Hypothyroidism

imaloverkayla
imaloverkayla Posts: 22
in Health and Weight Loss
I have recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which my doctor says explains why I can religiously track and exercise for months and see no results at all. No weight loss, no inches lost, no nothing. He says that the medicine for it will level out my hormones, make some of the weight just fall off, and make it much easier for me to lose the rest. I was just wondering if anyone else has experience with this, and could tell me what their experience was with it. Did it really help with weight loss? Or am I just setting myself up for disappointment? Thanks in advance for your help.

Replies

  • jrjones515
    jrjones515 Posts: 2 Member
    I was diagnosed with hypothyroid when I was 17. I can't say that the weight "dropped off" because I wasn't eating appropriately to begin with. But I will say that now, ten years and a baby later, my prescription creeps higher and higher in dosage, right along with my weight, and I have been sitting at my current weight for about 5 years now. I haven't made an active effort to drop weight appropriately in about 2 years, and at that time I lost around 10 pounds with some careful watching. It wasn't incredibly *hard* to lose, but it is definitely incredibly easy to gain (I feel like I can't look at a cookie without gaining 5 pounds!)! If you notice moodiness/depression, always unbearably sleepy, or are really cold sensitive, those are the things that I first notice when I know I need to get bloodwork done. As soon as I'm back on the right dose, I'm right back to who I like to be :) I was told I may notice it get harder and harder to lose/maintain weight as I age (more than typical weight fluctuation due to age). I guess what I'm trying to get at is DON'T rely on your medication to be your weight loss cure! Just be extra cautious about how very easy it will be to put on pounds.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 11 years ago (right after my wedding). I was dieting pre-wedding and kept gaining weight.

    I will say, taking the meds does not make the pounds melt off. It just makes your body work normal and allow you to lose weight. For me, it leveled off my weight and stopped me from gaining until I went into serious weight loss mode. But, once I started back into weight loss mode, I really did lose the weight.
  • imaloverkayla
    imaloverkayla Posts: 22
    It is incredibly easy for me to put on weight, and absolute hell to get it off. I have been trying to lose the same 30 lbs for over 2 years, and 3 months ago I absolutely gave up, decided I was just going to be bigger than I liked, and gained 30 more! I'm now up way closer to 200 than I ever wanted to be, but it is actually really easy for me to fall back into good habits, because I forced myself to do it for so long. I don't need the medicine to make weight fall off, I am just so tired of spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I need it to make things a little easier. Fingers crossed! And thank you ladies for your input.
  • jaireed
    jaireed Posts: 333 Member
    I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism two years ago. I worked by butt off trying to squeeze into my wedding dress for 4 months and lost about 12 lbs. I worked out 2 hours a day on a 1200 calorie diet. It hardly made a difference. I was SO freakin annoyed and depressed. After I started taking my meds I worked out 1 hour a day on a 1200 cal diet and lost 45 lbs that year. My depression let up and I feel wonderful! I've gained most of that weight back :blushing: since I found out I was pregnant and gave up tracking my food and working out, but I'm back in the game and watching my weight more carefully. If I don't take my meds I feel tired all day. I think that you will have to work quite hard at it, but it really does help, especially if you feel like you've been working out and watching what you eat and seeing little results. I think it may just be the extra "something" you might need.
  • jaireed
    jaireed Posts: 333 Member
    ***I just wanted to add although I am in my 3rd trimester I weigh 14 pounds less than I did before my meds. 7 months pregnant and I still fit into my old "fat" jeans!
  • ECTexan
    ECTexan Posts: 195 Member
    I was diagnosed in 2008. I got so sick I gained 100lbs and couldn't stay awake long enough to make it thru a work day. They also told me the meds would cure-all and make that weight fall off, but it didn't. 5yrs later and I'm still suffering all sorts of symptoms along with the inability to lose weight. I work out 1-2hrs every day, track every single calorie, etc and nearly nothing happens. I agree with the other poster who said not to rely on the pills to magically fix everything. Good luck though, I hope they help!
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    I have recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which my doctor says explains why I can religiously track and exercise for months and see no results at all. No weight loss, no inches lost, no nothing. He says that the medicine for it will level out my hormones, make some of the weight just fall off, and make it much easier for me to lose the rest. I was just wondering if anyone else has experience with this, and could tell me what their experience was with it. Did it really help with weight loss? Or am I just setting myself up for disappointment? Thanks in advance for your help.

    As someone without a thyroid and taking synthroid, I have the same problems about losing weight. I have been trying to lose weight for years without any result (in fact I knew exactly what my problem was). In order to lose the weight I had to count calories, no amount of exercise will help without paying particular attention to calories in and calories out. Since February I have lost 22 pounds and one inch (total body). Some of the things I do not eat: soy, tofu, canola oil, limited alcohol. I pay particular attention to my sodium intake (cook everything from scratch) and have found that I am not tired or depressed. I have also found without exercise I tend to become very lethargic and need at least 8 hours sleep, with exercise I can survive on 4 hours. In a nutshell, medication can only do so much, for the main part you are going to have to take control of yourself both in eating healthy and exercising, even if it is only walking. Once you start taking small steps, the bigger ones will follow.
  • judtod
    judtod Posts: 85
    I was diagnosed late February this year and started on medication several weeks later. Before the medication, I was very lethargic and even with exercise and strict calorie watching I gained 6 pounds in a year. Since March, I have lost 18 pounds (maybe more, my weigh in is tomorrow). So for me it made it huge difference. The drug by itself didn't do it, but, it made it possible for exercise and calorie counting to be effective. Also, I feel a lot more energetic, so exercising is easier and I just do a lot more even when I am not exercising. I feel like a new person. It is great. Good luck. Let us know how it goes for you.
  • runzalot81
    runzalot81 Posts: 782 Member
    I was diagnosed in 1998. The weight will not just fall off. It takes work to burn fat. You'll have to eat right and exercise. I've been maintaining healthy weight for 10 years with little fluctuations. I take a high dose and I also have Hashimoto's.
  • VastBreak
    VastBreak Posts: 322 Member
    Newly diagnosed with hypothyroid and adrenal fatigue this year. Coming up on being on Armour medication for 4 weeks. No weight change yet. I'm feeling physically better though so that is a huge step in the right direction. Right now I'm focusing on lifting to build strength and adding in cycling 3 days a week. Trying to overcome the desire for the scale to go down and just trying to be healthy!
  • 1flowergirl
    1flowergirl Posts: 57 Member
    I've had hypothyroidisim for 25 years, gained 100+ lbs over that time,am down 75 lbs it took me since mid april 2012 to get here. I'm still losing slowly,eating at around 1200 cals a day and doing 1 hour of exersice 5 days a week,and some strenght training,(great for us hypothyridites) and eat low carb most days, You can get the weight off, its hard at first,it does get eaiser with time.
    Attitude is everything! tell yourself you can do this and you will,one thing that has improved my loss is the body media fit, it gives you information that has been very helpful for me,I burn nowhere close to the calories MFP says I do for exercise,that has helped me get things going again,it also gives you total calories burned all day and sleeping, I can just by looking at charts see how many calories I burn a minute,for me this has opened my eyes as to how much I need to move more each day, and I am losing steady now.
    Good luck to you,your at the right place for support and encouragement.
  • mrincredible93
    mrincredible93 Posts: 146
    Diagnosed in 2007. Down 48lbs. and keeping it off. It's not impossible.
  • TigerBite
    TigerBite Posts: 611 Member
    I'm hypothyroid (well I'm not hypo on meds), I was diagnosed in 2007, I was 20 ... I was (am getting recertufed soon) a personal trainer and it was awful (had ALL the overt hypo symptoms listed online, with the exception of the myxedema coma) ... I wasn't too overweight when I was first diagnosed, abot 10lbs heavier than I am now (101-103lbs now) ... but I was also working out more, had a more rigouros schedule (worked 2 jobs 1. personal trainer at a gym and 2. cahsier/bagger/cart collectter at Whole Foods, mostly got carts, it was like paid exercise ... awesome right) and ate less than I do now ... I took me six mothes to get a diagnosis because they wouldn't even test my thyroid because I wasn't overweight ... seriously ... GAH! makes me angry just thinking about it ... Anyway this is the really condensed version of my struggles. I was lucky enough that the first endo I went to but me on T4/T3 treatment right off the bat (well after some other bloodwork came back, but you get the point) ... I hear peoples horror stories on these website s(stopthethyroidmadness.com and coalition for better thyroid care ... that's a page on FB ...) and I'm like, "WOW, I was lucky in a way ..." I've had some bumps along the way (had to find another doctor that would keep me on the same meds after my origial endo retired, that was an odessey ... but ended well.) ... Anyway feel free to ad me as a friend ... I'd be happy to answer any questions and lend support!
  • fratgirl713
    fratgirl713 Posts: 65
    It takes a while for the medication to level out your thyroid hormones. The thyroid is a a small organ with TONNES of biofeedback issues. There are different types of thyroid disease which will affect the thyroid in different ways. Some are autoimmune disorders, some are stimulating problems, some are depressing disorders ( i mean depressing the gland, not the patient, although lethargy and depression are symptoms of hypothyroid disease).

    It can takes months to level off these different hormones, and I use the plural, hormones. It is not just one simple hormone in a blood test. An endocrinologist should be able to explain this in the detail that you need. I have been on thyroid meds for over ten years now. The type of problem that I have means that I will probably need to up my doses of thyroid hormone until my thyroid finally craps out and says, "see ya!". It is what it is.

    I am lucky enough to have a lower BMI, but I DO work at it. Nothing comes easy. Keep tabs on your calories in and calories burned, just basic math, and give it a few months to level off. Your doctor should be checking your levels to make sure they are within normal limits. If you do go too high with the meds, (feeling anxious, unable to sleep, wound up all the time, dropping weight like mad) please DO NOT keep on them just to lose weight quickly. It will do more harm than good, seriously. Just google hyperthyroid and eyes and see what can happen.

    Good luck, OP. It isn't an over night fix.
    .
  • imaloverkayla
    imaloverkayla Posts: 22
    Thank you all so much! It makes me feel a billion times better just to know there are other people out there who have had the same problems I have, and have made it through. :) I know I have a long road ahead, but as long as I can be making progress (no matter how slow) then I'll be happy. :) thank you all again!
  • rmistwallow
    rmistwallow Posts: 13
    It is extremely possible to lose weight with thyroid problems. I have lost 20lbs in the last month by changing my diet, drinking more than 8 cups of water a day, drinking 2 cups of oolong tea a day, and working out 30 minutes a day 6 days a week.

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