Your experience with stopping Synthroid after weight loss?

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saramelie77
saramelie77 Posts: 50 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been taking a low dose of Synthroid for the past 10 years (0.05mg). I'm about 100 lb overweight. Anyone had success stopping the Synthroid once they lost major weight? I would love that.

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  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
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    Sorry but it doesn't usually work that way. I've been on thyroid meds for 15+ years. I lost 55 lbs. and the dosage didn't change. It went up a few years ago, but not down with the weight loss.
  • elainemariebenes
    elainemariebenes Posts: 16 Member
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    it actually did happen to me. after 100 pounds lost i didn’t need it anymore. when i questioned my doctor how this could be, as i was always told thyroid meds were lifelong, she just shrugged and said sometimes bodies do weird things. i wouldn’t count on that being your experience, but there’s always a chance.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
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    I didn't think hypothyroidism could be improved by losing weight? I've been on Levothyroxin for at least 12 years and while it made it easier for me to lose weight, losing weight has in no way affected my thyroid/TSH numbers.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,394 Member
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    You might need less, but 50mcg is not really a high dose. To be honest, the dose to treat hypo is as per the notes in my package at least 100mcg. And as hypothyroidism is generally a progressive disease it's unlikely you'll be able to get off it. Go with how you feel, and also try to get regular fT3 and fT4 bloods. Doctors generally don't like doing the fT3, but that's the important one. Most people feel good at the middle to upper 1/3 of the range and poor below. Remember: there's no reason to feel poor with hypo. If you do it's likely that you're undertreated.
  • saramelie77
    saramelie77 Posts: 50 Member
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    ""You might need less, but 50mcg is not really a high dose. To be honest, the dose to treat hypo is as per the notes in my package at least 100mcg""

    Hmm... interesting! I am taking a really low dose, and my blood works are fine on it, so I'm wondering if I even need it....! I'll have to chat with the doctor
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
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    Hypothyroidism is typically a lifelong condition. One does not get to stop their meds. It is not like diabetes or hypertension where sometimes lifestyle changes can control the disease. Weight loss plays no role in the control of hypothyroidism.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,394 Member
    edited December 2020
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    saramelie77 wrote: »
    ""You might need less, but 50mcg is not really a high dose. To be honest, the dose to treat hypo is as per the notes in my package at least 100mcg""

    Hmm... interesting! I am taking a really low dose, and my blood works are fine on it, so I'm wondering if I even need it....! I'll have to chat with the doctor

    Do you feel you need it? Do you feel tired, poor concentration, freezing, no energy, lots of other things? I'm just asking because doctors are often quick to say that your blood works are fine while you feel not so well. And of course there's the possibility that your bloods are fine because you're on this medication.

    And yes, levothyroxine is not a medicine that cures your thyroid but it's a hormone replacement therapy, giving you the hormones that your thyroid (partially) stopped making.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,164 Member
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    My dosage for thyroid meds (generic levothyroxine in my case) didn't change at all, from a weight in the mid-180s pounds, to a weight in the mid-120s.

    Since levo comes in many dosage increments, starting at 25mcg (actually 13mcg in some less-common forms)**, I'm extremely doubtful of the idea that 100mcg is all that low. Here, they usually start people low, and gradually move up, because being over-medicated is a Bad Thing.

    FWIW, I'm experimenting with 162mcg (25mcg+137mcg) daily, at my own request, even though I was feeling well on 175mcg (testing right on or just below the normal TSH range).

    ** Ref, for example: https://reference.medscape.com/drug/synthroid-levoxyl-levothyroxine-342732 100-125mcg is a common dose, for what they refer to as mild hypo.
  • lisaap77
    lisaap77 Posts: 123 Member
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    It would depend on the type of hypothyroidism you have. If yours is acquired, than there is a chance of reversal and thus not needing medications. This can only be done through close monitoring with your physician. Now, if it is auto-immune, there is no reversing. It is life-long. If you are unsure what type you have, you need to be having that discussion with your physician, as well.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,394 Member
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    There's also the possibility that TO had an antibody test at a certain time and her gp wants to prevent future problems. We don't know.
    @AnnPT77 I said 50mcg seems low, as if her GP started her on the medication once, but forgot to look how things are going. Or he might consider a higher TSH fine. We don't know.
  • saramelie77
    saramelie77 Posts: 50 Member
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    ""There's also the possibility that TO had an antibody test at a certain time and her gp wants to prevent future problems. We don't know.""

    No antibody testing. No Hashimoto or anything like it. Just a classic lowered thyroid function discover during pregnancy 10 years ago.
    Anyways thanks for all the answers!
  • vggb
    vggb Posts: 132 Member
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    saramelie77 wrote: »
    Hmm... interesting! I am taking a really low dose, and my blood works are fine on it, so I'm wondering if I even need it....! I'll have to chat with the doctor

    Your thyroid levels are fine because of the medication. I take the lowest dose of Levothyroxine and my numbers haven't changed after losing weight. The doctor says the numbers are great.
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 4,800 Member
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    My levels did not change after I lost 30 pounds. I take a smallish dose as well but it is because I have nodules (smallish ones) and it helps my thyroid. If you have never had your thyroid ultrasounded then you might want to request it. My level has increases slightly due more to age than anything I think but it's still pretty low.

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