Hyperthyroid

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knorris84
knorris84 Posts: 141 Member
Hello lovely people! This question is for a friend of mine. She was recently told that she has hyperthyroid. She is about 50 pounds overweight and she eats very little most days. She's not very active as far as an exercise program, but she does have a toddler and a baby. She chases them around all day and they are always on the go to like the zoo and things. She has been eating keto for a while now. She is losing but it has been at a slow rate. She is starting to get very discouraged with the talk of having to go on medication that will make it nearly impossible to lose weight. She goes back to her doctor in 2 weeks to do more testing and see if she will have to have medicine. Our question is can keto help with hyperthyroidism? Will it help her to continue to lose weight even if on the medication? She just wanted a little information if at all possible for herself before she goes back in 2 weeks. Any light you could shed would be greatly appreciated. I don't want her to get discouraged and give up since she really is trying so hard. Thank you in advance!

Replies

  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    That sounds more like hypothyroid symptoms than hyperthyroid (low vs high).

    Keto inhibits T4 to T3 conversion and low insulin levels (as with keto) suppress the liver's production of both, so it would be good for hyper, but bad for hypo.

    Low carb, but not keto levels, is recommended for hypo.

    But really, she should talk to her doctor and do her own research.
  • knorris84
    knorris84 Posts: 141 Member
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    That sounds more like hypothyroid symptoms than hyperthyroid (low vs high).

    Keto inhibits T4 to T3 conversion and low insulin levels (as with keto) suppress the liver's production of both, so it would be good for hyper, but bad for hypo.

    Low carb, but not keto levels, is recommended for hypo.

    But really, she should talk to her doctor and do her own research.

    Thank you so much! Yes she is talking with her doctor but was just wanting some information before she went back to her. Think her doctor was just in and out and didn't really take any time with her. I also thought hypo too with her symptoms. Which they said I had hypo when I was trying to get pregnant a few years back but I had all the symptoms of hyper turned out after I had my son my thyroid is fine. It's crazy what a little thyroid can do to a person
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    Yes, and they don't test adrenal levels, but if they get out of whack they will frequently kick the thyroid out of balance and you can't fix that by fixing the thyroid, you really have to fix the root adrenal issue.

    There's a reason doctors call what they do "practice".
  • knorris84
    knorris84 Posts: 141 Member
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    You are absolutely right about that!
  • cricketpower
    cricketpower Posts: 1,381 Member
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    Hyperthyroidism generally presents with increased appetite and weight loss. Everything is sped up -- think increased frequency of bowel movements, difficulty sleeping, anxiety.

    If you are 100% certain they are telling her hyper... I'd strongly advise a second opinion before beginning any medication. She sounds hypo, if anything.

    Also point her to the group at "Stop the Thyroid Madness". There is a wealth of information there.
  • knorris84
    knorris84 Posts: 141 Member
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    Thank you so much! I went back and asked her about hyper/hypo and she said the doctor didn't say for sure which one she was. That doctor doesn't seem to be the best with all this. She is having symptoms of both really. Maybe they were just thinking it could be and haven't actually tested her yet? Or maybe they said it was hypo and she heard wrong? I'm not completely sure I just chat with her through Reddit from time to time and she was so concerned about it and keto and all that I offered to do a thread on here since everyone has been so helpful for me! Thank you so much for replying!
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    edited February 2019
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    Sounds like she needs a proper Endocrinologist and a bit of research. If the doc is not sure which it is after testing... check over this Nat. Institutes of Health paper: https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1140938/
    Autoimmune Thyroid Disease with Fluctuating Thyroid Function

    A rarer form of painful Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (hypo auto-immune) can lead to Grave's Disease (hyper auto-immune).
  • KristaMac88
    KristaMac88 Posts: 163 Member
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    I am not sure about all this.. i am HYPO and on synthroid and have started keto on my own (because my doctor takes months to get in to see) and have lost some weight. Its slow goin, but going. I dont do strict keto and keep my carbs between 20&25 - maybe a tad more if workouts give me back a couple carbs. I assume if my levels were regulated already from meds it wouldnt be a prob.
  • d3gus
    d3gus Posts: 97 Member
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    I have hashimoto's and take armour thyroid for it, basically my immune system is attacking my thyroid, so when chunks get knocked off ( in lay mans terms) it floods my body with thyroid and i can show as hyper, but then of course i have less thyroid left so i go into hypo - they told me for 5 years that nothing was wrong with me - even after putting 8 stone on and my hair falling out and scratching till my body bled - but i was perfectly healthy!my thyroid levels in my blood were within limits' finally my doctor decided to test my antibodies and ta'da - answer was right there, he tried me on synthetic tabs to start but my body couldnt process those, so eventually tried armour and 90% of my symptoms had gone in 2 weeks. I still struggle with my weight, hence why i am on here.. but a low carb diet has really helped me :) there is always someone out there that has been through what your friend is going through.. you just have to ask :)
  • knorris84
    knorris84 Posts: 141 Member
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    Thank you all so very much! I will definitely pass along all of this information to her! Y'all are the best!