How can I stop putting on weight? I have had to reduce my levothyroxine to 50mcg to stop sweating and avoid heat intolerance . I felt well

[Mikiviki]

on a higher dose except for these dreadful sweats. My tests which were always in the upper range have come down to lower range. And now I am back to the early problem of weight gain even by drinking an extra glass of water! I am gluten free and have been told high protein gets the metabolism working. I am not fond of meats but I have always been weight conscious and don't feel like going up yet another size. I also don't want the sweats back..any advice? I know this is a complaint which unite most of us

[Hennerton]

Have you had tests for ferritin, folate, B12 and Vit D? It may be that the sweats are not caused by thyroid issues but by a deficiency of one of these, which is very common in hypo people. Sounds as though you might need to get your levels up again by increasing your dose, whilst checking on the other issues. Did your GP lower your dose or are you self medicating? Do you have copies of latest tests for thyroid? If so, post here and someone can comment.

[Mikiviki in reply to Hennerton]

I am tested regularly and although i am now in the lower range of acceptable the sweats have disappeared and generally i dont feel any worse than before. In fact sometimes i have really good days but my metabolism seems to be at a standstill. I take all the supplements too. Everyone comments i eat like a bird (very small bird) i dont eat secretely and i am scared of becoming am elephant

[Hennerton]

Maybe you need some T3 but you need to post blood tests to discover that,

[Mikiviki in reply to Hennerton]

I had to reduce as i was having palpitations as well as sweats. I was only just over the t3 limit but obviously it was too much for me. I also felt awful. Bringing down the meds i feel better but its difficult where weight is concerned

[Hennerton]

Do you mean you have taken T3 before?

[Mikiviki]

Yes, years ago my endo allowed me to try......I was asleep day and night, so had to give up. Recently with low levothyroxine I tried to add t3. I only added very low dose eventually to see how it went. Fine for 3 weeks then I went completely hyper with palpitations, sweats, . Couldn't get off fast enough. Really it is so difficult and now my weight is going up despite my best dieting efforts. I don't want to over medicate because I feel so awful, and yet only a few days ago I was saying on this forum how surprisingly well I felt. (Despite the weight). How to get it right has been baffling me since all this started

[headinjuryhypo]

Dear Mikiviki, have you had your other pituitary hormones checked out? Growth hormone deficiency can cause weight problems as well as hypothyroidism can, also, not being able to tolerate heat can be a symptom of hypopituitarism (thyroid problems usually cause you to be sensitive to cold). I know someone who struggled with being overweight for nearly 40 years, she was on levo but it didn't help much and she has now been diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency is taking GH, and she is maintaining weight loss. If you've ever had a head injury, even mild concussion, even long ago, you may have suffered damage to your pituitary gland (autoimmune disease, cranial radiation, genetic factors can cause HP too). So when you're feeling mentally strong/desperate, ask your doctor to check you out for LH/FSH, ACTH, GH and prolactin. Don't be fobbed off by the short synacthen test for GH/ACTH deficiency, if the result is 'normal' go for the insulin stress test or the glucagon stimulation test.

[Mikiviki in reply to headinjuryhypo]

Thanks. No doctor ever mentioned this. I may not need to ask my doctor a I use a private lab. (I live in Italy..here we just pay and we are given). But I don't understand what I need to ask for. Are these standard tests?

[headinjuryhypo]

I don't know what happens in Italy, but here's a referral letter from a case management services company asking for endocrine tests, in case it's useful:

"Due to Ms X’s ongoing symptoms, including excessive fatigue and weight gain, I have referred her for a private Endocrine assessment with Dr S B.

The greatest challenge associated with endocrine complications in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is early recognition of these subtle problems. Endocrine complications can produce significant impact on the progress and outcome of TBI rehabilitation. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of endocrine complications following TBI facilitate the rehabilitation process of patients with TBI. I am aware that it is most helpful if the following have been tested in advance: Testosterone, LH and FSH, Prolactin, Cortisol, Thyroid profile: free T3, free T4 and TSH, IGF1, Routine liver function, bone profile, full blood count, 25 OH vitamin D, growth hormone and U&E osmolality. I would be grateful if you are able to arrange for these tests to be completed and forwarded to me so I can send to the Endocrinologist."

The letter refers to head injury, TBI, but there can be other causes for hypopituitarism as I said in my other post, and you should point that out to your doctor if you never had a head injury. As well as the tests listed here you should ask for 'provocative testing' for GH and ACTH deficiency i.e. the insulin stress test or glucagon stimulation test. You might find this quote from the Canadian ABIEBR website useful: "The diagnosis of adrenocortical insufficiency requires provocative tests in addition to measurement of early morning basal serum cortisol levels." abiebr.com/set/9-neuroendoc...

You can contact me through our headinjuryhypo website

[Mikiviki in reply to headinjuryhypo]

Thank you. I am printing this out to see if my lab can run these. Then I plan to visit a center either in Pisa which is supposed to be the number 1 here or as my GP suggested to an immunology center to a Doctor he refers patients to. I am so tired of feeling ill, sweaty, and tired. I haven't had a head injury, but strangely enough my mother did many many years ago, followed by thyroid problems and all sorts of strange neurological problems. Unfortunately since that same knock on the head she never was the same and died prematurely. Thank you again

[headinjuryhypo]

I'm so sorry about your mother. Your plan sounds very sensible. I've been looking up some of the research to see if there are any Italian doctors who are clued up about hypopituitarism - there are 2 in Turin, Ezio Ghigo and Gianluca Aimaretti, both endocrinologists, for example. If you browse whatever 'hypopituitarism' is in Italian you may find some names more local to you. The relationship of waist measurement to growth hormone deficiency has been researched by A Colao, C Di Somma, F Rota, S Savastano, G Lombardi and MC Savanelli see ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/197... so one of those might be nearer you. I do wish you the best of luck.