HELP! Has ANYONE lost weight stopping levothyroxine (SYNTHROID)

[mboycz1]

I went to the doctor a month ago and he did my bloodwork and said I am still within normal range but on the low end for my thyroid producing hormone. He put me on 75mcg of Synthroid. I have BALLOONED! Everything I eat I retain. I went from 127 to 142 in 4 weeks. I am puffy. None of my clothes fit. I'm on day 4 of not taking this medication and am still constipated. Yes I have cut out gluten.

I work out 5-6 times a week. I do a couple hours of cardio and boxing/strenth training. I have always been healthy and active and usually sit around 125.

Please help. I'm searching the internet for answers because I can't see my doctor for another week. I don't want to go out in public because i'm ashamed of how I look right now. Literally I look like im pregnant and cellulite seems to be appearing all over my thighs and everything is puffy! How long for things to regulate or how do I lose this water?

[Hidden]

You need to get a copy of our blood results from GP and post. Also take your temperature and pulse as they are a good guide to thyroid health and we can advise further. 75mcg is really quite a high starting dose and you body maybe reacting to this. I would suggest cutting back to 25mcg the usual starting dose while we work out whats happening. Thyroid care is full of suprises, no one person the same and it often takes a lot of trial and error to get right,sometime symptoms can get worse for a while. Lots of people do put on weight with levo and others lose.You reaction does sound rather dramatic. It is not fat you are gaining it is fliud getting trapped with in cells. This is known as murkin. Exercise will not get rid of it so give your self a break, you are not well so be gentle. This can be down to the wrong dose or it just might not be for you. There are alternatives such as NDT or T3 but get the info first.

[mistydog in reply to Hidden]

Usual starting dose is 50 mcg unless you have heart problems or are elderly

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Agree with everything, except I'm not sure about this: "75mcg is really quite a high starting dose and you body maybe reacting to this. I would suggest cutting back to 25mcg"

Going from 25 to 25mcg - a decrease of 50 - seems just as drastic as starting at 75 (unless you had a thyroidectomy where replacement would have to start high). Stopping thyroxine completely all of a sudden isn't usually a good idea either, though it takes a few days to get out of your system. mboycz1 , maybe just go down to 50mcg and give your body time to recover from the shock? Anything to do with the thyroid is a very slow process, and it can take a couple of months to stabilise.

Perhaps we need one of our experts on this? SeasideSusie can you help here?

[mboycz1 in reply to Hidden]

thank you! I saw my dr today and he said it was a small dose... he said to come off of it and we will see how I feel. Very frustrated!

[Hidden in reply to mboycz1]

Don't know what to say

[mboycz1 in reply to Hidden]

Could it have done more damage to my metabolism only being on it for 3 weeks?

[Hidden in reply to mboycz1]

Probably not permanent damage, you don't seem to have been on any dose long enough, but this yo-yoing between different doses might well make you feel worse for a time.

I think the main thing is to slow down and give your body time to adjust to any changes made. At least 6 weeks is usually needed for most people to begin to stabilise after a change of dose.

But I'm not an expert and can only advise from my own experience and what I've read on here. I've never heard of anyone gaining weight from taking Levo before. However, the really important thing is to get you feeling better.

[wprtpaat105 in reply to Hidden]

my experience is that I was having Levothyroxine for many years than i was coughing and I gained weight approximately 20 lbs.

The levothyroxine is a generic pill and the Synthroid is the brand name.

when I changed to Synthroid I digest my food very easily.

See my post I submitted today.

Make sure you get your antibody test.

Look at the symptoms of hypothyroidism and see if you have acquired any of these symptoms.

[Hidden in reply to wprtpaat105]

I had antibodies tested when first diagnosed, TPO was high if I remember. So, like the majority I have the autoimmune hypothyroidism. There's no need to test again, antibodies are mostly for diagnosis and fluctuate a lot

[magsyh]

My GP cut my thyroxine wants me to come off completely. I have gained 8lb in 4 weeks! It's more than likely because of feedback. Taking 75mcg has shut your thyroid down and 75mcg is not enough to compensate so your metabolism has grinded to a halt. This is what happened to me as my TSH on 88mcg was 0.4 my doc said I didn't need any more my body started to react to too little T4 and I started having adrenaline rush and hypoglycemia so instead of raising my thyroxine she cut it and it has caused me to gain weight very quickly. I think I'd get fat sucking lettuce right now. I don't know what to do? Have your bloods checked, insist on T3. You may feel better if you get a raise to 100. My sister went very large but when she got to 150mcg she lost weight. Maybe levothyroxine is not for you or maybe it's the brand you are on? I'm considering trying NDT.

[mboycz1 in reply to magsyh]

Thank you

[kiefer]

Taking levothyroxine by itself won't cause you to gain weight. Dosing is quite individual but if for some reason 75mcg suppressed your pituitary, then you won't see a beneficial effect for weeks because it takes that much time for synthroid (an inactive thyroid hormone) to have an effect.

Since weight maintenance is 85% nutrition, you'll want to find a way to record your nutritional stats, such as total calories, protein, fat and carbs. If you don't do this, your doctor will simply say "You're eating too much."

Extreme workouts can have a negative effect on metabolism, lowering free T3. It's possible that you're working out too much.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/163...

It sounds like you're accumulating mucin, which occurs in some people with hypothyroidism. The symptom is called myxedema.

[radd]

mboycz1,

Welcome to our forum.

Sounds like myxoedema, which is strange with a 75mcg Levo starting dose …. but maybe it has shocked the pituitary into not working and the 75mcg Levo isn’t being up taking ? ? .. . Have you had thyroid antibodies tested ? ? ..

75mcg is too larger starting dose. My GP started me on 100mcg Levo after years of being misdiagnosed and it shot me through the roof, totally messing up adrenal glands that couldn’t keep up with metabolism increase.

Get a copy of your test results to post complete with ranges (numbers in brackets) for members to comment, and ask for an endo referral as your doctor doesn't appear to be managing your newly diagnosed hypothyroidism very well.

[mboycz1 in reply to radd]

I will get a copy. Thank you. I came off of it today. Could it have done more damage to my metabolism only starting it just over 3 weeks ago? Hoping everything eill just regulate soon. He said that I was in normal range but on the scale of 9-23 I was sitting at 11. Whatever that means.

[Hidden]

Found this from 6 years ago that you might find interesting: healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

Tried the link to read the whole article, but it's in French!

[Kalicocat]

mboycz1 , this happens to me when my Free T3 gets too low, either at the bottom of the range or below the range. I will gain anywhere between 5 and 8 pounds seemingly overnight and everything gets very puffy. If you haven't get your Free T3 tested as well. You may not be converting properly, and you may need more or less levo or even T3 added to the mix. But I would try adjusting the levo dose first before ever adding T3.