50lb gain after thyroidectomy yet norm levels, HELP!

alisa1975 · February 2013

At age 32 I had a total thyroidectomy due to graves. From age 18-32 my weight was stable around 118-123. I am 5'4" and I have a small frame, but good potential to build muscle thanks to genetics. But I am now at 157 and I feel like I don't even know this person in the mirror anymore. I had been told my whole life I was thin and I just burned up anything I ate. The day of my TT I weighed in at 122 lbs. That was normal for me, just right.

2 years later to the date, I weigh almost 158!! I was on Synthroid and Cytomel for 2 years and my labs always came back in range. I switched to Naturethroid 3 grains in July and lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks, but also began to have REALLY bad heart palps that terrified me so I cut back to 2 gr and within 2 weeks I had gained the 7 lbs back plus another 8!
My new endo just switched me back to 150mcg synthroid and 5mcg Cytomel and I'm hoping something "clicks". I eat between 1200-1500 cals a day and circuit train about 3 times a week. Anyone have any success stories? What drugs/combos/dosages worked for people out there? Has anyone without a thyroid stayed tat the weight they were pre-surgery or are we all doomed to a life of sluggish, steady weight gain?? : (.

peasantsong · February 2013

Ahhh... I feel you girl. I had a thyroidectomy 2 months ago. I was 149lbs on the day of my surgery and I weighed 171lbs at my 4 week post-op appointment. By far the highest weight of my life. I am ignoring all advice on here to increase my intake since none of that applies to me in no-thyroid-land. I am sticking to what MFP tells me I should eat which is 1330 cals a day. I have lost 9 lbs in a month which isn't exactly as good as I was hoping but it's the best my body can do I guess. My doctor has me on only 100mcg of synthroid which I feel is too little, but my labs haven't reflected my feeling yet so he won't increase my dose.

alisa1975 · February 2013

peasantsong, 100 mcg does sound low from what I have heard around the many thyroid forums. I remember it took a long time, about 6 months for my labs to finally come back hypo after being "within range" at 2 months and 4 months post op and never changing a dose. At 6 months post op my dr. added 5 mcg cytomel to my 125 synthroid and that did help and I remember feeling so angry and sad and depressed that i had not been on the combo from day 1 because i had been gaining steadily in those 6 months until one day I realized I had gained almost 30 lbs. Ranges and what is considered normal vary from lab to lab and every Dr. interprets and meausres what is normal/optimal differently I have seen and found. Good luck, how do you feel though? Besides the weight gain? Cold, dry skin, sleeping more than you did before?

9 lbs in 1 month sounds damn impressive to me, so good on you for that! Quite a feat w/o the gland!

And when you say "increase your intake" do you mean of thyroid hormone meds or calories??

goodluckkitty · February 2013

I had my thyroid removed (hashimotos) when my first baby was 8 months old-- almost 3 years ago. It took me 10 months to lose 5 pounds, and then I got pregnant with my second baby. After my second baby, my endo cut my synthroid down to 100 mcg. I couldn't lose weight and within a few months I had horrible "post partum depression." Finally went for my labs (duh!) and I was severely hypothyroid. Endo switched me to Armour at my request. At the same time I stopped drinking all alcohol and stopped eating dessert every day (I am a sugar addict, and eat super healthy except too much cookies.) I have lost 14 pounds in 4.5 months. My body fat went from a disturbing 39% to 26% (measured via the Bod Pod.) I prod my endo to increase my meds every visit, my body loves thyroid hormone. I have never had any heart racing luckily. I want to start lifting heavy, and I just finished my first week of Insanity. I have done boot camps, personal trainers, etc on and off for 6 years. I really wish I knew if it was the Armour or stopping drinking that did it for me!!!

I hate labs-- I end up arguing with my doctor-- you can tell me I am "in range" but I am going to tell you-- my body does not FEEL RIGHT.

floridagirl7264 · February 2013

I had my thyroidectomy in 1999. I have Graves Disease. When it first came out I went severely hypothyroid. Slowly but surely with increases I went from 172 to 120. I gained up to 250 due to a different type of med. When I gained all of that weight, I needed an increase in hormone from 200 mcg (Synthroid) to 225 mcg. I'm feeling so much better now. It's been two months and the weight is coming off of me fairly quickly. Keep an eye on your labs each month. You may need small changes to get it just right. It took me two years to get my levels stable.

peasantsong · February 2013

peasantsong, 100 mcg does sound low from what I have heard around the many thyroid forums. I remember it took a long time, about 6 months for my labs to finally come back hypo after being "within range" at 2 months and 4 months post op and never changing a dose. At 6 months post op my dr. added 5 mcg cytomel to my 125 synthroid and that did help and I remember feeling so angry and sad and depressed that i had not been on the combo from day 1 because i had been gaining steadily in those 6 months until one day I realized I had gained almost 30 lbs. Ranges and what is considered normal vary from lab to lab and every Dr. interprets and meausres what is normal/optimal differently I have seen and found. Good luck, how do you feel though? Besides the weight gain? Cold, dry skin, sleeping more than you did before?

9 lbs in 1 month sounds damn impressive to me, so good on you for that! Quite a feat w/o the gland!

And when you say "increase your intake" do you mean of thyroid hormone meds or calories??

Thank you for sharing all that! Navigating my medicine and my labs and how my body feels is still uncharted territory for me. I definitely FEEL like my dose is too low, but when I went in two weeks ago, my TSH was still suppressed from before the surgery and my FT3 and FT4 levels were much lower than before (obviously), but still well within normal range. I, however, feel like total crap on a cracker! Haha! I want to sleep 24/7, I am freezing *kitten* cold, my hair is dry and falling out, and now that you mention it, my skin is quite dry! I am going to ask my doctor about adding cytomel when I see him in 2 weeks.

And when I said "increase my intake", I meant of calories. Loads of people here talk about "eating more to weigh less" and all that jazz, but I feel like without a thyroid that doesn't apply to me. So I just stick to the 1330 that MFP gives me and I am not hungry and I am losing weight. What more could I ask for? Despite my lack of energy, I also go to the gym and lift heavy weights 3x a week and run on the elliptical 2x a week.

alisa1975 · February 2013

floridagirl, can I ask what the medicine was that you gained all that weight on?? Was it a thyroid med?

alisa1975 · February 2013

Peasantsong: Yes, you are in the thick of it now, the worst time for me was the 8 months after thyroidectomy because my labs would look "normal" but I was gaining weight steadily no matter what I did. I also slept 16 hours a day, wore 5 pairs of socks and sweaters (and I live in Southern California!), got horrible dry skin and flakey scalp as well as blepharitis! It was awful! Then around 9 months post op my Endo bumped me up to 137mcg of synthroid and 5mcg twice a day of cytomel and it was like I cam back to life. Ask for the cytomel!!

stephcarter46 · August 2014

I just had a thyroidectomy 2 weeks ago and have always been thin and, but now I'm gaining weight even after 2 weeks which makes me worried. I'm on 100MCG Levothroyxine once a day and feel okay as far as mood goes actually more layed back then I've ever been things that normally would have bothered me don't really. I've been slowly walking and going to the gym for 30 mins 3x a week and don't seem to be loosing any of the 7lbs I've gained.. If I've already gained 7lbs in 2 weeks, what is to come??? Haven't seen the Endo yet but what I've read is on this it's kind of like a guessing game with the doctors. Very worried

Do I need to workout 7 days a week and my intake of food be less than 2,000 cal? Help

LAT1963 · August 2014

ask your doc to check for antibodies that interfere with the accuracy of the thyroid tests. It's possible the normal ranges don't apply for you because antibodies are fooling the test chemistries.

50lb gain after thyroidectomy yet norm levels, HELP!

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