Gaining every week now
leahcollett1
Posts: 807 Member
Ok so I've been on levothyroxine since beginning of August. To treat thyroid. I have gained every week since despite counting calories and weighing everything. I lost 5 stone before now nothing. I'm now back to 16 stone.
I'm thinking of stopping my Meds I know for a fact it's them as I've never gained every week before
I'm taking 50mg of levo
I'm thinking of stopping my Meds I know for a fact it's them as I've never gained every week before
I'm taking 50mg of levo
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Replies
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I wouldn't stop taking your meds. Levothyroxine is supposed to increase your T3 levels and actually increase your metabolism (i.e. a common side effect is weight loss, not weight gain).
I'm not sure why you're gaining weight, maybe you haven't been as active as you were before? Certainly talk to your doctor about this before you discontinue.4 -
Go back to your doctor and talk to him/her, we're not medical professionals here.5
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I would speak to your doctor before you just stop taking medication. You're on it for a reason. How much weight have you gained?3
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Do NOT stop taking your Levo, that is NOT what is causing your weight gain. As Drawoc said, one of the side effects of hypothyroidism is weight gain, Levo counteracts that by getting your levels back on track. If you can HONESTLY say (to yourself) that you are weighing and measuring everything that goes into your mouth and accurately calculating your exercise burn, then go back to the doctor for assistance.
Also, how much weight have you actually put on? Certainly not 5 stone, so not all the weight you lost I am guessing? You say you lost five stone then nothing, you may just be on a plateau if you are near your goal. What are your stats (height, weight, goals etc). Give us a bit more info and we may be able to offer some more suggestions that aren't doctor related.3 -
We are not doctors nor would I even feel remotely comfortable giving advice stating it was a good idea to stop taking medicine (especially for thyroid) when under supervision of their doctor.
I am curious about how much weight gain? How long have you been taking the medication?
And have you by chance put a call into your doctor/nurse or pharmacist about side effects, etc before considering cold turkey stopping?
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no i stopped losing weight a year ago. i have gained a stone and a half since July.. i know exactly what im putting in my mouth, i eat 1600 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week., i did exercise but with looking after 2 girls/college/full time job its getting harder.
i know deep down in my gut its not me, it has to be the pills. i have a doctors appointment at 11.30.0 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »no i stopped losing weight a year ago. i have gained a stone and a half since July.. i know exactly what im putting in my mouth, i eat 1600 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week., i did exercise but with looking after 2 girls/college/full time job its getting harder.
i know deep down in my gut its not me, it has to be the pills. i have a doctors appointment at 11.30.
Since you are sure its the pills keep the appointment.. you will get all the right answers you need there!
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leahcollett1 wrote: »no i stopped losing weight a year ago. i have gained a stone and a half since July.. i know exactly what im putting in my mouth, i eat 1600 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week., i did exercise but with looking after 2 girls/college/full time job its getting harder.
i know deep down in my gut its not me, it has to be the pills. i have a doctors appointment at 11.30.
so how many calories are you eating at the moment if 1600 was to lose weight?0 -
between 1500- and 1600 a day0
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Maybe your calories aren't low enough. I need 1200 to 1300 to lose. If I eat over 1500 I gain.1
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leahcollett1 wrote: »no i stopped losing weight a year ago. i have gained a stone and a half since July.. i know exactly what im putting in my mouth, i eat 1600 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week., i did exercise but with looking after 2 girls/college/full time job its getting harder.
i know deep down in my gut its not me, it has to be the pills. i have a doctors appointment at 11.30.
It CANNOT be the pills, unless it's a dodgy batch of something entirely different, you're allergic to one of the ingredients or you don't have hypothyroidism... Honest!! That's the whole point of them, to correct an imbalance that can be the cause of weight gain...
You also haven't given us your stats, how much more weight do you need to lose? 1600 to lose 1.5 lbs a week doesn't seem quite right, but without knowing your stats it's impossible to help. You also admit you aren't doing as much exercise as you were, but if you are still eating the same as when you were exercising and losing then you may have your answer.
Good luck at the doctor's, I hope they can help.4 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?2 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »no i stopped losing weight a year ago. i have gained a stone and a half since July.. i know exactly what im putting in my mouth, i eat 1600 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week., i did exercise but with looking after 2 girls/college/full time job its getting harder.
i know deep down in my gut its not me, it has to be the pills. i have a doctors appointment at 11.30.
It CANNOT be the pills, unless it's a dodgy batch of something entirely different, you're allergic to one of the ingredients or you don't have hypothyroidism... Honest!! That's the whole point of them, to correct an imbalance that can be the cause of weight gain...
You also haven't given us your stats, how much more weight do you need to lose? 1600 to lose 1.5 lbs a week doesn't seem quite right, but without knowing your stats it's impossible to help. You also admit you aren't doing as much exercise as you were, but if you are still eating the same as when you were exercising and losing then you may have your answer.
Good luck at the doctor's, I hope they can help.
no i havent exercised in a while.. the last time i exercised i did body combat 4 times a week and gained 2lbs...
my stats are female im 5ft 7 and im now 16 stone. (222lbs)
i can probably do 1400 but anything lower than that and i find im hungry. to hungry to sustain the deficit. so i try and be kind to myself and opt for a lower loss each week so i can sustain it.
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TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?0 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »no i stopped losing weight a year ago. i have gained a stone and a half since July.. i know exactly what im putting in my mouth, i eat 1600 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week., i did exercise but with looking after 2 girls/college/full time job its getting harder.
i know deep down in my gut its not me, it has to be the pills. i have a doctors appointment at 11.30.
It CANNOT be the pills, unless it's a dodgy batch of something entirely different, you're allergic to one of the ingredients or you don't have hypothyroidism... Honest!! That's the whole point of them, to correct an imbalance that can be the cause of weight gain...
You also haven't given us your stats, how much more weight do you need to lose? 1600 to lose 1.5 lbs a week doesn't seem quite right, but without knowing your stats it's impossible to help. You also admit you aren't doing as much exercise as you were, but if you are still eating the same as when you were exercising and losing then you may have your answer.
Good luck at the doctor's, I hope they can help.
i also have a tsh of 5.8... so its borderline, so perhaps im not hypo? i went to get my bloods checked for t3 and t4 this time. so il know in a few days, im on 50mg of levo each day. do you think i should ask for an increase?
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leahcollett1 wrote: »no i stopped losing weight a year ago. i have gained a stone and a half since July.. i know exactly what im putting in my mouth, i eat 1600 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week., i did exercise but with looking after 2 girls/college/full time job its getting harder.
i know deep down in my gut its not me, it has to be the pills. i have a doctors appointment at 11.30.
Yes, you're probably not doing anything wrong. It sounds like you have good habits.
However, it doesn't necessarily mean it's Levothyroxine's fault. I don't know the progression of your hypothyroidism, but if it was sudden then it would make sense that you would be gaining weight around this time due to the sudden hypothyroidism that occurred July/August and not the pills. Levothyroxine's dosage range is pretty large, some people need more than others. Perhaps 50 mcg of Levothyroxine is too low, it is usual to start at a low dose and increase the dose for most medications for safety reasons. You only started Levothyroxine last month as well, so the doctor will probably have more to say about it tomorrow for you when you talk about your problems.
edit:
If you read the symptoms from the MayoClinic (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-causes/dxc-20155382), you'll see that the fifth symptom of hypothyroidism is weight gain.
It's just something to keep in mind for your doctor's appointment tomorrow. Best wishes.1 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?
I'm just going by what you've said. you havent lost weight since last year, and you eat 1600 cals per day?0 -
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TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?
I'm just going by what you've said. you havent lost weight since last year, and you eat 1600 cals per day?
yes its strange.. its why i was tested for my thyroid in the first place, as ive already lost 5 stone ( well 4 now) i was doing everything right so i couldnt understand it. the bloods came back with a tsh of 5.8 and they stuck me on levothyroxine. since the pills ive gained a stone. this past year i was able to lose but then gain, lose again then gain again, but now im on the pills ive consistently gained.0 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?
I'm just going by what you've said. you havent lost weight since last year, and you eat 1600 cals per day?
yes its strange.. its why i was tested for my thyroid in the first place, as ive already lost 5 stone ( well 4 now) i was doing everything right so i couldnt understand it. the bloods came back with a tsh of 5.8 and they stuck me on levothyroxine. since the pills ive gained a stone. this past year i was able to lose but then gain, lose again then gain again, but now im on the pills ive consistently gained.
so 1600 is maintenance... try eating 1350 plus any extra exercise you can do.1 -
I take 125mcg levothyroxine daily and have slowly but steadily through monitoring food intake and regular exercise lost 9kg (20llbs) doubt it is your drugs0
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leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?
I'm just going by what you've said. you havent lost weight since last year, and you eat 1600 cals per day?
yes its strange.. its why i was tested for my thyroid in the first place, as ive already lost 5 stone ( well 4 now) i was doing everything right so i couldnt understand it. the bloods came back with a tsh of 5.8 and they stuck me on levothyroxine. since the pills ive gained a stone. this past year i was able to lose but then gain, lose again then gain again, but now im on the pills ive consistently gained.
so 1600 is maintenance... try eating 1350 plus any extra exercise you can do.
I am in agreement with this.
edited my post: if you are feeling alright now on the medication, and have the energy to get back to being active again too, what @GottaBurnEmAll said.0 -
Please don't stop taking your levothyroxine, if anything, it would be helping you lose weight, not gain weight.
You said you were maintaining on your 1600 calorie intake with exercise and have stopped exercising and started putting weight back on and are wondering why?
I think that's your answer right there.
While your thyroid might need adjusting, so does your activity level.0 -
I've always been sedentary and never eaten exercise cals so it didn't effect me when I stopped exercising. I struggle for time now as I've started college I'm a mother of 2 and I work full time so as you can see I'm a bit busy.
So maybe rosnz I need to up my dosage?0 -
Note: I don't have hypothyroidism, so I may be blowing smoke.
From what I've read from people who do have hypothyroidism (and other auto-immune diseases), what they have for calories out can be significantly LESS than what online calculators say is their TDEE. OP says TDEE is 2300, but it's very possible OP's body isn't burning 2300. If OP isn't losing weight on 1600, then her TDEE is less than 1600, probably much less since OP's gained a stone in a year.
IDK how long you've been on your meds, but maybe your body just hasn't balanced out the hormones yet to affect weight loss? I hope you get this figured out.0 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?
Unless you've actually done metabolic tests to have it measured, the TDEE calculators that you find online are very generic and only assume average/normal populations. You are not average/normal if you are hypothyroid.4 -
Make sure you are weighing your food and using correct entries. I doubt it's the levo causing your weight gain. Don't up your dose. It's not a weight loss drug and in too high of a dose can cause cardiac problems.0
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leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »leahcollett1 wrote: »between 1500- and 1600 a day
which, if you stopped losing weight a year ago, is your maintenance?
at 16 stone 1600 is my maintenance?
my tdee says 2300?
I'm just going by what you've said. you havent lost weight since last year, and you eat 1600 cals per day?
yes its strange.. its why i was tested for my thyroid in the first place, as ive already lost 5 stone ( well 4 now) i was doing everything right so i couldnt understand it. the bloods came back with a tsh of 5.8 and they stuck me on levothyroxine. since the pills ive gained a stone. this past year i was able to lose but then gain, lose again then gain again, but now im on the pills ive consistently gained.
First off, a tsh of 5.8 is horrible. Most functional medicine doctors will tell you that a person will not feel good with a tsh over 1.5 much less be able to lose weight at a decent rate.
Second, synthroid is not effective for a lot of people bc it only addresses t4. The problem is if your body is not efficient at converting t4 to t3 then you can take very high doses of it and get no change in actual active thyroid hormone. I would push your doctor to get you on both a t3 and t4 med (either armour or add cytomel to the levoxy) and increase the dose to get you to a max 1.5 tsh.
I know right where you're at. I was gaining 20#'s a month and freaking out before a decent doctor figured this all out. Again, I would look at the sttm website and get some numbers guidance to take to your doctor. Your FREE t3 and free t4 should be in the upper 1/3 of the lab range. If they are lower then that you are going to struggle. Just getting t4 and t3 checked won't tell you anything. You need to check your FREE t3 and free t4.
Hopefully you're appt goes well and you have a competent enough doctor to get this right (you'd be surprised how many are worthless in this area).1 -
If you previously exercised and did NOT eat the exercise calories (that were increasing your calories expended), that definitely affects you when you stop.
You might have thought it was a bonus, when in reality it was the only thing between a maintenance level of calories and gaining.
People with thyroid issues can't necessarily use the standard TDEE calculator because their bodies aren't functioning in an average way. If you have a below average TDEE, plus some inaccuracies in your calories in (most people do), plus reduced calories out due to your new schedule, all these things add up.
Your doctor should be looking at blood test results to adjust your dosage.
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leahcollett1 wrote: »I've always been sedentary and never eaten exercise cals so it didn't effect me when I stopped exercising. I struggle for time now as I've started college I'm a mother of 2 and I work full time so as you can see I'm a bit busy.
So maybe rosnz I need to up my dosage?
I would not consider just upping your dosage based on a posters experience or what they are taking in the same form of medication as yourself. .
Keep your doctor appointment today and discuss this with him/her.
I am a afraid that you are believing with your whole heart that your medication is the primary cause of what is happening with your weight loss. There are several variables including your activity, calories and your medication (but this should be helping your metabolism not hindering it), and you should continue to seek the guidance and supervision of you docs.2
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