Hypothyroidism but skinny

[Jenzzz]

Hi, I am just wondering if anyone else has been diagnosed as hypothyroid when actually almost underweight?

I was and now I wonder if the condition could be passed on to my daughters?

Does anyone know if it can be genetic?

Thanks

[UrsaP]

I did have a friend some years ago, who was HypoT, she was very petite. I remember asking her if she was sure it was Hypo not hyper.

thyroid conditions definitely genetic! My mother passed away last year (90yrs) TC, her sister (now 94) was diagnosed HypErT a few years ago. Two of my sisters were HyperT - had nodules and such. I have been HypoT many years. And can see signs, and have done for years, in my younger son (suspect older one HyperT) Suspect other sisters could well be Hypo, and several cousins Hyper...but undiagnosed.

[Jenzzz in reply to UrsaP]

Thankyou, for your reply. One of my daughters is very thin and very energetic and the other bordering on plump.

[UrsaP in reply to Jenzzz]

I note quite a few people saying how they have lost weight with the condition. I did lose weight carrying my first son. But gained masses with the second. No consideration for thyroid problems and pregnancy back then.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Loss of muscle mass most certainly can occur in hypothyroidism. And it can be a serious issue - remember the heart is muscle. However, what can really confuse is that accumulation of mucinous deposits can counterbalance muscle loss - so actual weight might be fairly stable while you are losing muscle.

[Skyebeardie in reply to helvella]

Hi helvella, I have really noticed loss of muscle everywhere the last year. Is there any way to help maintain it?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Skyebeardie]

Afraid, I do not know. Other than ensuring adequate protein intake, and getting thyroid hormone levels right.

A couple of almost-random PubMed items - I looked but did not find a better link. Ursolic acid en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursol... - but that is not suggesting you go out and takes massive amounts of it!

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/245...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Skyebeardie]

I am hypothyroid with hashimoto's and skinny, probably underweight. Actually I have lost more weight with the increase of symptoms over the years. It's so frustrating, most folk want to lose it and I'm desperate to put it on. I have always been slim but now too slim. I'm hoping as I get to grips with medication it will go back on. Doesn't matter how much I eat, makes no difference. My grandmother was hypo apparently but I never knew her.

[Lynneypin in reply to Skyebeardie]

I'm exactly like this too Skyebeardie

[Singoutloud in reply to Skyebeardie]

I used to be the same in my younger days and daughter is a tiny skinny thing too. At one point I went down to 6. 5 stone which I put down to hashi flares. It took a year to regain the stone I lost. I started gaining when I was about 30. So not the same story now unfortunately. Thyroid must be a pickled walnut as no more flares and plenty of weight gained over time.

[bantam12]

I never gained any weight, am still size 10/12

[Kitti1]

Rachael Stevens is hypo and very slim

Sorry but very envious. I appreciate what helvella says that low weight can be a serious concern. But however healthy I eat or however hard I diet and exercise there's no shifting it. Struggle to maintain size 14/16 😢😢 Hate it.

My grandma was hypo.

[silverfox7]

I was so didn't look like I had a problem. And yes it can appear in your children but I'm sure many will tell you it hasn't and some will say it's several of them.

[Jenzzz in reply to silverfox7]

Hi, yes it is tricky originally I wasn't diagnosed, some 22 years ago as I was slim, but I had been tired for years, with dry skin and very irritable. I also am very petite, I think I was hypo through my teenage years but not diagnosed until 25 years as I only weighed 6 1/4 stone. I just want to make sure my girls are diagnosed if they have it. I asked the doctor to check my 6 year old as she has dry skin, is the smallest in her class and is skinny, but he said it wasn't possible as for her to be hypo, only hyper.

[MissFG in reply to Jenzzz]

My daughter is constantly tired and has been checked for everything and on and off iron tablets. So after her exams she's being tested for the antibodies for the autoimmune diseases I have. Both her consultant and GP agree she should be checked and tbh I'll be reassured and if she does have anything then at least they'll catch it early for her

[Hidden]

I was adopted and found my two sisters in my forties. One has since died she also had auto immune problems. The other one had both her gallbladder and thyroid removed the same as me.

Yes is the answer to your question but perhaps something has to trigger the auto immune system into action the jury is out on that.

[Hidden]

I forgot to mention that the only time I put on weight was when I took Levo for 6/7 months around 10 lbs. I lost it as soon as I started taking NDT. I am now back to my normal size not gaining not losing. My cousin has been very underweight for years but has hyperthyroidism.

[Jenzzz in reply to Hidden]

Interesting, what is NDT?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Jenzzz]

You might find it useful to use my Abbreviations and Acronyms document which includes things like NDT:

dropbox.com/s/og3lmxa1dqadb...

[serenfach]

I was once told by an Endo that "you do not have proper Hashi's as you are not overweight". (I was running my own farm at the time so never sat down!). I asked him if he counted overweight as a symptom when he saw new patients. No, he said. I muttered "joined up thinking" under my breath but he heard and discharged me!

[Katka]

I'm hypo. Always been Skinny. When started on NDT went super skinny. But I'm OK now. I have better appetite and I make sure I eat enough.

A couple of reasona for being skinny ans hypo.

1. Muscle wastage sue to having also adrenal issues

2. Usually its not only thyroid hormonea that are a mess but most of endocrine system. I tested (privately) and I had low progesterone hence low appetite, hence not eating enough and Skinny. Also I had very low testosterone, hence was difficult to build muscle

3. I have hashi and I believe I suffer a degree of mallabaorbtion. Most hashi patients have gut issues.

But... I've started on bio identical progesterone and I have healthy appetite, also bio id testosterone so can workout now with weights and gain muscle . Also when I used ne always fatigued I couldn't be bothered to eat. Now it's not the case. It's still an effort but a lot easier. I count my calories now. Aim for 2000 a day.

I'd suggest to check other hormones (I cheeked on NHS and was "fine" everything is fine to them unless you're dying) and check for gut issues. I have fat mallabaorbtion as I had a test done.

Good luck

[Katka]

I'm sorry about the typos. I type fast and didn't check before I sent it. Also with NDT I had to raise very very slowly as it made me lose weight..not anymore

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Katka]

Trying to be helpful:

You can go back and edit your own responses. Click on the [ V ] down arrow at the bottomn of your response and choose Edit.

Edited on my Android tablet.

[Jenzzz in reply to helvella]

Thanks

[Sabine_es]

I am an example of skinny hypo... when my FT3 was "-20%" my weight was lowest ever/underweight and they all took my for anorectic... at the same time I had hyperinsulinemia and super slow metabolism with low temperature and very low heart beat... but every Dr. I asked how is that possible told me that overweight and hypo is not a rule, and that weight can go up with proper hormonal treatment. They told me that with hypo you loose muscles and the body can not use nutrients properly so a person can loose weight.

Right now on T3/T4 combo I feel great, but still skinny, although this is genetic - same as my mother who also has thyroid issues and was super thin all her life. But I must admit here that this is not my concern - I consider myself lucky with my weight, knowing how many hypo struggle with weight issues...

[CSmithLadd]

Those who are diagnosed before experiencing significant or any weight gain are fortunate to have been diagnosed while still having sufficient thyroid hormone stores in the body to stave off some of the more common and overt symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Without adequate thyroid hormone replacement the metabolism will eventually slow down to a stop due to a lack of the active thyroid hormone which controls metabolism and services all areas of the body to optimization: that being the active thyroid hormone called T3.

Without adequate thyroid hormone replacement, T3 diminishes throughout the cells of the body as T3 is "stolen" from other areas and systems of the body that are not vital to life itself. The lack of T3 in those non-vital systems are what cause more overt symptoms of hypothyroidism (such as weight gain, bloating, mucin deposits, swelling of extremities, fingernail and hair changes, pie face, fibromyalgia and other muscle pain and weakness, etc.) as the body is without ample T3 and metabolism continues to fail.

Not that any of the other symptoms won't occur in those who are of ideal body weight or even underweight when diagnosed with hypothyroidism. We're all different in our varying degrees of hypothyroidism severity as well as how symptoms manifest within those respective degrees in each and every one of us.

Hope this helps!

[Jenzzz]

Thank you for the clarification, is this an alternative yo levo thyroxine?

[MissFG in reply to Jenzzz]

Ask away! This forum is to help support and share knowledge. I joined 16 months ago and am still learning. I'm sure many members will be happy to answer all your questions 😊

[MissFG]

I've kept a steady weight and a size 10 think that's why my GP was shocked when my bloods came back as hypo. I don't have much of an appetite so by rights should be tiny but I control my weight by watching my carb intake and now I'm looking at doing the keto diet and trying to exercise to take control of my autoimmune diseases and not letting them control me!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Yes you can.

See my response - the one you replied to. I just edited it on my Android tablet.

(Possibly it depends on which browser you use, or some other factors, but it can be done.)

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Have you tried installing Firefox browser for Android?

That is what I used (as I always do unless there is some special reason to do otherwise).

I do understand that some combination of factors could conspire to be incompatible. It is certainly not universal, though.

[Andyb1205]

I wonder if I had hypothyroidism before gaining around 70 pounds in like half a year at age 19-20. Before that I was what you could call skinny fat, was physically weaker than others which I noticed in Tae Kwon Do, with low muscle mass. Would always be one of the last ones when running track or around the field at school. I had my testosterone checked a few months ago and while it was "in range," I googled and found that despite being a 26 year old man, I have the testosterone of a 70 year old. I know of the links between testosterone and hypothyroidism, but it did occur to me that perhaps I always had low testosterone even before the large gain in pounds when I was 19. I wonder what the cause for my endocrine system being messed up my whole life is, I always figured it was an unhealthy diet but the more I think about it it probably is genetic.

[Latinodancer]

Yes me too. R u preterm baby?