Hypothyroidism support

Any one suffer from hypothyroidism and have success keeping weight off or even maintaining a healthy weight? Would love to know any supplements, tips and info anyone has. Thanks! :)
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Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    Aveseves wrote: »
    Any one suffer from hypothyroidism and have success keeping weight off or even maintaining a healthy weight? Would love to know any supplements, tips and info anyone has. Thanks! :)

    Is your condition well controlled with medication yet, or are you still working to get stabilized?
  • Aveseves
    Aveseves Posts: 62 Member
    Kimny72: meds are good. I'm on nature thyroid and had blood work done two weeks ago. Levels are all in normal range...even though I don't feel great they say everything is..

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    Aveseves wrote: »
    Kimny72: meds are good. I'm on nature thyroid and had blood work done two weeks ago. Levels are all in normal range...even though I don't feel great they say everything is..

    From what I've seen on these boards, once your numbers are good, you *should* be able to lose weight normally, but that's just my understanding secondhand. If you don't get more action on this thread, try using the search function for "thyroid" and you should find some of the threads we've had before regarding this. We have a ton of women with all sorts of thyroid issues seeing success on here, if you keep poking around you're sure to find them!

    In the meantime, these threads are super helpful generally for weight loss:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

    Welcome! :drinker:
  • Aveseves
    Aveseves Posts: 62 Member
    Thank you! I'll look into that and I appreciate you helping navigate through this app. Its overwhelming:)

    Thanks for the positive feedback!
  • AdaMaraNma
    AdaMaraNma Posts: 27 Member
    Pure Black seed oil. The oil, not the pills.
  • Aveseves
    Aveseves Posts: 62 Member
    AdaMaraNma wrote: »
    Pure Black seed oil. The oil, not the pills.

    What does black seed oil do? And how do you take it?
  • tracengel
    tracengel Posts: 28 Member
    I've had an underactive thyroid for over 15 years, never really controlled properly. In the last 18 months or so, I saw a new doctor who increased my levothyroxine dosage quite dramatically - all other doctors had treated it very conservatively over the years.

    Over the next few months I dropped nearly 20kg - without planning to.
    The issue was simply that when my thyroid was uncontrolled, i had zero energy and moved very little. That combined with a crazy work schedule meant that i was at my desk 16 hours a day and then straight to bed, for years. Once thyroid was better, I began naturally moving more, which then evolved into proper exercise and a focus on my calories, and have kept the weight off since then.
    The trick is to find a doctor who takes your symptoms seriously and doesn't only look at "numbers".
    If you don't feel right, you're never going to have the mental or physical energy it takes to make changes and keep them up.
  • princessjulia59
    princessjulia59 Posts: 4 Member
    I have the same issue. Dr put me on medicine but i had side effects. I don't like medicine at all so reached out looking for natural remedies. A friend who takes Youngevity suggested that i didn't have enough iodine in my body so i started taking detoxadine 2 x a day{ 3 drops} and selenium two times a day. I feel much better and i have a lot more energie, also lost the 8 lbs that i couldn't lose no matter what i did. My blood work is this Friday for tsh so i will find out if it's working .
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    Been Hypothyroid most of my life. I didn't lose weight when they finally medicated me but I did lose when I got serious a few years ago and have managed to maintain since.

    I agree that many docs seem to undermedicate. I suspect that is true in my case since my body temp runs anywhere from 95 to 97 normally.

    Anyway weight loss for me came when I really changed my eating habits and kept my calories low. I also started walking daily. I still log daily even though I've been in maintenance over a year.
  • cmsavells
    cmsavells Posts: 257 Member
    I’ve been hypothyroid for 22 years. It took several months to get under control. My TSH stayed on the high end of normal range until I went through menopause. Then the TSH jumped drastically. They increased my meds and I’ve felt much better. I’ve lost 32 pounds since the medication increase in February. I had lost 15 before that but it was a battle. I’m down a total of 47 pounds since October 2018.

    Connie
  • peggs71
    peggs71 Posts: 3 Member
    One doctor that treated me in the past told me that he generally undermedicated for Hypothyroidism because there were studies that showed one of the risks for ‘too much’ medication was a fatal stroke. Of course, that didn’t help my symptoms any! I have a more knowledgeable doctor now!
  • Riley4ever
    Riley4ever Posts: 225 Member
    Hi. Recommend you always ask for a print out of your blood results. ‘Normal’ ranges can be very wide and misleading! being hypothyroid you need to be at optimum range as we struggle to absorb nutrients, vits and minerals. A good example of this is with both B12 and iron as at the lower end of normal can experience, fatigue, breathlessness, anxiety, brain fog etc.

    Always get B12, vit D, folate and iron checked every 6 months until optimum (there are plenty of hypothyroid fb forums who will advise you on optimal levels) and then at least once per year.

    Other key things are to limit caffeine (and avoid 2hrs either side of meds’. Also avoid soy and iron near meds intake as these also disrupt absorption).

    We’re all different and I know many hypothyroid sufferers really struggle with losing. I’ve managed to lose but my weight constantly yo-yo’s and can fluctuate really dramatically over short periods of time if don’t remain disciplined with eating and exercise. I lost 70lbs in 2010 and kept it off for 8 years but put nearly all back on again after really stressful year (stress can really hamper digestion as well as challenge will power). Back on here to lose it all again! I think endo’s discourage overmedicating T4 levythyroxine as long term if TSH is suppressed it can stress the heart so they tend to err on side of caution.

    Good luck. By the way BetterYou do great oral sprays for B12 and vit D which I take daily.
  • cmsavells
    cmsavells Posts: 257 Member
    Several people have mentioned taking the thyroid meds on an empty stomach and waiting at least an hour to eat. Another important one to remember is to avoid calcium or foods high in calcium for at least 4 hours after meds. This one is really difficult for me as yogurt is one of my favorite breakfast foods. I end up having yogurt mid-afternoon. That’s OK, but I really miss it in the morning.

    Connie in KY
  • pinaycoco
    pinaycoco Posts: 59 Member
    Aveseves wrote: »
    Any one suffer from hypothyroidism and have success keeping weight off or even maintaining a healthy weight? Would love to know any supplements, tips and info anyone has. Thanks! :)

    Hello! I would love to add you. I have Hashimoto's. I'm here hoping to find some people who have similar experiences and stay motivated to exercise daily. We can do this!
  • lg013
    lg013 Posts: 215 Member
    Changing my diet and getting to the gym 5-6 times a week was key. I’m even finding better foods and regular exercise seems to keep my levels from fluctuating like it used to!
  • kamsue101
    kamsue101 Posts: 33 Member
    I was diagnosed 22 years ago. It means being weight loss resistant. Which to me means working harder to lose weight and stay in shape. My doctor put me on synthroid and I now take it at night. It means not eating for a couple hours before bedtime. But that helps prevent acid reflux😊 and I get to eat as soon as I wake up. Waiting an hour to eat doesn’t work for me. I get busy and end up snacking until lunch time. I could write you a book on all the ups and downs I’ve had over the years with my hypothyroidism. But don’t worry, I won’t.

    What works for you is what you will need to discover. Try different things. Writing things down is very helpful. My Fitness Pal is a great way to keep track of what you eat. Especially if you don’t like to journal.

    Remember, you are worth the effort it takes to get healthier and feel stronger.
  • Pearl4686
    Pearl4686 Posts: 918 Member
    I've tagged you in another thread you night find helpful.

    I've been hypothyroid for a very long time and mostly stable on meds with a few ups and downs.
    My personal experience is that I've gained and lost weight while hypothyroid like anyone else. Maybe we have to be more consistent but generally for me it's purely to do with what I eat. I used to blame it on the condition but now I think it's in my head. If I am in the right frame of mind, the weight will come off and vice versa.
    Most recently, I was feeling unwell and my my bloods showed i was over-medicated. So my doctor reduced my meds but interestingly, I continued to lose weight at the same rate.
    Just my personal experience, might not be the same for everyone.
    Good luck to you!
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    tagging @CSARdiver

    also for the normal bloodword - there is the normal range and then there is optimal for your body. So for example, normal range is .5-4.5 for TSH - however, for me, anything over 1.0 and i start getting pretty serious hypothyroid symptoms - so in conjunction with my doctor we keep mine on the very low end
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,257 Member
    Welcome aboard! There are several regulars here who have found various degrees of success.

    What version of hypothyroidism do you have? Did you have some manner of thyroidectomy? Were you diagnosed with Hashimoto's? What were the results of your full thyroid panel - TSH, fT3, fT4, rT3?

    As far as supplements go there isn't much value unless you have a specific deficiency. I always like to point out that supplements by nature are deemed so because they cannot prove their effectiveness - otherwise they would be classified as pharmaceuticals.

    Finding MFP was a great awakening for me. I had a total thyroidectomy due to cancer in 2000 and put on ~60 lbs over the next 14 years. I fell for much of the internet woo and thought I was doomed with a slow metabolism. None of this was true and I simply transitioned from a high active career in the military to a cushy civilian job in academia - rarely exercised and had no clue what my caloric intake was. Once I started logging my activity and intake I lost 60 lbs in the first year through gradually increasing my activity and establishing a caloric deficit.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    On the subject of thyroid issues especially, always listen to @CSARdiver. His science is grade triple A.

    I'm quite hypothyroid, diagnosed after cancer treatment 19 years ago: Might be a cancer treatment side effect, might be genetic. I'm well controlled on 175mcg levothyroxine, TSH way at the bottom of normal range, occasionally just slightly below (but zero hypo symptoms, so my doc is fine with it). Mid-normal range, I don't feel as good.

    I lost around 50 pounds back in 2015, obese to healthy weight, and have stayed at a healthy weight since, just calorie counting and eating a balanced diet.

    It can work. Dial in the basics first, before worrying about special stuff. :flowerforyou: