I'm 26 and was diagnosed with Underactive Thryroid when I was 19. My weight has gone up and down like a yo-yo repeatedly and it has driven me mad but recently I am so so down about it. I follow slimming world but it hasn't given me a weight loss in 6 weeks and as soon as I 'relax' with my diet a little (for example I went out for a meal on Saturday and had a nice dessert and some birthday cake) I feel SO bloated and as if I have put a stone on. I feel like the weight is slowly creeping up not matter what I do, eat or drink. I only drink tea with skimmed milk or water and Monday to Friday I eat very healthy (meat and veg) with an occasional treat on weekends. I feel like I am at such a loose end because no matter what I do, my weight isn't shifting but actually I can see it is increasing. I am so so depressed about it. Does anyone have any recommendations? I cannot put into words how desperate I am to just get back to my confident and happy self with a a bit of a weight loss. I don't want to go out or go to work and I really do love my job. I really hope that someone out there can help.
Em xx
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miss_evc
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I am having trouble with my weight too. I also joined SW last year but let my membership lapse recently. I lost almost 3 stone, but since losing my mum earlier this year, the last stone has been on/off and in the last 2 months, I had only managed to lose 5.5lb. I just felt yuk and still do. I have a lot of other issues too but my weight is my biggest issue for me. My consultant was not very helpful, because I have a lot to lose, she just looked at me as if to say, "come on, you can do better than this". So I have decided to go back calorie counting. I have explored some of the recipes from SW on this calorie counting website I have joined, and the meals SW say are "free" are actually in access of 400 calories. So it soon adds up. If you message me, I can tell you which website. I am guessing I won't be allowed to promote it on this part.
Most people on levo need low TSH around (or even slightly below) 1 to be adequately treated - do you have some recent thyroid blood tests.
also ask GP to check levels of vitamin d, b12, folate and ferratin. These all need to at good (not just average) levels for thyroid hormones (our own or replacement ones) to work in our cells
Have you had 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 in UK of being hypo.
If you have Hashimoto's then you may find adopting 100% gluten free diet can help reduce symptoms, and lower antibodies too.
You say you have bloating that might be due to gluten or possibly low stomach acid - both common problems if have Hashimoto's or are hypothyroid
But you do not need to have ANY obvious gut issues, to still have poor nutrient absorption or gluten intolerance
Make sure you get the actual figures from tests (including ranges - figures in brackets). You are entitled to copies of your own results. Some surgeries make nominal charge for printing out.
Alternatively you can now ask for online access to your own medical records. Though not all surgeries can do this yet, or may not have blood test results available yet online.
When you get results suggest you make a new post on here and members can offer advice on any vitamin supplements needed
If you can not get GP to do these tests, then like many of us, you can get them done privately
Blue Horizon - Thyroid plus eleven tests all these.
This is an easy to do fingerprick test you do at home, post back and they email results to you couple of days later.
Usual advice on ALL thyroid tests, (home one or on NHS) is to do early in morning, ideally before 9am. No food or drink beforehand (other than water) If you are taking Levo, then don't take it in 24 hours before (take straight after). This way your tests are always consistent, and it will show highest TSH, and as this is mainly all the medics decide dose on, best idea is to keep result as high as possible
miss_evc It is highly unlikely you will lose weight unless you are optimally medicated thyroid-wise. If you can give us some more information then members can comment.
What thyroid meds are you on and what dose?
What are your most recent thyroid test results? If you don't have them then ask your surgery for a print out, you are legally entitled to them under the Data Protection Act 1998 so your surgery can't refuse to give them to you but could make a small charge for printing.
If you don't have full thyroid tests then ask for the following:
TSH
FT4
FT3
Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies
Thyroglobulin antibodies
That will give a full picture of your thyroid and we can see if you are optimally medicated. Chances are you won't be.
How are your vitamin and mineral levels? These need to be optimal for thyroid hormone to work properly. If you haven't had them done ask your GP for
B12
Vit D
Ferritin
Folate
If your GP won't do them you can get them all done with one easy fingerprick test from Blue Horizon bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/T...
When you have results make a new thread and members will comment and make suggestions.
Thanks SeasideSusie. I am taking 200mg Levothyroxine. I also have B12 deficiency. I don't have a copy of my last test but I will be asking for them a week Wednesday wjhen I do see the doctor. I am so besides myself at the moment as I just feel as if I am destined to be bloated and gain weight. This is so hard
miss_evc That's a fairly high dose. As you're not losing weight it could be that you're not converting very well and I'd not be surprised if your FT3 was low, it needs to be in the top quarter of the range.
Anyway, make a new thread when you get the results (include the reference ranges) but I doubt everything will have been tested, FT3 is rarely done, and antibodies not done very often either. If these aren't done then I'd recommend the Blue Horizon Plus Eleven test and that should give some answers.
Are you having B12 injections for your deficiency? Are you taking a B Complex as well to keep the B vits in balance?
I know it's hard but try not to feel too despondent, let's get you optimally medicated with optimal vits and mins and that will give you the best chance to sort your weight problem
There are at least 2 products I would wholeheartedly recommend for weight loss combined with better health and energy. They work. Sisel do SiseLean and fire n ice tea. Based on real science that few know about they do what they say and are incredibly healthy and effective. I had to lose nearly 3 stones for my son's wedding it took me 3 months but I didnt have to go through hunger to do it. Once I decided to do it I found it easy and felt great. I had Siselean for 2 meals and had a proper meal in the evening. No soy, no crude whey concentrates or chemicals. Tastes good. Go to zest.mysisel.com ( wherever you are, UK,Europe or USA etc) to see the products, or to buy them direct. or message me.. fire n ice tea tastes a bit like an orange drink when stirred into water but it is great at supporting fat burning. Most of all.. both packed with nutrients to help regulate appetite, support fat burning, muscle building etc. You will find sugar cravings even out. Healthy, tasty meal replacement. Nothing like standard products in the shop.
With thyroid issues lots of people need to cut gluten out, gets rid of the bloating get the kindle book "wheat belly" in addition when it comes to calories that's only part of it, usually the resting metabolic rate is down 25-33% compared to people without thyroid problems, and without dieting resting metabolic burn is no more than 1200 calories for men and 1000-1100 for women. Another biggy too is eating a diet with a low GI (glycemic index) foods 55 or below on the glycemic scale.
Put simply high glycemic=more insulin production=fat storage. Hope that helps oh fats are about 45 on the scale but high in calories, and some veg is high so you need a GI indicator to help you.
Initially I found that I had no symptoms except weight issues. I had been very thin, then when I turned 32, I gained 15 pounds. I wasn’t eating a lot, and I was healthy, except for my thyroid. I expected the thyroid meds to help fix my issues. But it didn’t make any change, weight wise.
Through a long process, I was finally diagnosed with PCOS, which causes sugar intolerance that is treated with metformin. These two disorders often go together. (Thyroid disorders and PCOS)
I’ve been on Metformin for 4 yrs and haven’t had any real weight issues since. It changed my life, and early treatment helped keep me from getting other symptoms of PCOS.
I also found that NDTs (Armour) helped me greatly, vs synthetic thyroid. But that’s a person to person thing.
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