Weight gain worry's

[Pixipot]

Can anyone recomend a thyroid med that hasn't caused them weight gain?

[Wetsuiter]

Are you sure its the levo? Weight gain is a hypo symptom.

What are your most recent test results?

[Pixipot in reply to Wetsuiter]

Ok my weight was rising before taking levothyroxine but it shot up even quicker with the medication. Good news is ive dropped a few pounds by being very strict with my salt, sweeteners and sugar intake.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Pixipot]

Best not to use sweeteners - worse for you than sugar.

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Really, I’ve been using sweeteners for over 40 years! It’s them or three spoons of sugar in my tea. Never had a problem with them.

[greygoose]

Different people react differently to different medication. So, a recommendation for someone else might not work for you. But, the truth is that no medication is going to do you any good if you don't take enough of it, and you are more than likely under-medicated. How much levo are you taking? What were your last blood test results?

[Pixipot in reply to greygoose]

50mcg ----- 6am every morning

[greygoose in reply to Pixipot]

Every morning? Even on the morning of a blood draw? That's not good.

50 mcg is just a starter dose. It should have been increased by 25 mcg six weeks after starting it. But, if you are taking your levo just be fore a blood draw then your doctor will think you don't need an increase because you will be skewing the results.

[Pixipot in reply to greygoose]

But its my doctor thats telling me to take my medication as usual as this won't have an effect on the results as ins already in my blood anyhow? I'm going to show him these replys see what he thinks of this site..haha

[greygoose in reply to Pixipot]

Well, I'm afraid your doctor just doesn't know much about it, does he. Obviously, a few hours after you take your levo, the concentration in your blood is going to be higher than 24 hours after you've taken it. 24 hours is the recommended gap between your last dose and the blood draw. So, this is why you are still on a starter dose. This is why you are still hypo. And, this is why you still have all those symptoms. You must not take your levo on the morning of the blood draw if you want to get well. And, your doctors - most doctors, in fact - is the last person to know that. What time do you usually have your blood draw?

[Lora7again in reply to Pixipot]

I once told my GP I was member of Thyroid UK and he told me I shouldn't believe everything I read on the internet. lol

[crabapple in reply to Lora7again]

My GP said it was full of shouty ranting Doctor-haters.

I didn't actually sack her for that but at a later date for telling me a TSH of 2.3 was where it should be, right in the middle (sic).

[SlowDragon Administrator]

50mcg is only starter dose levothyroxine

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase

The aim of Levothyroxine is to increase the dose slowly in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2 (many patients need TSH significantly under one) and most important is that FT4 is in top third of range and FT3 at least half way through range

NHS guidelines on Levothyroxine including that most patients eventually need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine.

nhs.uk/medicines/levothyrox...

Also note what foods to avoid (eg recommended to avoid calcium rich foods at least four hours from taking Levo)

[Hortense]

Hi Pixipot

It may well be that you're undermedicated. Do try the 24 hour gap in your Levo intake before you have your next blood draw, as suggested above. Going in as early as possible after you wake up is also important, as it's at that time that your results will be likelier to show undermedication. I'm not sure about the science behind this, but I do know from years of personal experience that having my blood drawn right before or during my period appears to show a lower TSH on my results, while having it done right after my period consistently shows a higher TSH that is easier to work with for my doctor.

All of this aside, you should take into account that Levo works well for the majority of patients but there's still a sizeable minority for whom it doesn't do the trick, or it does more harm than good. I myself don't seem to tolerate Levo very well. My bloodworks appear to support this. Many people with a DIO2 gene polymorphism don't take well to Levo as they have a tendency not to properly convert their t4 (a storage hormone) into t3 (the active hormone your body needs). This is not my case, but it might be yours. And there are still other reasons why you might not be doing well on t4 - nutrient deficiencies being one. Getting checked for vit B12, vit D, Ferritin and Folate is a good idea, as well as Zinc, Magnesium and Selenium. Levels should be not just in range but optimal (at least mid-range). Again, this isn't the reason I don't do well on Levo myself, but it might explain your situation.

I understand how upsetting it is to start a treatment that is supposed to make us better only to find ourselves worse! I too put on weight quite rapidly after being started on Levo, and the rest of my symptoms fairly soared. I lasted all of a month and a half. Hope you can get to the bottom of this!