Feel like I wanna give up: Crying feeling like I... - Thyroid UK

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Feel like I wanna give up

Zelda123 profile image
16 Replies

Crying feeling like I wanna throw in the towel trying to lose weight .. I was initially losing it .. I've kept a strict diet in place I've lost 13lb so far but it hasn't been easy.. coming off 1lb.. 1/2lb when I'm trying so very hard..

I'm getting sick of only losing half a pound.. and the effort in putting in is a lot !!

Going to slimming groups makes me feel worse because in group of someone gains 1/2 pound they say oh don't worry it's not a lot.. when you lose it they say half a pound is a lot of fat ..

other people are losing like 2 1/2 lbs a week or more..

I've got a blood test tomorrow .. I'm kinda hoping it shows I need more thyroxine because then at least I have a answer and will lose more eventually..

My Endo told me I'd need increased amounts of thyroxine because my autoimmune disease destroyed it.. why is it taking so long.. I feel so sad inside like I wanna quit at everything

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Zelda123
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16 Replies
shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

The most difficult thing a hypothyroid patient has to deal with is unexplained weight gain.

We hypothyroid patients know it is due to being hypothyroid (our metabolism runs so slowly that weight is gained whether we eat practically nothing or eat normally.) It is nothing to do with what we eat. Dieting before you are on an optimum of thyroid hormones is just a complete waste of time and your energy.

We cannot rush to high doses of levothyroxine as it could make us feel far worse. It is slow and gradual. It takes about six weeks after every dose increase to have another blood test and increase and so on until we are symptom-free.

If your blood test tomorrow is not for the very earliest time, cancel it and make another.

All blood tests for thyroid hormones have to be the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between your last dose of levothyroxine and the test and take it afterwards. This gives us, the patient, the best outcome for our blood tests as doctors are apt to adjust our dose and maybe unnecessarily due to the whereabouts of the TSH. Your aim is a TSH of 1 or lower. Doctors mistakenly think somewhere in the range (even top) is fine but it isn't.

You take levothyroxine first thing with one full glass of water and wait about an hour before eating. Food interferes with the uptake of levothyroxine and also caffeine does too.

If your doctor hasn't tested B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate ask for these at the same time as thyroid tests.

Zelda123 profile image
Zelda123 in reply to shaws

My thyroxine is saying new improved formular ?? I dont eat anything for 30 mins as it says on the instructions but my hair is thinning again .. when I wasn't in it my hair was growing .. even when I went hyper 😢

It's a horrible illness this.. and I don't know much about it .. il take your advice on board

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator in reply to Zelda123

It is a slow learning process as we would never expect that the least information is from the doctors/endocrinologists. They don't seem to have any clue about how metabolism functions and the need for optimum thyroid hormones.

I hope you begin to feel better in a few weeks. It has taken many months for us to be finally diagnosed, so it stands to reason as we cannot take a huge dose straight off, to gradually increase in the hope that symptoms diminish and we feel much better.

greygoose profile image
greygoose

Hi Zelda123, welcome to the forum.

I'm so sorry you're feeling this way, but if you've been reading around on here, I'm sure you've noticed that a lot of us feel the same.

The most important thing you can do for yourself, is to get copies of your blood test results. You absolutely need to know what was tested, and exactly what the results were. You need to learn to interpret your own labs. If you live in the UK, it's your legal right to have a copy, under the 1998 Data Protection Act.

I take it you have Hashi's, as you're talking about an autoimmune disease. But, I also take it that not very much was explained to you. If you want to know more about your disease, have a look at this thread from yesterday.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I really think that, for the moment, you should forget about dieting. It's not going to help, and may make things worse, because low-calorie diets have a negative effect on conversion of T4 to T3, making you more hypo.

Besides, it probably isn't even fat, and if it's not fat, reducing your food intake/calories, won't get rid of it. It's probably a substance called 'mucin', which collects under the skin, and hold water. It make you larger, and it makes you heavier, but it isn't fat. And these dieting groups don't give permanant results, anyway. They make their money out of return customers! So, save your money for more important things!

Also, to lose weight, you need to have optimal nutrients - which you probably won't have if you're dieting. Ask your doctor to test vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin. These all need to be optimal for your body to be able to use thyroid hormone. Get a copy of your results, and post them on here, with the ranges, and people will be able to explain to you how to raise your levels. Which will make you feel lost better, and help you lose weight.

Chin up, you're not alone. We're here to help you. Everything hormonal takes time, so you need to be patient, but you will get there in the end, if you go about it the right way. :)

Zelda123 profile image
Zelda123

My appointment is at 09:10 am they tell me I don't need to fast for it ? And the dr encourages being on a diet.. I feel more of a failure these last few weeks trying so hard and staying the same .. or gaining half a pound or losing half a pound..

sitting in a slimming group listening to success stories isn't encouraging me it's making me feel terrible as I'm not successful at the moment due to a illness .. I'm in a very dark place at the moment

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply to Zelda123

Doctors don't seem to know very much about thyroid, if they did this forum probably wouldn't exist and we'd all be optimally medicated and getting on with a wonderful life.

So you really are better off listening members about most things. Patient to patient information and experience will tell you far more than your GP. If you want the highest possible TSH then leave off levo for 24 hours, fast overnight, and make the earliest possible appointment. Do this for every test and then you can accurately compare results each time.

Zelda123 profile image
Zelda123 in reply to SeasideSusie

Thank you x

Dundeemags profile image
Dundeemags in reply to Zelda123

I feel your pain. The same thing is happening to me I have been going to SlimmingWorld since January and all I've lost is 8lbs its sole destroying. I lost 2.5 lbs one week felt great then the next week after eating the same things I put on 2 lbs doesn't make sense. Going to ask the doctor for liothyronine ( T3 ) that's the hormone that increases your metabolism.

Zelda123 profile image
Zelda123

Thanks il ask for them tests I'm having a the free t4 and TSH levels done tomorrow for my specialist to look through. My hair is thinning.. despite losing nearly a stone it's taken ages and ages and it's slowing even more now infact it's up and down.. I've got muscle pains.. cramps in my legs..ugh it's unfair

I have Graves and hashimoto 😭😭😭

ITYFIALMCTT profile image
ITYFIALMCTT

Not directly relevant to you but I thought you might be interested in another member's experience with weight loss after finding something that worked for her (I found mtcorr photos to be inspirational ) : healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Zelda123 profile image
Zelda123 in reply to ITYFIALMCTT

Thanks she self medicated NDT I'm on levo I'd be scared to self medicate as I've just come out of a hyper episode that's lasted a year.. I wouldn't know where to begin with it all

ITYFIALMCTT profile image
ITYFIALMCTT in reply to Zelda123

I wasn't recommending NDT as such. It's more that there are very helpful and knowledgeable people here (and 2 of them have responded to you earlier) and that once you have your blood test results and post them - they may well be able to guide you to a plan that works for you. So, one day, you too, might be posting inspirational photographs. :)

Zelda123 profile image
Zelda123 in reply to ITYFIALMCTT

I hope so ❤️

Prawnz profile image
Prawnz

Aww Hun, don't be sad, you are not alone! I too cannot loose weight and am totally in the same boat as you ! The only thing that I have found has actually helped me feel better is going on you tube and watching hypnosis videos to give you more confidence and help loosing weight! (Bit random!) My scales are broken so am yet to know if the videos are helping but for the first time in ages I feel sort of a happiness inside! Try not to be sad though you are truly not alone! 💋

EasyPeasy12 profile image
EasyPeasy12

Zelda you are pretty much where i'm at this week and it's absolutely heartbreaking!!I am trying sooooo hard to lose weight and when i lose a half pound a week, i feel as though 'flip it' and giving up! I'm at the gym 4/5 days doing hiit and i seem to just lose nothing! It's so demotivating and i know where you're coming from with drs encouraging you to lose weight, they don't have enough knowledge on thyroid to help. I had a very unsympathetic nurse tell me 'well you are overweight and need to lose it'... when i said it's really hard esp because of underactive thyroid and PCOS syndrome (with a cyst) she basically said 'that's no excuse' i told her i was on 900-1000 cals a day and exercised and still, she just looked at me like i was lying... i cried when i came home. I'm on 300mg a day of levo (activis brand) and am waiting for an endo appointment... the wait is now 15 months, of which i've been waiting a year.

All i can say is, we all feel this way. I hate people thinking i'm fat, lazy and stuff my face but i know people here have the highest determination of anyone trying to lose weight and it helps to know you arent alone!

Zelda123 profile image
Zelda123 in reply to EasyPeasy12

Yeah that's pretty much where I'm at.. except I've come out of hypo and I'm hypo upping my meds gradually.. every morning I wake up stiff as board just doing normal things..

I was at the feel good factory that my council runs and I had to temporarily put it off as I now have a tooth infection that needs removing and just finished antibiotics ..

Like one thing after another I'm beginning to see that no one really understands the thyroid and its levels as it seems a lot of people are not getting the right medication to treat it

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