Weight gain

[luupysue]

Hi I am new to the group, I have an under active thyroid (I think the gp said it was) and have been on lethothyroxine for nearly 2 years now, I also have lots of other health problems I am being treated for, but have found I am putting on weight and can't loose any. Please help

[Hidden]

Hi I don't know if your under active thyroid is due to weight gain,but I also have under active thyroid and a lot of other illness that I take medication for.I also put weight on but it was due to medication for another illness. Hope this has helped look into your other Meds.

[Marz]

Hi and Welcome Weight gain can be a symptom of being Hypo especially if you are not being optimally treated. Do you have Hahshimotos ? Do you have your latest blood test results with ranges - maybe someone will see something in them that may help.

Have you had your B12 - Ferritin - Folate - B12 - Iron - VitD tested ? They do need to be high in their ranges for the T4 tablet to convert into the ACTIVE T3. You do not mention your dose of T4 - has it been increased ?

When we have more information everyone will try to help..... and yes I have Hashi's and I am overweight - very active and fit - but a little bit fat

[marram]

Weight gain is likely due to underactive thyroid, not the other way round. I would be interested to know what other health problems you are being treated for, since many problems are caused by UAT which clear up once the treatment is correct and optimal.

I had: high cholesterol, asthma, pain in muscles, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, chronic fatigue, depression, enlarged heart, huge weight gain, and since having the correct medication and not the one-size-fits-all that my GP offered me, all have cleared up. I have lost over 2 stones in weight in the last year.

I DO have a completely separate heart problem, but I have been assured by the cardiologist that it is due to age, and not thyroid, and in this case I am sure that it is correct. But the enlarged heart has cleared up, along with all those other symptoms.

[lovinggrandmother in reply to marram]

Hi Marram, I would be very interested to know how you managed to get correct treatment and what it entailed as I have been suffering for years and it seems that because the text books say I am 'normal', then I am normal and not suffering gain weight, joint pains, pins & needles in feet and always have cold hands and feet as well as a few other problems.

[marram in reply to lovinggrandmother]

I went privately to Dr BDP and he gave me his recommendations. Although he resigned his GMC registration, and so is unable to prescribe, he is still a thyroid and adrenal specialist and is able to give very good advice. Unfortunately I have to buy my own thyroid medication (Liothyronine, or T3) because, although I have no thyroid they still do what they do to everybody else - test the TSH and tell me I am normal when I'm clearly not.

I still have Graves' antibodies in my system which suppresses the TSH - even when I stopped my medication completely my TSH was only 1.4. My GP told me I was absolutely fine!

I am buying my own medication but I am not self-medicating because I am doing what Dr BDP suggests and I am reporting regularly to him. I can book a telephone appointment if I have any serious concerns, and I find him very supportive and more helpful than any GP.

What health problems are they treating you for?

[lovinggrandmother in reply to marram]

Thanks for the info. I get gel and pain killers for osteoarthritis in my joints and for Bronchiectasis I take 250mg antibiotic each day from September to end of May. (I did take them all year round but asked if I could take a break from them in good weaher). GP's have just ignored other symptoms including I have not slept longer than 4 hours at any one time ever since I started on Levothyroxin over 10 years ago.

[PoppyRose in reply to marram]

Lovely to hear you are in better health marram.

[Heloise]

Sue, don't make the mistake of relying on your GP for this condition. (Find out which condition, first) You need to pay attention to your symptoms. People can sometimes manage on levothyroxine which is a T4 synthetic preparation. Many years before T4, people were given real thyroid from porcine which resembles human thyroid and did very well since IT contains more than T4. This is easier to assimilate than T4 since T4 needs your body to work harder to achieve what your own thyroid would produce. It's difficult to get a prescription for natural thyroid (Armour, Erfa) because levo is cheap.

Your other issues could be directly related to using levo rather than natural desiccated thyroid extract (NDT).

There is a lot of information here and people who are happy to help you.

A couple of starters: stopthethyroidmadness.com/m...

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

[lovinggrandmother in reply to Heloise]

Thanks Heloise, I will enquire about natural thyroid when I see GP next week.

[susie59]

luupysue, I put loads of weight on (approx. three stone) when my GP put me on Levothyroxine, not when I was untreated with hypothyroidism, I battled on with the Levo for nearly two years but I wasn't feeling anywhere near healthy.

I started self medicating on T3 approx a year ago and the weight just came off, I did feel rough for quite a while, until I found the dose that suited me, I had loads of help from this site, now I feel fine, and haven't put any weight on and I feel mentally better too, it may take a while and you may have to take your health into your own hands, but don't give up.

I wish you well.

[PoppyRose in reply to susie59]

Well done susie59, a brave step. Glad it has paid off.

[susie59 in reply to PoppyRose]

thanks PoppyRose,

[lovinggrandmother in reply to PoppyRose]

You are very brave. I don't think I dare go it alone. The new GP I went to see at our practice was sympathetic and did request all the tests from the lab but they didn't continue when my TSH was in their 'normal' range.

[dylansmum in reply to susie59]

Hi Susie59 I have also gained weight, I have been taking 125mg Levo for about four years, instead of helping me lose weight I keep gaining. I have come to the conclusion that Levothyroxine makes me gain weight. I have bought some T3, and mix it, sometimes I take Levo, the next few days I take T3, I find on the T3 days my weight stays the same or maybe lose a pound, Levo days I put it back on again. So T3 from now on! I take two 25mg per day, is that about right, when I should be on 125mgs Levo? x

[luupysue in reply to dylansmum]

Can I ask what T3 is and where you get it, I am also on Letho, and have also gained unwanted weight, even had a male Dr tell me I am fat ( between 14 and 16 now), that I must be buying loads of ready meals (never ever had one), and that cows graze in fields and get fat. I walked out and keep thinking about putting a complaint in about him.

So I would love to loose weight and get back into my 12 to 14 clothes asap.