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

Church:  Hang in there.  I think you are absolutely right in that it is something to do with the change of the manufacturer.  The same thing happened a couple years ago to my husband re his asthma meds and it took a very long time to get him stabilized again.  It can be very frustrating but, if you keep a good dialogue with your doctor on the subject, you should be able to get it rectified soon.

Renekane  - Hi, my dr. said  my labs didn't show that I was insulin resistant but he thinks that my body might be taking everything I eat and turning it into sugar, and thats why I can't loose any weight.  I'm never hungry - Were you able to loose weight on glucophage?

Hey everyone,

     My doc just increased my Synthorid last week (he always goes slow with .125mcg increases).     I was too tired to excercise and I'm hoping this will help me to get moving more so I can burn off those calories.

   Anyway,   do any of you ever get hot flashes after increasing your thyroid meds?    It happens every time to me - and usually goes away after a few months.     My docs don't seem to know if it's from menopause or the thyroid med.    Maybe it's the two working together, but I think the thyroid meds trigger it since the thryoid is a thermoregulator.

   Any thoughts?  And any thoughts on how this may affect weight loss?

  Thanks!

Sierra 

Hey Skinny,

Yep, I've found it very helpful because I'm not hungry all day.  Much easier for me to keep my calories at a more reasonable count.

OMG!!! I think I found my answer to my weight gain after 5 months of pure struggling! My OBGYN increased my Estrogen  pill and in a nut shell this Estrogen will DECREASE Thyroid function! OMG!! I have a call into my family Doctor because he doesn't know that my estrogen level was increased about 5 months ago. This makes total sense! Here is the info I came across: 

Estrogen, Oral Contraceptives

Estrogens tend to increase serum thyroxine-binding globulin (TBg). In a patient with a nonfunctioning thyroid gland who is receiving thyroid replacement therapy, free levothyroxine (T4) may be decreased when estrogens are started thus increasing thyroid requirements. However, if the patients thyroid gland has sufficient function, the decreased free levothyroxine (T4) will result in a compensatory increase in levothyroxine (T4) output by the thyroid. Therefore, patients without a functioning thyroid gland who are on thyroid replacement therapy may need to increase their thyroid dose if estrogens or estrogen-containing oral contraceptives are given.

Yay! Dr. called me back already and he raised my thyroid level again. Now I'm taking 240mg of Armor-Thyroid. It's a strange dose but I hope this will boost my metabolism and I start to lose weight again. NOW....I hope I don't die of a heart attack! He said to watch for Hyperthyroid problems now but he is not too worried because my level is still on the low side of normal. I'm so happy. I sure hope this is an answer to my prayers and after 5 months I can start to lose weight again! I'm dancing for joy!

Coffeelover,

  Good!   Me too.   How dose Armor dosing compare to  Synthroid.   240 mg of Synthroid would kill someone.  Ha!   I'm on .626 mcg now and hoping for the same thing.

I think it's just under 2.5 grains. I'm not sure.

Yup
Add me too. I found out I had it a year ago. I just turned 30 and I'm 174 lb and about 5'2.
I think my pills need to be uped. I need to go and get my blood tested again, so then we will find out.

Can I join, too?

I've been on 75 mcg of Levothyroxine, and just had mine tested last week.  My results....  0.93 Thyroid (T4-free), and 2.09 Thyroid Simulated Hormone (TSH).

Now, I've got a question.  I have 10 or so lbs that won't go away.  I am carrying it all in the belly area...pure fat.  I am doing the cardio and exercises, and have been stuck here for since beginning of March.  I have tried all the "tricks" to try to get myself out of this standstill.

I've been on the net searching, and came across several articles about taking 3.4 grams of Tonalin, (conjugated linoleic acid), for getting rid of fat for people dealing with hypothyroid.  It is over the counter.

Has anyone tried it, or even heard of it?

Here is a article about Tonalin. It looks good and I may consider it. Thanks for the info!

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/weight-loss -etc/CLA-side-effects.htm

i was hyperthyroid and treated with i-131 they told me I would go hypo in the future I am on levoxyl now but have been on cytomel lost a lot of weight when I first became diabetic (25 ils) now the weight is starting to come back seems hard to fight    

Hello - I am new to the site and just figuring out how things work!  I am VERY DISCOURAGED and would appreciate any help and/or advice.  I am a diabetic with hypothyroid disease as well as PCOS.  I have almost zero energy and can't seem to lose any reasonable amount of weight.  I don't feel like I am getting the feedback that I need from my doctor - any advice??

Hello, I'm new to the site and new to hypothyroidism. I have been taking 75mg synthroid for 3 weeks and was feeling great. The past 2 days I've been feeling fatigued and irritable again. Is this normal?

#93 maewoldt Apr 26 2007 17:09 Hello - I am new to the site and just figuring out how things work!  I am VERY DISCOURAGED and would appreciate any help and/or advice.  I am a diabetic with hypothyroid disease as well as PCOS.  I have almost zero energy and can't seem to lose any reasonable amount of weight.  I don't feel like I am getting the feedback that I need from my doctor - any advice??   What is pcos?

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

i am beginning to think there are more diseases than people

Hello, i am new to this site i found it searching about hypothroid. I have had hypothroid for the last 9 years. I am 28 now. I have just started on medication. I had only had my meds at 19-22 and during my two pregnancy's I hav been iving a terribly tired life. moody and deppression with adult acne and low sex drive. Other symptoms too like straw like hair weak nails. memory difficulty thick tounge and some others. I am excited to be started on my medication. I amawaiting the weeks it will take to feel better. I am pleased to find this site becouse i have felt so alone. I have support from some family, but this has been a incredible tuff past 6 years. I am looking for friends who can understand who I am really a very fun energetic person who is ambitious and goal driven i am creative and love to be busydoing things. I just have not been up to doing much other than surviving and saveing the energy I do have to take care of my family. I am lonly becouse i feel others around me have put up with my moods of many colors for so long they don't really know who I am inside. I am looking for support in becomeing ME again. Thanks to all your shareing I have read about. You all sound brave in yourdealings with teh many symtoms of hypothyoidism. Lets keep talking and supporting

Thanks Elaine

I also want to say my leval was a 16 my Dr. Said her scale was .5-6 and i was a 16.  After so long of not being on medication does anyone think I am at risk for other deseases? Should I ask my doctor to run tests of anyother kind? The thing is I can't afford it becoouse my husband is in med school it will be another 6 years before we have real money.

Hi Elaine,  Welcome.

   You are fortunate to be getting back on your meds while you're still young.    It takes awhile to get your levels adjusted so just be patient and it will happen!!  If you have Hashi's, you'll not want to  discontinue it again - it's a lifelong autoimmune condition.  

  I'm assuming that the 16 was a TSH test.  That's pretty high.    Most doctors want to see it between 1-2.       Mine was only 3.5 when my doctor picked up on it and started me on Synthroid.   Even at that number I felt totally exhausted, cold, constipated... all those lovely symptoms.    I've had to increase it gradually over the last year and a half, but am doing much better now.

   You asked if your doc should run more tests right now.  Personally,  I would not worry about that until you have your thyroid problem under control -  Untreated hypothyroid  causes every symptom you mentioned, so I wouldn't borrow more trouble at this point.    Just keep your doctor informed of your symptoms as you go along.   He'll probably want to test your TSH levels and see you every 3 months.   If you are really worried about it, just talk to him/her.    Hypothyroidism causes both depression and anxiety - which may be why you are dually concerned.

    This web site is for a weight loss program - we just happened to start a club within it for those of us who are hypothryroid since it contributes to our battle of the bulge.   If you want an excellent website just for thyroid issues the sponsoring website to this link  has a fantastic Thyroid site.    The moderator, Mary Shoman, is a thryoid expert who has written many books.   Tons of forums, articles, etc.   The link is

http://thyroid.about.com

Good luck!

Sierra