Hi every one .. can people with underactive throid lose weight with out taking the replacement hormones?

[Sonson_son66]

Hi every one .. can people with underactive throid lose weight with out taking the replacement hormones?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

If you are diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, why would you not take the replacement hormone? Unless you are optimally medicated with replacement hormone then losing weight is unlikely to happen.

[Sonson_son66 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks

[Mutlusandra in reply to SeasideSusie]

The answer is yes, I have been on low carb diet for 4 months I was 114kg starting, now I am 90kg. My aim is to get down to 80kg. I can't exercise due to disabilities in my legs, I don't feel Hungary I often miss lunch due to not being hungry. Low carbing works for me. More than happy to offer advice and suggestions on what I'm doing to help myself.

[Jodypody]

In short, no.

[Sonson_son66 in reply to Jodypody]

They want to repeat all blood tests after 6 month then they will give me the hormones

[Jodypody in reply to Sonson_son66]

What were your results? If you don’t have them, request a copy and post in here

[Aurealis]

Some people do lose weight with an untreated under active thyroid but it’s very rare because fluid collects in your tissues adding to your weight.

[SusanAR]

I was on slimming world for 3 months and put on weight every week. I totally stuck to the diet and tried to exercise.

My endo said that I didn’t have a hope of losing weight as I was under medicated. Since he changed my medication in July I’ve lost almost 4 stone.

[FancyPants54 in reply to SusanAR]

Oh my goodness! You must feel amazing. I feel like I'm drowning inside a fat suit.

[SusanAR in reply to FancyPants54]

I do! I feel like a normal person again and it’s great. I’m in size 10 jeans for the first time in years and I just feel so comfortable without the extra weight and swelling. Even my shoes feel more comfortable!

[FancyPants54 in reply to SusanAR]

I had big feet anyway, size 8 (I'm tall), but now I need to buy size 9 and wide fitting if I can get them! What the heck!? None of my boots will fit my calves. I feel blown up with fat and fluid. It's gross.

[Kitten44 in reply to SusanAR]

Wow! That's amazing, well done, you give me hope!! Now I *only* need to find a decent endo!

[SusanAR in reply to Kitten44]

It’s definitely down to the medication. I haven’t changed anything I eat. I’ve always eaten healthily - chicken, fruit and veg and no gluten. I do have more energy now so I probably move more (and sleep much less).

Please have hope - once you’re on the right dose and get your levels sorted it will all fall into place. I’m losing around 1.5 - 2lbs a week which is a healthy way to lose it.

[Kitten44 in reply to SusanAR]

Thanks Susan!

It's nice to hear a success story. I uaed to be a gym bunny, but out of nowhere I just lost my energy and have put on over 3 stone, even though I still exercise, though not as intensely as before.

Is your Endo private or nhs? Are you on levo or do you also take t3 or ndt?

[SusanAR in reply to Kitten44]

He’s NHS and he’s great.

I was upped to 125mcg levo in July - that’s when the weight started coming off.

6 weeks ago he changed me to 100mcg levo and 20mcg T3. I’m building up the T3 - I’m on 10mcg a day just now and going up to 15mcg at the end of the week. My GP told me to start on the 20mcg straight away but thanks to great advice on here I’m building it up slowly.

I think I shocked my GP into doing something by telling them that I had to drink 6 cans of red bull (diet!) a day just to function!

[Kitten44 in reply to SusanAR]

Wow, I have tried red bull only once in my life, it gave me one of the worst headaches I've ever experienced!

I guess I will need to try t3, Levo alone doesn't seem to cut it. I feel a million times better than before medication, but still far from last time I felt like myself.

[Angel_of_the_North]

I would be more worried about the effect of untreated underactive thyroid on my heart and brain than my weight.

[shaws Administrator]

You may not like to take replacement hormones but without them we would develop very serious problems or even go into a coma.

However, many on the forum have found that some thyroid hormone replacements do not suit us or we feel far worse and may also have increased symptoms which the replacement hormones are supposed to alleviate.

If you are gaining weight, it might be due to being on too low a dose or you may even need a combination of T4/T3.

Make sure you have the earliest appointment for your blood tests, which should be fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between levothyroxine and the test and take afterwards. This helps keep the TSH at its highest as doctors are apt to only look at the TSH result and if it is in range they don't increase our dose. The aim is a TSH of 1 or lower with Free T4 and Free T3 in the upper part of the ranges.

Always get a print-out of your results with the ranges because members need the ranges to respond.

Also ask GP to test B12, Vit D,iron, ferritin and folate. Everything has to be optimal. Most doctors - when TSH is somewhere in the range - do not increase and they should concentrate on relieving our symptoms (unfortunately they seem to know none).

[FancyPants54 in reply to shaws]

She did say her doctors want to retest in 6 months and if still out of range will give her meds then. So it sounds like she's at the start of the process. 6 months seems too Long to me though.

[shaws Administrator in reply to FancyPants54]

Sonson_son66 If you can get a print-out of your blood test results, with the ranges, post them. If you don't have them today put them on a new post. Ranges are very important as labs differ and it makes it easier for members to comment upon them.

I shall give you a couple of links and if you can tick off some of the symptoms, plus if your TSH is above 3 the doctor should prescribe but she's probably been told to wait till it reaches 10 which is so ridiculous if it wasn't so serious.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

If thyroid antibodies are in your blood you'd have an Autoimmune thyroid disease as it is the antibodies that attack the thyroid gland - they wax and wane until you are hypothyroid. Going gluten-free can help reduce the antibodies.

[bookish]

If possible check for antibodies to see if auto-immune thyroiditis, if so worth checking if Coeliac first then go gluten free. (Doing the Coeliac test first is to rule it out so that you don't need to go back onto gluten to test it later - more of us are NCGS (Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitive) anyway). Checking for any food sensitivities, sorting any mineral and vitamin deficiencies and resolving any other gut issues will help improve thyroid function (and any other auto-immune issues that are hovering) and may well help with weight loss. You may find that when you are retested by GP in 6 months you will not need T4/T3. Best obtain and post current results with ranges for more advice.

[jgelliss]

The way I understand is that your adrenals pick up the slack for the lack of thyroid insufficiencies and you would probably loss some weight . But why would you want to put unnecessary stress on your adrenals and look for more problems . Rather dose optimally to avoid any more issues . Adrenal problems are not easy to deal with and very few Dr's know and understand how to deal with it . There are much better solutions for weight loss that you might want to pursue .

[MissFG]

Yes I eat a healthy low carb diet avoiding processed foods & refined sugars. I’ve managed to lose weight and maintain it but still eat well.

It is important that you take replacement hormones if required and stabilise your hypothyroidism. This will help with maintain healthier weight levels and you’ll also be able to exercise with improved energy levels.

[kwaller]

Yes you can lose weight I have and was very hypo. We are all different