 6 year old at her physical.
  • BeccaAnderton
    BeccaAnderton Posts: 80
    Yeah she's referring to hypothyroidism. Weight gain is the most common symptom associated with it, but it comes with other delightful symptoms like body temp not regulating properly, fatigue, difficultly losing weight and my personal favourite is hair falling out. I got diagnosed just over a year ago and I've been on stabilised meds ever since and still struggle to lose weight.
    I'm not sure where you are, but I don't know if they'll test you just on the pretence of you gaining weight though, unless there's clear pointers that it may well be that. For me the only reason I got tested was because it seriously affected my menstrual cycle which was causing me a lot of concern.
    But, if you do get tested and it turns out you have it there's a support group on here for it full of lovely people with lots of pointers who will be happy to help you :)
  • beccaboo2001
    beccaboo2001 Posts: 20 Member
    I have Hypothyroidism. And weight loss is SLOW even medicated. The medications take forever to level you out and my numbers fluctuate like crazy.
  • kitty430
    kitty430 Posts: 1 Member
    It's called being Hypothyroid, the thyroid gland is underproductive. You need too ur dr is u have weight gain, fatigue(probably spelt wrong sorry) hair loss, sleepy alot, and sometimes depression. All your dr needs to do it have some blood work done to check ur TSH and free T4 and T3 levels. That will determine if u need to be on hormone replacment.

    I myself am on levothyroxine and has been off and on since i was 10. so far no weight loss since i have been on it for a year straight now. good luck.
  • Kymwho
    Kymwho Posts: 183 Member
    I to have an underactive thyroid. I take Synthroid every morning for it. I admit, when I was first diagnosed I was totally fatiqued, gaining weight, irritable, very and kinda depressed at times. That medication made me feel so much better within 2 weeks!! Mood change for the good and I lost 30lbs in 3 months, I was happy again, lol! However... thyroid started acting up again last year, same symptoms and had to increase my dosage again. So, we shall see if it helps with the increase. Good luck!
  • beccaboo2001
    beccaboo2001 Posts: 20 Member
    I agree with looking at your food diaries - I don't think you're eating enough to sustain you especially due to the calories you're exhausting with Zumba! You can do it! More protein and fruit/veg!
  • Vanilla30
    Vanilla30 Posts: 19
    Mines is underactive, I couldnt lose any weight, had sleep issues and was fatigued all the time. Went to the Dr, got meds and havent had many issues since.
  • bafana29
    bafana29 Posts: 1
    Hi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer 4 years ago and had a total thyroidectomy. I take synthroid every day but cannot let my levels get too high as my cancer was stage two and had spread to the lymph nodes. I am kept in hypothyroidism to contain the cancer threat. I struggle to loose weight and I am just too tired at the end of the day to do any form of activity. If anyone here knows of any secret to getting your energy back, I would love to hear form you. I agree it sucks to have your body temperature all over the show and the hair loss, it is a miracle I am not bald.
  • islandmonkey
    islandmonkey Posts: 546 Member
    Hi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer 4 years ago and had a total thyroidectomy. I take synthroid every day but cannot let my levels get too high as my cancer was stage two and had spread to the lymph nodes. I am kept in hypothyroidism to contain the cancer threat. I struggle to loose weight and I am just too tired at the end of the day to do any form of activity. If anyone here knows of any secret to getting your energy back, I would love to hear form you. I agree it sucks to have your body temperature all over the show and the hair loss, it is a miracle I am not bald.

    This sounds incorrect to me. If you had thyroid cancer they should keep your TSH low, but your thyroid hormones high. TSH is a pituitary hormone that has a reverse relationship with the thyroid hormones. TSH is kept hyper/suppressed because it's like food for any potentially remaining thyroid cancer cells.

    Therefore, with your TSH kept low you are actually kept hyperthyroid, not hypo.


    If you have hypo symptoms they might not be treating you correctly. Does your doctor just test TSH, the pituitary hormone? Or are they also testing your thyroid hormone levels - free T3 and free T4? Most people with a thyroidectomy need T3 in pill form. If you're on a T4-only med like synthroid or levothyroxine that is likely why you feel tired all the time. You can either add a synthetic T3 like cytomel, or you can switch to a dessicated med that has both T3 and T4 (like Armour or Nature Thyroid). The dessicated meds tend to make people feel better, AND tend to keep the TSH suppressed like you need.
  • islandmonkey
    islandmonkey Posts: 546 Member
    so my mom told me her friend checked her thyroid and said she has some problem with it and the doctor gave her meds to help. then her friend lost tons of weight . my mom said i might have that and to check myself out. i have no idea what shes talking about lol . anyone know anything about this ? thanks.

    Thyroid disease isn't just about some weight loss, and getting your thyroid levels normalized (if they're even off) doesn't mean weight will just melt off - it just puts people on a level playing field for losing weight through diet and exercise.

    If you want to have your thyroid checked, ask your doctor to run a TSH test (this is actually a pituitary hormone but is the first level of testing). If it's anything over 2.5 then ask them to test your "free T3" and "free T4".


    I haven't looked at your diary, but I agree with others that you need to make sure you eat enough. You should be netting at minimum 1200 calories daily (so 1200 calories + any exercise calories). And that's a minimum.

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