My doctor is a JERK and he told me I am going to gain weight

So I just got a new doctor because I moved to a new state. I have hypothyroidism and I have to get blood drawn regularly to check it. I got my blood results back today and my doctor told me I was on too much medication because I was actually showing signs of HYPERthyroid now.

I definitely understand that it takes some tweaking to get the meds right. I understand that he needs to lower it so I can go back down into a normal range.. but what I don't understand is this:

He bluntly told me to my face "You WILL gain weight". Not that I MIGHT gain weight, not that I COULD gain weight, I WILL. How is this even POSSIBLE? How can I gain weight when he's just lowering the dosage so I will be in a normal range? It's not like my thyroid will be working too slow, it will just be normal. So if I'm normal and I genuinly follow my diet plan, am I really going to gain weight? This doesn't make any sense to me. Please tell me this quack is wrong. I really can't handle gaining weight, AT ALL.

I'm not doctor, but it seems to me that doctors are about as good at predicting things like that sometimes and the economists are as good as predictings whats going to happen with the economy.

Look at it this way, you are going to change your dosage because he said so either way right?  So just see what happens, and adjust if you need to.

He may be right, or maybe he's just trying to prepare you for the worst? Either way, just keep eating low cal, and maybe go a little lower if it's still safe (like not under 1200) and keep on exercising :]

Doctors should always be understanding of their patients needs--both physical and emotional.  I would go back to the doctor, or get him on the phone if you can, and ask him to explain why he expects weight gain, if he's trying to prepare you for the worst case scenario, or if he is absolutely sure.  Then ask the same questions you asked here if he's not being alarmist or blunt.  If you are satisfied with the response, yay for you.  If not, or if you just want a second opinion or a gentler doctor, then feel free to see someone else.  You should be happy with your healthcare, and especially your general physician.  If you dont like him or her very much you're less likely to come in for maintenence check-ups.  But more than anything else, you should feel like you have control over your own health and that includes understanding what's happening to you :)

I called my old doctor and left a message so I will see what they say. I'm switching doctors, I'm not listening to that quack. He just assumes that I'm a fat over-eater and that my medicine being too high is what made me lose weight or something. Thus when I go on a lower dosage my over eating will make me fatter again. What a moron.

How do you KNOW that your doctor is thinking all those horrible things about you? You're hyper-sensitive about weight, so you're freaking out, simple as that. Your hormones affect your weight, and while they're fiddling with your dosage it WILL affect your body in some way while you get used to it. Too much thyroid hormone is as bad for your body as too little, so it's really important to get the dosage right. Please give the doctor a chance to help you before you assume that he's a quack.

Does it make sense to YOU that lowering my thyroid medicine so I can be "normal" would make me gain weight? I should only gain weight if my thyroid is too LOW.. like if he were to take me off the medicine. I've been on Synthroid for 5 years, I think I know how my body works with it.

No I'm not giving this doctor a third chance. He was laughing at me as I asked him what he was talking about. My old doctor never acted like that.

The reason I "know" that doctor thinks that about me is because he even said that the medicine is what was making me lose weight. He totally ignored the fact that I diet and exercise, it's like he didn't believe me or something. I KNOW that my efforts are what made me lose this weight. This guy is a godamn moron.

And seriously, thanks for making me feel worse about it. Really, that helps a ton.

I think what the doctor is saying is that even though they are trying to get your meds to the right level so you're "normal," if you have been taking too much,  your thyroid is now OVERactive.

When you take less now, even though it should be normal for you, your body is still getting less of the hormones you HAVE BEEN producing, so as your body adjusts, the assumption there is that you'll gain some weight when the level drops and you stop being in HYPER mode.

I'd compare it to being hopped up on a lot of caffine and you are constantly running around and expending a lot of calories. (This is just a way to explain what I'm thinking the doc was saying.) When you stop drinking the caffine and settle down to your "normal" pace, you won't be as active or using as many calories, and even though that's the "right" pace for you, your body is still going to have to wind down to get to that point...so same with your meds.I'm not a doctor so I can't say if this is accurate, but it's seems to me that's what would explain what he was saying.

Also, you should feel comfortable with your doctor. He should explain whatever needs explaining to you, his patient, and not ever laugh at you (unless you just told an awesome joke). I think his assumption WAS that because of the over medication, you've lost weight, but you know better. BUT it is possible you could gain some weight while your body adjusts, just don't freak out. Adjust your diet/exercise as need be.

That being said, get a new doctor if you want. Whatever is best for you. Also I thing Kajikit was just trying to be fair to the doc, not knowing the whole story. Having worked hard to loose weight and be healthy, you might be overly sensitive about his statements to you. I don't blame you for getting a new doctor if this one isn't listening to you, but don't get too upset if people are trying to see that what the doctor said might make some sense.

My aunt had a thyroid nodule that she CHOSE to keep for as long as possible because it made her thyroid overactive and gave her lots of energy and helped her to get rake thin... she was happy to risk her life, which seems very stupid to me considering that for all she knew it could have been a malignant tumour! Too much thyroid hormones puts your metabolism into overdrive and makes you hyperactive, irritable and moody etc. It can even make you temporarily psychotic if it's out of whack enough... (but just taking a little too much medicine isn't likely to do that - it takes huge levels to have that kind of impact.) IF your excess of thyroid hormones has been helping you to lose weight, then it's going to get harder. But who knows... it doesn't negate dieting and exercise and calorie counting, and the doctor has no idea how hard you work at it just by looking at you. At any rate if you hate the doctor that much there's no point in going back to him. I'm not trying to make you feel bad - I've been laughed out of a specialists office with a pat on the back and a 'some people are just fat' and it feels ****... but that doesn't make ME bad, it just made him an idiot. So far as I'm concerned ALL doctors are next to useless. But if I'm going to pay good money to go and see one, I'm going to at least listen to what they have to say even if I choose to ignore it.

My mom struggled with thyroid issues for many years before they finally had to remove part of it to help her get her levels to be "normal". That was about a year ago and even now they are still trying to adjust her medication. She hasn't changed her lifestyle at all, she eats what I consider to be a pretty good diet, yet she has gained almost 30 pounds since her surgery. It has been very hard for her and really discouraging, shes trying to lose weight but its been pretty hard. I think your doctor was trying to be honest with you. Maybe he is a real jerk and handled it the wrong way. You are in charge of your own body and what happens, but it helps to know what could happen so you are prepared to handle it. I hated my old doctor and I wish I had changed much earlier, my doctor now is much nicer. I think everyone should keep changing doctors till they find one they like and feel comfortable with.

Who cares if you gain a little bit of weight?? Priorities, my dear!  Get your health in order. No one (including you) is going to care that you're thin if your body is all out of whack.

Focus on the task at hand - getting your medication doseage right. Weight does not matter that much, unless it is severely effecting your health.

I dunno, I don't see a doctor telling you you'll gain weight as a jerk thing to do. I think he'd be a jerk if he told you that it WOULDN'T make you gain weight & then that ended up not being true.
At least he's trying to lay it all out there for you.

Original Post by no_audience:

Who cares if you gain a little bit of weight?? Priorities, my dear!  Get your health in order. No one (including you) is going to care that you're thin if your body is all out of whack.

Focus on the task at hand - getting your medication doseage right. Weight does not matter that much, unless it is severely effecting your health.

My weight is damaging my heart. My cholesterol won't be normal until I lose my weight. So yeah I am pretty sure my heart is a good reason to freak out. Didn't any of you check how much I weigh? I can't afford to gain anything.

Oh and by the way, I haven't gained a single thing in the past week even since taking the lower dosage. I've actually lost half a pound. :)

See, there you go, you lost weight.   Word.

Well here is something I do know (since I am hypothyroid): I am one of those people that can never have her medicine stay where it needs to be and constantly fluctuates and YES, I do take my medicine at the same time everyday. Anyways, the other I went in for blood work and of course my medicine is high-- I am attributing some of my weight loss to having high levels. I have been working out and following calorie count diet and I assume this helped--but I have reason to believe that since my levels were high helped my weight loss. Why?? Because my non-exsistent (had mine completely removed) thinks that I am hyperthyroid. Now, that my medicine is going to decrease I'm probably going to see my weight shift slightly higher. Here is why: My non-exsistent thyroid has been working harder than needed for the past 6 months. The medicine I'm on works almost instantly--despite what the doctors say I can tell a difference, but whatever. Even the smallest change in your medicine will impact your body, forsure. So now think about it, for a littel while you've been overactive and NOW your medicine is decreasing, but the change is soo quick that your body reacts to it. I don't think your doctor was trying to be harsh, but at least he is honest with you. My doctor said I was only going to gain like 10lbs and I gained 50 soooo, at least he is upfront. Here what I will say, I don't believe your going to gain 10lbs, but I do think you main gain a little bit of weight. But once your body gets back to normal and adjusts that weight should come off quickly i.e. 2 weeks tops (but I'm not a doctor so take my word on this) but this is what happens to me. Now if only I could lose the the 50lbs, well actually 40, (I lost 10) I will be happy.

Hope this helps. =) Don't be too discouraged--

Original Post by jackattack07:

Original Post by no_audience:

Who cares if you gain a little bit of weight?? Priorities, my dear!  Get your health in order. No one (including you) is going to care that you're thin if your body is all out of whack.

Focus on the task at hand - getting your medication doseage right. Weight does not matter that much, unless it is severely effecting your health.

My weight is damaging my heart. My cholesterol won't be normal until I lose my weight. So yeah I am pretty sure my heart is a good reason to freak out. Didn't any of you check how much I weigh? I can't afford to gain anything.

Oh and by the way, I haven't gained a single thing in the past week even since taking the lower dosage. I've actually lost half a pound. :)

Congrats on your weight loss, and keep up the good work! It feels even better knowing you were right and he was wrong!

Original Post by jackattack07:

So I just got a new doctor because I moved to a new state. I have hypothyroidism and I have to get blood drawn regularly to check it. I got my blood results back today and my doctor told me I was on too much medication because I was actually showing signs of HYPERthyroid now.

I definitely understand that it takes some tweaking to get the meds right. I understand that he needs to lower it so I can go back down into a normal range.. but what I don't understand is this:

He bluntly told me to my face "You WILL gain weight". Not that I MIGHT gain weight, not that I COULD gain weight, I WILL. How is this even POSSIBLE? How can I gain weight when he's just lowering the dosage so I will be in a normal range? It's not like my thyroid will be working too slow, it will just be normal. So if I'm normal and I genuinly follow my diet plan, am I really going to gain weight? This doesn't make any sense to me. Please tell me this quack is wrong. I really can't handle gaining weight, AT ALL.

I have hyperthyroidism too. It was really hard the first few weeks when I gain six pounds ( I have a smaller bone structure so it shows very easily). I was very depressed but my doctor recommended an excellent nutritionist and she put me on a great diet and excercise plan. It's been working so far ( kindof slow, but picking up). Maybe you should see if there are any nutritionists in your area?