Thyroid and weight loss
bekahbarnes3
Posts: 1 Member
In the fall got diagnosed with hypothyroidism and seem to only be gaining no matter what I try. Any advice? Im pretty frustrated and miserable.
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Replies
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Medication?0
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For starters, read this:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10767046/hypothyroidism-and-weight-management/
It was written by a scientist in the hypothyroidism field, who had his thyroid surgically removed, and who lost weight using MFP.
Untreated hypothyroidism can cause water weight gain (shows on scale and body, but isn't fat), fatigue (reduces activity, so may trigger weight gain if calories don't also reduce), and possibly changes in appetite (so may eat more, possibly only subtly more - 100 extra calories a day is 10 pounds in a year).
Getting properly treated is important, and will make things easier, but even untreated hypothyroidism doesn't make weight management literally impossible. The choices are to blame it, or find a way around it, and you'll likely see both of those strategies at work here.
Weight loss can be challenging for everyone. It's a little more challenging for someone who's hypothyroid and untreated. For someone who's properly medicated, weight loss should be no more difficult than it is for someone with a normal thyroid gland . . . which is not to say it's effortless, of course.
I've been severely hypothyroid for nearly 20 years, but am properly medicated. After about 3 decades of obesity, I lost about 50 pounds, down to a healthy weight, in 2015, and have stayed there since, using MFP. It can work.
For sure, get your meds properly dosed, and take them religiously, exactly as per directions (empty stomach, wait before eating, and more: Read the directions).
Set up your MFP profile, don't try to lose super fast, stick to your calorie goal, log carefully, and monitor for 4-6 weeks. (If you're a premenopausal woman, monitor until you can compare the same point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, if not 3.) Then, adjust your calorie goal based on your average weekly weight loss, to lose at a sensible, moderate rate going forward. That's about it. There aren't any magical diets or foods.
Best wishes!
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If your thyroid medication is not working, go back to the doctor. Levothyroxine alone does not do it for everyone. You may need a combination med with T3 and T4 in it.2
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I second getting blood tests checked.
Once you are medicated adequately, you are in same boat as everyone else for weight loss
Paperpudding n=1.
Lost weight to goal in 2013.
Had thyroid tumour and hemithyroidectomy in 2016.
Made zero difference to calories required.
Of course that is with correct thyroxine replacement.2 -
I have struggled with the same problem my whole life. Medication and blood tests come back normal. I find exercising 30 min every day without fail in the morning increases my metabolism throughout the day. I only eat my exercise calories if I am really hungry. You can do this!:)0
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I have hypothyroidism, a nonfunctioning thyroid. This past year I put on 30 lbs. Feeling sluggish but I make it through my work days. Leaves little energy for exercise. I did MyFitnessPal 3 years ago. I feel more inspired doing this program. Really looking forward to this round.0
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KathLeenMVP wrote: »I have hypothyroidism, a nonfunctioning thyroid. This past year I put on 30 lbs. Feeling sluggish but I make it through my work days. Leaves little energy for exercise. I did MyFitnessPal 3 years ago. I feel more inspired doing this program. Really looking forward to this round.
When was the last time you had a full thyroid panel done?2 -
I have to second @Annpt77. I am also hypothyroid and I lost 108 pounds on mfp. It took 2 years but I am maintaining for the most part. In fact interestingly enough my thyroid meds had to be reduced this year. It can be done and all you need is patience. Personally I lost a bit slower than some but I did lose. Don't expect 2 pounds a week, take your time so you maintain muscle mass and can stick with it for the long haul. Good luck.2
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I've lost 160 pounds and have both hypothyroidism and Stage 3 kidney disease. Talk about walking a nutritional tightrope! I just went on Levothyroxine and am hoping it will get me back to losing weight. Because of the under-active thyroid, I've been at a plateau for a couple of months. It's frustrating to do all the right things and get no reward in the end, but the alternative is worse.6
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I lost the weight I wanted to lose while being hypothyroid with hashimotos and not being treated. It wasn't easy due to tiredness, but I still lost the weight.0
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Make sure you are on the right doses of meds - they recently changed the recommendation, now they should be aiming for TSH under 3, whereas before it was under 5, but many doctors are still using the older values. You can lose weight no matter what, but with medication it’s much much easier, especially since it’s easier to be active. Best of luck to you.1
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49 male / down to 315 from 335 in 2-months but up from 260 in past 2-years. Fairly certain it’s from eating too much, and bad food choices; but recently discovered golf ball sized thyroid mass during chest CT for breathing trouble. Two inconclusive biopsies, Endo says thyroid “function normal” but next step is surgery to remove entire thyroid. Also says no big deal, thyroid hormone replacement very common nowadays. Should I be worried?
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49 male / down to 315 from 335 in 2-months but up from 260 in past 2-years. Fairly certain it’s from eating too much, and bad food choices; but recently discovered golf ball sized thyroid mass during chest CT for breathing trouble. Two inconclusive biopsies, Endo says thyroid “function normal” but next step is surgery to remove entire thyroid. Also says no big deal, thyroid hormone replacement very common nowadays. Should I be worried?
This is very similar to my situation - not the weight loss amount but the thyroid story.
except mine was picked up by coincidence because I work at a Dr's surgery and one day Dr M says Hey paperpudding how long have you had that lump? Me: What lump? - because amazingly I hadnt noticed it growing - although in hindsight I could see it in photos from months before, not sure how I didnt notice.
Ultrasound showed it to be 5 cm wide - so I guess that is about a golf ball diameter.
anyway, like you, I had tests: fine needle biopsies, dye tracking - all of which were inconclusive and then next ultrasound showed it to have grown nearly a cm.
So, benign or not, it is going to keep growing and will eventually interfere with swallowing and breathing
My blood tests showed lower end of normal - specialist said he thought levels would be dropping from the tumour but couldnt say for sure since we had no previous tests to compare to
Next step was surgery to remove half my thyroid - the tumour was only on one side - and if cancerous to also do follow up treatment.
Fortunately for me it was not.
Thyroid replacement is indeed very common - not always from surgery, many times people's levels just fall medically.
The specialist told me it was best to go on low dose replacement, even though I still had one functioning side.
That was in 2016 - other than minor adjustments to dose depending on blood test results, no further issues.
The other thing the specialist told me was that thyroid cancer is very easy to treat and has a very good prognosis.
Although for me, the tumour turned out to be benign.
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@paperpudding thanks for the response. I should clarify, they also told me that the surgery might only take half the thyroid but sometimes the whole thing has to go, they don’t know until they are in there ... I too can now see the lump once they pointed it out. The doctor could definitely feel it. That was fun, they brought in a student and were like “hey, check this out...”. They asked my permission of course but I’ve never been a training prop before. Anyway, I do feel better to hear from someone else first hand. I almost wanted to get a second doctor’s opinion but it seems so simple it’s not worth the time or money. I can see the lump and like you said, cancer or not it needs to go... I’m just pre-diabetic, overweight, and have had complications from previous back surgeries. I lost partial eyesight during one 10-hour extended back surgery and had a hard time coming out of anesthesia. Thus I’m a little concerned about more surgery. They also give you the disclaimer about how they might damage your vocal cords... not that my singing career is taking off or anything but I was nervous about loss of eyesight in the long list of forms I had to sign last time and then it happened. My wife says I need to stop saying these thing out loud and maybe they won’t happen. I tell her I’m going to win the lottery and never do so I don’t think the Universe is listening to me that closely!! Again, thanks for sharing your story, it was more impactful to hear from someone directly than to just read it on the Mayo Clinic website.5
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@pslansky, if you haven't yet, suggest you read the link I posted near the start of this thread, so informative, and the author himself went through such surgery IIRC.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10767046/hypothyroidism-and-weight-management/
I personally didn't, but am sending hopes for excellent outcomes for you!0 -
plansky, glad you found my post helpful.
Yes they have to give you all the disclaimers - one of which was damage to vocal cords, usually temporary if I recall the risk correctly.
That side effect did not happen to me.
can't speak to your anaesthetic risks - as they did not apply to me. I was not overweight and not diabetic.
But I was about your age (52 in 2016)
I spent one night in hospital in HDU, next day was told I could stay another night in general ward if I wanted to or could go home if someone was going to be with me.
I chose to go home.
had sutures out a week later and commenced thyroxine replacement, along with annual ultrasound checks for next 2 years ( I think that was in case other side started growing one too)
I took minor pain killers at night for first few days after and had 1 week off work. (actually 4 business days - had the surgery Tues and was back at work following Mon)
One thing I did find which wasnt mentioned was driving - was bit painful in first week or so - mainly turning your neck to reverse.
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paperpudding wrote: »plansky, glad you found my post helpful.
Yes they have to give you all the disclaimers - one of which was damage to vocal cords, usually temporary if I recall the risk correctly.
That side effect did not happen to me.
can't speak to your anaesthetic risks - as they did not apply to me. I was not overweight and not diabetic.
But I was about your age (52 in 2016)
I spent one night in hospital in HDU, next day was told I could stay another night in general ward if I wanted to or could go home if someone was going to be with me.
I chose to go home.
had sutures out a week later and commenced thyroxine replacement, along with annual ultrasound checks for next 2 years ( I think that was in case other side started growing one too)
I took minor pain killers at night for first few days after and had 1 week off work. (actually 4 business days - had the surgery Tues and was back at work following Mon)
One thing I did find which wasnt mentioned was driving - was bit painful in first week or so - mainly turning your neck to reverse.
that is about my experience as a 32yr when i had mine removed - however, i wasn't allowed to drive for a week (the surgeon said this is due to anesthesia still technically being in your system and decreased reflexes)0 -
a week post anaesthetic??
gee, that is very conservative.
I think the general rule for most surgery here is 24 hours - moot point for thyroid surgery as you are going to be in hospital for at least 24 hours anyway.
My husband picked me up from hospital but I was driving next day - ie had surgery Tues and was driving on Thursday.
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paperpudding wrote: »a week post anaesthetic??
gee, that is very conservative.
I think the general rule for most surgery here is 24 hours - moot point for thyroid surgery as you are going to be in hospital for at least 24 hours anyway.
My husband picked me up from hospital but I was driving next day - ie had surgery Tues and was driving on Thursday.
yep - i remember vividly because i had to survive my mother's driving for a week...lol!0 -
@paperpudding thanks for the response. I should clarify, they also told me that the surgery might only take half the thyroid but sometimes the whole thing has to go, they don’t know until they are in there ... I too can now see the lump once they pointed it out. The doctor could definitely feel it. That was fun, they brought in a student and were like “hey, check this out...”. They asked my permission of course but I’ve never been a training prop before. Anyway, I do feel better to hear from someone else first hand. I almost wanted to get a second doctor’s opinion but it seems so simple it’s not worth the time or money. I can see the lump and like you said, cancer or not it needs to go... I’m just pre-diabetic, overweight, and have had complications from previous back surgeries. I lost partial eyesight during one 10-hour extended back surgery and had a hard time coming out of anesthesia. Thus I’m a little concerned about more surgery. They also give you the disclaimer about how they might damage your vocal cords... not that my singing career is taking off or anything but I was nervous about loss of eyesight in the long list of forms I had to sign last time and then it happened. My wife says I need to stop saying these thing out loud and maybe they won’t happen. I tell her I’m going to win the lottery and never do so I don’t think the Universe is listening to me that closely!! Again, thanks for sharing your story, it was more impactful to hear from someone directly than to just read it on the Mayo Clinic website.
Ask to speak to your anesthesiologist before surgery and be sure to explain your history to them. They will want to know about the vision and extended time coming out of anesthesia. If you are sedated the night before surgery or otherwise not up to par, make sure your wife is there to advocate for you if you can’t advocate for yourself.1 -
It very much depends on the surgery and type of anesthesia. For my ovarian surgery it was 2 weeks, and I definitely needed the whole time. I didn’t feel normal for almost a month after surgery. Deep anesthesia actually has lingering effects on IQ months after surgery.paperpudding wrote: »a week post anaesthetic??
gee, that is very conservative.
I think the general rule for most surgery here is 24 hours - moot point for thyroid surgery as you are going to be in hospital for at least 24 hours anyway.
My husband picked me up from hospital but I was driving next day - ie had surgery Tues and was driving on Thursday.
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Wow folks! Everyone is so helpful. I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for all the responses. I have an Endo appointment tomorrow at 9am for follow-up. #AnnPt77 thanks for the article. Being in an engineering field I thrive on learning. New information and new data points always help me understand and cope with challenges. I read through the article you posted, and definitely need to go through it a few more times to really unpack everything that is in there. I do feel like it helped me prepare to ask my doctor the right questions. #rheddmobile great idea about talking to the anesthesiologist about my past experiences. I’m sure they can make adjustments. My wife will definitely be there, last time she had to stop the nurses from giving me insulin while I was waking up since I was only pre-diabetic and not on insulin. I’m encouraged by everyone’s testimonies and experiences. Thanks again, y’all are awesome!!!
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