Recently Diagnosed, needing a little advice.

[H_J_M1993]

Hi, I'm 22 and in march while I was still 21 I was diagnosed with an under active Thyroid after gaining a lot of weight.

I have had many blood tests and now im stable on medication which is gat but it has left me feeling really down being left with so much weight.

I was about 12st but now I'm 15st and I feel really awful, my boyfriend seems fine but I now don't want to go out very much, wouldn't dream about putting on a swimsuit and have lost a lot of confidence.

My question is if anyone knows or has been able to lose weight and how? I have spoken to my doctor who said that trying to lose weight will be difficult but I want to try, can anynone offer advice? How many cal can I have a day? Best foods to avoid or eat more of? Best exercises? If a nyone can help I would be much appreciated, I want to feel like myself again. Thank you - Hannah

[Marz]

healthunlocked.com/search/l...

The above link will take you to earlier posts on the topic of losing weight. Hopefully there will be something that will be helpful for you. Do you have any of your blood test results - with ranges ? Perhaps you need to tweak your dose to help you. Low FT3 can often be a problem in keeping the metabolism slow.

Also have you had Ferritin - Folate - Iron - B12 - VitD tested - they all need to be optimal for the conversion fo T4 into the Active hormone T3.

Have you been tested for Hashimotos ?

Lots of people here ready to help - so keep posting and reading

[H_J_M1993 in reply to Marz]

Thank you for the link - and thank you for your comment, nice to know I can come somewhere to ask for help.

[shaws]

Hi Hanna

Welcome to our forum and am sorry you've got hypothyroidism at such a young age.

You will have to read and learn about hypothyroidism and I hope everything is straightforward for you.

Weight gain is one of the most common questions and the reason is that because we are 'hypo' that our whole metabolism has slowed down so we don't burn calories like we used too.

Once you are on on an optimum of levothyroxine you will feel much better and your weight should gradually drop (also with diet) as long as the GP doesn't keept your TSH too high and you should feel much better when your TSH is around 1. If you tried to diet now, it would be a waste of time and energy and you do need energy for everyday living.

Always get a print-out of your blood tests from now on, with the ranges. Ranges are important as labs differ and it makes it easier for members to comment.

Always get the earliest blood test appointment and fast. Leave about 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the blood test and take levo afterwards.

Everyday, take levo first thing with a glass of water and wait around an hour before eating. Some foods can interfere with the uptake of the hormones.

If GP hasn't test Vitamin B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate ask for these as we are usually deficient.

Thyroid hormones raise our metabolism again and T3 is the Active hormone needed in our receptor cells and T4 (levothyroxine) has to convert to sufficient T3.

Regards

[H_J_M1993 in reply to shaws]

Thank you for all your advice, I have another blood test on the 25th of August so I will get my results printed. I'm hoping you guys will help me understand them because I certainly don't.

I knew I had to take it in the morning but didn't think about waiting to eat, thank you.

I will talk to my GP with my next appointment, I think I am going to print out your comment so I remember what I need to ask regarding what I have been tested for.

Thank you so much everyone, feeling a tad more positive this morning.

Hannah

[shaws in reply to H_J_M1993]

Some surgeries charge a nominal sum for a print-out but if it's too much you could ask to write them down remembering the ranges.

It's a big learning curve but the only way to have a life and get better. Hypo can also interfere with periods, fertility etc so it's important to have optimum meds.

[H_J_M1993 in reply to shaws]

Thank you.

[H_J_M1993 in reply to shaws]

You said being Hypo can interfere with fertility? I wasn't aware of that. Do I have slim chances of getting pregnant with this or is it one of those things my chances will improve if I stay on top of it?

Hannah

[eeng in reply to H_J_M1993]

It should be fine once you are properly medicated. It's only if your doctor doesn't keep your TSH low enough that you can experience problems. Many women find that problems they used to have with their periods, that they had accepted as 'normal for them' improve once they are well medicated.

[H_J_M1993 in reply to eeng]

Thank you, I am going to give all this info to my doctor, hopefully it will keep TSH low enough if I keep on the case.

[shaws in reply to H_J_M1993]

This is a link re pregnancy which may be helpful:

hypothyroidmom.com/infertil...

[H_J_M1993]

Thank you to everyone so far, everyone is very helpful. I wish I had come on here as soon as I found out.

Hannah

[Heloise]

stopthethyroidmadness.com/c...

This website has helped me for years and you can look up many common questions and find answers. It's good to learn all you can.

[H_J_M1993 in reply to Heloise]

Thank you.

[gingerpo]

Hi Hannah

Lots of people have given lots of great advice. For the weight gain, I would have to say that everyone is different. Hypothyroidism affects people in different ways and as we can't see what exactly is going on in our bodies my experience is that we just have to try different things to see what works for us.

When i was first diagnosed i was gaining 2kg a week - for about 8 months. the weight gain slowed but it is still very easy for me to gain weight 10 years on. I find that i can only eat twice a day if i want to maintain my weight. if i want to lose weight then i need a low carb diet. exercise doesn't help me lose much weight but it does make me fitter and stronger, which helps me feel better, particularly when my hormones fluctuate and i need to adjust my dosage.

this is something worth mentioning. twice i have needed a major dosage adjustment after a period of a few years on a stable dose. once i needed to increase and then 2 years ago i needed a massive decrease. i'm stable again now. i assume these changes are primarily due to natural hormonal changes as we age but i also think where we live has an effect in terms of what vitamins and minerals are in the food and water.

the best advice i can give you is to research as much as possible, be very aware of your body and how it/you are feeling and argue with your doctor if s/he seems to be not giving you the best treatment.

[H_J_M1993 in reply to gingerpo]

Thank you