HYPOTHYROIDISM - An Excuse?

After playing around between the same 5 pounds for 3 month, while staying within approx 1500-2000 calories a day, i went to the dr. to complain i can't lose weight.

he checked my blood and he told me i am borderline hypothyroid and put me on 50mcg synthroid.

i feel like 'i have a thyroid problem' is such a typical excuse for people who can't lose weight. i don't know how to feel about all this?

I don't know whether i should take the prescription. my thyroid was only 4.45.

on one hand: its not like i don't eat pizza, and icecream, and cake. i just count the calories - but maybe if i also ate healthier and worked out more, synthroid wouldn't be necessary?

on the other hand: synthroid is not a 'diet pill' from what ive read. it just helps a person lose weight easier if they are anyways trying.

what do you think? do as the dr. prescribed? or spurn the easier route and behave myself more?

Replies

  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Hypothyroidism isn't an excuse, it's a condition that genuinely makes weight loss harder, as the metabolism is slow (i.e. you're not burning as many calories as you should be, normal calorie calculators won't be accurate and you'll need to eat less than usual to create a deficit). It only becomes an excuse if someone who doesn't have it just arbitarily decides they must have it because their diet's not working.

    If you actually have hypothyroidism, i.e. diagnosed by a doctor, then you should take the pills as they will make your metabolism speed up to where it should be. There is more to hypothyroidism than a slow metabolism... the body won't be functioning correctly as it's not getting the energy it should be (BMR calories are to keep your body working properly). Eating fewer calories to create a deficit while the metabolism is already slow, is likely to just make things worse. So take the meds, get your metabolism sped up to where it should be so your body gets the energy to function properly. Then, you'll probably find that weight loss is easier too, because your body and metabolism is working as it should be. Even with the thyroid meds you will only lose weight with good portion control, because even when your metabolism is working right, if you eat more than you burn off you'll still get fat. But a faster metabolism always helps.

    Also, it may take time to get the right dose and kind of thyroid meds, so see your doctor about any undesirable side effects.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    If you have hypothyroidism, taking your meds will make you NORMAL. If you take your meds, and you're still not losing weight... THEN maybe you're making an excuse. Then again, maybe not. It might still be a thyroid problem... just not the one that's being treated.

    Metabolic problems are complicated.
  • cassnh
    cassnh Posts: 3
    I've had no thyroid gland for thirty five years..if your med level is correct there's no issue. I have heard people use it for an excuse, but it isn't. Hypothyroidism if untreated can cause wt. gain and decreased energy levels, but once regulated there's no difference in your ability to lose wt. or maintain a loss. Diet and exercise, thyroid meds if needed, and keep working at it. Good luck.
  • pinksparklefairy
    pinksparklefairy Posts: 97 Member
    Untreated hypothyroidism has a more serious effect on your body: it can cause heart disease. Your cholesterol levels will rise and might lead to all sorts of serious problems.

    You may also suffer from depression, tiredness and memory loss if it's not treated.

    I would take you're doctor's advice. People don't just take these meds to lose weight!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Do what the doctor stated.

    As for being an excuse, well I think that depends on the situation. When untreated (and even sometimes while on meds) it can cause weight gain. It can also make it harder for you to lose weight. There are also a lot of other problems it can cause.
  • cwmp
    cwmp Posts: 29 Member
    every woman on my moms side except my sister have hypothyroid problems. It is not an "excuse" but a true hormonal problem that can make it very hard to lose weight and can make your weight loss a lot slower than someone who might not have such a problem. it definitely is a factor in weight gain. I take 250 dose and I started at 50 5 years ago. it can cause you to have a hard time getting pregnant and when you have it like the women in my family ( not all over weight by the way) if you do not take you meds for an extended period of time it can cause serious problems. you now have an increased chance of developing diabetes ( I'm the only one who doesn't have it yet). just take the meds, keep getting checked and you will be fine.
  • fullofquirks
    fullofquirks Posts: 182 Member
    It's an excuse if you want it to be.

    But for others like me, who take the meds and work out and watch you intake it's just another part of it.

    Sorry you're dealing with it, it ain't fun.
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    I was born with mine not working so have always been on medication since a baby. I was plump baby but lost weight as got more active toddler and stayed slim through teens and early twenties. It wasn't until I had mobility problems in early thirties and my thyroid had gone into reverse T3 and was not converting my medication to T3 properly ..I piled on loads of weight and went up to 16st after always been around 9st something.

    It took a while for me to get the weight back off as I was in wheelchair full time by then but I managed to get down to 11st 7... I put a stone back on after trying some meds for something else then found this group when I was around 12st 7 and managed to get back down to 9st 3 going gluten free.

    It did help once I found a way I could exercise more calories off after buying some passive trainer pedals (pedal legs for you) and can burn 1,000 cals in about 90 mins on it.

    Other hormones can cause problems too depending on your age I'm also going through peri-menopause and struggling with cravings that are almost constant I have put 10lbs on. currently trying some slim patches that make you feel less hungry and they do seem to be working I haven't thought about chocolate constantly and only had a small carrot, celery & onion soup as my main meal at about 3pm (now 10.36pm here ) and I'm not starving and searching the cupboards again for carbs or chocolate! I'll stick another one on before I go to bed so don't wake up starving.
  • ehdub
    ehdub Posts: 37 Member
    Im being tested for this tomorrow and am nervous. since christmas ive unexplainably gained twenty lbs. i was on wwpp and expected a slight gain when i got off of it, but at this rate im gaining a lb a week. i keep food journals and admittedly have not been overly active over the winter. but i do not consume enough calories to gain that sort of weight. there is no history of this in my family. im so glad there are others on here who are dealing with this (i always thought it was an excuse too)
  • mats613
    mats613 Posts: 47 Member
    take the meds, get your metabolism sped up to where it should be so your body gets the energy to function properly. Then, you'll probably find that weight loss is easier too, because your body and metabolism is working as it should be. Even with the thyroid meds you will only lose weight with good portion control, because even when your metabolism is working right, if you eat more than you burn off you'll still get fat. But a faster metabolism always helps.

    Also, it may take time to get the right dose and kind of thyroid meds, so see your doctor about any undesirable side effects.

    ok, that's logical. i guess its kind of like 'evening out the playing field for me' so that i get to fight the same battle everyone else does for weight loss, as opposed to barely being able to maintain.

    thank you to everyone who commented. it seems the general consensus is it would be stupid not to listen to my dr. lol.
    its fascinating to me that hypothyroidism runs in families, cwmp.

    good luck to you, ehdub, let us know how it goes!
    i hate it when ur not doing anything different and all of a sudden your five pounds heavier overnight. SO FRUSTRATING. lol
  • joyjay4fun
    joyjay4fun Posts: 160
    Im being tested for this tomorrow and am nervous. since christmas ive unexplainably gained twenty lbs. i was on wwpp and expected a slight gain when i got off of it, but at this rate im gaining a lb a week. i keep food journals and admittedly have not been overly active over the winter. but i do not consume enough calories to gain that sort of weight. there is no history of this in my family. im so glad there are others on here who are dealing with this (i always thought it was an excuse too)

    I hope they can figure out what the problem is. I have thyroid problems as well and I have gained about 20 pounds in 2 months for no reason about 3 times in the last 2 years. It's controllable as a lot of others have said but it takes more work too. My endo doc has decided not to treat me with meds for now and we just monitor and do labs and ultrasounds every 6 months. I have heard the meds either help or hurt weight loss just depends on who you talk to and then again unless youre in the kitchen with them you don't really know if the meds are working or if they have changed their diets for better or worse. :-) I hope it all works out. There are a couple of thyroid groups on here too if anyone wants to chat with other ladies about their experiences as well.
  • patty43ck
    patty43ck Posts: 248 Member
    Hypothyroidism is definitely not excuse if the diagnoses is real and you are doing whatever you can to lose weight. I have been hypo my whole life and up until I had my 3 children have always been able to maintain my weight. I have been struggling ever since with the same 40 lbs. It seems it has been very difficult to get the perfect dose for me to get my body regulated correctly again. I have tried every diet and tried exercising 5 days a week with little or no results. So very frustrating! Thyroid issues are very real and very complicated. Getting the right dose can sometimes take a lot of fine tuning. There have been times when my test results look normal but I feel like crap and right now I feel great but my dose is a little on the high side so I hope this is the magic forumula I have been looking for because I have finally been able to shed some pounds in the last few months. My best advice is find a good doctor who will listen to you and not just go off the results on the paper. Good luck!!
  • My best advice is find a good doctor who will listen to you and not just go off the results on the paper. Good luck!!

    Best advice yet, find a good doctor! And no it is not an excuse, left untreated it can cause serious health problems. I've struggled with mine for years and finally got a doctor that realized Synthroid was not working for me. I have a problem converting T3 so Armour thryoid works best for me. After trying several exercise and diet programs over the years, this is the first time I have lost more than 10 pounds on a diet and it is all due to the fact that my meds are now regulated correctly. I can tell the difference in how I feel too, no longer tired all the time and much more energy. Please, please, please take your meds, this is not something to play around with. It is your long-term health that we're talking about here.
  • iballin
    iballin Posts: 21
    it is an excuse, it doesn't break the first laws of thermodynamics and if your not feeling symptoms then its not causing a huge metabolic difference a couple hundred calories at most, if your energy is so shot that you goto the doc and he says your thyroid is super slow then ya take the meds, but the weight gain thing is non-sense in 99 percent of cases, my sister had hypo and the dr said she could leave it untreated because as she lost weight it would speed up when she got healthier, cant break the first law of thermodynamics and bodys cant maintain weight on super low calories, its bs for the most port people just dont stick to a diet long enough or properly... they have cheat days once a week and when your in a diet phase and then over feed it out of no where it will store every calorie you throw at it over maintaince (which is lower then ppl think) as body fat, and it hinders progress, ppl think you can go all out 1 day a week and fact of the matter is you will gain a pound or 2 in 1 day of over feeding in an active fat loss phase and this makes ppl think they have hormone issues . lulz
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    Hypothyroidism needs to be treated, and not just because it will make you fat. Untreated hypothyroidism will affect in the end your metabolism, your mental health and can be fatal. If the question is whether you cannot lose weight because of borderline hypothyroidism, the answer is most probably no, this will not make a significant difference. But this does not change the fact you need treatment.
  • autotek
    autotek Posts: 66 Member
    no excuses just have to work harder and watch your diet
    i've been on 75mg of thyroxine for 2 years now my numbers was 6.87 which is hyper
    i was like this most my life an didn't even know it as i didnt have a reg doctor for not having ins
    good luck to you don't give in
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    it is an excuse, it doesn't break the first laws of thermodynamics

    It doesn't break any laws of thermodynamics, but it results in some chemical reactions in the body slowing down, hence why the person burns fewer calories than someone their size and weight should.

    This isn't breaking any laws of thermodynamics. Calories in v calories out still applies, but the calories out side of the equation is skewed by the body not working as it should.

    For another example, dead people don't burn any calories at all, because ALL their metabolic processes have stopped. This is why if you keep a dead person in a freezer at a low enough temperature for 100 years, they won't lose any weight. No laws of thermodynamics have been broken, calories in v calories out is still true, just that their being dead has skewed the calories out side of the equation to the point that calories out is zero, hence dead people being able to maintain their weight without eating anything at all. Calories in (zero) = calories out (zero).

    Some medical conditions, like hypothyroidism, slow the metabolism. This means the person is burning fewer calories than they should because some stuff in their body isn't working right.

    hypothyroidism is a medical problem, and has some quite serious health implications if left untreated. The medication corrects this, and one effect of it is to bring the calories out side of the equation back to where it should be, which means people who gained weight because of this condition usually lose it again after the condition is treated. However, that actually isn't the main reason why people with hypothyroidism should get treatment for it, the main reason is the same as why people with insulin dependent diabetes should take insulin... because the body's not producing enough of a hormone that's very important to the body's functions, and that hormone needs to be replaced in order for the body to function right.

    There are different causes of someone having too little thyroid hormone in their system, so just because you know one person whose doctor advised them not to take thyroid medication, does not mean that advice applies in every case. In most cases, the problem needs to be corrected with medication. Like my friend's baby, whose thyroid gland wasn't functioning right at birth. He has to take thyroid medication in order to grow and develop normally. The body is supposed to have this hormone in its system, not having it when it should be there causes problems, sometimes severe problems.

    BTW way to go searching on the forum to find one ancient post to necromance just to be all high and mighty and tell people with medical issues that they're just making excuses......... and to show your total lack of understanding about thermodynamics in living organisms.

    ETA: also, if someone has untreated hypothyroidism, while they can still lose weight without the medication by eating very little, this is not healthy at all and can make the hypothyroidism worse and leave the person at risk of a whole bunch of additional medical issues due to eating very little, e.g. nutritional deficiency. It's much more healthy for a person to have the condition treated so that their body is working right, *and then* strive to lose fat with a calorie deficit.
  • MelxH
    MelxH Posts: 93 Member
    I don't think is an excuse, no.
    Its been really hard for me to lose the weight, even on my meds, my metabolism still doesn't seems as normal as everyone else, and its not just that... always tired, always hungry, always feeling cold (is hard to do thing outside even in spring temperature), the moodswings, the mental fog... meds are not magic pills that turn you into "normal people", depending on your situation even medicated you will have to learn to live like a hypo (which is my case)...

    I can lose weight, just reeeeeeaaaally slowly, I have to be really carefull about calories (I have to ignore MFP warnings of starvation mode everyday)... so, if you are hypo, please do what the doc says, because it wont affect just the weight part, but also your hair, nails, emotions (AKA "I'm so happy in the morning/Should I kill myself this afternoon?"), memory problems, heart problems, problems if you deside to have childrens, etc etc

    Here in MFP we have a group for hypo and hyper, if you have questions, feel free to go there and say hi, everybody is welcome
  • malcolmjcooper
    malcolmjcooper Posts: 79 Member
    I had just the opposite about 20 years ago I had an over active thyroid and lost nearly all my muscle mass and the doctor told me I could have died from it. They treated it by using radioactive iodine and so now I effectively have no thyroid and have to take 150mg of thyroxin every day for the rest of my life. having said that the reason I got fat was simple too much in and not enough out since being on this lifestyle change Ive lost nearly 30kg. dont use it as an excuse use it to prove you can do it even if it is a little harder for some
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    MFP has Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/770-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism

    I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease). Even on 88mcg Synthroid, I lost way more slowly than most MFPers.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    Hypothyroidism is not an excuse! I have been reading up on it and my understanding is this condition slows down ones systems. Test results seem to go in reverse, 1 or 2 is probably ok. There is debate in the medical profession as to the level at which to start treatment. The US and Australia seem to think someone registering 3 with symptoms needs medication, the UK tend to be at a higher number, generalisation. Historically when natural thyroid was the only option you were offered the amount which eased all the symptoms, since the synthetic for was available for T3 and 4, and the test became "reliable" there has been a tendency to go with the numbers. From what I have read the natural offers support for all T's 1, 2, 3, and 4, in a ratio most in line with our requirements. Here in the UK I think for the most part only synthetic is available.

    I find the cumulative effects that can be caused by under activity to be dumbfounding. Various stages in the digestive system can be slugish in themselves or as a whole, "sugar absorption" of all kinds of sugar can be impaired, finger nails weak, splitty, and painful, hair thin, eyebrows thin to best part missing, just to mention a few which I think are my issues.

    My information came from the UK, USA, and the Australian thyroid support sites. I found the Australian one particularly informative.
  • foss44
    foss44 Posts: 119 Member
    Bump to read later
  • krennie8
    krennie8 Posts: 301 Member
    TAKE THE MEDS!!!

    I am also hypothyroid and I can tell you I feel SO much better it's not even a joke!

    You wouldn't tell a Diabetic they don't need their insulin, and neither should you tell yourself that you don't need thyroid meds.

    More than likely you have Hashimotos, which is an autoimmune thyroid disorder. That means your body is attacking your thyroid and slowing killing it off. Synthroid (or Levothyroxine) is not a diet pill, it's not a crutch, it's a cure for a very real medical disorder.