Can someone explain to me???

I've had a thyroid condition for a good 2 or 3 years now. My Dr. said I had the kind that made it pretty impossible to lose weight. (My cat had a thyroid problem that made it so that she couldn't keep weight on, and kept losing! I sure wanted to trade conditions, that's for sure! But, I couldn't!)
I started taking medicine, and thought that I'd start losing all kinds of weight. But, I didn't! When I went back to the Dr. I figured he'd up my dosage, but, instead, he up and lowered it! Geez! And then the next time I went back, he put it back to what I had in the beginning, which is what it's been now for years. I even went to a specialist, after another year of gaining, but she couldn't find anything causing it either. I just kept gaining alittle every year, UNTIL I found this site! Now I know that it was the food choices I was making, and a real lack of exercise. I discovered that I had a major problem with protein. I was WAY over what I should be having each day. So now that I'm watching my numbers, and walking and dancing to fast oldies in my living room for exercise, I'm steadily losing!
Maybe that's the way it'll be for your husband too, if his thyroid condition is anything like mine.

I have benign cysts on my thyroid. While on the process to find out if it was cancer or not I had some tests done to see if my thyroid was functioning properly. The doctor said that it is common for the thyroid to slow down a bit with age but at a certain rate. He said mine was a little slower than it should be but I did not need medication to stabilize at this time. So to answer your question if a person has hypothyroidism (a slow thyroid which in turn slows your metabolism and makes you gain weight) medication will help it function correctly. I do not want to offend anyone but I hear so many people who are overweight or obese say that they have thyroid problems and that cause their weight gain. To me that is an excuse. If they do have a thyroid problem, they are treated correctly, eat right and exercise they would lose the weight. I am no expert, I learned this because of my condition. :flowerforyou:

Medication only helps when you actually get on the "right " dosage. And to get to that point takes months and then it can change I have found the "right" dosage had a baby and boom it is all out of whack again and the "right" dosage isn't 'right" anymore. So it can affect weight loss because basically your thyroid is your thermometer for your body and it regulates more things than you know and one of them includes your metabolism. See I use to work out 4 hours a day, eat pretty good, and hardly lose weight and so I went to the doctor and was told I had an under active thyroid and it would slow the process but it was still possible to lose but not at the same pace of most people.

But I DON'T use it as an excuse. Think of it this way if you had lots to lose and you start eating great and exercising a lot more and have this great mind set and only lose maybe a couple pounds a month would you feel discouraged and defeated by this condition ......most of us that have it do and maybe it is easier to tell ourselves this so we can either keep going at a snail's pace or just give up. BUT I believe it is worth trying and slowly succeeding than not at all.

I have had Hypothyroidism for almost 4 years now. It took until last spring to get my medication adjusted so I was normal. After going through 3 docs who either wouldn't treat the disease properly or wouldn't treat me as a human - like I was trash or something. I found one who is outstanding!! I can lose weight now pretty well - lost a total of 15 lbs from Jan 1 - end of March. Stalled out due to stress, etc., since then. I think the main thing is because it is a synthetic hormone our bodies react stronger to influences like hormones and stress and such, making it nearly impossible to lose weight during those kinds of times.

Check out the book "Hypothyroidism for Dummies" and there is one something like "everything you need to know about Hypothyroidism" They are excellent resources - I got them at the library but saw them at Barnes & Noble first. They will give you a lot of info - the second is by docs with input from patients I believe. I haven't looked at it in a long time.

Hypothyroidism is difficult, but not impossible. You have to have a good doctor who will make sure your levels are down where they need to be. If they are not, it is not even possible to lose weight. I use the example that I went from being pretty sedentary to cutting firewood with dh in Jan 07. 1 month hiking around the mountains in the snow and lifting logs and loading them, splitting them, reloading them and delivering them and not 1 lb lost in that time. I went to a different doc, explained it to her she said obviously not right!!! More meds - can lose weight now!! YAY - it's still work, and it should be - but at least it's possible. Sorry so long - pm me if you want to talk or need more info. Blessings - Kim

My experience has been that it has taken over 3 years to get my dosage correct. When I was first diagnosed with Hypothyroidism my doctor was very surprised at how low my metabloism was (the TH factor that they measure in your blood should be below 5 and mine was at 160!). At the time I felt so tired all I wanted to do was curl up in bed, I was a walking zombie with no energy at all.

After a year of getting tested and visiting specialists to make sure it wasn't caused by cancer or some other factor I was finally put on medication at which point I actually started having energy again. When I started on the medication I acutally started getting some of my energy back which in turn allowed me to start getting more active. It has only been in the last few months that my medication has remained at the same level (an amazingly high dose of 175). The medication will help you get more energy but you still have to have the motivation to get more active. It can be tricky as my doctor put it because as you loose weight your body needs less of the medication to regulate your metabolism so you have to get tested regularly to make sure you are at the correct levels.

I have had hyperthyroidism for over 10 years (my mother had it before me). I have to take 225 daily in two pills to control it. When you have this disease it is impossible to lose weight without medication. It can also cause:
depression
bone weary tiredness
mind problems such as forgetfullness, remembering the right words to use, ect.
and a myrid of other problems you normally would not think of.

When you team that with other medical problems, the list gets longer. It can take a long time to get the correct dosage, please don't give up. And as others have said here, even with the correct dosage, it is still harder to lose weight at times. Stress can be a real problem in messing with your dosage.

Just wanted to tell of my experience and let you know it can be dealt with and you can lose weight if you try hard enough.:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Linda


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It can be tricky as my doctor put it because as you loose weight your body needs less of the medication to regulate your metabolism so you have to get tested regularly to make sure you are at the correct levels.
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Hmmm, I didn't realize that! I guess I should see the Dr. again soon, since I've lost 27 pounds, and it's also been a good year since they last tested my blood. (I HATE going to Drs. and dentists!)

I have a hypothyroid (if that is the correct terminology) which means is it too slow and helps me gain. Or so I have been told.....hyper would be the opposit, making it difficult to gain. Sure everyone is different but I really don't see how it affects me. I have gained weight since high school (who hasn't) but not such an insane amount that I could blame it on my thyroid. And while it has always been a little difficult for me to lose, it was also pretty slow for me to gain, which is the complete opposit of what I have always heard of the disease. Looking back on the foods I ate and lack of exercise before I found MFP, it's pretty shocking to me that I wasn't 400 pounds. Not that I ate THAT badly, probably pretty average for someone who didn't count calories, but I made very poor choices and my idea of a serving was pretty far off....but I never binged or did anything like that......oh and I often skipped meals so that also accounts for not being able to lose.

So anyway, I seriously don't feel much different when I am on the meds. Doctors tell me I will lose weight easier and have more energy, but if I do I haven't noticed that big of a difference. I have been surprised at how consistently I have been losing lately which is a new concept for me, but then again I am doing things differently, I have never been this dedicated to counting calories, making better choices, getting regular exercise, doing regular weigh-ins, etc. My doctor did switch me to a different kind of thyroid pill the last time I was in around May, but late April is also when I started MFP. So is my recent weight loss the result of MFP alone, the thyroid pill alone, or a combination of both? Who knows!

All I do know is that my doctor yells at me when I tell her I stopped taking my pills, so she takes some blood, adjusts the dosage and I vow to take them everyday so she won't yell at me. Whether it is making a difference or not is unknown to me.