New Again! Need friends and help with hypothyroidism

Hey - it took me a long time. My Dr is still trying to sort out what all is wrong with me, but I have Hashimoto's, PCOS, high cortisol, insulin resistance (currently in remission), chronic fatigue syndrome/fibro, and looking at possible adrenal gland and/or pituitary gland problems. I also have a history with eating disorders (currently battling EDNOS/BED, anxiety, depression - yay O.o).

I lost 40 lb before going on anything for any of the above. It took forever (18 months), and I stailled a lot. I also find that my weight range is kind of big, so weighing myself often, in the absence of plotting all of the weights on a graph, makes it look like nothing is happening, though over time the trend line was down even if I'd gain 5 lb out of nowhere.

As far as food goes, I just ate less of what I normally ate (I was vegetarian before adjusting my diet with the help of my dietitian), and logged EVERYTHING. For most of the time I was losing, I hiked, lifted weights, and occasionally ran. That was more for health, though - the caloric deficit is what makes weight loss.

I've been seeing a therapist and a dietitian in addition to my Dr to help with my mental health issues. Perhaps your naturopath could refer you to an outpatient ED team? Mine work directly with my Dr, which has been great because all 3 work together to figure out what is going on, rather than me seeing everyone separately in a vacuum. It has really helped a lot.

Good luck!

I'm currently unmedicated and have hypothyroidism as well. I've lost over 40lbs and maintained that loss over two years. Feel free to add me.

Hi! I do exercise 5 days for an hour. This consists of 30 minutes of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio. My question is..can the cardio be too much on the thyroid and cortisol? My Dr.told me to cut back to 30 mins. No more than 4 ir 5 days a week. And weights were good but cardio was too stressful. I dont know. So much conflicting info. As for meds..he just started me in thyrostim to try and boost my thyroid if that doesn't work in 6 weeks he is going to put me in Armour. THANKS!

I'm not an expert but I don't think the cardio should be too much for your thyroid. If anything you want to up the metabolism to counteract the slowing action of the underactive thyroid. I used to do a lot of cardio but recently changed my training to 45 min cardio sessions twice a week (HIIT) and 3 days of weight training. Building more lean muscle mass by weight training has def helped me shed a few pounds and has really changed my body shape. There are people on here who are much more qualified to advise you in this area that I am! But upping your weight training and splitting your cardio/ weight days might be something to think about?
It's also important to try and fire up your metabolism - do you eat small, regular meals? Like 5-6 a day? Again that can definitely help shift the weight.
With regards to medication, I'm not familiar with Thyrostim - is it a thyroxine replacement medication? I'm in the UK and I take Levothyroxine which basically replaces the thyroxine that I can't make naturally and it's def helped me, not only with weight but I feel less tired/irritable/down. Sounds like the ARMOUR stuff is similar so maybe you'll see benefits from that. It does take a while for your levels to buildup though so don't lose heart! Stick with it!

Hey hon, I started meds for hypothyroid about a week ago. I'm always exhausted. Can't lose weight. No libido (tmi... but it's a problem....) So... I'm hoping meds will help. I've been extremely frustrated and feeling like a failure... I read on here that weights are good when on the meds....
Stay hopeful

Once you get on the right meds for hypothyroidism, there are no restrictions regarding your activities. I have lived with Hashimotos for 20 years now, and there have been periods where I spent hours at the gym per day. Be patient, it can take about 6 months for the dr to get you to a dose that works for you and for your body to start getting back to nornal.

Hi, have you ever been prescribed LEVOTHYROXINE. I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 5 days ago and I have been taking levothyroxine...by the 3rd day I was feeling extremely tired, I slept off and on most of the day. I had no energy at all. Today is the 5th day and I am still very tired. I take the medicine at 8am and I wait one hour to eat. But the medicine does suppress my appetite which is good for me.. I am not sure if my Doctor has to change my medication. But before taking it..I use to feel very tired and I had no energy and I always craved carbs and soda. I now have NO cravings for carbs or soda.

I started about 3 weeks ago. I found myself extremely tired this week, too.... like problematically tired. I go back to retest my numbers in 3 weeks. (I too am on the Levothyroxine)

I have been reading around various interrelated health problems. I discovered the low functioning thyroid can influence the sugar absorption and make it more easy for it to be deposited, it also can cause cravings for sweet things especially chocolate. Once on the right dose and form of "thyroxine" all should be ""normal". What ever your normal is.

All the best.
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Hi MFP! This is my second time with MFP. Last time here was a couple years ago. I have had several issues with weight loss in the past few years which wrecked my body. I had an eating disorders, depression and just recently found out I have hypothyroidism. I am so frustrated and depressed I cant even explain it. I have been doing everything I have been told! I see a naturalapath. .eat organic religiouly and exercise 5 days a week for an hour. No weight loss and horrible mood!! If anyone has any advice or personal stories of their own it would be appreciated.

I have this as well. I am a 49 year old male that about 5 months ago everything seemed to go down hill with my health. The reason I am replying is that I see you mentioned depression. I don't know what it is, but I am not the same always in a good mood guy. I am just kinda plaaaaaaaaaa. I have been prescribed the Levothyroxine as well as one of the others that replied, but have not been back to see if the problem has been corrected. Well, I would like to learn more about it so if you don't mind male friends I will friend request. Best of luck with this.

Hi, have you ever been prescribed LEVOTHYROXINE. I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 5 days ago and I have been taking levothyroxine...by the 3rd day I was feeling extremely tired, I slept off and on most of the day. I had no energy at all. Today is the 5th day and I am still very tired. I take the medicine at 8am and I wait one hour to eat. But the medicine does suppress my appetite which is good for me.. I am not sure if my Doctor has to change my medication. But before taking it..I use to feel very tired and I had no energy and I always craved carbs and soda. I now have NO cravings for carbs or soda.

Levothyroxine is the same thing as Synthroid (which is the brand name. Usually levothyroxine means you're taking the generic - synthroid is a little round pill that will have the dosage in mcgs on one side and synthroid on the other), which is a synthetic t4. Armour is natural thyroid gland (usually from dessicated pigs thyroid glands, I think) which supplements both t3 and t4, though the exact amount of hormone you get from each dose can be slightly inconsistent. There is also a synthetic t3 that some people can be prescribed (I think it's called cytomel).

T4 is inactive thyroid hormone, which your body has to convert to T3. Some people lose the ability to do that conversion, so synthroid alone won't resolve their symptoms, and they need to switch to either a combined synthroid/cytomel regimen or armour. But it can take a month or longer before your body adjusts to a dose with synthroid - it's not one of those prescriptions that works immediately. Your blood hormone levels will take a while to normalize - for my first year I got tested every three months to make sure things normalized and to confirm that my symptoms improved.

I have better results taking the name brand synthroid - have tried the generic and it just doens't seem to work quite the same way. I have extreme fatigue and other symptoms when I'm off meds - can sleep 14 hours a day and still feel exhausted, have dry skin, lose hair, impossible to lose weight. Am basically non-functional. I've been on it for 7 years.

Don't lose hope - even if it seems like the pills aren't helping yet. You may just not have been taking them long enough to see complete results - or you may be on too low a dose. Your doctor should be monitoring you fairly closely and troubleshooting which dose works for you. If you are on it for several months and still feel crap, you may want to switch to a T4/T3 combined approach (make sure your doctor orders free t3 as one of your labs - it will show if you have normal levels of active hormone in your blood. Synthroid will normalize T4 & TSH even if your body can't convert T3 to T4, so it's important to have a complete blood panel).

If your thyroid hormone levels normalize and you still feel crummy, it's worth looking into other potential issues like low vitamin d levels, depression, etc. A lot of the symptoms of hypothyroidism are also symptoms of other problems, but hypothyroidism can also *cause* other things (like high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, etc.).

I find that if I don't take good care of myself, I still feel pretty crummy even if I take my meds, but if I don't take my meds then I don't have the energy to take good care of myself so the meds are important. It can be difficult for me to lose weight even on medication (have to be very strict and consistent with both diet and exercise) but it is still doable.

Best of luck to everyone Best advice I can give is find a doctor you like, who listens and is willing to work with you to optimize your health. Hypothyroidism generally means pills for the rest of your life so it's best to find someone you're really comfortable with.