Help! I am on Levothyroxine....

I am in the same boat as you are. I have been on it for years. I recently started something different, focusing on lifting hand weights, walking 2-3 miles 5 times per week and of course watching what I eat (having carbs evry 4th day) Haven't really lost weight, but inches are coming off! Wore 3 skirts recently that I haven't worn for 2 years!

sarahnewell859 wrote: »

Thats great news. Are you taking 50mg or higher? do you have any side effects? It seems the internet is full of negative side effects but nothing positive and it's freaked me out a bit.

Ive been on it since I was in my 20's ... no problem except from time to time I have had to have the dose adjusted

I have been on levo for over 14 years, had my thyroid removed. I was also having problems losing. I went to the dr. and she told me faithfully track all you eat on mfp and lets see what your eating so that I can help.. A month later I went back I was down 10 pounds. The only thing I did different was to be honest as to how much I was eating. She did tell me cut back carbs to 50 a day and protein at 100. Somedays I do it some I dont but Im usually off my carbs because of veggies. I do not eat bread, potato or really any starch, once in awhile I will add 2 oz. of veggie pasta to a pot of soup but other than that I rarely eat starchy food. I started in March and I am down 57 lbs. I am also 56 years old and have to admit I have not done any exercise. So as to you saying Levo makes it harder to lose weight, Im not to sure it does.....anyone can add me as there friend and view my diary..I log faithfully everyday. Oh one other thing my dose is 137

I'm wondering if you had any blood tests taken before you started the medication. Please read from the website, Stop the Thyroid Madness, because if we with poor thyroid function educate ourselves we will regain more of our health.

The thyroid is a crucial part of our hormonal responses in many of our systems in conjunction with other organs it monitors our, digestion, respiration, toxin elimination, depression and mental issues, cell replication, reproduction and more. STTM has a list of most if not all health problems (300 or so). Weight as the only symptom of a thyroid problem is not the best indicator of issues. If at all possible you should visit an endocrinologist because thyroid problems are not as simple as many seem to think. For those of you fortunate to live in the US the home of STTM, there is a list of medical persons who have a greater understanding of the thyroid than most of the doctors we encounter. For many 50 mg is a starting dose. In the first instance the blood tests will probably be repeated at two or three months to see how things are changing, or not because if the problem is indirect something else possibly needs to be addressed, for many the dose will be increased and the process will be repeated till a personal dose is achieved when it will be reviewed at 6 months and later possibly yearly.

There is a hyper and hypo thyroid group on here by the way.

I am in the same boat - just a little under active. I take ~ 33 mg a day, and I have never had any side effects. From what my doc said, whatever is in levothyroxine occurs naturally in the body and if the dosage is right there should not be any side effects.

sarahnewell859 wrote: »

I have recently been diagnosed with a 'ever so slightly' lazy thyroid. Before being diagnosed I spent 6 months on weight watchers, following it to the letter, and I didn't loose any weight at all, sometime putting on!!! - this promoted me to see my GP. He told me that my thyroid is only ever so slightly under active and recommended I try Levothyroxine 50mg for six weeks to see if it kick starts my weight lose. Since being diagnosed I have read some awful stories of people who have had a number of rubbish side effects, included the dreaded weight gain. I have started taking my medication today, but I am now really freaked out and was wondering if anyone on here has a positive story to tell about this medication.

Mine was slightly lazy too. I was put on 25mg for years up until a month or two ago. I'm now on 50mg. I didn't have any weight problems before taking it or after. My weight gains are due to eating rubbish lol

I don't understand "slightly lazy" ? Hypothyroid can go undiagnosed for years because the parameter used to diagnose is the TSH[thyroid-stimulating hormone] and the level for it is so wide it can take years to show up. Which is what I went through, weight gain, being unable to lose even with diet and exercise, hair loss, excessively tired, etc. After several years of blood testing and complaining to Dr, it finally showed up. It is extremely difficult if not impossible to loss weight with an underactice thyroid. I was started on 50mcg, the level was OK but I still had the symptoms so was increased to 75 mcg. that worked for years. Just recently was increased to 100mcg as the TSH level was out of normal level but no symptoms and I had been successivefully losing weight. Guess what I am tring to say is that hypothyroid can be a reason you cannot lose weight but there are many other symptoms and if you have it you have have it. You don't slightly have it. Research it and make them treat it properly. It can affect many other things in your body.

I am on 75 and I don't think it has affected my weight. Sure I've put on a bit but I have had my nose in the trough too much. Never been overweight, don't have a problem losing.

I have hypothyrodism and one the same med. My doctor says to view it as a supplement rather than a drug. Since being on it, I have more energy, less puffy appearance, better and level mood, depression disappeared, etc. I have lost 15 pounds so far and have more to go (gained lots due to being undiagnosed). I am realistic that it will take time to see results but that's now just a fact of life with the diagnosis.

Thanks Fuzzipge - I'm going to check out the group - never knew one was on here.

I used to take Levo (synthroid) and couldn't lose 5 pounds. I moved to NYC, got a new doctor who put me on levothyroxine and cytomel (T3 & T4). Now I take cytomel only. A lot of doctors won't prescribe it, especially a GP. T3 is the active hormone. Most doctors prescribe T4 but don't take it into consideration that some bodies don't convert T4 to T3 well. I was diagnosed with hypo at age 8. I've had a lot of time to research & try different things. I have tried Armour and it didn't help. *sighs*

I've been on levo for years. I am on a very high dose. No side effects for me I've lost 100+ lbs also.

I was diagnosed hypo just over a year ago after years of struggling, basically, the only way I could lose weight was VLCD... but would gain it right back as soon as I went to a normal calorie level. The year before I found out, I was a year of eating at 1700 calories, as recommended by a registered dietician and working out 5-6 days a week and I gained 40 lbs. Went to an endocrinologist for the full menu of lab work and she brought back the hypo (plus insulin resistance), I already had all the signs and symptoms, including always being tired, hair loss, difficulty losing weight, ect. I've been on levothyroxine for a year, it took about 6 months for her to get my levels regulated, but two months after I started the meds I started losing, I've only lost 10 lbs total in the 8 months that I've actually been losing weight, but it's a start. And with that I caution you, some people will have amazing weight loss when they take this and it helps their problem, some won't, some will fall in the middle. My endo warned me that this may or may not cause weight loss (truthfully, I was at a point I didn't really care, I just wanted to know what was wrong with me and fix it), it didn't for me, but what it did do is allow me to be able to do it on my own, as slow as it may be (and no, I haven't changed anything about what I'm doing, food or exercise wise, I spoke to my RD and she said normally she would recommend to go down to 1200 calories to someone with the health problems I have, but because of how much I work out, she wanted me to stay at 1700 because 1200 would be WAY to low, she said maybe later on I can shave down to 1500, but to not go below that as long as I'm working out the way I do)