NDT weight gain!

[Anna0778]

I have been on Armour for three years and see my endo every six months, who supports my decision to take armour (and yes he is NHS!). However I have gradually gained about 1.5 stone and it seems to be going on quicker lately. I dont overeat anyway , stick to between 1200-1500 calories as I have a desk job. I walk a lot and do swim and Pilates once a week too. I don’t have my latest bloods but the dr says they are good, tsh suppressed everything else in range. The only other meds I take are sertraline. My vitamin D has been very low in the last 12 months but I have managed to get it into range and still working to improve it. The weight gain is now seriously getting me down and I just don’t know what to do to address it? I wouldn’t even mind if I couldn’t lose weight and stayed the same but it’s still increasing! I should add that I take 2.5 grans of armour split in 2 doses daily. Any advice please?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

"I don’t have my latest bloods but the dr says they are good, tsh suppressed everything else in range."

You really need to get a copy of your results. Post them, with reference ranges, and we will be able to help. TSH, FT4 and FT3.

Have you had thyroid antibodies tested, and any other vitamins besides Vit D - B12, Folate and Ferritin?

[Anna0778 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes my ferritin is in range but on the low side so I take an iron supplement, folate is fine, my b12 is high ( I may have overdone the b12 supplement!). I will try to get my blood results and post them. My endo knows a lot about NDT and says that it is not my thyroid causing the weight gain .

[Jazzw in reply to Anna0778]

He might know more about NDT than the average endo but perhaps he doesn’t know that TSH will be suppressed on pretty much any amount of Armour and that “in range” can be a long way from optimal.

Definitely get your mitts on those results. You could quite easily be underreplaced.

[Anna0778 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi susie, I finally had my bloods re-done. Please can you advise:

Free T3 5.3 pmol/L (3.1-6.8)

Free T4 10 pmol/L ( 11.0-22.0)

Tsh <0.01 miu/L (0.30-5.00)

As previously mentioned my iron is in range but low, same with vit D (taking meds for both). I am failing to lose weight and steadily gaining no matter what I do. Any advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Anna

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Anna0778]

Anna0778

I don’t have my latest bloods but the dr says they are good, tsh suppressed everything else in range

Well your doctor is wrong about your FT4 being in range as you can see now that you have your results.

Maybe you need to have optimal nutrient levels before any thyroid hormone is going to work properly for you:

Vit D - 100-150nmol/L

B12 - near top of range for Serum B12

Folate - at least half way through range

Ferritin - 70 is said to be needed for thyroid hormone to work properly

And maybe NDT isn't right for you. Your FT4 is below range and your FT3 is 60% through range. This may not be right balance of hormones for you. NDT has a fixed amount of T4:T3 at around 4:1 and it doesn't suit everyone. Synthetic Levo and T3 allows tweaking of doses to find the right balance to suit a patient personally, I find that I need a ratio of approximately 6:1 and both FT4 and FT3 at around 75% through range to be optimally medicated.

[Marymary7]

You have had some good advice to follow already. This link talks about essential vitamins etc. depleted by your antidepressant for which it may help to supplement. One being iodine so that could be a part of the puzzle although it does talk about the lack of effectiveness of SSRI drugs. I'm not advocating taking iodine I just think it's an interesting connection that is maybe stopping the body utilising T3 or T4....as its iodine too.

Good luck 😀

articles.mercola.com/sites/...

[Anna0778 in reply to Marymary7]

I used to take iodine and it affected my thyroid levels negatively to be honest....

[Marymary7 in reply to Anna0778]

I definitely would not advocate taking iodine. The article says that certain things are effected by your antidepressant meds and iodine is one. I was thinking that as t3 and t4 are bound to iodine too that could be why your antidepressant meds are effecting your thyroid meds.

[SusanAR]

I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been on T4 for years. I added T3 a few months ago and I’ve put on a stone. I halved my dose of T3 and I’ve lost 3.5 lbs in the last 2 weeks. I think because I’m not constantly starving like I was on the higher dose.

Maybe it has a different effect on different people. I feel fine on this dose so I’m just going to leave it at that.

[Anna0778 in reply to SusanAR]

I am thinking it may be the T3 too. Unfortunately I never did very well in T4 only and I gained a lot of wait when just taking levo. It’s very confusing!

[Hidden]

Have you had your insulin and fasting blood sugar levels tested? Insulin resistance can cause weight gain no matter how good your thyroid levels are.

[Anna0778 in reply to Hidden]

Yes I’ve very recently had my insulin tested and it was well within range

[Anna0778]

I have heard this before and have contemplated coming off the sertraline although it is a bit of a scary concept! Will look into this more, thanks

[Hidden]

I have been taking 2.5 grains of NDT for about 2 years now and I have just reduced to two taken like you in two lots. The only time I have ever gained weight was after my TT I was put on Levo for 8 months and gained 10 lbs.

I do not restrict my calories as low as yours mine are around 2000 per day and if I go over I just reduce to 1800 for the next few days. You could be under medicated what does your FT3 read. You need a copy of all your thyroid and Vitamins post on here with the ranges.

[jgelliss]

Anna I would suggest that you find out your FT3 FT4 TSH values . It might just be that your FT3 is above range causing you to be hungry and gain weight . It can also raise your glucose levels too . Lack of satiety for me was with higher T4 values . With Higher FT3 values I'm always Hungry . Tuning into symptoms like this and comparing labs can make all the difference and give us the answers to our problems . Especially for those of us that had TT and now depend to manually dose with both T3 and T4 .

Best Wishes .

[Naomi8]

I took a low dose of Sertraline for 18 months,weaning off at 10% per month.I have been off it for 5 months.I have also been taking NDT for about 18 months.

Over the last 2 years I have put on 2 stone.

I do not know if the Sertraline is the cause,or NDT Or both.

Sertraline can interfere with thyroid replacement,it states this in the thyroxine leaflet.

When I became underactive in 1998,I slowly went from a 14 to a 16 dress size.

During 16 years on thyroxine & 2 on T3-only,my weight remained at size 16.

The weight gain on Sertraline & NDT has been a big shock,but if I have another "nervous breakdown"I will take Sertraline again.

I am hoping that my weight will slowly return to a size 16.

After reading "Stop The thyroid Madness"again,I am raising my dose to 3 grains,as I have been feeling profound fatigue & the weight is not shifting.

I have also gone gluten free again.