I have been told my BMI weight is too high for a Tummy Tuck or Lipo
to lose weight. One medical centre advised a gastric bypass/band and said I can lose 50%-70% of my current weight with one. I know this isn't about thyroid but it links to the thyroid as I am pretty sure that is why I am overweight now (19 stone) 6'1 tall. I can't even fit into the clothes I bought a few years ago.
Thyroid stats are pretty mid normal range with TSH at approximately 2.5 and FT3 FT4 almost 40 % through the range and which any GP would laugh at if you suggested you were overweight due to being hypothyroid.
Anyway I came across this article which suggests just starving yourself (a gastric band/bypass would starve you?) is not the thing to do.
I didn't plough through that article, I didn't like its style, but I imagine they're selling something, aren't they? If ony it were that simple!
So, what about your thyroid? I take it you don't have any sort of diagnosis, and are not taking any thyroid hormone support? Did you have anything other than your TSH tested? If not, you want full thyroid testing to know exactly what's going on. The TSH does not, in any way, tell the whole story. You need:
TSH
FT4
FT3
TPO antibodies
Tg antibodies
vit D
vit B12
folate
ferritin
Yes, doctors would laugh at the idea that a TSH of just 2.5 could have caused your weight-gain. But, that's because they really don't understand how it all works. The TSH itself doesn't cause any symptoms, it's just a chemical messenger from the pituitary to the thyroid, to tell it to make more hormone - it's not even a thyroid hormone itself. And, what's more, this feed back system doesn't always work very well. So, to say that because your TSH is only 2.5 you can't have hypo symptoms like weight-gain, is just ludicrous. You can. A TSH of 2.5 is not even normal. It certainly shows that your thyroid is struggling. But, doctors don't know that.
Anyway, a gastric band/bypass could starve you, yes. It's really not the right thing to do. What's more, although it could make you lose weight to begin with, you could still put it back on again. Lots of people do.
Also, if your weight-gain is thyroid related, it might not even make you lose weight in the first place, because hypo weight has little to do with what you eat. Most hypos have low appetites and don't eat much, anyway. I know that was my case. But, I still put on a hell of a lot of weight. I stopped counting when I got to 130 kilos - and I'm only 5ft 6ins tall! So, this calories-in-vs-calories-out theory is obviously utter rubbish. Your extra weight probably isn't even fat. It's more than likely water-weight. I know mine was. Well, still is. lol Only there's not as much of it now as there was before. So, a gastric band would do nothing to get rid of that.
So, first of all, you need to know exactly what you're dealing with. And, for that, you'll probably have to get private labs, because not many doctors will do the whole list I gave above. When you get those results, post them here, with the ranges, and let's have a look.
greygoose I had posted my results a while ago. The TSH was 2.5, FT4 36% through range, FT3 38% through the range, thyroid antibodies I was TOLD were normal, Vit D and Folate WERE low but I have been sup-plementing since covid so about 5 months now although I stopped a couple of weeks ago now. It all started really when I woke up with jerks and tremors and found my B12 was low 342 (199-633). In fact that was a lie, when I got the paperwork from the GP it stated 266 not 342. In any case the symptoms went away on supplementing with 1000mcg SOLGAR B12 tablets.
TSH 2.5 (to 4.2) 21 May 2019
B12 266ng/L (199-633) 21 May 2019
Folate 2.7 (3.3-19.30) 21st May 2019
Uric Acid 269 umol/L (210-420)
Gamma GT 17 (10-70)
Creatinine 75 (65.0-105) May 2019
serum total cholesterol level 4.5 (May 2019 no reference range)
serum HDL 1.4
ratio 3.2
adjusted calcium 2.21 (2.1-2.58)
I was in the nick in Asia for 8 months (long story but I had taken an unattended suitcase out of a lift and got done for it) so I think I might have put on weight in the nick for 8 months as they gave large lunches and dinners but we still exercised for an hour each day.
I didn't understand that pinch test. If you CAN pinch your skin, it's water? Of course I can pinch my waist (and arms but they aren't very fat they look normal lol) so am I pinching water or visceral fat? I was told by the medical firm who would do a gastric bypass in Lithiania that it is vascular fat from the photos I sent them of my drooping belly. Now I am confused if it is really vascular (I think her means visceral) fat or water. Maybe it is water. My lower at=rms I can not pinch though just my upper arms but they don't look fat lol.
If you can't pinch up your skin, it mean you have excess mucin just under the skin. Mucin is an integerl part of skin, but with hypos it becomes gorged with water so that you can't pinch up the skin.
This is a really good demonstration. Myxoedema is one of those symptoms that may never completely resolve even with optimal treatment. It certainly is for me.
As Hillwoman says, it doesn't always go away when optimally medicated. I've tried all sorts to get rid of it - and sometimes it does for a while - but it always comes back.
Having such surgery will inevitably reduce your absorption of nutrients. Assuming you have a thyroid problem as well this will also reduce your absorption of nutrients, so you'll be getting a double whammy.
Have you ever looked into low carb, high fat dieting? I like this website :
I don't want to advertise the group I have joined but they have a Facebook page and deal with macros the best way to eat I've found not a diet though you stay within calories, im 5ft was 16 stone they advised 2100 calories and do 10000 steps a day you have protein and fibre goals you eat things you like. I have underactive thyroid and diabetes I lose 1lb a week and still have 1 take away a week. Don’t do gastric band .
I was thinking of having a gastric band too. I even booked an appointment with a surgeon. However when I started to research for my appointment I realised that after the op your diet is very severely restricted with lots of foods forbidden.
I thought I’d just be eating much smaller amounts of my normal diet!
I decided that I might as well diet properly instead & save thousands of pounds. I think keto eating is helpful so I’ve started eating only moderate carbs to begin with. I plan to remove more carb foods as I progress rather than doing the extreme keto immediately. I think this will retrain my body more easily & I’m more likely to succeed. I’m hoping I never need to do extreme keto!
Lots of information available online. I liked the Diet Doctor website too.
The way I Lost weight was via a paleo ketogenic diet. Check out Dr Myhill’s website. Lost 2.5 since June 13th! I am v v overweight! It stabilises you’re sugars so you are not hungry but moreover i feel great on it. Renewed energy, IBS cleared up and skin amazing.
I think you need to be honest with yourself and decide why you think you are having a weight problem. It might be that your Thyroid problems make you more susceptible and difficult to lose the weight you have put on. Are you stuck with weight you have put on or are you continuing to do so? If you really are not eating too much, including drinks and having loads of excercise, it might be time to look at other things. You will need a decent GP who believes you first. How old are you, how is your diabetes measurement? They say for instance that 1 in 3 women have Polysistic Ovaries which can cause insulin resistence.
I have ordered some T4 now. 68 pills on their way and I am going to take 50mcg a day for a few months to see what happens. Enough just talking The only way to find out if I am hypo is to take the pills and see.
You need to get optimised before even contemplating such radicle surgery. A TSH of 2.5 and T440% through range is not optimal your medication is not adequate and is most likely the cause of the weight gain. I can’t see how a gastric band is going to do anything helpful with those numbers which require radicle improvement with TSH between 0.2 and 0.5 And t4 abd free T3 in the upper third of their respective ranges. I’d that doesnt help you should think to trying T3, self medicating if necessary to see if that sorts you out (I bet it would) before going near any band .
Sorry I misunderstood. Not necessarily. You may find T4 In adequate amounts puts you right again, two of my relative had no thyroids (both had thyroid cancer one had chemo to destroy it, the other a thyroidectomy) they felt perfectly well on Levothyroxine but must have had no thyroid function. They were able to make adequate T3 from the Levothyroxine. But in my case my thyroid atrophied until it was no longer functioning so like them I had no thyroid function but Levothyroxine did not make me feel fully better Even after 2 years of taking it and with sensible attempts to optimise. My dose. I only felt better when I took NDT which has T4 and T3 in it. I could not convert the Levothyroxine to adequate amounts of T3 to keep me well. Unfortunately it is very hard to get any T3 prescribed in the Uk and it’s thought that only a minority have the conversion problem, so it’s best to try T4, which is prescribed on the NHS, and get it optimal to see if that works for you before entering the problematic business of taking T3. I got enormous on T4 but my close relatives had no weight problems on it at all. I lost the weight on NDT with no effort whatsoever. I had always been thin prior to taking Levothyroxine. I have the DIO2 gene combination for poor conversion so perhaps that is why I need some T3 as well as T4 to feel well. The third article I posted is about remission, which is very interesting. I was the same as Dr Tania Smith so no there was no chance of any remission for me. I’d definitely read it carefully to see if any of it fits with your predicament. Are you taking any T4 now? I assumed you were but perhaps I got that wrong.
Don't start taking the T4 (or any T3) without first getting blood tests done to find out your current levels.
And definitely don't pay someone in lithuania (or anywhere else) to remove most of your stomach. ..... Unless you fancy living the rest of your life on meals of 2 Tablespoons worth of easily digestible but uninspiring food. (and then waiting several hours before you can drink anything afterwards. )
Get a gastric sleeve . Fantastic operation , keyhole surgery very fast recovery .my partner had it . Said pain was basically nothing . 23 stone , 6ft 2.
Lost 11 stone in a year . He’s kept the weight off for four years .
I followed the Auto-immune protocol (AIP) Mainly to try and get rid of my gut issues and increasing food intolerances. It is drastic and needs planning, but it helped me with energy and weight . Now After 2 month I’m having my full thyroid blood check up to see if it has made a difference there too. Just my personal journey.
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Help me lose weight on Levothyroxine 
Harder to lose weight
Any advice on how to lose weight
