what to do...overactive thyroid

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Elliebellii
Elliebellii Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I finally received news from my doctor that I have a overactive thyroid and my hormones are out of whack which explain a lot that was going on with my body. I gained fifty pounds in five years. Has anyone lost weight? What did you do?

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  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Uhm, it sounds like you need to go back to your dr and ask more questions. Overactive thyroid causes weight loss. Do not get me wrong, it is a serious medical problem, and you absolutely need to figure out what the best treatment plan is for you, but weight gain is not a side-effect of it. Even an underractive thyroid would not explain a 50 pounds weight gain on its own. So, work with an endocrinologist to get your thyroid under control, count calories to lose the weight. Good luck, thyroid issues take time to resolve, and treating hyperthyroidism is usually harder, so be patient.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    Overactive or under active? Overactive would cause weight loss, not gain. Under active is much more common in humans.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
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    Echoing the others -- an overactive thyroid causes weight loss, an underactive thyroid causes weight gain.

    Perhaps you're confused because your TSH (typically the gateway measurement for thyroid function) was elevated? An elevated TSH indicates an underactive thyroid.

    I was diagnosed six weeks ago and put on levothyroxine. I'm going to the doctor this morning for a blood draw to check and see how my levels are doing. So far I've not had any miraculous melting away of weight from being medicated. I'd only gained 11 pounds before being diagnosed and put on medication, and I believe I've lost about 3 of those pounds. We were on vacation for part of that time and I wasn't eating quite as well as usual, but we were also hiking for miles and miles.

    Assuming you mean underactive, from my experience I can tell you that you will likely feel a LOT better after you get on medication and it kicks in. It only took a week or so for the debilitating brain fog to start going away. It took two or three weeks for me to start feeling less tired. SIx weeks in and I'm finally getting back to my normal energy level and feeling like I can really start exercising again.
  • ohmscheeks
    ohmscheeks Posts: 840 Member
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    Uhm, it sounds like you need to go back to your dr and ask more questions.

    Tee hee! Oh, and good luck OP.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Elliebellii wrote: »
    I gained fifty pounds in five years. Has anyone lost weight? What did you do?

    I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease). Meds (in my case, Synthroid & Cytomel) reduce the fatigue so I can be more active. But I still kept gaining until I learned to log everything I eat & drink accurately & honestly. Logging works.

    I followed the advice in the Sexypants post: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • rushfive
    rushfive Posts: 603 Member
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    I had overactive, and lost a lot of weight..... and slept all the time.
    you must mean underactive.
    Get your meds right in any case. :)
    Then you CAN lose weight.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    What everyone else said. You need to get clarification from your doctor.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    They took my thyroid out and gave me Synthroid. I lose weight. I do it slowly, but I do lose. :)

    Just keep your appointments with the endo and do what he tells you to do. If you haven't seen an endo, that's the first step!

    They answer the same questions all day, every day, so it's easy to forget to tell someone something or think you did tell them something when you didn't actually tell them. If you have questions, be sure to ask them while you're in there. They probably meant to answer them and just forgot to do it. :)
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    @Elliebellii

    You've got some great advice on this thread, but all starting with you getting clarification from your doctor.

    Yes you can lose weight with thyroid issues, but you need to develop a plan you can live with. The elements of Calories In / Calorie Out still apply.

    Bear in mind that the additional weight will make it more difficult for your hormones to balance out, which makes it all the more critical for us to keep our weight in check.

    Best regards and welcome!
  • Elliebellii
    Elliebellii Posts: 11 Member
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    Thank you all for the advice. I am scheduling my appointment today with a specialist and also going over my test results myself in a moment just to clarify what he meant. I might of heard him wrong. Have a good day :)
  • MelanieAdams2
    MelanieAdams2 Posts: 1 Member
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    After losing 70 pounds my thyroid tsh came back at .015. Forst I was told it was hypo and then told hyoer . I had a ton of other symptoms including hair loss and I gained 40 pounds back . After 6 months my thyroid is under control but I haven't lost anything . Im also very discouraged from gaining it back so that's a huge factor . I had a lot of mixed symptoms but I don't have hasimotos . I just started back to trying to eat better . If you want to friend me we can support each other :)
  • Jackson2348
    Jackson2348 Posts: 8 Member
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    Hmmmmm. I don't think I'd automatically assume that they meant UNDERactive just because you've gained weight. I have Graves' disease, which is one cause of a hypreactive (rather than hypoactive) thyroid. I was ravenous. I ate everything in sight. I gained some weight. And I am not alone. Under/over and graves/Hashi have many crossover symptoms, and no 2 people will have the same set of symptoms. Just as everyone with UNDERactive won't necessarily gain weight, everyone with OVERactive won't lose weight.

    The treatment I chose resulted in me having a non-functioning thyroid, because under active is much easier to manage with medication than over active. Over active is hard on your heart, and the medication to suppress is hard on your liver. I gained a bit more in the process of getting my medication adjusted.

    Thyroid issues of any sort are so hard physically and emotionally; be kind to yourself. I'd write down all your questions before your appointment, so you'll be sure to get the answers you need. There are many, many opinions on the Internet; please evaluate the source when you begin to research. Best of luck to you.

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