Hi all I am hashimotos diagnosed A year ago . I am on 150 Levo have been for months but am still gaining weight cAn not lose I am gf and work out regularly have for years am now doing more strength traing as been recommended but also my fatigue has got a lot worse again in last few months feel like back were I started my pains have improved quite a lot but my hair hasn't grown in over 5 years . And my brain fog and memory and speech getting the write words out has got worse so need to no exactly what vitamin tests and other tests I need also had a dry cough since May that hasn't gone had antis done nothing chest ex ray clear but my thyroid gland is very pronounced and can put my fingers round it ! We'll think is that anyway lol . Looks like I got a Adam's apple !! So all advice greatly appreciated and if there is endos in Kent am in Canterbury who actually take this seriously and are real helps as not been referred . Thank u sorry long read xx
Endo recommendations via Private Messages in line with posting guideline #24 please, thank you, Clutter.
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becsthebird
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Hi Becsthebird, if you post your last thyroid blood test with the lab ref ranges (the figures in brackets after your result) it will help members advise.
Your GP should palpate your thyroid to feel for swelling/goiter and request an ultrasound scan to make sure it isn't compressing your windpipe and causing your dry cough.
The blood tests we recommend are ferritin (stored iron), vitamin D, B12 and folate as they are often deficient or low in hypothyroid patients and can cause brain fog, pain and fatigue. Make sure to get a printout of your results with the lab ref ranges and post them for advice as GPs will tell you results are normal even when they're bumping along the bottom of range.
Hi clutter I haven't got a print out of last results as didn't no I could till recently so will deffo my next lot . What about selenium as read this helps with weight loss can they test for that ? As my continuous weight gain causes me the most anxiety am now morbidly obese . Thanks for reply
Becs, Ask your GP receptionist for your last results. Selenium is a good vitamin for thyroid health but I've never heard it is any good for weight loss.
Hi becs, so sorry to hear you're struggling like that.
Sounds to me like you're undermedicated. But we will know more when you post your results.
Selenium is good to help conversion but so are calories, so are you eating enough! If you are so concerned about your weight, I would guess you are on a low calories diet thinking that that will help you lose weight - just a guess, mind, but that happens with so many people, plus the fact that many hypos have no appetite.
Well, the sad truth is that when you're hypo, that just isn't going to work. Infact, you can diet yourself fat when you're hypo! All your bodily functions need calories - breathing, digesting, etc etc (I've said this so many times that people must be getting thoroughly fed up with me! he he) Also converting your T4 - which you are taking - into the necessary T3. Unfortunately, when calories are in short supply, converting is the last in line for a handout. So, you become more hypo and therefore put on more weight.
For a hypo to lose weight, s/he needs to have optimal T3 levels, and more calories - and therefore eat more - than someone without a thyroid problem.
And that brings us to exercise. When you exercise, you use up your precious calories. If these are in short supply then exercising is going to make you more hypo. Forget calories in vs calories out! That just doesn't work for a hypo. Your system has completely changed and the rules no-longer apply. You have to adapt to your new body and not keep treating like the old body, I'm afraid.
And, not only does exercising mean you use up all your calories and therefore can't make enough T3, it also uses up that T3 that you have managed to make, leaving your body empty of T3 and therefore more hypo and putting on more weight! As I said, the rules don't apply anymore.
So, it would seem that you are over-exercising, Under-eating (my guess) and not converting at all well. Solution? Would your doctor be agreeable to adding some T3 to your T4? (Might be a good idea to get it tested first but I know that's difficult.) And if he won't, would you consider self-treating? After all, it's your body, your health and your life. You shouldn't be at the mercy of an ignorant doctor dictating what you can and can't do. Especially when they have no idea what they're talking about! lol
Do hope this helps you. Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Hi clutter and grey clutter will get last ones never asked before ! Do they charge ?? And grey I don't worry about calories anymore but try to make sure have 3 meals a day am a school cook so at times hard to have lunch as never time but will grab summat if I cooked summat gf . But like u said u have very very little appetite and find it hard to eat sometimes but do try to . I've cut right down on my cardio was doing hour 4 to 5 times a week but last 2 months am doing strength training 3 to 4 times a week and only 15 mins cardio twice. Or do hit for 4 mins 3 times a week . Which isn't leaving me as knackered as when was doing cardio ! I eat healthy have for years but do struggle to eat more get full so so quick ! Treys eating more smaller meals in the day but hard to around my day and then most times fall asleep if I sit down between 3 and 5 can't stop myself lol but will try harder to eat more am on very tight budget to so can't afford lots if meat always have my smoothie for brekkie we'll week days anyway of unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk with a handful of frozen berries a banana and 2 dessert spoons of flaxseed . X
Ps my doc told me that don't prescribe it !! But yes have been thinking of self medicating for long time once get latest tests done and posted on here . I don't think had t3 tested before to be honest or reverse t3 don't no what diff is to be honest ! Just gone on what he's told me he did push a bit harder with t4 tho upped it when said it was at normal levels or summat to try to push it a bit . I sure I'm suffering with adrenal fatigue also . Oh and my colestreal was high last time first time ever !!! This after being on t4 for 9 months . Heard t3 helps lower this is this true As said to doc god nos why as eat very healthy !
No, lots of doctors don't prescribe T3 - because it's too expensive!!! They don't seem to realise they're being ripped off, because if you buy T3 on internet it isn't expensive at all. I live in France and am prescribed T3 and it says on the box something like €3 for a month's supply. So when it costs a British surgery something like £100 a month, you know someone is making a huge profit!!!
Anyway, cholesterol. High cholesterol is a symptom of underactive thyroid and low thyroid hormone. It should have come down when you started taking Levo. The fact that it's gone up, really does make it look like you are undertreated! It has nothing to do with your diet. Don't fall for the old low-cholesterol scam. My cholesterol is way TOO low (a danger for my heart) and nothing I eat will bring it up. I stuff myself with eggs, avacados, butter and cream and nothing helps!
But you say you have a healthy diet. What exactly do you mean? Given your cholesterol, I hope you don't mean low fat, because that is not healthy. You need fat and you need cholesterol for your heart, your brain and to make hormones. You also need salt, so don't be conned into giving that up, either.
You said you take flax seed. Now that could be a problem - I'm not saying that it is, but it could be. Try giving it up for a while and see if you feel any better. If not, start taking it again because it is full of good things.
I do know how hard it is to eat sometimes. I have that problem myself. But it is getting a bit better now as I'm getting my T3 near the right level. You don't need to eat tons of meat. But do eat eggs - the whole egg! - and cheese if it doesn't upset you. And lots of veggies and pulses, and potatoes, contain protein so you should be ok.
The only thing with the veggies and fruit is that some of them are what we call goitrogenic - like flax seed - and this isn't good for hypos. I've given a list here :
You have a legal right to have copies of your lab results, they cannot refuse - even if they try! However, the are entitled to charge £1 or £2 to cover costs of paper and ink, if they wish. They might not.
You are taking T4 at the moment, which is a storage hormone (prohormone), which has to be converted into T3 before your body can use it. But lots of us, when we are hypo, don't convert very well. It can go two ways. Either we produce T3, which is good and makes us feel well. Or we can produce rT3, which is bad, the body can't use it, and it blocks the entrance to the cells (receptors) so that the good T3 can't get in. And that makes us feel ill.
The fact that you have taken 150 levo for months and you are still putting on weight and your cholesterol is rising, says to me that you are not converting well. We might know more when we see your results. However, the labs won't always test T3 (money again!) and it is very rare to get an rT3 result. That has to be done privately. Which is disgusting when one pays for the NHS out of our hard-earned cash! But that's the way of the world, these days.
Good morning to you grey thank u u have helped me understand a bit more , that's so not fair about not testing for rt3 if that can help u get treated right makes me so angry !! I'm convinced I'm adrenal fatigued to and read even taking t3 or ndts won't work if andrenals aren't optimum but how u no if are I presume from how u feel . Yes I do eat low fat part from cheese but I don't really it any processed foods just the odd slice of gf bread when I really fancy it ham here and there and the odd macaroon gf as so love coconut mainly eat meat and salad jackets yep with low fat marg lol but will get some butter today ! And the odd curry and rice have rice once a week .
If u are producing the rt3 and they don't test it how would u no if need it and how much to take ? I presume self med on t3 ? Ps how's the weather there in France x
Oh, dear! Get rid of the low fat and margerine now! Could be part of what's making you feel bad.
If you love coconut, eat coconut. Coconut is very very good for you - coconut oïl, butter, water, sugar, flour - even just the coconut flesh itself. Full of good vitamins and minerals.
How do you know if you have adrenal fatigue? You get your cortisol tested, but that too is difficult to get done on the NHS.
Testing rT3 wouldn't help you get treated. Doubt if most doctors would even know what it was!
I'm afraid I don't understand your second question. 'If u are producing the rt3 and they don't test it how would u no if need it and how much to take ?' Do you mean how much T3 to take? That's got nothing to do with rT3.
You need to take T3 if you're not converting T4 into T3. You know if you are converting or not by comparing FT4 and FT3 results. And, yes, this is difficult if you can't get the FT3 tested. But, you say you have been on 150 levo for several months and are still gaining weight. That, to me, would suggest that you aren't converting that levo into T3.
As to how much you take, well, it's like levo, you start on a low dose and gradually work up until symptoms have gone.
How's the weather in France? It's been very hot here for the past week. We've had some thunder storms but nothing much. Before that we had a week where it never stopped raining! So, a little bit of everything! lol
Hi clutter and grey clutter will get last ones never asked before ! Do they charge ?? And grey I don't worry about calories anymore but try to make sure have 3 meals a day am a school cook so at times hard to have lunch as never time but will grab summat if I cooked summat gf . But like u said u have very very little appetite and find it hard to eat sometimes but do try to . I've cut right down on my cardio was doing hour 4 to 5 times a week but last 2 months am doing strength training 3 to 4 times a week and only 15 mins cardio twice. Or do hit for 4 mins 3 times a week . Which isn't leaving me as knackered as when was doing cardio ! I eat healthy have for years but do struggle to eat more get full so so quick ! Treys eating more smaller meals in the day but hard to around my day and then most times fall asleep if I sit down between 3 and 5 can't stop myself lol but will try harder to eat more am on very tight budget to so can't afford lots if meat always have my smoothie for brekkie we'll week days anyway of unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk with a handful of frozen berries a banana and 2 dessert spoons of flaxseed . X
Ps my doc told me that don't prescribe it !! But yes have been thinking of self medicating for long time once get latest tests done and posted on here . I don't think had t3 tested before to be honest or reverse t3 don't no what diff is to be honest ! Just gone on what he's told me he did push a bit harder with t4 tho upped it when said it was at normal levels or summat to try to push it a bit . I sure I'm suffering with adrenal fatigue also . Oh and my colestreal was high last time first time ever !!! This after being on t4 for 9 months . Heard t3 helps lower this is this true As said to doc god nos why as eat very healthy !
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