Hypothyroidism and Weight Loss

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  • rabblescum
    rabblescum Posts: 78 Member
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    There are foods that can interfere with your medicine and it's absorption. Check your drug facts. Common ones for thyroid meds are soy products and canola oil. I lose faster when I avoid the items listed in my drug facts. Other than that exercise is really hard when you feel like wet cement all the time but it really helps the energy level rise after a couple weeks. Good luck.
  • GSD4life15
    GSD4life15 Posts: 3 Member
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    I had a complete thyroid removal almost 5 years ago and lost my parathyroid glands too, I am on levothyroxine, liothyronine, D3 and calcichew tablets, - Even though I have no thyroid my levels still fluctuate madly a complete head banger for the doctor because there is no reason for it at.
    I put on almost 5 stone when I first had it removed due to taking so long to get a high enough dose of thyroxine to keep me awake.
    I'm still struggling to lose weight but I wont give up trying. I'm currently redoing Shaun T's T25 plus i walk at least 2.5 miles a day with the dogs.
    Good Luck.
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
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    I have been on synthroid for low thyroid for several years and never have had difficulty in losing weight. That's what the medication is for. When taken properly it performs properly. I never miss a day and I have blood work done the moment I feel slightly off to ensure I am on the normal range. I know a lot of women are not going to like this but my late husband was an obstetrician gynecologist who treated thousands of women during his career and He was convinced that many women used their low thyroid as an excuse for not losing weight.
  • juliavac
    juliavac Posts: 2 Member
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    Changing your diet to a healthy one should definitely help. The day I changed my diet and started working out I felt great. Any day that I eat u healthy I feel super sick. The dieting has changed my life.
  • imamomwifedaughter
    imamomwifedaughter Posts: 26 Member
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    Recently, for a few months now I wasn't feeling well and my weight was creeping up, although I have always been the same weight for most of my life. I went to get my TSH done and sure enough it was high, at 6. The only way I can keep my weight in check now is to make sure I'm on the right dose of synthroid. I don't know how anyone with hypothyroid can go off their meds?? I would be asleep 24 hrs. a day and in severe depression!
  • 100poundsx
    100poundsx Posts: 87 Member
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    Noelani1503 wrote: »
    I had no changes with synthroid. My lab values were technically within a normal range, but I was still fatigued, unable to lose weight, always cold, etc. I found a doctor who was reputed to specialize in thyroid disorders (among other things) even though he was a PCP. He told me just staying within the lab ranges aren't going to make me feel optimal, and paid more attention to free t3 and t4 than tsh. After increasing my synthroid dose by 50%, he saw by my labs that I wasn't converting the synthetic t4 to usable t3 very well and switched me to armour. I suspect I'm still not optimal and may need a dose adjustment, but I already feel so much better and am losing weight without having made any other changes.

    Definitely prioritize your meds. Take them consistently and properly (waiting to eat or take any other supplements), and monitor your labs until they're optimal. Avoid calcium and iron for at least an hour after taking your meds. Make sure you get enough vitamin D, B vitamins, zinc, selenium, and iodine. I take prescription PoDiaPN and average 7500 IUs of vitamin D per day at the recommendation of my doctor based on my labs. I'm technically (barely) within range for vitamin D but he thinks optimal is at the very upper end of the range. I personally found that frequent exercise (doesn't have to be strenuous) helps my symptoms, and of course helps create that calorie deficit needed to lose weight. I have hashimoto's, and also feel better when I limit gluten, refined sugar, and certain food additives.

    The stop the thyroid madness website has been so helpful for me in navigating all this. And honestly, MOST people who say hypothyroidism is just an excuse, don't have it and have never felt the effects. I never realized how bad I felt until I was properly treated. I blew off the weight gain as being completely my fault because I'm NOT the type to make excuses. I assumed it was related to changes in metabolism when I became an adult, or poor eating habits in college, or stress, or not prioritizing exercise. Or whatever. I didn't mention this stuff to doctors for a long time because I thought, well what are they going to tell me that I don't already know? Diet and exercise. But when I started taking meds and supplements like I should, I noticed my impulse control problems disappear so I wasn't binge eating anymore. Sugar cravings were mostly gone. My depression (which I assumed was my fault too) is gone. I have the energy and motivation to exercise daily. I'm getting quality sleep. And I know my metabolism has changed hugely.

    Sorry this is so long. I've just felt pathetic and out of control for so long that I don't want anyone else to feel like that when there are things you can do to take back control.
    Noelani1503 wrote: »
    I had no changes with synthroid. My lab values were technically within a normal range, but I was still fatigued, unable to lose weight, always cold, etc. I found a doctor who was reputed to specialize in thyroid disorders (among other things) even though he was a PCP. He told me just staying within the lab ranges aren't going to make me feel optimal, and paid more attention to free t3 and t4 than tsh. After increasing my synthroid dose by 50%, he saw by my labs that I wasn't converting the synthetic t4 to usable t3 very well and switched me to armour. I suspect I'm still not optimal and may need a dose adjustment, but I already feel so much better and am losing weight without having made any other changes.

    Definitely prioritize your meds. Take them consistently and properly (waiting to eat or take any other supplements), and monitor your labs until they're optimal. Avoid calcium and iron for at least an hour after taking your meds. Make sure you get enough vitamin D, B vitamins, zinc, selenium, and iodine. I take prescription PoDiaPN and average 7500 IUs of vitamin D per day at the recommendation of my doctor based on my labs. I'm technically (barely) within range for vitamin D but he thinks optimal is at the very upper end of the range. I personally found that frequent exercise (doesn't have to be strenuous) helps my symptoms, and of course helps create that calorie deficit needed to lose weight. I have hashimoto's, and also feel better when I limit gluten, refined sugar, and certain food additives.

    The stop the thyroid madness website has been so helpful for me in navigating all this. And honestly, MOST people who say hypothyroidism is just an excuse, don't have it and have never felt the effects. I never realized how bad I felt until I was properly treated. I blew off the weight gain as being completely my fault because I'm NOT the type to make excuses. I assumed it was related to changes in metabolism when I became an adult, or poor eating habits in college, or stress, or not prioritizing exercise. Or whatever. I didn't mention this stuff to doctors for a long time because I thought, well what are they going to tell me that I don't already know? Diet and exercise. But when I started taking meds and supplements like I should, I noticed my impulse control problems disappear so I wasn't binge eating anymore. Sugar cravings were mostly gone. My depression (which I assumed was my fault too) is gone. I have the energy and motivation to exercise daily. I'm getting quality sleep. And I know my metabolism has changed hugely.

    Sorry this is so long. I've just felt pathetic and out of control for so long that I don't want anyone else to feel like that when there are things you can do to take back control.

    I am 100% on the same boat. My TSH is "normal" but I still don't feel as if my medication has changed anything. I'm still struggling with the brain fog, the tiredness, the depression. And my doctor is convinced that it can't be my thyroid becausel my levels are normal. I need to look into a specialist of sorts. I was seeing an endocrinologist but lost insurance and am now getting it reestablished. I am so glad to hear you're doing better though!
  • mzfrizz15
    mzfrizz15 Posts: 135 Member
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    If you're still symptomatic, I would go to your doctor and INSIST that your t3 and t4 levels be measured as well! Some people can't convert one T to the other T very well and may require taking a t3 medication (cytomel, I think) in addiction to their t4 meds (synthroid, etc).
  • IAmABetterMe
    IAmABetterMe Posts: 128 Member
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    RoseTheWarrior wrote: »
    I never miss a pill, and I have no issues losing weight with a calorie deficit. I exercise for general health and better fitness. I've lost about 66 lbs since Sept 1. Have been hypo for years and years. You need to be extremely mindful of your calories. Use a scale and weigh everything. Going off meds is not a good idea. You can have very serious consequences to your health. Take the medication, and eat at a deficit - really, really, that's all it takes.
    Pawsforme wrote: »
    As others have said, you need to prioritize taking your medicine daily. Preferably very close to the same time each day. And take it correctly -- which is with water and at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything else. Also, there are some supplements you're supposed to avoid taking within a few hours of taking your medicine. One of those is calcium but I don't remember the others.

    Other than taking my medication I just do the usual stuff -- weigh and log all my food and exercise as much as possible. I can truthfully say, though, that I did those things before my diagnosis. After medication kicked in I started losing one to two pounds a week on the same calorie intake/exercise program I'd been on for months while I'd been slowly gaining. So I can attest to the fact that at least for me medication makes all the difference in the world.

  • IAmABetterMe
    IAmABetterMe Posts: 128 Member
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    I am a little confused as to the people that say they have stopped their meds and their hypo has been cured? From what I understand you can not cure it... It is a disease ... It's not something like the flu. I have been trying to regulate my thyroid since 2008 I get it regulated perfect for 8 months and then either my tpo goes through the roof or my T4 is off the chart. I take Naturthroid after Armour went sky high thanks to the manufacturer
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    edited May 2016
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    IAmABetterMe wrote: »
    I am a little confused as to the people that say they have stopped their meds and their hypo has been cured? From what I understand you can not cure it... It is a disease ... It's not something like the flu. I have been trying to regulate my thyroid since 2008 I get it regulated perfect for 8 months and then either my tpo goes through the roof or my T4 is off the chart. I take Naturthroid after Armour went sky high thanks to the manufacturer

    You're correct that it can't be cured.

    My guess (and it really is a guess) is this --

    The overwhelming majority of people who are hypothyroid have Hashimoto's. On the low end I've read that 80 percent of hypothyroidism is due to Hashimoto's, and on the high end it's 90 percent. Most sources say 90. So . . . almost everybody. With Hashimoto's the thyroid function fluctuates up and down before it finally conks out completely. The fluctuations can last for years, and my understanding is that one can go for months with the thyroid functioning too high, too low or normally. My guess is that those who (mistakenly) believe they're "cured" are just in a phase where their thyroid is doing well enough to keep them asymptomatic, or keep their symptoms at a low enough level that they're easily dismissed. Does that mean they're "cured?" Absolutely not.

  • IAmABetterMe
    IAmABetterMe Posts: 128 Member
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    I don't know why my phone quoted
  • amyteelboswell
    amyteelboswell Posts: 2 Member
    edited November 2016
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    I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2003 after two miserable years of being misdiagnosed and treated for depression. I gained 60 lbs in 6 months and nothing would take the weight off. Finally a GP ran a simple thyroid screen & started me on synthroid. After about a year I started seeing an endo who over a period of 8 years decreased the dose from 200mcg/day to 100 until my labs were in line. But I never felt quite right and still carried 15-20lbs of that added weight. I never asked what my labs were bc I really didn't have the mental strength to deal with it due to brain fog. When we moved out of state, my new gynecologist said he could handle my thyroid. He started me on T3 (cytomel) in addition to my synthroid and I felt immediately better! A co-worker told me about NDT & the STTM website, I started researching & found a functional medicine doc. She confirmed I had Hashimoto's & a MTHFR gene mutation & we switched to Armour (which I didn't like) & then to WP Thyroid, which I love plus the T3. Now that I was "awake" I kept researching & learning. I now see an awesome doc, take the WP, T3, magnesium chelate, PodiaPn, D, turmeric, and there are others that I will begin as soon as labs come back & money allows like curcumin & iodine. One of the BEST things I did was go on an AIP (autoimmune paleo) diet! My pain is minimized and I've effortlessly lost the last 15 lbs. I'm 46 now, workout regularly, can think straight(er), and feel better than ever! I hope this helps someone bc I now know this CAN be managed well and it's not my fault.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Calorie deficit.

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