Symptoms?
cmbx2mom
Posts: 56 Member
HI Everyone,
I have my first appt with an endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. I talked with a dietician who recommended it based on my symptoms.
I have steady weight gain, super dry skin, my hair texture went from full/thick to flat, I have almost no outer eyebrows, constipation, cold, tired.
I have been very active my whole life. Never had issues with my weight until recently. I've gained 25 pounds during the past 5 years. Although it seems like the last 2-3 years have been the worst. I have had TSH levels checked a few times and they come back at normal at 1.6. Dr's just say eat more vegetables. I have tried many diets over the past few years, but most recently (6 weeks ago) I went gluten free and grain free (although that lasted only about 4 weeks..I added rice back in). I have "cheated" about 3 times with gluten. After 6 weeks I GAINED 3 pounds. So I just stopped gluten free for now. I am SO frustrated.
I asked for help on other boards and got told I must be eating too much and not calculating calories correctly. I've belonged to MFP for YEARS!!! I know how to calculate. My goal was 1550 calories per day but I am usually between 1300-1800.
I am 5'6" and as of today 187 pounds. This is the heaviest I have been since I had my son over 10 years ago!
I'm hoping Endo can at least confirm diagnosis, and then we can discuss what to do.
Can anyone tell me if this sounds like symptoms of Hypothyroid, and whats the best way to try and lost some weight. P.S. A LOT of the weight is around my belly, which was the LAST place I used to gain in the past.
I have my first appt with an endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. I talked with a dietician who recommended it based on my symptoms.
I have steady weight gain, super dry skin, my hair texture went from full/thick to flat, I have almost no outer eyebrows, constipation, cold, tired.
I have been very active my whole life. Never had issues with my weight until recently. I've gained 25 pounds during the past 5 years. Although it seems like the last 2-3 years have been the worst. I have had TSH levels checked a few times and they come back at normal at 1.6. Dr's just say eat more vegetables. I have tried many diets over the past few years, but most recently (6 weeks ago) I went gluten free and grain free (although that lasted only about 4 weeks..I added rice back in). I have "cheated" about 3 times with gluten. After 6 weeks I GAINED 3 pounds. So I just stopped gluten free for now. I am SO frustrated.
I asked for help on other boards and got told I must be eating too much and not calculating calories correctly. I've belonged to MFP for YEARS!!! I know how to calculate. My goal was 1550 calories per day but I am usually between 1300-1800.
I am 5'6" and as of today 187 pounds. This is the heaviest I have been since I had my son over 10 years ago!
I'm hoping Endo can at least confirm diagnosis, and then we can discuss what to do.
Can anyone tell me if this sounds like symptoms of Hypothyroid, and whats the best way to try and lost some weight. P.S. A LOT of the weight is around my belly, which was the LAST place I used to gain in the past.
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Replies
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I have hypothyroidism. Your symptoms certainly suggest that you may have it, too. Make sure that the endocrinologist does more than test your TSH level. See the following link for information about why TSH is not an adequate test for determining thyroid problems. This site (stop the thyroid madness) also has lots of other good information including recommendations for additional tests that you should ask your doctor to order. https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/tsh-why-its-useless/
I had success losing weight simply counting calories and increasing exercise. However, it was a struggle to maintain my weight loss and as my thyroid condition became worse, I started to gain again. An increase in thyroid medication helped. I have since adopted a LCHF diet, which has been enormously helpful because it keeps me satiated and significantly reduces cravings.
Good luck! If you are looking for MFP friends, feel free to send me a Friends request.1 -
TSH is a good indicator, but only in review with a full thyroid panel. Your endocrinologist needs to evaluate TSH, fT3, fT4, and rT3 to get a good understanding of what is going on. Even an singular reading is insufficient as diagnosticians need to understand what is going on over time.
Like any source sites such as Stop the Thyroid Madness have some good information, but be wary and always check sourcing.
Internet diagnosis is useless. Wait for your appointment with the endocrinologist, but be prepared and bring data. Bring your MFP diary and show this to your doctor. Like all professionals they do well with data.
Other than that there is nothing different losing weight with hypothyroidism. Impact to BMR/REE is ~5% so you can reduce caloric intake accordingly. Check those logs and ensure you are not underestimating intake and/or overestimating output.0 -
thanks for the info. I'm hoping this Dr. will be open to test everything.0
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My Endo just changed my hydrocortisone brand from generic (required by my insurance) to a brand name. I gained 30 lbs over 6 months and was getting quite sick. What an improvement this has made in my life already! I wasn't able to process the generic.0
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