Hypothyroid Club

Hi!

  I'm new here and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's a year ago.   I know it makes it harder to lose weight, but that it's not impossible.    I also know there's a lot of debate (even among physicians) as to how much extra weight can be attributed to a hypothyroid.

  Just want to see if anyone else has faced this challenge and has some tips, encouragement, articles, etc for us.

 Thanks!

Sierra

Hi everyone, hope you all are well.  I just got my tsh level back last month, and I am 1.7 on a lab scale of .8-1.8. 

 I was just sure the reason I wasn't losing weight was due to low level.  Doc says no, count your calories you should lose.  Well then he found I had high blood pressure and put me on a bp pill.  So now my joints feel well enough to exercise even though he said to lose the weight I didn't need to if I couldn't.  Well I have lost 10 lbs in 1 month and we'll see.....

MindyS - ReneK has an excellent idea re checking out yoga videos from the library.

My daughter's doc recommends yoga for CFS - I know other FM specialists will also recommend it - however, the excercises need to be tailored for your health problems.    You might want to check into getting tapes for that - The local Senior centers usually have yoga instruction designed for special needs.  You might check there too.  Those classes are usually free, and may have a video library.

Lornajean,

    That's really interesting what your doc said!    Congratualtions on your huge accomplishment!    It may be rough going for awhile, but when your body is back to functioning normally, you'll probably feel better than ever before!

Sierra

Sierra, I have already given my husband the mission! He's going to the library Saturday to find me some beginners yoga tapes!  You all here are  so great.  And yes, I do also suffer CFS.

I've posted this in another thread, but I'll post it here as well.

I found a really great booklet from the American Thyroid Association.

Here's the link, if you'd like to read it: http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/Hyp othyroidism%20_ web_booklet.pdf


In case it doesn't work for you, copy/paste the following into Google:

"american thyorid association" booklet

The first result should be the link to the pdf.

I'm sorry I havent taken the time to read everyones posts, but here is a helpful link and a very helpful book to buy.  I have it and it tells you things that doctors dont tell you. 

I have a long way to go in my weightloss, but I figure with the information that I am learning from this site, you guys, and the book I should be able to be on my way  I used to weigh 140 and I could take off weight when I wanted to, in 2004 I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism, they killed my thyroid and 8 weeks later I was Hypothyroid and now I am pushing 220.   I work out 5 days a week, I do a functional training 2 times a wee,  I do strength training on my non cardio days and hit the elipticall for about 3 to 5 miles every other day.  And I cannot lose A pound!  I have toned quite a bit, but I feel like a heifer.

One thing that I have learned is my body does not process carbs like it used to, I should stay away from them, but crazily enough I crave them.  In the book it tells you that when you have hypothyroidism EVERYTHING moves at a slower pace now.  Even with proper medications, we digest slower, we sometimes think slower.  But with proper diet and maintenence we can improve that slowness and possibly function normally again.  We are different.  Dont let any doctor tell you that Synthroid will be your magic fix.  It won't. 

http://www.thyroid-info.com/book.htm

The title of the book is "LIVING WELL WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM"  its written by a woman who has hypothyroidism and her research involved in being hypothyroid, and what has helped her, along with tips to improve our health.

It makes me feel good that we are all here to support one another, but sad that we all have to experience it!!! 


Take Care all of you and God Bless you in your fight to be fit!!!

i was diagnosed w/ hypothryoidism two years ago. since then i have had two children. after my first child i was able to lose all of the weight in 6mos. it has been 5 wks since the birth of my son and i cant exercise until my dr clears me on monday. i plan on doing the same regime that i followed before. eat healthy, dont deny myself foods, just eat in moderation and exercise my ass off. i agree w/ nattybry about mary shomon's book "living well with hypothyroidism". also look at her book " the thyroid diet". it gave great advice and insight. after reading her book "the thyroid diet" i had the tools to move forward in my battle to lose weight. her books are inexpensive. you wont regret.

HELLO MY FELLOW FRIENDS WHO DONT EAT A THING AND YET STILL CANT LOOSE A THING.

I went to my dr. and basically said listen Mr. , I  Exercise none stop - watch everything I eat and yet I still cant loose a lb.  He siad " you beautiful, you have a beautiful body, why you need to loose 10 pound? "You stop worrying about this 10 pound and you loose the 10 pound. " -{in his broken accent}  I thought to myself what the fuck are you talking about?  I am not asking to loose 40 pds.    I want is to loose 10 stinking stuborn ass pounds.  And why do I want to  because I cant and your the damn Dr. so you tell me why I cant. So after 15 minutes of us going back and forth he is uping my dosage from 100 to 112 and is putting me on glucophage 3x a day.  It's a drug that reduces you sugar for type 2 diabetics.  But it sounds kinda scary.  anyone have experiences with it?

Hi everyone.  New to the site.  Checking out what it has to offer and came upon the forums.

I'm also suffering with the thyroid problem.  I am on Synthyroid.

I had to deal with Dr.'s for thirty years not getting it right.  I finally found a Dr who listened to me and my symptoms and how I felt.

He adjusted my meds and for a year kept a close watch on the results.  The T3 and T4 are what most of my former Dr's kept looking at as far as my treatment.  Borderline, much of my life it was just ignored.  Because it is chronic, he addressed my TSH levels.  He told me they needed to be around a 1...he got me there.

I started dieting on March 16, tomorrow it will be a month.  I have lost 17 lbs on a daily intake of 1200 calories. 

I hope all of you will address with your endricronologist your TSH levels and if they are where they should be. 

Good luck to all.

ciggypop,  

 Welcome.   You sound like me in my 35 yr battle with hypothyroid and no one ever figuring it out until recently.  I've been on Synthroid  for a year and haven't complained because I feel so much better than I did before.

 My last TSH was 2.117 and I'm feeling a little sluggish again so I'm going in tomorrow to ask for an increase.  I'm only on .50 mcg.    I'm eating around 1450 calories - a little higher because of the recommendation not to go too low in calories with hypo.   You sound like you're having great success though, congrats!

I'm going to ask my doc to get me closer to a 1 than a 2 and see if I feel better (been sick and tired my whole life, so I really don't know what feeling good is. ha!).

Sierra

can you just go to the doctor and have your thyroid tested by request or does a doctor have to recommend that you h ave it tested. I think it's possible that i could have athyroid problem, but whenever i go to the doctor after researching symptoms (even if it's just an ear infection or something) i always feel like the doctor gets offended that i've "prediagnosed" myself and will steer me away from my concerns and do other tests. It's annoying! I haven't even been to the doctor in ages, but that's what used to happen.

Hi Electra, 

    Thyroid tests are pretty routine tests and I see no reason why your doctor would refuse to order one for you at your request.  Some wellness fairs sponsored by local hospitals  and even some labs will allow you to get one without an order from the doctor but you would still want to follow up with your doctor afterwards.       

     You would want to  get a TSH test and  the normal range should be between .3 - 3.00.   This is a fairly new standard set by the American Association of Endocrinologists.   Some doctors and labs are still going by the old standard which was .5 -5.00.   Translated, if you have an uninformed doc and lab,  that would mean that if your TSH came back say.. 3.1 - 5.00, both doc and lab would say it's in the "normal" range and probably not treat you.   If you are hypothyroid, you can feel absolutely miserable within the old standard for "normal".   I know I sure did!

    Most knowledgeable doctors would want to see your TSH range between 1-2.   

    Also, the cause of hypothyroidism is important.   The most common cause is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid.    If you have a high TSH, then it would be warranted to run another test called a TPO, which would check for autoimmune antibodies to your thyroid.    If this is postitive then you know that you will need to be treated for the rest of your life.   That's not such bad thing either, since it can really make us feel a lot better, and help us get some of the added weight off.

  Good luck to you!

Sierra 

Well, here's an eye opener.  Just got a phone call from my doctor's office with the results from my blood tests which were done last Wednesday.  My TSH level is 14.32.  OMG.

This is pretty bad, to say the least and I would probably be more upset than I am if I wasn't so tired. At least I now know why I haven't been losing any weight. 

Thankfully, my T3 and T4 levels are normal.  Have appt. tomorrow to see the doc and figure out a new dosage.  Not sure what he's going to do since I already take 0.2 mg levothyroxine daily.

I'll keep you posted.

EDIT:   Back today (Apr. 18) for more blood tests to confirm the test results.  If they come back the same, it's off to an Endocrinologist for me.  Oh Joy.

Hi Everyone! I got my levels back and they were on the low side of normal! He increased my Armor-Thyroid to 180mg. I hope this helps soon! Still the weight don't budge!

Has anyone else here had trouble if the manufacturer changes for your meds?

I was feeling GREAT on a particular dosage made by one company.... and then the manufacturer changed, and it all went downhill. I could feel the difference within a week of taking the new stuff... I felt much worse, and my labs came back indicating a need to up my dose.

I haven't felt right ever since then, even with the dosage increased. Just as an experiment, I've switched from the generic to a name brand, since it is made by the company I felt good with. Here's hoping things improve!

my mother-in-law works in a pharmacy, so I bounce questions off her quite often. It's kind of nice to have a med reference a phonecall away! :)

I was also diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease about one year ago. But, my Doctor told me that it shouldn't interfere with my weight loss.  However, I am finding it difficult to lose weight.

My doctor is still working on my dosage, I am still at .50mg. Anyway, I am new to trying to lose weight the right way.  At least as far as balancing diet and exercise. When I was younger I would fast and eat one meal a day etc. Now I refuse to do that and want to lose the right way to I can maintain it.

But, what is a 500 deficit? Does that mean cutting calories by 500 out of a 2000 calorie diet?

Church - did you switch from synthroid to something else? I think it started with an L, but can't remember.  I had a pharmacist switch me once from Synthroid without asking my Dr. and it made me feel awful...sick, depressed, sluggish.

ANYONE TRIED GLUCOPHAGE YET?

Yes, I've been on glucophage since last summer.  I was diagnosed with insulin resistance.  It helps very much. I would take it as prescribed and would actually utilize my calories much better.  You can tell immediately.

Wherein I would be hungry within an hour of eating for years, the glucophage gave my body the nutrition it needed to function.  Much better mental presence, and I wasn't hungry constantly.

See how it goes...

Hi every one. I've been diagnosed with hypothyroidism for 20 years now. This January I decided to get serious about losing the weight I had gain. So far since January 5th I have lost 34  lbs. I keep my calorie count around 1500 occassionaly when I have hit a plateu I increased my intake but 200 calories for a few days and then went back down to 1500 calories. I have also changed up my diet by increasing the proteins for two days and on the thrid day increase the carbs. I have been using Hoodia to help with my appeitite and have been taking chromium Polynicotinate and B-5 to help boost my metabolism. I try to get additional exercise by either going swimming for an hour or walking my dog for the same amount of time. I also have tried to make it a habit of taking stairs instead of the elevator and walking when I needed to go some where close to work instead of driving. I agree it's been hard but the rewards are well worth it.  I'd like to recommend this book to everyone,  The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss By: Mary J. Shomon, I found it very informative. Keep up the good work everyone and don't get discouraged.

mindysmith Apr 19 2007 05:20 Church - did you switch from synthroid to something else? I think it started with an L, but can't remember.  I had a pharmacist switch me once from Synthroid without asking my Dr. and it made me feel awful...sick, depressed, sluggish.=-=-=-=

I was on the generic of Synthroid from the beginning (levothyroxine). I HAD been on .075 mcg; when they switched manufacturers, I felt awful, and they had to raise my dose. It really screwed with my system, and I haven't felt right since.

My mother in law says there is another brand called Levoxyl I might try if Synthroid doesn't work for me. I just noticed last night on the pharmacy's website that they've changed manufacturers AGAIN! ARGH! So even if this new set works wonders, I won't be able to get it again.

*sigh*