Hypothyroidism while losing weight
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tamarapennycooke91
Posts: 12 Member
Hello,
I am new to MFP and I've been trying to lose weight. I had a total thyroid removal due to nodules growing on the gland causing swelling.
Even though that was nearly two years ago I'm still finding it hard to find the energy to workout and lose weight.
I've been diagnosed with hypothyroidism as I tick all the boxes for that but I was wondering if there is anything else I need to consider. You advice and feedback is so appreciated ☺️
I am new to MFP and I've been trying to lose weight. I had a total thyroid removal due to nodules growing on the gland causing swelling.
Even though that was nearly two years ago I'm still finding it hard to find the energy to workout and lose weight.
I've been diagnosed with hypothyroidism as I tick all the boxes for that but I was wondering if there is anything else I need to consider. You advice and feedback is so appreciated ☺️
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Replies
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I have an underactive thyroid and I take a generic synthroid. I feel normal as long as I take the meds correctly. I can lose weight but I notice that I am more successful when I do not eat back exercise calories. As far as not having the energy to work out, you will probably have to just make yourself do it. If you continue with this habit, you may find that you have more energy from the continued exercise (nothing hard, just walking). And most of all, you need to discuss this with your physician. Hope I helped!!0
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It's possible that you have other accessory issues at play -- many of us with thyroid problems also have other things going on too. My doc says that there are quit a few things that can piggyback off each other when one system goes out of whack -- it can create a domino effect where it's hard to see which is the chicken and which is the egg. So, he tests for quite a few of them in his initial diagnosis based on symptoms.
In addition to thyroid, he checked for blood sugar issues (insulin resistance), liver enzymes, adrenal issues (cortisol and DHEA and perhaps others), and common vitamin/mineral deficiencies (D, magnesium, B, selenium, iron, iodine and probably a few others -- those were just the ones I remember).
For me, in addition to the thyroid, I had issues with my adrenals (my DHEA was bottomed out), insulin resistance and severe deficiencies in both vitamin D and magnesium. I know weight difficulty and fatigue is linked in particular with adrenal issues, insulin resistance and vitamin D deficiencies. So, it's possible that you may have other things going on than just thyroid that are contributing to your current difficulties.
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lindsey1979 wrote: »It's possible that you have other accessory issues at play -- many of us with thyroid problems also have other things going on too. My doc says that there are quit a few things that can piggyback off each other when one system goes out of whack -- it can create a domino effect where it's hard to see which is the chicken and which is the egg. So, he tests for quite a few of them in his initial diagnosis based on symptoms.
In addition to thyroid, he checked for blood sugar issues (insulin resistance), liver enzymes, adrenal issues (cortisol and DHEA and perhaps others), and common vitamin/mineral deficiencies (D, magnesium, B, selenium, iron, iodine and probably a few others -- those were just the ones I remember).
For me, in addition to the thyroid, I had issues with my adrenals (my DHEA was bottomed out), insulin resistance and severe deficiencies in both vitamin D and magnesium. I know weight difficulty and fatigue is linked in particular with adrenal issues, insulin resistance and vitamin D deficiencies. So, it's possible that you may have other things going on than just thyroid that are contributing to your current difficulties.
Hi.
Thanks for the response.
Yes my doc checked all of those mentioned as well. He also checked for my adrenal glands and they are normal too. The thing that my doc says to me now is that it could be chronic fatigue syndrome. But I don't know for sure yet.0 -
Do you take your levothyroxine as prescribed everyday in the morning 2 hours before you ate? I'm guessing not it's kind of hard for people to do that but you should if you are low energy. Is your thyroid blood levels within range?0
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I have a lot of the same deficiencies send me a friend request and we can share what our doctors and nutritionist are saying. I started taking calcium vitamin d and magense supplements along with pre and pro biotics. I also started juicing too. That has help with the fatigue. My weight loss is slow0
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It may be a matter of finding the "normal" your body needs. TSH has a normal range, not a normal number. Just because your TSH is in the normal range doesn't mean it's normal for you. Quality of life is important too.
You should track your TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 unless your insurance provider graphs your results (Mine does). I didn't start feeling better until I started on a T3. Your body is supposed to convert T4 to T3, but sometimes it does a bad job. Hence the T3. And unlike T4 (synthroid, levoxyl), T3 is fast acting and doesn't need time to build up in your system. There are peer reviewed studies that say while T3 supplementation didn't significantly improve TSH, patients reported a better quality of life.
As for diet, I did better with more protein. My macros (ideally) are 35c/35p/30f. I've lost all the thyroid weight and then some. Took a couple of years.
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That's a good point, Psychgrrl makes. Do you have any idea your Free T3 and Free T4 numbers? You may also want to consider switching from synthetics to a natural dessicated thyroid like Armour, Naturethroid, etc. It is a medication with all the thyroid hormones -- not just T4. Some find (myself included) to just do better on the NDT than the synthetics.0
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linsey0689 wrote: »Do you take your levothyroxine as prescribed everyday in the morning 2 hours before you ate? I'm guessing not it's kind of hard for people to do that but you should if you are low energy. Is your thyroid blood levels within range?
Hi there,
Sorry for the last reply
Yes I wake up two hours before my allocated time to wake up just to take the medication I am on levothyroxine and take 100g a day and my doc said that my blood count is normal.0 -
HelloI have a lot of the same deficiencies send me a friend request and we can share what our doctors and nutritionist are saying. I started taking calcium vitamin d and magense supplements along with pre and pro biotics. I also started juicing too. That has help with the fatigue. My weight loss is slow
I know exactly what you are saying I had most of the same problems that you have had and it's really made my very fatigue. Even when I got tested for my calcium and vitamin D they where both normal so my doc ruled that out
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It may be a matter of finding the "normal" your body needs. TSH has a normal range, not a normal number. Just because your TSH is in the normal range doesn't mean it's normal for you. Quality of life is important too.
You should track your TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 unless your insurance provider graphs your results (Mine does). I didn't start feeling better until I started on a T3. Your body is supposed to convert T4 to T3, but sometimes it does a bad job. Hence the T3. And unlike T4 (synthroid, levoxyl), T3 is fast acting and doesn't need time to build up in your system. There are peer reviewed studies that say while T3 supplementation didn't significantly improve TSH, patients reported a better quality of life.
As for diet, I did better with more protein. My macros (ideally) are 35c/35p/30f. I've lost all the thyroid weight and then some. Took a couple of years.
Hi there.
I don't know much about the T3 and T4 as I don't think they have a wide range in England I am on levothyroxine tablets and that all I've been offered. I will definitely ask my doctor about this as I do believe that my thyroid count is not normal for me and I do feel more can be done but I know that doctors go by what the test reveal rather then looking deeper into it. Hence why I'm being tested for chronic fatigue syndrome and so on.
Thank you so much for the advice it really helps ☺️0 -
It may be a matter of finding the "normal" your body needs. TSH has a normal range, not a normal number. Just because your TSH is in the normal range doesn't mean it's normal for you. Quality of life is important too.
You should track your TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 unless your insurance provider graphs your results (Mine does). I didn't start feeling better until I started on a T3. Your body is supposed to convert T4 to T3, but sometimes it does a bad job. Hence the T3. And unlike T4 (synthroid, levoxyl), T3 is fast acting and doesn't need time to build up in your system. There are peer reviewed studies that say while T3 supplementation didn't significantly improve TSH, patients reported a better quality of life.
As for diet, I did better with more protein. My macros (ideally) are 35c/35p/30f. I've lost all the thyroid weight and then some. Took a couple of years.
All of this^ Except I'm still in the weight loss phase and not on T3 supplementation yet.
0 -
It may be a matter of finding the "normal" your body needs. TSH has a normal range, not a normal number. Just because your TSH is in the normal range doesn't mean it's normal for you. Quality of life is important too.
You should track your TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 unless your insurance provider graphs your results (Mine does). I didn't start feeling better until I started on a T3. Your body is supposed to convert T4 to T3, but sometimes it does a bad job. Hence the T3. And unlike T4 (synthroid, levoxyl), T3 is fast acting and doesn't need time to build up in your system. There are peer reviewed studies that say while T3 supplementation didn't significantly improve TSH, patients reported a better quality of life.
As for diet, I did better with more protein. My macros (ideally) are 35c/35p/30f. I've lost all the thyroid weight and then some. Took a couple of years.
^^^lindsey1979 wrote: »That's a good point, Psychgrrl makes. Do you have any idea your Free T3 and Free T4 numbers? You may also want to consider switching from synthetics to a natural dessicated thyroid like Armour, Naturethroid, etc. It is a medication with all the thyroid hormones -- not just T4. Some find (myself included) to just do better on the NDT than the synthetics.
Both of these are on the money.
The thyroid gland and adrenal glands work in unison. Think of a balance beam, when one is up the other is down. So if thyroid function is low that means adrenals are elevated (increase cortisol) and all of these things hinder fat loss.
Here is a link to good information about thyroid health. Dont let your Dr just tell you your numbers are "in range" and refuse to treat your symptoms.
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
If you're still feeling fatigued or having continued hypo symptoms then more labs are in order. Like the post above. Free T3 & T4 along with reverse T3 as they all have a relationship to each other. It helps determine if your body is converting T4 to T3.
A healthy thyroid gives us T1,T2,T3 and T4, so obviously we need em all, IMO Levothyroxine (T4 only) (synthroid) is pushed way too much, whereas a Natural Desiccated Thyroid Hormone like Armour has been around since the 1800s and works better (again my opinion).
Have you ever been tested for thyroid antibodies? Tpo etc.
Hashimotos (autoimmune disease) causes hypothyroidism.
And autoimmune diseases tend to come in multiples.
Diet plays a huge roll in that as well, look into a term called "leaky gut", it basically leads to inflammation and can kickstart the autoimmune process, all from the food we eat.
Alot to digest hope it helps.
http://www.excelmale.com/showthread.php?3184-Thyroid-Tests-and-What-They-Mean
http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/tshtestwars.htm
Hypothyroid and Hashimotos here, with proper meds weightloss is no problem.0 -
Hi and thanks for the response,It may be a matter of finding the "normal" your body needs. TSH has a normal range, not a normal number. Just because your TSH is in the normal range doesn't mean it's normal for you. Quality of life is important too.
You should track your TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 unless your insurance provider graphs your results (Mine does). I didn't start feeling better until I started on a T3. Your body is supposed to convert T4 to T3, but sometimes it does a bad job. Hence the T3. And unlike T4 (synthroid, levoxyl), T3 is fast acting and doesn't need time to build up in your system. There are peer reviewed studies that say while T3 supplementation didn't significantly improve TSH, patients reported a better quality of life.
As for diet, I did better with more protein. My macros (ideally) are 35c/35p/30f. I've lost all the thyroid weight and then some. Took a couple of years.
^^^lindsey1979 wrote: »That's a good point, Psychgrrl makes. Do you have any idea your Free T3 and Free T4 numbers? You may also want to consider switching from synthetics to a natural dessicated thyroid like Armour, Naturethroid, etc. It is a medication with all the thyroid hormones -- not just T4. Some find (myself included) to just do better on the NDT than the synthetics.
Both of these are on the money.
The thyroid gland and adrenal glands work in unison. Think of a balance beam, when one is up the other is down. So if thyroid function is low that means adrenals are elevated (increase cortisol) and all of these things hinder fat loss.
Here is a link to good information about thyroid health. Dont let your Dr just tell you your numbers are "in range" and refuse to treat your symptoms.
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
If you're still feeling fatigued or having continued hypo symptoms then more labs are in order. Like the post above. Free T3 & T4 along with reverse T3 as they all have a relationship to each other. It helps determine if your body is converting T4 to T3.
A healthy thyroid gives us T1,T2,T3 and T4, so obviously we need em all, IMO Levothyroxine (T4 only) (synthroid) is pushed way too much, whereas a Natural Desiccated Thyroid Hormone like Armour has been around since the 1800s and works better (again my opinion).
Have you ever been tested for thyroid antibodies? Tpo etc.
Hashimotos (autoimmune disease) causes hypothyroidism.
And autoimmune diseases tend to come in multiples.
Diet plays a huge roll in that as well, look into a term called "leaky gut", it basically leads to inflammation and can kickstart the autoimmune process, all from the food we eat.
Alot to digest hope it helps.
http://www.excelmale.com/showthread.php?3184-Thyroid-Tests-and-What-They-Mean
http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/tshtestwars.htm
Hypothyroid and Hashimotos here, with proper meds weightloss is no problem.
I actually follow that blog and it has helped me a lot I will definitely look into regarding my adrenal glad thanks
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This has been a very informative post. My lab work showed a TSH level of 4.90 with a normal range T4 in August, with low vitamin D. I'm always tired but have managed to lose 4 lbs in my first 2 weeks of diet and exercise. I won't see my doctor until the end of October to discuss my results but at least now I'm more prepared with information on thyroid disorders before my visit.0
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Hi there p.sIt may be a matter of finding the "normal" your body needs. TSH has a normal range, not a normal number. Just because your TSH is in the normal range doesn't mean it's normal for you. Quality of life is important too.
You should track your TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 unless your insurance provider graphs your results (Mine does). I didn't start feeling better until I started on a T3. Your body is supposed to convert T4 to T3, but sometimes it does a bad job. Hence the T3. And unlike T4 (synthroid, levoxyl), T3 is fast acting and doesn't need time to build up in your system. There are peer reviewed studies that say while T3 supplementation didn't significantly improve TSH, patients reported a better quality of life.
As for diet, I did better with more protein. My macros (ideally) are 35c/35p/30f. I've lost all the thyroid weight and then some. Took a couple of years.
^^^lindsey1979 wrote: »That's a good point, Psychgrrl makes. Do you have any idea your Free T3 and Free T4 numbers? You may also want to consider switching from synthetics to a natural dessicated thyroid like Armour, Naturethroid, etc. It is a medication with all the thyroid hormones -- not just T4. Some find (myself included) to just do better on the NDT than the synthetics.
Both of these are on the money.
The thyroid gland and adrenal glands work in unison. Think of a balance beam, when one is up the other is down. So if thyroid function is low that means adrenals are elevated (increase cortisol) and all of these things hinder fat loss.
Here is a link to good information about thyroid health. Dont let your Dr just tell you your numbers are "in range" and refuse to treat your symptoms.
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
If you're still feeling fatigued or having continued hypo symptoms then more labs are in order. Like the post above. Free T3 & T4 along with reverse T3 as they all have a relationship to each other. It helps determine if your body is converting T4 to T3.
A healthy thyroid gives us T1,T2,T3 and T4, so obviously we need em all, IMO Levothyroxine (T4 only) (synthroid) is pushed way too much, whereas a Natural Desiccated Thyroid Hormone like Armour has been around since the 1800s and works better (again my opinion).
Have you ever been tested for thyroid antibodies? Tpo etc.
Hashimotos (autoimmune disease) causes hypothyroidism.
And autoimmune diseases tend to come in multiples.
Diet plays a huge roll in that as well, look into a term called "leaky gut", it basically leads to inflammation and can kickstart the autoimmune process, all from the food we eat.
Alot to digest hope it helps.
http://www.excelmale.com/showthread.php?3184-Thyroid-Tests-and-What-They-Mean
http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/tshtestwars.htm
Hypothyroid and Hashimotos here, with proper meds weightloss is no problem.
I'm in England and I don't think we know much about the Natural Desiccated Thyroid Hormone as I only hear about on the stop the thyroid maddness website and people that I talk to in America but this is something that I would want to try0 -
tamarapennycooke91 wrote: »Hello,
I am new to MFP and I've been trying to lose weight. I had a total thyroid removal due to nodules growing on the gland causing swelling.
Even though that was nearly two years ago I'm still finding it hard to find the energy to workout and lose weight.
I've been diagnosed with hypothyroidism as I tick all the boxes for that but I was wondering if there is anything else I need to consider. You advice and feedback is so appreciated ☺️
Sounds pretty horrid! I have an under-active thyroid, and at the moment it's a bit awry. In order to try and lose weight whilst being freezing cold and tired all the time, I'm:
1) Drinking 3 litres of water. This is because I am pretty overweight, but if you're not, maybe try 2 litres. I find this really gets rid of the "brain fog", makes me feel sparky, and it does help with weight loss too. When I'm so cold I'm shivering (with a fleece and a thermal vest on - in August), I;
2) drink as much green tea with peppermint as I can. I hate green tea, peppermint makes it taste much better. I even had mango green tea in Spain once - it was awesome! There are loads of different flavours out there, just a case of trial and error for your personal tastes. I have read on numerous occasions it helps increase metabolism.
3) I don't know what other symptoms you may have, but I find dried prunes help with..... stuff
. Help a lot actually. I won't go into details, you can probably already guess what I'm talking about! They help *shift* everything, and make me fist-pump with joy at the scales.
4) I am also going to bed earlier. This is in the desperate attempt to help me so I'm not quite so tempted to reach for the snacks due to exhaustion.
Sorry for the waffle, and I know this is what I'M doing - but maybe one of these ways will work for you too.
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If Armour isn't available to you, you can take Cytomel with your Synthroid. That's what I do because the desiccated is so unpredictably made.0
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If Armour isn't available to you, you can take Cytomel with your Synthroid. That's what I do because the desiccated is so unpredictably made.
Just so you know, the desiccated isn't so unpredictably made anymore (if it ever was). This was a myth put forth by the synthetics in an attempt to gain more business. The desiccated is held to the same standards as all prescription drugs by the FDA. It can have some variation, just like all other drugs are permitted, but no more. These days, there are no more big shifts in the desiccated.
And the advantage of the desiccated is you get ALL of the thyroid hormones, not just T4 and T3 (if you also have a cytomel prescription). They don't know what the functional issues is with T1 and T2 yet, but it seems like there should be some reason for them, even if we don't know it yet. Plus, some people just do better on the natural stuff -- go to the hypo boards and you'll see many people share such stories. I don't think I've seen anyone say they did better on the synthetics after having switched from the natural, but you see many going the other direction (synthetic to natural).
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Every prescription I filled I would get big shifts. It was never consistent. When I felt good, I felt really good and I liked it but it got to the point where I couldn't get it filled because they weren't manufacturing enough. Now my insurance won't cover it anyway so it doesn't matter.0
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Every prescription I filled I would get big shifts. It was never consistent. When I felt good, I felt really good and I liked it but it got to the point where I couldn't get it filled because they weren't manufacturing enough. Now my insurance won't cover it anyway so it doesn't matter.
@amb312 -- I don't know what brand you were using, but the natural stuff is pretty cheap even out of pocket. Literally, for most prescription amounts it's $10-20 per month max with no insurance -- places like Target, CVS, Walmart, etc. Some sadly have gotten charged more with insurance than the out-of-pocket cost because their co-pays were higher. And at least Armour and Nature-throid are both pretty big manufacturers, though Armour tends to be slightly more expensive than Nature-throid. Not sure about the others out there.
Here's some help on where to buy (in the US):
http://www.goodrx.com/nature-throid#/?filter-location=&coords=&label=Nature-Throid&form=tablet&strength=130mg&quantity=30.0&qty-custom=
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