I shall be having private blood tests as the last I had on NHS was January.
I was diagnosed last year with hypothyroid and put on levo. Currently taking 75mcg. I am in a much better place to last year when I was struggling with symptoms, most notably severe leg, knee and bone and muscle pains. Debilitating at times! I am now back able to run and do exercise and generally feeling OK. I know I can't overdo it now though otherwise I will feel exhausted and wiped out so I am learning about what I can and cannot do.
One thing that puzzles me is that all through my life I have struggled with weight and at times been very overweight. Since being diagnosed and taking levo, the weight has fallen off me, to the point that I am the slimest I have ever been which is great but I am starting to feel like I am losing too much weight. People are saying this to me. This seems to be the opposite to what the majority experience with hypo e.g. putting on weight.
Any views or thoughts would be welcome. I do realise my bloods need to be done but thought I would ask beforehand.
Is it possible that I am overmedicated hence why I am losing weight and on a low dose of levo?
Written by
Health4I
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
you have high antibodies this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).
Hashimoto's frequently affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps, sometimes significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies
Trying gluten free diet for 3-6 months. If no noticeable improvement then reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse
The predominance of Hashimoto thyroiditis represents an interesting finding, since it has been indirectly confirmed by an Italian study, showing that autoimmune thyroid disease is a risk factor for the evolution towards NCGS in a group of patients with minimal duodenal inflammation. On these bases, an autoimmune stigma in NCGS is strongly supported
In summary, whereas it is not yet clear whether a gluten free diet can prevent autoimmune diseases, it is worth mentioning that HT patients with or without CD benefit from a diet low in gluten as far as the progression and the potential disease complications are concerned
Despite the fact that 5-10% of patients have Celiac disease, in my experience and in the experience of many other physicians, at least 80% + of patients with Hashimoto's who go gluten-free notice a reduction in their symptoms almost immediately.
Yes, I agree but wanted to find out online first from others.
I would go back to your GP Health41 if you are worried about your weight loss.
As Nanaedake said, were you tested for antibodies. I have Hashimotos.
With me and my experience only is that my Levo was too high (on 75 mg) and I went into Graves from Hashimotos. My thyroid went into overdrive. I am now down to 20 mg on Levo and NDT and better.
If this was the case for you, that might explain the weight loss.
As mentioned with the other posts, weight loss could mean other things.
My GP said I was kicked into Graves so that is all I know.
As far as I understand, your antibodies (all of them) at this point are already activated by something (virus, mould, heavy metals, gluten, other food sensitivities ,toxins) as you know and to try and find the root cause. What I understand by "The Thyroid Secret" & "The Root Cause" by Isabel Wentz and a 9 episodes informational series & "The Thyroid Connection" by C. Myers said it is easy to go back and forth between Hashimotos and Graves.
I am not a doctor or claim to know much Tattybogle but what I would be concerned about is lowering your antibodies (any and all of them) with either Graves or Hashi. At least that is my focus and only a suggestion. I just didn't want to be in Graves so I lowered my medication with both the Levo and NDT.
I'm not used to ndt ,so i cant tell if that equates to less or the same as 75mcg Levo.
In my experience High TPOab's went down on their own without me doing anything. But i agree, healthy diet and all that is a good idea.
I know it is possible to have confirmed Graves antibodies, and Hashimoto's, but it is very unusual, and i read lots of account's on here of folk being told by GP they 'have gone hyper' or even 'you've got Graves', when they haven't done the relevant tests to confirm.
GP's dont always seem to know that autoimmune Hypothyroidism can give fluctuating T4/T3 levels as thyroid tissue is destroyed and hormones are dumped into the bloodstream. This is not the same as Graves Disease where the thyroid is constantly producing too much T4/T3.
I have never heard of any case of Graves being 'caused' by taking too much thyroid hormone, that doesn't sound correct to me.
I'm not picking on you , just making sure information is accurate for others reading later.
I am not taking it as picking on me, I am just sharing my story and what I have read and heard. A functional medicine or naturalpath can help you with your questions. And great for you that your antibodies went down without doing anything.... lucky, lucky you! I am not so lucky. I still have not found my root cause.
Sorry , that wasn't meant to sound like i was gloating, i just meant that having very high, or nowadays much lower antibodies haven't made any difference to how i have felt over the years.
I'm currently the most 'non functional' i have been since diagnosis of autoimmune disease 17 yrs ago, with the lowest antibodies i've ever had.
So in my experience they are high at diagnosis and reduce slowly over years regardless of what you do.
But it's really interesting to see what happens to other peoples. We are all so different.
Most GP's never measure them more than once , so there is not enough information, which is a real shame because they need MORE information to understand autoimmune disease, and yet they don't look at what they could get easily.
Oh Tattybogle... don't be silly... truly if your antibodies are low... I am happy for you as then your immune system is not attacking your thyroid... this is all a journey we are going through and not a fun one... and you are so right, we are all so different... all the best to you to with all
Just out of interest , i too lose weight when over OR under medicated with Levo, but if i'm honest it's probably because i'm too exhausted to shop/cook/eat enough.
I think it's worth you checking with GP if you having unusual weight loss.
I also had a period of weight loss (looked anorexic) a couple of years before i was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hypothyroidism. I am sure this was a period of 'too much thyroid hormone in body' which is quite usual at the start of Hashimoto's,
although i don't think Hashi's is technically what i have, as i never had a goitre.
I've only ever had TPOab tested, which were over 3000 initially but 194 a decade later.
Still it's good you are feeling better than before and able to enjoy exercise again,
So hopefully it's all good and you can just enjoy being slim
I always advise testing thyroid antibodies before and after starting new thyroid medications. For example, if someone starts feeling worse after initially feeling better on NDT or has an increase in thyroid peroxidase antibodies after starting NDT, switching to a compounded T4/T3 medication may be helpful.
Yes, thanks. I have hashimotos too. That is interesting that at 75mg it was too high for you. I don't know much about Graves. What sort of symptoms did you have with Graves please? Yes, I think the GP does need a visit. I have always been someone who carried extra weight and so losing a significant amount of weight is not the norm for me. I am glad I have lost the weight but it doesn't appear to be stabilising so something is not quite right.
I've noticed you haven't posted any results for thyroid antibodies in past posts. Have you assumed you have Hashimotos or were you told that by the doctor? Doctors usually call it autoimmune thyroiditis in which case there should either be blood tests to confirm antibodies or an ultrasound to show a diseased thyroid gland or both. If it were me, I would want to have a copy of the evidence for the diagnosis so I can be sure the diagnosis was made on a sound basis.
There can be a variety of reasons for a sluggish or slow functioning thyroud, some of which are temporary. So, I think you need to be clear about what thyroid condition you have been diagnosed with and on what evidence. The reason for that is because if your symptoms are assumed to be thyroid related and actually aren't then it might mean further investigations are not conducted and there could be another cause for weight loss or symptoms which is not identified.
If it were me, I'd be asking lots of questions, gathering the evidence and trying to keep an open mind.
If your glands were swollen, as you say in a previous post, but ultrasound did not show thyroid disease and you had no thyroid antibodies then you might have had an infection which can cause reduced thyroid function. Did the Dr check CPR or other inflammation markers as well as antibodies? Sorry, lots of questions but it's not clear from your previous posts what actually has been tested, how a diagnosis was arrived at and you haven't posted results either.
Hi, I have just posted my original test results. I believe I have Hashimoto's and when I presented myself to the GP last year I had various blood tests not just for thyroid. I did have other inflamation markers to begin with as I presented myself at the GP being in extreme pain bone & muscles (legs). Txs.
In response to the blood test results you have just posted above, you do have elevated TPO antibodies showing autoimmune thyroid disease relating to Hashimotos thyroiditis. The Vitamin D reading at 25 was extremely low and very deficient if this is a UK reading. Check the measurement unit is nmol. It likely explains bone and joint pain. Vit D deficiency seems to be connected to autoimmune thyroid disease and possibly even any thyroid condition.
Have you been supplementing and with what dose and have you had Vit D tested after supplementing and again recently?
Since you have Hashimotos thyroiditis your thyroid status can fluctuate and this could be the cause of weight loss.
One point though is that your TSH was not very elevated above the normal range and so correcting vit D deficiency may have brought it back into range so that you might have to reduce your thyroid medication. You'll only know when you have more blood tests.
If bringing vit D levels up and checking you are then on the correct dose of thyroid meds does not resolve the weight loss, then if it were me, I would feel it was worth ruling out other thyroid antibodies such as TSI and TRab due to the weight loss. It is possible to have both sets of antibodies I believe. So perhaps you need to rule it out?
Worth reading up on. There will be others on this forum who can discuss or explain more about autoimmune thyroid disease.
To check TRab and TSI antibodies you would need a referral to an endocrinologist because these tests are not done in primary care.
So discuss with GP but before you go to apt, identify a suitable endocrinologist who is a thyroid specialist, not a diabetic specialist. Thyroid UK have a list of specialists you can ask for.
Hi, I don't know how it correlates with you being on levo but for me significant weight loss was a hypo symptom - I dropped roughly 20% of my body weight and looked like a skeleton as I was already slim - I am still trying to gain my weight back - I gain it back when my thyroid levels are good but I am having a hard time reaching my optimal dose due to cortisol issues. It appears to me cortisol also plays a role in my weight loss/prevents me from gaining back weight with hypothyroidism too.
That's interesting because last year my cortisol tests came back abnormal but then when retested they were 'in range'. I probably need to learn alot more about it all as clearly health and tests change and don't stablise and I guess I am relatively new to the thyroid problems based on others comments online here.
I am happy to see you asking this question as I experience the same. I dropped from 50 k g to 43 have a TSH of 3.3 and don't want to lose weight at all
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Weight loss and hypothyroidism
Weight loss and hypothyroidism
Newbie: Hypothyroidism & lack of Weight loss
