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Feeling Discouraged...help?!
NicolioRussell
Posts: 273
So a little bit of my backstory...
When I was 8 years old, I was diagnosed with Graves after my thyroid kept flipping back and forth between hyper and hypo. When I was 9, my specialist decided to go ahead and do radioactive iodine and just toast the sucker. So, I haven't had a physical gland for about 15 years. I've been on synthroid ever since.
At the age of 17 I was switched from a pediatric thyroid specialist to an adult specialist. By the time I was 19, she told me that I was "stable" and I started seeing my family doctor from there on out. (all in my home town).
When I finally got a new family doctor where I live now - moved after college, etc. - she tested my thyroid and found out that it was really low - this was at the age of 22. Over about 3 months, she raised my dosage twice and then determined that my thyroid levels had evened out. Since November 2010, I see her every 6 months to check it just to make sure. My dosage has not been raised since then.
I started really and truly actively working to lose weight in October of 2011 (so a year after my dosage levels were raised). I am on the generic form, levothyroxine, and take it in the AM before any food. My starting weight was about 310 pounds, and I have only lost about 33 pounds since October. I work out 4-5 times per week - at least 30 minutes of cardio each time - eat lots of veggies and fruit, hardly any carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread), and only drink water.
While I don't necessarily feel tired, which might indicate that my thyroid levels might be too low, I really just have to wonder if my levels are too low and it's holding me back from losing the weight. I feel like I should be losing like 7-8 pounds a month with all the work I am putting in, but I'm just not seeing the results. I also have not lost a whole lot of inches.
I was also diagnosed with high blood pressure in Nov. of 2009, and I was put on a diuretic. I'm thinking that I am about ready to come off the meds as I have symptoms of my blood pressure being too low (rush of blood to my head when I stand up, dizziness, etc...).
I am curious if anyone has had any similar experiences with their thyroid. I am starting to wonder if I need to go back to seeing a specialist, or maybe see a nutritionist? I doubt my family doc will up my dosage, especially if my labs are 'normal'.
When I was 8 years old, I was diagnosed with Graves after my thyroid kept flipping back and forth between hyper and hypo. When I was 9, my specialist decided to go ahead and do radioactive iodine and just toast the sucker. So, I haven't had a physical gland for about 15 years. I've been on synthroid ever since.
At the age of 17 I was switched from a pediatric thyroid specialist to an adult specialist. By the time I was 19, she told me that I was "stable" and I started seeing my family doctor from there on out. (all in my home town).
When I finally got a new family doctor where I live now - moved after college, etc. - she tested my thyroid and found out that it was really low - this was at the age of 22. Over about 3 months, she raised my dosage twice and then determined that my thyroid levels had evened out. Since November 2010, I see her every 6 months to check it just to make sure. My dosage has not been raised since then.
I started really and truly actively working to lose weight in October of 2011 (so a year after my dosage levels were raised). I am on the generic form, levothyroxine, and take it in the AM before any food. My starting weight was about 310 pounds, and I have only lost about 33 pounds since October. I work out 4-5 times per week - at least 30 minutes of cardio each time - eat lots of veggies and fruit, hardly any carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread), and only drink water.
While I don't necessarily feel tired, which might indicate that my thyroid levels might be too low, I really just have to wonder if my levels are too low and it's holding me back from losing the weight. I feel like I should be losing like 7-8 pounds a month with all the work I am putting in, but I'm just not seeing the results. I also have not lost a whole lot of inches.
I was also diagnosed with high blood pressure in Nov. of 2009, and I was put on a diuretic. I'm thinking that I am about ready to come off the meds as I have symptoms of my blood pressure being too low (rush of blood to my head when I stand up, dizziness, etc...).
I am curious if anyone has had any similar experiences with their thyroid. I am starting to wonder if I need to go back to seeing a specialist, or maybe see a nutritionist? I doubt my family doc will up my dosage, especially if my labs are 'normal'.
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Replies
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Unfortunately most/all of us have had a similar experience to what you describe. I can tell you my theory about it...
- We gain weight because of what we eat
- We can't lose weight because of our thyroid, adrenals, metabolism, etc.
I think those of us with thyroid issues wish we could eat whatever we want, processed foods, junk food, alcohol, candy, sweet snacks, salty snacks, etc. But we can't. Our body cannot tolerate bad food -- our metabolism is messed up and most of the food we eat ends up being stored as fat.
So, the first thing we have to do is get control of what we put in our mouth. Speaking for myself, exercise does not help me to lose weight - it helps me to maintain my weight if I am eating healthy food.
The next thing you have to do is find a doctor that will test all your metabolic levels and that will treat your symptoms. Sounds like your doctor is testing for TSH only, which is useless.
Here's some links to help you to educate yourself - I recommend the entire site of www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
- How to find a good doctor: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/how-to-find-a-good-doc/
- What Labs your dr. should run to get a handle on your metabolism: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/recommended-labwork/
You are very young and have a great opportunity to get ahead of this, but you need to find the right doctor and educate yourself about thyroid disease. And you need to be strong enough to hold yourself accountable for what you eat. It's not just about our thyroid --
0 -
Unfortunately most/all of us have had a similar experience to what you describe. I can tell you my theory about it...
- We gain weight because of what we eat
- We can't lose weight because of our thyroid, adrenals, metabolism, etc.
I think those of us with thyroid issues wish we could eat whatever we want, processed foods, junk food, alcohol, candy, sweet snacks, salty snacks, etc. But we can't. Our body cannot tolerate bad food -- our metabolism is messed up and most of the food we eat ends up being stored as fat.
So, the first thing we have to do is get control of what we put in our mouth. Speaking for myself, exercise does not help me to lose weight - it helps me to maintain my weight if I am eating healthy food.
The next thing you have to do is find a doctor that will test all your metabolic levels and that will treat your symptoms. Sounds like your doctor is testing for TSH only, which is useless.
Here's some links to help you to educate yourself - I recommend the entire site of www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
- How to find a good doctor: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/how-to-find-a-good-doc/
- What Labs your dr. should run to get a handle on your metabolism: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/recommended-labwork/
You are very young and have a great opportunity to get ahead of this, but you need to find the right doctor and educate yourself about thyroid disease. And you need to be strong enough to hold yourself accountable for what you eat. It's not just about our thyroid --
Thanks! Accountability is not an issue. I've been doing my best to be vigilant about what I eat for the last 7 months....but I still feel like I'm not making any progress really.
When I see my doc next month I will talk to her about testing all of my metabolic levels and I will check out that website!0
This discussion has been closed.