Hypothyroidism

auba2004
auba2004 Posts: 12
edited October 1 in Motivation and Support
Hey everyone i am pretty new to MFP ...i joined almost a week ago. I have given up pop and sweets a week ago tommorow. Yay me right...lol..Well i ordered a scale from amazon becuz i didnt own one and it has a weight limit of 330 i thought i wieghed 320 well it wont read my weight so this means i weigh over 330 im suuper bummed you guys! I have hypothyroidism and i have been on medication for it for a little over 2 weeks. I wieghed 175 4 yrs ago and now i just feellike a huge blob of yuck. ....sorry had to vent a little.... the reason i started this post was i was wondering if there was anyone out there suffereing from hypothyroidism and how you ere doing on wieght lose?!...i wont be able to wiegh myself until i get under 330 pounds...

Replies

  • Izable2011
    Izable2011 Posts: 755 Member
    I have that. Actually mine flucuates. I don't take medication yet for it and I am losing about 1 to 2 Ibs a week. Usually I only lose a Ib. You can do i@t
  • NiciS72
    NiciS72 Posts: 1,043 Member
    Been there, done that. My top was 290. DO NOT LET THIS GET YOU DOWN. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Make sure you are seeing a good Dr. and an endocronologist if you're not already. Until you get it under control (my Dr. wants it around 1.0) you won't be able to lose weight/feel better/etc. like you used to. That said, you can lose weight and get your life back on track. I was told that it was next to impossible to lose the weight with Hypothyroidism form MANY people. This is a falsehood. You just have to keep on trying things until you find what works for you. What works for me is a High protein (90g+ per day) low Carb (less than 100g/day) diet. This is easier for me to do because I have Celica too (it caused the thyroid but was diagnosed last). Basically I eat the perimeter of the store. I also have a PHENOMENAL OBGYN who also has a weight loss practice. She is my best cheerleader and has gotten me down 58 lbs since mid October with NO PILLS OR SURGERY!!!!!

    My husband found this site and I wish I had had it last October as it REALLY helps keep me on track with the diet and exercise. If you follow this plan and what your Dr.'s tell you YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL!!!!!

    Good Luck!
  • bgredenbaugh
    bgredenbaugh Posts: 65 Member
    Hi,

    Boy, can I relate! Several years ago, I put on 60 pounds in a year, went from sleeping about 6 hours a night to needing about 14, was so depressed it was ridiculous...blah blah blah. They found nodes and cysts on my thyroid, but said my tests were "normal" (at least under the old guidelines).

    HA! I showed them! Turns out I had Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and follicular thyroid cancer.

    Honestly, I was almost completely unable to lose any weight on my own because my endocrinologist follow-up was a joke (they kept moving, quitting, etc.!) so I was pretty much untreated and undiagnosed for over 5 years!

    Now, however, after a full thyroidectomy, lovely doses of synthroid, and a slow return to normalcy (I had a rough couple of years), I'm managing to shed weight again.

    I believe that hypothyroidism can make you insulin resistant, meaning your body doesn't want to lose weight and is pretty stubborn about it. Is there a medical specialty clinic anywhere near you that could help? We have one here in Chicago call The Wellness Center, which is affiliated with Northwestern University Hospital. Because of your condition, your insurance may pay for you to see an exercise physiologist, nutritionist, etc.

    Hypothyroidism sucks! It's unbelievable how one small gland can totally wreck a body, isn't it?

    Good luck!!
    Leanne
  • jonikeffer
    jonikeffer Posts: 218 Member
    I've had autoimmune thyroiditis (aka Hashimoto's disease) since I was about 21. At least, I was diagnosed at that age, I suspect it started my 1st year in college. My weight gain crept on slowly post-diagnosis, so I can't really blame the gain on that. In fact, a lot of people have a touch of hypothyroidism and never know or it takes a long long time for it to be found. It is something that can get worse slowly over many years. I am currently on a total replacement dose (ie my thyroid makes none itself) and have been for many years, but some people only need a partial dose to supplement what your thyroid makes. If you have the autoimmune component, your thyroid will likely create less and less as the body slowly destroys the gland over the years....in which case you would need to be sure to get regular blood tests and pay attention to how you're feeling.

    I have mostly found that simple carbs slow/stall my loss. If I keep those to a bare minimum, but still eat complex carbs, I can lose at a normal rate. Being only 5'0" mean my calorie needs are already quite low, so there is really no way to create a larger deficit than 500 cals per day...so I can only lose 1 lb a week at most.

    It may take awhile to find the right dose of meds for you and/or it may keep changing, so just keep at the healthy habits until you are stable, and don't let it be an excuse for you.
  • Majunta
    Majunta Posts: 575
    Not Hypo but Hyper...I was diagosed with Graves Disease, which causes thyroidism, 5 years ago. Unbeleivable to the Doc but I gained from Hyperthyroidism....140lbs. I no longer have my thyroid and am on Synthyroid. Anyhow...I experienced an average weightloss the first 50lbs (7 months); not too slow, not too fast. I'm not too sure how much thyroidism affects weightloss though. I know it revolves around metabolism but if you keep moving (exercise), which I don't do a good job at, the weight will come off. Stay within your cals, keep the metabolism up and in no time you will experience weightloss.

    Good luck!
  • minnesota
    minnesota Posts: 204 Member
    I was diagnosed in 2006 with hypothyroidism. I weighed 220lbs. I had always struggled to lose weight but once I started synthroid it seemed to come off a lot easier. Now I don't feel that my hypothyroidism affects my weight loss at all.

    Just eat right and exercise and you will reach your goal! By the way follow the medication direction exactly. It usually says take the medication on an empty stomach 1 hr before you eat and take with 8oz of water.

    Good luck!
  • JD92
    JD92 Posts: 253 Member
    I deal with a fairly mild case of hypothyroidism. The main symptom that made me end up in the doctor's office was the fatigue. I fell asleep almost every single day when I got home from school, and mum eventually started to worry. The doctor told me I had stress-induced hypothyroidism and hypocortisolism. I developed them a few months after my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer, so we're fairly sure that's the stress part.

    If I look at the symptoms on wikipedia, I'm fairly sure I deal with: fatigue (i nearly always feel tired, which makes it difficult to get up and exercise), irregular periods, muscle cramps (every now and then in my legs), weight gain (i put weight on easy) and the very occasional bout of depression. It's nothing I feel I can't handle. The doc said, according to the blood test, it wasnt severe enough to warrant medication. I was quite annoyed, because the chemical test said it wasn't bad, but that's just numbers. I'm a human being. Should my symptoms not define it?? I dealt with so much tiredness in school. I really feel it effected my work. I could have really benefited from an energy boost!

    The biggest effect on my weightloss journey would the tiredness. I have insomnia too, so it's just all messed up. I feel so tired, but why can't I get to sleep!? I'm always at some level of exhaustion, but I fight through it as best I can. I don't let myself lie in bed all day, even if my body is screaming for it. I get up and get dressed. But sometimes it is just hard to fight :(

    Good luck to you in your journey!
  • berniebroyles
    berniebroyles Posts: 3 Member
    Also have hypothyroid issues, taking levothyroxine. I also am going through menopause at the same time! I have been on MFP for about 2 months and it's the only way I have been able to take off the weight. You just really need to incorporate exercise and sticking to your food diary. You have already made a big commitment joining, it can be done! Good luck!
  • Sgriffin2382
    Sgriffin2382 Posts: 360 Member
    I have it too. I have been on Synthroid for probably about a year now. To be honest, I was just barely above the number of concern, the second time I had it checked after meds it was under, and the last time, about 6 months ago, I was in the middle range of where you should be. I can't ever tell a difference when I am on it and when I am not. I just take the meds because the doc says to ;-)
  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
    Hi, I have hypothyroidism too and it does make it more difficult to lose weight at times. But if you stick with it you will be able to lose as much weight as you need, it might just take a little longer. If you've only been on medication for a couple of weeks you probably won't notice a huge difference yet in how you feel, but gradually you will feel less tired, have more energy and your skin and hair will start to look and feel better too. The thing I noticed after about 4 months or so was that I finally had proper eyebrows, lol. You will probably find that now you've started the medication it will be easier to lose weight than it was before.

    Apparently it is good to have smaller meals with small snacks in between because your natural thyroid hormones won't fluctuate as much as they should in response to what your body is doing. Also doing exercise little and often to start with. A 10 minute walk 3 times a day is a good start to try and get your metabolism working again and when you feel a bit better and have more energy you could replace one of those with something a little longer or more energetic if you wanted to.

    Keep an eye on your iron and sodium intake too. Having hypothyroidism can make you more likely to suffer from anaemia or low sodium levels. Just don't go overboard with the sodium, keep it within the healthy guideline. If you find yourself getting light headed or particularly tired when you are eating healthily, look and see if your sodium intake is perhaps a little low. Most people don't have a problem with low sodium but some do (I'm one of them).

    There are certain foods that it's a good idea to avoid, mostly cruciferous vegetables (cabbage etc), especially raw and coleslaw is pretty bad. If they are well cooked and you don't have too much you should be ok. Seafood is good because of the iodine but don't have cauliflower with it because it inhibits the absorption of iodine. You could also try taking a kelp supplement.

    Try to eat more protein and less carbs (the levels of protein set by MFP are too low and the carbs too high but you can change that in the settings) and try to make sure most of your carbs come from fruit, veg and wholewheat and wholegrain sources. Basically avoid white.

    I hope I haven't overloaded you with suggestions, they are all things you can implement one at a time as you get used to things. If you need another friend feel free to add me. I just hope I didn't overwhelm you!
  • Sgriffin2382
    Sgriffin2382 Posts: 360 Member
    If I look at the symptoms on wikipedia, I'm fairly sure I deal with: fatigue (i nearly always feel tired, which makes it difficult to get up and exercise), irregular periods, muscle cramps (every now and then in my legs), weight gain (i put weight on easy) and the very occasional bout of depression. It's nothing I feel I can't handle. The doc said, according to the blood test, it wasnt severe enough to warrant medication. I was quite annoyed, because the chemical test said it wasn't bad, but that's just numbers. I'm a human being. Should my symptoms not define it?? I dealt with so much tiredness in school. I really feel it effected my work. I could have really benefited from an energy boost!

    The biggest effect on my weightloss journey would the tiredness. I have insomnia too, so it's just all messed up. I feel so tired, but why can't I get to sleep!? I'm always at some level of exhaustion, but I fight through it as best I can. I don't let myself lie in bed all day, even if my body is screaming for it. I get up and get dressed. But sometimes it is just hard to fight :(

    Good luck to you in your journey!

    Wow! Those symptoms are me to a T!!! I suffer from a mild case of insomnia also. A few months ago I had my doc prescribe Ambien and it has been a lifesaver. Unfortunately, insurance will only let me have 15 pills a month, so I just reserve them for the weekends and occasionally during the week if I am especially sleep deprived. I would say it is half insomnia/half my husband snores like a freight train.
  • Majunta
    Majunta Posts: 575
    ....By the way follow the medication direction exactly. It usually says take the medication on an empty stomach 1 hr before you eat and take with 8oz of water.

    Good luck!

    This is extremely important. The meds for Thyroidism is extremely sensitive and will absorb everything in it's path. Results: your body does not get the required dosage, then you don't feel good. This can be a crazy cycle if the meds are not taken at the same time every day, with a full glass of water, 1 hour before eating or 2 hours after eating. For me, I set my alarm for 5:30AM (1.5 hours before I HAVE to get up), to take my pill. Then when I really get up, I can eat my breakfast whenever I want. Another tip: Don't take this med with any other meds or vitamins. I take my vitamins (Vit D/2000 & B Complex) at night before I go to bed. My body/moods/hormones goe haywire when I'm off schedule.
  • JD92
    JD92 Posts: 253 Member
    If I look at the symptoms on wikipedia, I'm fairly sure I deal with: fatigue (i nearly always feel tired, which makes it difficult to get up and exercise), irregular periods, muscle cramps (every now and then in my legs), weight gain (i put weight on easy) and the very occasional bout of depression. It's nothing I feel I can't handle. The doc said, according to the blood test, it wasnt severe enough to warrant medication. I was quite annoyed, because the chemical test said it wasn't bad, but that's just numbers. I'm a human being. Should my symptoms not define it?? I dealt with so much tiredness in school. I really feel it effected my work. I could have really benefited from an energy boost!

    The biggest effect on my weightloss journey would the tiredness. I have insomnia too, so it's just all messed up. I feel so tired, but why can't I get to sleep!? I'm always at some level of exhaustion, but I fight through it as best I can. I don't let myself lie in bed all day, even if my body is screaming for it. I get up and get dressed. But sometimes it is just hard to fight :(

    Good luck to you in your journey!

    Wow! Those symptoms are me to a T!!! I suffer from a mild case of insomnia also. A few months ago I had my doc prescribe Ambien and it has been a lifesaver. Unfortunately, insurance will only let me have 15 pills a month, so I just reserve them for the weekends and occasionally during the week if I am especially sleep deprived. I would say it is half insomnia/half my husband snores like a freight train.

    Does the Ambien help you to relax or does it actually put you to sleep? I can be as relaxed as anything, just daydreaming with no particular worries, and I'm still awake hours later. It's so frustrating!!
  • arietamarkaj
    arietamarkaj Posts: 1
    Hi i was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism. i was in europe for 8 months when i started feeling the symptoms of just crying, getting negative thinking all the time, went from being such a happy girl to such a total wreck. i couldnt eat, wouldnt talk to anyone, stayed away from crowds of people where as to i loved going to the clubs and hanging out with my friends! so they gave me anti depressants in europe and im finally off that yucky seroxat for three weeks. and been taking half a zanacs every night! My level of thyroid is 4.8 is that high? what sympoms should i be feeling and if i go to the doctors to get a check up on it do you think they should medicate me? i got this tested in the ER! Im very sensitive to the cold and almost totally get nerve spasms when im out in the cold lots of shivversss!!! my throat hurts alot too and sometimes my left arm and all the way to my neck gets numb. but the worst part is having studdering and having my jaws clench in the cold. could this all be due thyroids? i have gained lots of weight now. :( i know i have got anxiety from it because i never knew what i had bc nothing would show up on my blodd tests in europe and i got to be a little fobic. thanks for your time i hope this goes aways :(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
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