Weight gain again !!

[lizziep]

I have underactive thyroid and IBS . I am on 125 of Levothyroxine. The thing that is driving me mad is my weight and lack of energy. I have been told to follow a Gluten free diet (my son is coeliac) which is mostly helping with IBS (not all the time) but I have not eaten bread, cake, biscuits etc at all for 16 weeks now, trying to use this to lose weight but I am still gaining weight ! I cannot tell you how little I do eat now but still it goes on, I am getting truly depressed by it. I have an active enough lifestyle but do need to up exercise but the fatigue doesn't help.

[Jazzw]

Hi Lizzie, I'd hazard a guess you're not on enough thyroid hormones. Do you have any recent thyroid blood test results to share?

[lizziep in reply to Jazzw]

I was tested in January but my dr never says what the results are, other than 'they are fine'. Should I ask for a printed copy ?

[Jazzw in reply to lizziep]

Yes, definitely There may be a small charge, in which case you could just ask to see them and write them down by hand. But you do have the right to see your results - don't be fobbed off by any snotty receptionists (who of course are all lovely people really ).

[GosportNancy]

I am having the same problem. I was sent home from hospital with Levothyroxine and T3 but when I spoke to the woman in charge of prescriptions at my GP practice she told me that the practice couldn't supply T3 so have had to buy mine on-line. The weight gain tells me that my thyroid hormones are not as they should be but my practice has limited my Levothyroxine to 125mcg and refuses to prescribe a higher amount so I am having to buy that on-line too!!!

[ClareP81 in reply to GosportNancy]

Hi, have you noticed a difference since taking T3. I'm on the same level of Levothyroxine. weight gain and no energy getting me down now x

[GosportNancy in reply to ClareP81]

Early days yet as I have only been taking T3 since I came out of hospital on April 1st. I am on a low dose 25mcg which I am going to stick with for this month. Whether I continue with it or not depends on if I have the funding

[Sara70]

I've been diagnosed coeliac for over 11 years now after having biopsy confirmation.

When I stopped eating gluten and all associated products, barley, rye and oats, the weight PILED ON!!

Apparently as your gut is healing, it becomes less inflamed. As the inflammation decreases, your intestinal villi start to stand up again.

This means there is nor surface area in your gut for absorption. Hence the weight gain.

There is a similar forum on coeliac.co.uk you can check this out on. They're excellent also for all queries.

It's a double whammy unfortunately and I find it near on impossible to lose weight. However, my GP won't prescribe meds for T4/3 and I believe that would help me.

I do find the supplements are helping. Get your b12, folate, iron etc checked as well as Vit D. You may well be deficient and they aid in energy release, necessary for weight loss. (I'm just learning all this myself!!)

Good luck and don't despair 😉

Sara xx

[greygoose]

Sounds to me that you're not eating enough. When you are hypo, low calorie intake has an adverse effect. You cannot convert T4 into T3 if you Don't have enough calories. And it's low T3 that causes weight gain, and makes it difficult to lose.

Also, to be able to convert and lose weight, you need optimal nutrients - not eating enough plus being hypo could mean that most of your nutrients are very low. Have you had your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested? If not, ask your doctor to test them.

[lizziep in reply to greygoose]

Thank you for the replies. I will ask for more detailed testing and for a copy of the results.

[greygoose in reply to lizziep]

You're welcome.