Needing help on hypothyroidism

I would recommend seeing an endocrinologist. My General practitioner only treated my lab values. And while my labs would show I was in the normal range, I didn’t feel good. He wasn’t listening to my ongoing symptoms. I found a good Endo and he listened. We are trying a new / different mix of meds and while I still don’t feel great I know he will listen to me when I go back and we can tweak it again. Good luck and be your own advocate!

When I was first diagnosed, my GP put me on the lowest dose and told me to come back in a year. I knew that was wrong, so I made her retest in 3 months and sure enough, the dosage needed to be altered. It can take a while to find the right dose, and even then, it can change with time. I seem to get an increased dose every 5 years or so. I get tested every year. With proper dosage, weight loss is no more difficult than it is for other people.

jockette18 wrote: »

I have always found with my hypothroidism that diet is good but exercise is the key to weight loss for me.

You are so right.
As someone who have suffered with for over 30 years, exercise is the key.
Having a good diet is important, but doing exercise really does the trick.

I am hypothyroid and FINALLY have normal values after over a year of adjusting my thyroid supplement. I was diagnosed by an endocrinologist at Stanford, but only started to feel better after switching to a functional medicine doc who added supplements to support my thyroid and other hormones. It takes consistent careful follow up until things stabilize. If your dr just gave you a pill and sent you on your way, this is highly inappropriate.

No one can entirely tell you what supplements you should be taking, because we don't know what you're eating or what's available in your water, etc. The first thing you need to do is REALLY work on your medication compliance. It helps a lot to *always* take your meds at the same time every day. When I first started, I needed a mnemonic to help me, so I put my thyroid pill in my morning coffee cup, because I drank coffee every morning. After a month or two that was steady and pretty reliable, as long as I was getting up at the same time every day. Now I remember to take my pill even if I'm going back to bed to sleep in.

When you go back to get your thyroid level retested, (Thyroid medication takes 6-8 weeks to be absorbed and normalized in your body, so any testing more frequently than every 2-3 months is both expensive and mostly useless.) you can ask for a basic metabolic panel (blood test) which should give you an idea of what other supplemental nutrients are low in your normal diet, and you can ask your pharmacist about pill timing to idealize your uptake on the supplemental nutrients. It may be a good idea to just go over *everything* you're taking with your pharmacist anyway and get some idea of what groupings you can create for convenience.) Some items shouldn't be taken with your thyroid med, and some can be as long as you're very consistent.

Walking is my first, best exercise. Low level steady state cardio seems to help reduce my water retention and keep everything moving along well in my system. My actual workouts outside of walking my dogs are heavy lifting, about 2-3 days per week - only about 30 minutes per session is enough.

Be patient, be CONSISTENT, and follow up with your doctor(s). Thyroid disease is pretty easy to treat and you should be down to the "normal" number of weight loss woes in no time, once you've nailed down the really hard parts of this gig... Pill timing and consistency. Sadly, this is the hardest part for many of us, because it's so ridiculously unremarkable, but also SO IMPORTANT.