Please Help

[Deeya]

My TSH has increased from 7 to 9.6. I am putting on weight. Doc has given a medicine but still not losing weight. What all should I avoid and what should I take to get back to normal?

[greygoose]

What medicine has he given you? And how much? Did you have anything else tested, apart from the TSH?

A TSH of 9.6 means you are very hypo - your thyroid hormones are very low. And one of the main symptoms of low thyroid is weight gain. It has nothing to do with what you eat. Don't try to diet, it won't work. Eat as normally as you can. The weight will go when your thyroid hormone levels rise, but it will take a long time. Don't worry.

[Deeya in reply to greygoose]

Thank you so much for your reply, Friend. Doctor has given me Thyrox- 50mg. Do I need any special exercise? My joints are hurting. I am losing sleep on the excess weight gain.

[greygoose in reply to Deeya]

No, there are no special exercises, just gentle walking, swimming or yoga. Strenuous exercise is not recommended.

50 mcg is a starter dose of thyroxine. It will need to be increased six weeks after you started taking it. When you go back for your test in six weeks, make sure your appointment is early in the morning - before 9 am - and fast over-night - just drink water. Leave a 24 hour gap between your last dose of thyroxine and the blood draw.

Did your doctor tell you how to take the thyroxine? Take it on an empty stomach, and leave at least one hour before eating or drinking anything other than water. Are you taking any other medication?

Ask your doctor to test vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin. If these are low, they will make you feel ill.

[Deeya]

Yes, Doc asked me to have the tablet on an empty stomach....early morning. I take my breakfast 2 hours after taking the medicine. He has also prescribed multivitamins.

Thanks a lot, Friend.

[greygoose in reply to Deeya]

Multi-vitamins are useless at best, dangerous at worst, and a total waste of money! I wouldn't take them, if I were you. Get your nutrients tested, as I said, and just take what you really need.

[Deeya]

Oh! I shall see another doc, then. Any food you can suggest and anything I should abstain from? I am a non vegetarian.

[greygoose in reply to Deeya]

There is no magic food, you just need a varied diet. Stay away from processed food, processed oils, and avoid unfermented soy like the plague.

Some people find a gluten-free diet helps, others do well on a dairy-free diet. You have to experiment to find what suits you and what doesn't.

But it's important to realise that doctors know absolutely nothing about nutrition, nothing at all. Never go to a doctor for nutritional advice, and never accept nutritional advice from a doctor. They just don't know.

[Deeya in reply to greygoose]

Completely agree. When asked about my diet, he said I can have everything in moderate portions. I was a little taken aback. He piled me up with Multivits. Did not give me anything to ease my acute lower leg and back pain.

[greygoose in reply to Deeya]

Well, he's more or less right. You can usually have everything in moderate portions. There is no forbidden food except unfermented soy. As I said, it depends what you feel comfortable eating. If something disagrees with you, don't eat it.

There is no specific hypo diet. Some people who have Hashi's, find that the autoimmune paleo diet helps them, but not everybody. There is no one way of eating. You have to find the way that suits you.

When I made the comments about doctors knowing nothing about nutrition, I was thinking more of the multi-vits. The would have no idea why a multi-vit was so wrong.

[Deeya in reply to greygoose]

Oh. Having acute pan in lower leg, getting cramps and excessive breathless. Cant walk properly. Need to see another doc I think.

[greygoose in reply to Deeya]

Sounds like you have nutritional deficiencies. You should get them tested - vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin.

Have you tried taking magnesium for the cramps?

[Deeya in reply to greygoose]

No, I haven't. Actually, I have no idea about medicines. And Doc hasn't given me any except Thyroxine - 50 and Multivits.

[greygoose in reply to Deeya]

Magnesium is not medicine, it's a mineral.

Don't just wait for your doctor to give you things. He won't. He's not educated enough. Learn about nutrients yourself. All the information is out there, just use google. If you have any questions, you can ask them here.

But, first of all, tell your doctor you want your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested. Those are the basics.

Then, go onto Amazon.co.uk and buy some Magnesium Citrate. You can find them in 200 mg tablets. And try taking those.

[Deeya in reply to greygoose]

Sure Friend. I will.

[dang]

If you can post some recent test results (FT3, FT4 if you have them) members can help determine how under medicated you are and what steps you can take to help yourself, based on your TSH alone you need an increase, they alone could help you lose weight. It would be good to also get vitamin D, B12, ferritin and folate tested as these are often low in hypo patients and present their own problems and symptoms. Another test if you haven't done it would be for thyroid antibodies to determine if you have Hashimoto's.

Many hypos find they need to make dietary changes to increase their health and loose weight. Such things include going gluten-free, lactose-free, soy-free, or following AIP diet (auto-immune procotol, which could be useful if you have Hashimoto's). Not everyone does well on all diets, personally these diets have helped me regain some health and lose 50lbs in a year, this was all while I was under medicated with a high TSH. I'll mention we're all different and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for others.

If you are incapable of losing weight once optimally medicated and eating right, then it would be time to look into other possibilities like leptin resistance, which can be found in people with Hashimoto's, usually caused by high amounts of RT3 hormone, there are treatments available for such issues.

[Deeya in reply to dang]

Thank you so much.

I have not got any other test except TSH done. Doc only asked for this test. I shall do the other tests as mentioned by you and get back.

[dang in reply to Deeya]

Fantastic! All the best 😊