A different question about hypothyroid

RoteBook
RoteBook Posts: 171 Member
edited December 4 in Health and Weight Loss
For those who have hypothyroidism and have lost a lot of weight, how much did your levothyroxin dose change from start to finish? Did you need to change your dose partway through your weight loss? How much difference did dose changes make to your weight loss?

I've lost 30 pounds and have another 30 to go to get to my healthy weight range. At a recent appointment my doc checked my levels and my dose is too high now. I think I was ignoring some hyperthyroid symptoms the last month or so, and I'm looking forward to feeling more normal again, but I admit that I'll miss losing a bit more than expected for my CI. I won't miss waking up for the day at 4a, but I'll miss waking up raring to go.
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Replies

  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    I went from 100mcg to 88 to 75 to zero. That was over the course of about eight months and 100 pounds. We still monitor it, I'm borderline low consistently but my doctor and I agree that as long as I stay in the "normal" range the medication isn't needed.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    Last year I lost 10kg and my levels changed from 6ish to 5ish which is why I didnt start medication at that time. I had probably regained 2kg when I started medication after experiencing hair loss on top of other symptoms I already had.

    I am currently in the process of upping medication for the second time and I have regained about 8kg of the weight I lost last year. I am not sure I know what normal is anymore, my last dr had a diff view of what normal results were compared to my current doc so I am looking forward to seeing what that might feel like.
  • RoteBook
    RoteBook Posts: 171 Member
    I don't really know what normal feels like, either. :) I thought I was just finally getting that energy burst everyone talks about from weight loss. I thought the nervous chattiness and jitters were just too much caffeine.

    I am hoping that this feeling where I'm not hungry at all but want to eat everything in sight is related and will go away when my levels get better.
  • jopalis
    jopalis Posts: 238 Member
    I learned the hard way. Get yours checked and keep your dose per your doc. I left mine the way it was for a long time after losing weight and was real jittery. So, I stupidly cut the dose in half on my own. I lost more than half my hair and it took 6 months to come back. Go get your blood checked.
  • Hungry_Annie
    Hungry_Annie Posts: 807 Member
    I've gradually gone from 50mcg and I'm now on 200mcg. When I first got increased to 200 this past April I was feeling great. My levels were In the normal range for the first time since I was diagnosed with Hashimotos in 2011. I lost about 10lbs. But now I'm feeling tired and sluggish again and weight will not come off. I have an appointment next week to get my levels checked.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    Hmmm. 50 lbs. down and no change; I still take 88mcg.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    I've gone from 200 mcg to 150 mcg as I dropped 93 pounds. My doctor attributes the drop to my weight loss.
  • haviegirl
    haviegirl Posts: 230 Member
    I lost 33 pounds and went from 200 mcg to 125. Feeling pretty good and maintaining my loss just fine.
  • pbandwine
    pbandwine Posts: 1,236 Member
    Been on a steady dose of 88mcg for about 3 years and my weight fluctuates 5 pounds or so. I find it interesting that a lot of you go down on your dosage, I've only ever moved up. I don't have a lot of weight to lose and have always been active so maybe that's why? I would love to not have to be on it, but I know what happens if I don't take it.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    I've lost about 25 pounds and my dosage has remained the same. I was only 135 to begin with, so that's quite a large loss percentage wise.
  • Mary_Anastasia
    Mary_Anastasia Posts: 267 Member
    I lost 30lbs and had just stopped taking my meds altogether -> my levels were all normal :open_mouth: I have hashimotos, too. I still take my meds on occasion, since my TSH was on the high end of normal (3) Previously my dosage had never changed with weight fluctuations, though.
  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
    i started on 25mcg, now a few months down the line, ive not lost any weight yet..and im now on 100mcg, my appointment is on Monday i had my bloods taken today. i was feeling ok before this past week, im starting to feel tired again
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mary_Anastasia wrote: »
    I lost 30lbs and had just stopped taking my meds altogether -> my levels were all normal :open_mouth: I have hashimotos, too. I still take my meds on occasion, since my TSH was on the high end of normal (3) Previously my dosage had never changed with weight fluctuations, though.

    You just stopped taking it without feedback from your doctor? Why?

    Hashi's doesn't stop being a problem. Your levels will fluctuate throughout your lifetime and need to be monitored. Don't mess around with it.

    So much this. ^^^

    Another hashi's person, here.
  • bear17
    bear17 Posts: 22 Member
    I'm on 275mcg a day and I'm gaining weight. I also feel tired all the time, drained of energy and sometimes tearful. I can never concentrate and sometimes feel like I have 'brain fog'. I've got Hashimotos. Does anyone else suffer these symptoms? I want to know whether this is 'normal' for us or whether to keep hassling my endocrinologist. Thanks girls!! xxx
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    bear17 wrote: »
    I'm on 275mcg a day and I'm gaining weight. I also feel tired all the time, drained of energy and sometimes tearful. I can never concentrate and sometimes feel like I have 'brain fog'. I've got Hashimotos. Does anyone else suffer these symptoms? I want to know whether this is 'normal' for us or whether to keep hassling my endocrinologist. Thanks girls!! xxx

    Sounds like you need to be on something in addition to levo. Definitely talk to your endo. A lot of people need to take Cytomel as well as synthroid.

    Those symptoms are not normal, and aren't something you need to live with.
  • RoteBook
    RoteBook Posts: 171 Member
    bear17 wrote: »
    I'm on 275mcg a day and I'm gaining weight. I also feel tired all the time, drained of energy and sometimes tearful. I can never concentrate and sometimes feel like I have 'brain fog'. I've got Hashimotos. Does anyone else suffer these symptoms? I want to know whether this is 'normal' for us or whether to keep hassling my endocrinologist. Thanks girls!! xxx

    I feel like that sometimes, but not constantly. That's definitely something to chat wth your doctor about. I also have a vitamin D and iron insufficiency, and those can cause similar symptoms.

    I've been between 100 and 125 mcg ever since I was diagnosed as a teenager. My doc is switching me from 125 to 112, and it'll be interesting to see whether it changes again as I lose more weight.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    After a total thyroidectomy in 2000 I started with 100 mcg and gradually upped to 175/200 mcg alternating daily since 2003. I lost ~60 lbs due to calorie intake awareness via MFP in 2014-2015. TSH has decreased from 2 down to .3 after losing the weight.

    Hormone levels are largely influenced by weight as these are free cycling. Simply being overweight makes it nearly impossible to maintain any level of hormone balance.
  • DoctahJenn
    DoctahJenn Posts: 616 Member
    I started on 250mcg. I wasn't all the heavy - my highest weight was 157 on my 5'4" frame, to my knowledge - and my doctor frequently said that he'd never seen someone my size need such a large dose.

    I'm down to 129 right now, and my dose is down to 100mcg. My doctor thinks it's the exercise and healthy diet that helped more than the actual weight I lost. I'm due for a checkup in a few months - once a year because I've been steady for a few years now - but I feel pretty good so I'm not expecting a change of dosage.
  • Mary_Anastasia
    Mary_Anastasia Posts: 267 Member
    edited November 2016
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mary_Anastasia wrote: »
    I lost 30lbs and had just stopped taking my meds altogether -> my levels were all normal :open_mouth: I have hashimotos, too. I still take my meds on occasion, since my TSH was on the high end of normal (3) Previously my dosage had never changed with weight fluctuations, though.

    You just stopped taking it without feedback from your doctor? Why?

    Hashi's doesn't stop being a problem. Your levels will fluctuate throughout your lifetime and need to be monitored. Don't mess around with it.

    Why do you think I don't have feedback from my doctor? Of course I do.

    And no, Hashi's is a lifelong problem, but there is no medication for it, only medication for the resulting hypoT, which like I said is normal at this time, likely due to my lowered antibodies and/or my thyroid overproducing. My endo has officially moved me from 3/x a year blood panels to once a year because of my improvement. At my next appointment we discuss the full thyroidectomy we've been putting off; he said my levels may be normal due to overproduction of a "finally" dying thyroid giving a "last huzzah" but that it will most likely crash after a year or so and after that there's no more putting it off-- if indeed that is the case.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Mary_Anastasia wrote: »
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mary_Anastasia wrote: »
    I lost 30lbs and had just stopped taking my meds altogether -> my levels were all normal :open_mouth: I have hashimotos, too. I still take my meds on occasion, since my TSH was on the high end of normal (3) Previously my dosage had never changed with weight fluctuations, though.

    You just stopped taking it without feedback from your doctor? Why?

    Hashi's doesn't stop being a problem. Your levels will fluctuate throughout your lifetime and need to be monitored. Don't mess around with it.

    Why do you think I don't have feedback from my doctor? Of course I do.

    And no, Hashi's is a lifelong problem, but there is no medication for it, only medication for the resulting hypoT, which like I said is normal at this time, likely due to my lowered antibodies and/or my thyroid overproducing. My endo has officially moved me from 3/x a year blood panels to once a year because of my improvement. At my next appointment we discuss the full thyroidectomy we've been putting off; he said my levels may be normal due to overproduction of a "finally" dying thyroid giving a "last huzzah" but that it will most likely crash after a year or so and after that there's no more putting it off-- if indeed that is the case.

    So YOU didn't just stop taking them, your doctor took you off them? Does your doctor tell you when to take them occasionally? For what reason if you're only being tested once a year?

    After all, I'm going by what you posted earlier.

    What you're saying in this post is inconsistent with your first post.
    I lost 30lbs and had just stopped taking my meds altogether -> my levels were all normal :open_mouth: I have hashimotos, too. I still take my meds on occasion, since my TSH was on the high end of normal (3) Previously my dosage had never changed with weight fluctuations, though.
  • Mary_Anastasia
    Mary_Anastasia Posts: 267 Member
    edited November 2016
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mary_Anastasia wrote: »
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mary_Anastasia wrote: »
    I lost 30lbs and had just stopped taking my meds altogether -> my levels were all normal :open_mouth: I have hashimotos, too. I still take my meds on occasion, since my TSH was on the high end of normal (3) Previously my dosage had never changed with weight fluctuations, though.

    You just stopped taking it without feedback from your doctor? Why?

    Hashi's doesn't stop being a problem. Your levels will fluctuate throughout your lifetime and need to be monitored. Don't mess around with it.

    Why do you think I don't have feedback from my doctor? Of course I do.

    And no, Hashi's is a lifelong problem, but there is no medication for it, only medication for the resulting hypoT, which like I said is normal at this time, likely due to my lowered antibodies and/or my thyroid overproducing. My endo has officially moved me from 3/x a year blood panels to once a year because of my improvement. At my next appointment we discuss the full thyroidectomy we've been putting off; he said my levels may be normal due to overproduction of a "finally" dying thyroid giving a "last huzzah" but that it will most likely crash after a year or so and after that there's no more putting it off-- if indeed that is the case.

    So YOU didn't just stop taking them, your doctor took you off them? Does your doctor tell you when to take them occasionally? For what reason if you're only being tested once a year?

    After all, I'm going by what you posted earlier.

    What you're saying in this post is inconsistent with your first post.
    I lost 30lbs and had just stopped taking my meds altogether -> my levels were all normal :open_mouth: I have hashimotos, too. I still take my meds on occasion, since my TSH was on the high end of normal (3) Previously my dosage had never changed with weight fluctuations, though.



    I don't see any inconsistency? Unless you mean "just" which means "just recently"

    Yes, he suggested I take one once or twice a week since my TSH could be lower, but it isn't necessary, and to keep tabs on how I feel, if any of my symptoms come back or I feel like I'm going hyperT. My mom went through a similar time, she was instructed half a pill twice a week when her levels normalized suddenly, and after a year she started needing it regularly again-- she doesn't have Hashis though, and I do have a "mass" of inflammation that is a worry spot (not a tumor, biopsy shows it's literally just inflamed tissue), so he said if I notice anything going wrong or feel poorly to def come in whenever I want.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,748 Member
    My meds have not been changed due to weight loss, though the most I've lost was 50 lbs. They do get upped every 5 years or so, based on blood test results.
  • quafferj
    quafferj Posts: 45 Member
    I started out at 283lbs, and I was on 200mcg. I'm currently 160 and at 150mcg, and the doctor said I may drop down a little more yet depending on how much more weight I lose.
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    Interested in this thread. I had been on 125mcg for 13 years with no fluctuations. I was able to lose 8 or so vanity pounds about 1.5 years ago and then started having hashimotos symptoms after I lost weight. Gained 15 pounds in the last year as well. Just got my second increase in dosage yesterday and am now taking 150mcg. Will definitely be working with my endo and hoping to lose the 15 pounds.
  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
    what do everyone aim their levels to be? my tsh is currently 2.96 which is technically ok, however i want a tsh levels for be less than 1, as ive read thats a optimal level for those with hypo
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    leahcollett1 wrote: »
    what do everyone aim their levels to be? my tsh is currently 2.96 which is technically ok, however i want a tsh levels for be less than 1, as ive read thats a optimal level for those with hypo

    There's no one optimal level for all people. There's only an optimal level for you, and that's where you feel free of symptoms.

    I know my best level, and I could tell you, but that information would be meaningless for you. I personally do best when I go no higher than 1. Right now, I'm too low at .13, my doctor wants me no lower than .2.
  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
    yes, im still experiencing some tiredness.. my hair is still very very thin.. does that ever go? and more importantly im on 1450 cals a day and not losing. i think i still have a long way to go
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    leahcollett1 wrote: »
    yes, im still experiencing some tiredness.. my hair is still very very thin.. does that ever go? and more importantly im on 1450 cals a day and not losing. i think i still have a long way to go

    Your hair on your head will come back once your thyroid is corrected, yes.

    I lost half my eyebrows to a bad spell with my thyroid, and they never came back, though.

    As for you not losing weight, that can still be done with careful logging and calorie counting.
  • zosia141
    zosia141 Posts: 43 Member
    Before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism I weighed about 185 lbs. after 5 yrs on 112 mcg levothyroxine my wt stabilized at 160 and Levi went to 110. 5+ years and I'm at 140 lbs and 88 Levo.
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