no faster than the average human who's losing weight. you'll probably get a bit of a bump in the beginning as your levels normalize, but it's not a magic pill. you'll need to consistently monitor your levels and keep up a proper diet and exercise routine.

It will all depend on how far adrift your thyroid issues are. The standard medication is T4 only to lab numbers. I would expect you to have a repeat blood test in 6 weeks or so to see how your numbers are changing with a view to increasing or confirming your dose. When I started I had a rush of euphoria but it went. My numbers are "right" but the symptoms remain.

Pre 1960 treatment was with natural thyroid which combines all thyroid hormones till symptoms were relieved. FM, chronic fatigue syndrome and more are on the ascendancy since the implementation of synthetic substitutes and lab numbers. Natural is not always the best treatment tough. The available tests do not have the ability to tell us how much t3 is reaching our cells. How well the t3 is being utilised within them, each and every cell has three receptors for the three parts of the T3. Nor do the tests indicate if we are a person who functions best at which end of the dreaded "normal range".

Treating with t4 supplementation expects your system to be able to turn the additional t4 into t3's the active part of the thyroid hormones. t4 is seen as storage only. Good levels of certain vitamins and minerals are required. (information available elsewhere) Were you tested for deficiencies? Probably not. The conversion process in some is not as effective as it should be. There are so many points at which difficulties can arise.

As an old hand. It seems we are not given t3 in the first place because there is a fear in the medical profession that we would all keep overdosing ourselves brining about hypos wantonly. We are not credited with any common sense when all any of us really want is to feel well, be ourselves. Set against the possible mental health symptoms and implications, (recent research cites low t3 in the brain as contributory to anorexia and more) then there is brain fatigue/fog inability to think clearly and express yourself. Inaccurate cell replacement can happen, can lead to some cancers. Like in the womb lining due to protracted or infrequent cycles, (often reported but never investigated properly, we are told to take this regulating pill. This cancer only happens in the elderly doesn't it. Not)

Weight gain alone is IMHO trivial.

I am pleased for you that you are probably being treated in good time. Please Keep your optimism. I hope it will not prove essential for you to keep on and on at your service provider.

I think it all depends on your perspective. Ideally, once you figure out your treatment regime (and this can take quite a bit of trial and error), theoretically you should lose rather similar to a "normal" person. If you've been trying to lose as a hypo person and have had to cut down significantly to do so (1000+ cal daily deficit to barely lose), it can fee like a magic pill because all of a sudden all that hard work does show results when previously it didn't or just barely.

In practice, results seems to vary. Some people will notice weight loss akin to a "normal" person. Others will find it slower. Some notice that there is no difference in what they eat so long as their macros and cals are similar. Others find a big difference in results and how they feel depending on what they eat. I personally find that I feel much better eating a Paleo/Primal style diet. I can't tell you exactly what it is -- perhaps gluten, grains, etc. -- but whatever it is, I have more energy and the calorie cut doesn't feel as difficult. Either way, you'll need some realistic expectations and patience.

That being said, it's not a magic pill beyond the general nutrition and dieting parameters. Some prefer to calorie count (I personally like this to just figure out a baseline), others will prefer to choose a WOE where that isn't as necessary (LCHF, Paleo, Whole30, 5:2, etc.). Either way is fine -- it just depends on your preferences and what works best for you.

The only caution I'd throw in there is that LCHF may not be so great for those of us with thyroid issues because it may cause greater drops in T3, to which we're obviously already very sensitive. If you do restrict calories significantly, it may help to do periodic refeeds of either carbs/cals depending on what you're restricting to give your body a chance to reset the various hormones. Prolonged caloric deficits are quite stressful on the body, and those of us with hypo issues seem to be even more susceptible to it. Those prolonged stresses can cause various hormones to go out of whack and make it very difficult to lose fat. Same goes for periods of intense exercise. If you're lifting heavy, running regime, etc. -- something that is consistently stressful on the body -- you may wan to take a rest week every 6 weeks or so for the same reasons.

It isn't a magic fix. I just switched Drs to a specialist and my thyroid with T3 and T4 within "normal" ranges was still actually out of wack so he is increasing my dose. I'm hoping that along with medicating for my nearly dangerously low levels of vit D will make it easier to stay active and therefore easier to lose weight. As it stands, if I don't stay right on top of it I gain weight.

She really drilled into me how important it is to not eat or take any suppliments that have calcium within 4 hours of the thyroid med or it won't be absorbed properly. Just wanted to share that in case it's helpful!

lindsey1979 wrote: »

Ideally, once you figure out your treatment regime (and this can take quite a bit of trial and error), theoretically you should lose rather similar to a "normal" person. If you've been trying to lose as a hypo person and have had to cut down significantly to do so (1000+ cal daily deficit to barely lose), it can fee like a magic pill because all of a sudden all that hard work does show results when previously it didn't or just barely.

This is what happened to me. My dose is finally right to make my metabolism somewhat "normal" and so I have lost weight. My pre-treatment calorie levels were too high for my metabolism then, but they are now at a deficit. I signed up for MFP to increase that deficit and lose a little faster. I don't lose at the rate MFP says I should be (2 lbs per week), but when I am really good about logging, I can average 1-1.5 lbs per week (this is with my goals set to 2 lbs per week). I know it will always be harder to lose the weight and I may not ever have a "normal" BMI. That's OK.

It also took me about a month to feel "better" on my new dose and then several months of tweaking the doses to feel "even better." I am still more run-down than my peers, and I just accept it. It sucks, but we have a chronic illness, and I find it easier to just accept my limitations, work towards small improvements (staying up till 10:30 p.m.!), and move on.

OP - its been several days since this post, how are you feeling now? Have you seen any result on your scale?

Everybody's different, but as I said I lost on average 0.4167 lb. per week.

Far too many people join MFP, set their loss to 2 lbs. per week (no matter their size), then give up when it doesn't "work."

Hands down, the best weight-loss advice I ever received was to read the Sexypants post: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

editorgrrl wrote: »

A healthy, sustainable loss with a "normal" thyroid is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight.

I also have Hashimoto's and am quite overweight , by multiples of 25 lbs., making a 1-1.5 lb loss within that range!

I think the important thing for us all to remember is that it's not a race and you can live a healthy, active, and happy life no matter your weight. The excess weight hinders that a little, as does the brain fog and lethargy, but this group is here to support us getting on the right medications and staying on track to lose the weight we want to. Neither levo nor Armour are magic pills but they are WAY better than the alternative... aka no treatment.

Levothyroxine won't help anyone lose weight, just as hypothyroidism won't cause anyone to gain weight. What it will do is drive the metabolic chain so that you can exercise, which will burn calories. Continue to track your TSH and work with your endocrinologist to get in the range of 0.3 - 3.0.

Think long term strategy - small changes which have dramatic impact over time.