Feeling better but the weight/bloating just will not shift - will I always be fat now??

[Tweetypie28]

I'm a year in to diagnosis and treatment now and have to say, I am feeling so much better. The last 6 weeks have been the best for me since diagnosis of hypothyroidism.

I've achieved this by taking:

125mg Levo

10mg T3

Ferrous sulphate 3 times a day for my ferritin deficiency

I take my iron tablets with I orange juice or if none available I chew a vitamin c tablet

Vitamin D3 & D2 supplements (prescribed by doctor)

I take either a selenium tablet or eat 6 Brazil nuts a day

1 or 2 coconut oil tablets (have read many good things about these, including help with metabolism)

Regular baths with Epsom salts in it (for magnesium)

Zinc tablet every day

I do not take vitamin B12 or folate as there is a history of pernicous anaemia in my family and I do not want supplementation to affect my blood tests in this area. I would want to be diagnosed with PA if this was the case so it can be on my records. Last blood test revealed low folate but I'm waiting another few weeks for further testing.

I have eliminated gluten - not 100% as I will eat gravy & sauces which contain gluten but I have taken wheat and grains out of my diet. My next step will be lactose as I find I swell when I drink a latte!

Anyway, I'm at the stage where I am pretty much leading a normal life. I'm sleeping well and I'm getting through the day like a normal person! We have just returned from a three day break in London and we walked everywhere (don't like tubes!!). I managed well and am so happy with this. My muscles ache in my legs but I can live with this. I occasionally get aches and pains but I can live with this. My hair however is still falling out so something must still be amiss.

The weight I have gained through being hypo (2stone) just will not budge. I hate being this way so much and feel cheated because I eat healthily (just like most of us). Will it ever go? What more can I do? I've bought a rowing machine as this works all areas and I'm hoping to start with a few minutes a day on this building up gradually in the hope that muscle will boost my metabolism.

My stomach regularly bloats. I hate hate hate it. I've now bought some stomach healing stuff such as chia seeds and strong probiotics in the hope that this might help???? <desperate!!!

Please anyone, any advice? Has anyone actually managed to lose their weight? If so how????

[HarryE]

Hi Debsy! So glad you are feeling better. I think the hair will be strongly affected by the low iron, so that should help. I know mine has only stopped falling out in the past couple of weeks & I have been taking the same as you since January. Also, I have only started to lose any weight in the past week or so, after being on NDT since mid-March. I haven't actually been trying to lose weight as I wanted to make sure I felt well first & didn't want to stress my body any more, but I have lost 6lbs of the stone & a half I have put on. So maybe it's just time? I don't really know the answer, but you are not alone xx

[Tweetypie28 in reply to HarryE]

Hey Harry! I think you are probably right, it's just time. I read somewhere that it takes 18 months for everything to fall into place. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle! Really pleased you have managed to lose some weight, you must be quietly thrilled!! It must be difficult to shout about it just in case it goes back on again!!! xx

[HarryE in reply to Tweetypie28]

I am pleased, I think it's probably mostly fluid, but at least I can feel my cheekbones & browbones again!

[Heloise]

I just thought this was an interesting study regarding T3 and it seems dieting is found to LOWER metabolism:(.

In the International Journal of Obesity, Krotkiewski, et al. published the results of their investigation of the impact of supplemental T3 on cardiovascular risk in obese patients to partially reverse the reduced T4 to T3 conversion seen with obesity (53). Seventy obese patients with “normal” standard thyroid function tests were treated with 20 mcg of straight T3 for six weeks. While the dose was not high enough to completely reverse the reduced T4 to T3 conversion seen with obesity, there was a significant reduction in a number of cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol and markers for insulin resistance. There were no side-effects in any of the patients. The authors conclude, “T3 may be considered to ameliorate some of the risk factors associated with abdominal obesity, particularly in some subgroups of obese women with a relative resistance to thyroid hormones possibly dependent on decreased peripheral deiodination of thyroxine (T4) (53).”

Thus, replacement with timed-released T3 preparations to normalize the reduced intracellular T3 levels is appropriate in such patients despite so-called “normal” levels while, on the contrary, T4-only preparations do not address the physiologic abnormalities of such patients and should be considered inappropriate replacement for obese patients or those with insulin resistance, leptin resistance, or diabetes, as they do not address the physiologic abnormalities in this group.

[Tweetypie28 in reply to Heloise]

sometimes it just seems that no matter what you do you are simply fighting an uphill battle. Is this report saying we simply need to be on T3 if we are ever going to lose weight??

[Heloise]

I so agree with you and why doctors don't realize that it is not "calorie in, calorie out", I don't understand. It's whether your body uses the calories and when your metabolism is too low, you don't burn calories as other people do even while sitting and doing nothing. This is the article that says you can not lose weight while on T4 only. stopthethyroidmadness.com/t...

[Tweetypie28 in reply to Heloise]

*sighs*!! Thank you for taking the time to post this, I've bookmarked it along with many other informative pages on the thyroid! I'll keep plodding along (literally!!). I am going to ask endo if I can up my T3 and drop Levo accordingly as only really felt well after T3 was added. Would love to try NDT however "if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it" is hovering around in my head! x

[Heloise in reply to Tweetypie28]

You are putting a lot of effort into your health, I only wish doctors would as well. I've been disappointed for years with treatment. I started T3 only last year as even NDT could not raise my levels without making me hyper. I still can't raise them but though I did lose weight at first I am still a little overweight. My other blood tests are okay except for D which is impossible to raise for some reason but ferritin is OVER range. That can mean inflammation. It is a drag to try to figure out what to do on your own.

If you can get the synthetic T4 plus T3 to work for you, stay with it. I would drop the D2 as soon as you finish your prescription. I've read it is toxic and really it is better to get sun than anything else if possible.

Yes, read as much as you can. Mary Shomon started 20 years ago fighting the system for good thyroid treatment. So check out the links on the Stop the Thyroid Madness website.

Here are some of my bookmarked sites.

nahypothyroidism.org/deiodi...

youtube.com/watch?v=nZ_CP7l...(Not working as expected?)

drlam.com/articles/adrenalf...

Also, Dr. Lowe who died recently from an accident had great insights as a patient himself.

This doctor had a great knowledge of almost everything.

askwaltstollmd.com/articles...

Ha, don't forget to enjoy life in the meantime!!