Weight Loss

[Mags_23]

I'm concerned that my Mum is losing weight, despite she is eating well for her. Is it possible to lose weight whilst having an underactive thyroid?

[DeanPhillips]

Hi Mags,

Is your mum on thyroxine?

I've lost 4st in the last 6 months and I have hypothyroidism, is she active?

When you say eating well what is she eating?

[Mags_23 in reply to DeanPhillips]

Yrs, she's always been on Thyroxine. No, she's not active, exhausted all the time & no energy! (Back & forward to the docs) my Mum is a very pick & fussy eater & doesn't eat much. But little & often.

[DeanPhillips in reply to Mags_23]

Do you know when she last had a blood test done for her thyroid?

Little and often eating can contribute to weight loss, my mums a fussy eater also.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Get full thyroid results & tested for vitamin D, folate, ferritin & B12. Common to be low in vitamins

Does she have Hashimotos (high antibodies) if so many have gluten intolerance.

Also is she taking same brand of Levo as usual? Or been put on new brand, especially if it's Teva. Brands are not interchangeable and Teva in particular seems to not suit many

[jannah in reply to SlowDragon]

Why teva is not suitable? What's the difference between them and others.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to jannah]

No idea. But it was officially removed from market about two years ago for consistency problems. Just been reissued/launched. Lots of people on here have found it has made them extremely unwell. They have put a yellow card in too

yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk

So obviously more than just slight difference.

Brands are often not interchangeable if you need fine dose adjustment anyway. So always best to stick to same one - see points 1-3 on link below

endocrine.org/-/media/endos...

I can only tolerate Mercury Pharma & often have to hunt around to find a pharmacy that has it in stock.

[dang]

I lost a ton of weight while being under medicated on levo alone. However I also made dietary changes. Once my medication was properly doses and T3 added I stopped having fast weight loss and I was better able to control it.

I will note I have a number of diagnosed digestive issues and deficiencies. Does your mom have any separate conditions? Do you know her recent thyroid test results?

[janeb15]

Yes it is possible, especially if her thyroid condition was originally caused by an unidentified pathogen (moulds, bacteria, virus etc). Doctors do not test for these in the UK. We had to go to the USA for diagnosis and treatment. Jane x

[jannah in reply to janeb15]

What are they? These test that only America does and what are the symptoms for it.

[BonnieT in reply to janeb15]

I'm in the us and always been under care of endo. Never heard that thyroid could be caused by bacteria or mold.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to BonnieT]

Thyroid can play havoc with gut or gut can affect thyroid

hypothyroidmom.com/hashimot...

[BonnieT in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks slowdragon

[janeb15 in reply to BonnieT]

You probably won't hear this information from an endo. Lyme Disease and co-infections (bacterial and parasitic), Mycotoxin Illness (moulds) can all be responsible for thyroid dysfunction with weight gain or weight loss. You would probably have to see a holistic specialist in complex chronic illnesses in the US for him/her to identify such problems. This is what my daughter did. Jane x

[BonnieT in reply to janeb15]

Thank you.

[Yazz1]

Yes it is possible I'm underactive and loose weight I have all the symptoms of over active thyroid. She needs to see the endocrinologist at the hospital so they can so the right tests and find out why the weight loss.

[Hidden]

Hi Mags_23..... I was over-medicated on 100 mcg for 12 months ( which was 2 years ago),I lost nearly 2 stone in weight... I paid to see a Specialist and he confirmed that I was being over-medicated and my dosage was dropped to 75 mcg and have been a lot better since, and gained back some of the weight lost as I had gone down to 6st 7lb , ask for full bloods on thyroid, hope your Mum is well soon.... Jean

[Mags_23 in reply to Hidden]

My fear is my Mum is under medicated. She has all the symptoms, exhausted all the time, sensitive to coldness, mood swings, depression, dry skin to name but a few. She takes 50mg of Thyroxine. Had her levels done 2 weeks ago & the doc said they where "normal" but how can they be normal when she has all those symptoms?? Waiting on the doc to print her results off & hopefully someone on here can help me, feel the doc & consultant aren't intrested as her results are "normal" Last Christmas my Mum was on 100mg & was doing well. Had her levels done & was told they where too high, gradually the Thyroxine has been reduced & now is feeling really ill. I feel as tho I'm fighting a losing battle 😢

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Mags_23]

Get her vitamin D, folate, B12 & ferritin checked if not been done recently and get copies of thyroid test results from recently as well as when she was on 100mcg.

Come back with new post when you get the results

[Mags_23 in reply to SlowDragon]

Here are my Mum's results from the 4th May.........

TSH 0.54 (0.35 - 5.00)

Free T4 16.8 (9.0 - 21.0)

Total T3 1.1 (0.9 - 2.5)

Despite them being reported as "normal" my Mum is symptomatic

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Mags_23]

Get her vitamin D, folate, B12 & ferritin checked if not been done recently and get copies of thyroid test results from recently as well as when she was on 100mcg.

If any or all these are low then she is not able to use the thyroid hormones. So then feel very hypo - but tests say you're fine

Does she have Hashimotos? High antibodies

If so then gluten free diet may really help

[Thyroidie]

I lost weight too and I didn't feel better when I lowered my thyroxine either .... or did I put in weight ...I think the mounds viruses and other factors have a role to play. I think she needs to find some T3 maybe but I wouldn't expect any miracles at all.