WANT TO LOOSE WEIGHT

[Terri_Scott]

Hi there, i have been diagnosed under active since beginning of the year, Dr has gradually increased my Levo to 150mg a day , I feel better than i did a few months ago although im still have a zillion other symptoms. Mainly pain in feet and knee and all my joints my bones constantly ache... and tiredness I i want to loose weight badly but wanted to know what is the best diet to do as i was overweight before my medication started and tried all the popular diets on the market before diagnoses with minimal success..... has anyone successfully lost weight if so what diet is the best for us thyroid sufferers.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Hi Terri_Scott You may not yet be on your optimal dose of Levo. When you say you have a zillion other symptoms what are they?

Your aches and pains on bones etc could very well be due to low Vit D.

It's important for us to have optimal levels of vitamins and minerals for thyroid hormone to work properly and eliminate some of the symptoms - not just on range but optimal.

Ask your GP to test

Vit

B12

Ferritin

Folate

If he won't then get them done privately through Blue Horizon as part of one of their Thyroid bundles - Thyroid Plus Eleven covers everything. Then make a new thread with the results along with the reference ranges. Members can then advise of any deficiencies and suggest supplements where necessary.

Once your vits and mins are optimal, plus optimal thyroid meds - and you really need the full thyroid tests for that including TSH, FT4, FT3 plus both sets of antibodies (all in the Thyroid Plus Eleven tests) - then other things should improve including losing weight. Dieting is a waste of time until you are optimally treated, it just won't work.

[Terri_Scott in reply to SeasideSusie]

I still am hot all the time, sweating, lots of toilet visits at night time. insomnia , bloating, lethargy, aching joints and bones, fluid retention, no libido ...lot better than i was but symptoms are still there.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Terri_Scott]

Do you have your thyroid test results? If so, post them with their reference ranges (usually in brackets after the result). What is really needed for a full picture of your thyroid is TSH, FT4, FT3, TPO and TG antibodies.

If you haven't got the results, ask your surgery for a print out. You are legally entitled to them under the Data Protection Act here in the UK but you may be charged a small amount for printing.

All those tests are included in the Blue Horizon Thyroid Plus Eleven I mentioned if you want to get that test done bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/T...

I think your answer lies in the test results. I don't think you're on an optimal dose of meds and you may not be converting T4 to T3 properly or you may have autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's. Best to get a full test and see what's going on.

[Terri_Scott in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you, had my latest blood test on Wednesday, i will speak with the dr again for the results and a referral to Endocrinologist...i need to know what type of thyroid problem i really have so i can manage it better.

[bluebug in reply to Terri_Scott]

It's the reception staff/secretary you ask for a copy of the test results.

Just say you want it for your own records and make sure you take a pen and note book with you. The reason for this is while you are entitled to know them under the Data Protection Act 1998 some surgeries charge people £10 to have a copy of their test results.

Also if they don't give them to you straight away don't get upset as some surgeries take 3-4 working days before you can be told them.

[greygoose]

The best weigh-loss 'diet' for a hypo is no 'diet' at all! Actually, no-one should 'diet', if by 'diet', you mean low-calorie. Your weight gain wasn't caused by eating, so why would dieting get rid of it? Your weight-gain was caused by low T3, and you need to optimise your T3 to get rid of it.

You may be taking 150 mcg of levo - T4 - but are you converting it into T3? Possibly not. Have you had your FT3 tested? If not, it needs testing - along with the nutrients that SeasideSusie mentions above. Because you won't lose weight if you have nutritional deficiencies, either, and most hypos do.

This may surprise you, but you could need to eat more, not less. Many hypos find they lose weight when they increase their intake because their conversion improves with the increase in calories.

You need to nourish your body. It's going through a lot at the moment. You need to eat plenty of protein, and plenty of good fats - butter, animal fat, nuts, avocados, olive oil, oily fish, coconut oil, etc. Plenty of fresh fruit and veg, not too much fibre, some carbs, and don't skimp on the salt. What you need to avoid is processed foods, processed oils and any form on unfermented soy. That way, your body will be nourished and able to heal.

[Terri_Scott in reply to greygoose]

wow, thank you....its a lot to take in its overwhelming, im trying to understand all these levels is so confusing. thankyou for your time.

[greygoose in reply to Terri_Scott]

Well, when you post your lab results on here, people will explain them for you. It's not confusing when you get used to it.

[Terri_Scott in reply to greygoose]

thank you,

[SlowDragon Administrator]

You really need your thyroid antibodies checked. There are two sorts TPO Ab and TG Ab. (Thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin)

Both need checking, if either, or both are high this means autoimmune thyroid - called Hashimoto's, the most common cause of being hypo.

NHS rarely checks TPO and almost never checks TG. NHS believes it is impossible to have negative TPO and raised TG. It's rare, but not impossible, there are a few members on here that have this.

If you have Hashimoto's then you may find adopting 100% gluten free diet can help reduce symptoms, and lower antibodies too.

Websites worth reading - Thyroid Uk

The thyroid pharmacist

Amy Myers

[Terri_Scott in reply to SlowDragon]

thank you, will have a look at the websites , Terri