I have Hypothyroidism, I started taking Levothyroxine....

I am glad this thread is active again. I am 4 weeks in with levothyroxine. I do not need to lose weight, I was more interested in getting my energy back. I had an immediate response but I have a long way to go. It will be interesting to see what my levels are in a couple weeks. I am still struggling with fatigue, but at least I am now functional. I have Kaiser and had to jump through so many hoops just to get a Free T3 test. I was not at all surprised when it came up out of range. My T4 was on the low range. I cannot wait to feel normal again.

Thanks for the link. I am Hypo and have been on Synthroid for 5 years. Dosage keeps increasing, and weight loss is very difficult. I have to restrict calories and work out alot to see results.

Ive had it since I was 13. Ive been heavy and thin, many times. Ive been able to lose tons of weight real fast, and when I'm bad, I gain it really fast! The meds will take a couple weeks to really kick in and level you out.

Like others said, stay consistent with getting your levels checked. Find a good endocrinologist. Take your medication on an empty stomach, best either first thing in the am, then don't eat for an hour, or at night after you haven't eaten in a couple hours.
You cant take the medication along with vitamin D (Calcium carbonate) it decreases the the absorption of the thyroid meds.

You can absolutely lose weight with hypothyroidism, just stay consistent with healthy eating and exercise! good luck to you!

Yep, and for the longest I was not losing weight. Then, I discovered that if I take the levothyroxine the same time every morning and wait at least 3 hours before I eat my first meal, then I can lose weight. That way, nothing interferes with the absorption of the pill. Calcium and iron can interfere, that is why it is best to wait for this long. I set my alarm on my phone to wake me up at 5 am, so I can take my pill, then after I get my son on the bus at 7:35 am, and browse my emails, I can eat my breakfast at 8:00am! You see how much weight I have lost. You probably need to wait for it to get in your system good, and you can tell by how you feel because I use to be tired and lethargic and once the medicine kicked in, I had energy again. I have been on it since after the birth of my son back in 2007, so I know what I am talking about.

I didn't know how common this was until I was diagnosed this past Monday!! I started on Synthroid this past Wednesday and haven't seen a difference yet. Looks like I'll have to wait a few weeks to see if it's really helping. I read going gluten-free and sugar-free really helps with Hashimoto's. Which is great because I had just completed the Whole30 (without losing ANY weight while my husband lost 15lbs) - which was the first clue that something was wrong, but I was happy that I had gotten used to not having gluten and sugar, and so I'm continuing that. Until then....I just can't wait for the sluggishness/brain fog/and depression to go away.

Yep, and for the longest I was not losing weight. Then, I discovered that if I take the levothyroxine the same time every morning and wait at least 3 hours before I eat my first meal, then I can lose weight. That way, nothing interferes with the absorption of the pill. Calcium and iron can interfere, that is why it is best to wait for this long. I set my alarm on my phone to wake me up at 5 am, so I can take my pill, then after I get my son on the bus at 7:35 am, and browse my emails, I can eat my breakfast at 8:00am! You see how much weight I have lost. You probably need to wait for it to get in your system good, and you can tell by how you feel because I use to be tired and lethargic and once the medicine kicked in, I had energy again. I have been on it since after the birth of my son back in 2007, so I know what I am talking about.

3 hours??? I've been waiting 1 hour but now I wonder if I need to wait longer OR take my pill at 10pm (I don't eat after 6)...

Hi everyone ... I have hypothyroid and started taking Levo 25mcg and it's been two weeks and already gain 2lb I'm really concern... Does anybody know if it's normal.. And if I continue taking the pill I could loose weight later please tell me if that happened to anybody and later they lost weight..????

I've been on this drug for about a year--I felt better before I started taking it--I guess I'm one of the odd ones--I lost 15 pounds and I can't afford to lose weight (to add to the "fun") I had 3/4 of my stomach removed because of an ulcer, and developed dumping syndrome--so can't eat much at one time, and very little sugar) before I started this med I was about 115 now I hardly break 100 and the added "attraction" of diarrhea just adds to the weight loss--I need to put back on at least 10 lbs and then there's the hair loss, and again, have thin, fine hair and lost some due to psoriasis on my scalp--all together I am not happy with any of this. Anyone got any ideas?

I think it's different for everyone. I began low after the surgery. 88 mcg did zip for me, I felt the same as before. A month or two after that 112. Better. Not much. Maybe three months later, 125. Okay. Much better. Six months later, 150. Bingo. Perfect. Back to my old, old, old self.

I'm not certain of those dates. Didn't get out my old doctor calendar, but it's close. It took a while.

I can lose weight now. It is still work! Taking the pill doesn't mean it comes off like magic! You still have to work for it! The pill just gives you what everyone else had all along. I'd just wanted to get into a size XL when I was so very fat. Now, I want to be my old, skinny self again. Have to see if that's in the cards.

Some people take the pills and still can't lose. My heart breaks for them, being so close, thinking it would happen and then No. I'm one of the lucky ones. It really helps me.

SO grateful to find this post, even though I'm late. I've been on Levothyroxine for about a month and am noticing I'm extremely tired, much more than I was before. My weight loss has also slowed down.

I'm thinking I'm maybe eating too soon after taking it? My doc said to wait 30 minutes to eat but most of you are saying an hour so I'll try that.

Not only do you have to wait 30-60 minutes before eating anything, you can't take any pills or eat any food containing things that block absorption for at least 3 hours. I know calcium and iron block absorption, but I don't know everything that blocks it, just that there was a lot. When I find an easy way, I take it. Three hours? Fine. I'll wait three hours before I have a meal or swallow any other pills. I just have a little fruit (grapes) and don't bother with the learning and the "Well, I could eat this, but not that..."

You can get a printout from your pharmacist or just go to the Synthroid site. It is one of, if not the most prescribed medication in the country, so I'm sure it has it's own site. The list of things that interfere has to be there somewhere.

They say to take it at 6 a.m. for best results.

I have Hashimoto's Disease and just turned from having Hyperthyroidism to HYPOthyroidism.
I was diagnosed in July 2011. So now that I am HYPO my doc prescribed me Levothyroxine...So thats is why I cant lose weight...
Im am glad Im finally able to take something that will regulate me. My question is how long will it take for the medicine to get me on track with losing weight? I keep track of my food and exercise 5 days a week . Anyone out there that had hypothyroidism and got on meds and lost weight normally? I am looking to lose 25 lb from my pregnancy in March ...

You are going to find useful information about your condition in this video. It will explain a bit how to attack the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS3kG9Snu0w

I have Hashimoto's...I take Naturethroid, and when I was not diagnosed/medicated I could not lose weight no matter what I did. You will be able to lose now, just follow the good and logical advice on here, pretty much if it seems too good to be true, it is probably not the good and logical.

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