Hello, after finding I had various health conditions that were undiagnosed for years (Hashimotos, B12, vit D, etc.) I have the extra few stone weight gain to add to the fun.
As with many of you I have tried all sorts to shift the weight with no effect. Doing an hours high intensity exercise a day, & eat very little because I am never hungry. Evening meals are cooked from scratch so I know what goes into them. The GP prescribed Orlistat about 2 months ago. I've upped the exercise and also cut out carbs. So imagine when I check today and found I am still putting on weight.
I take my levothryoxine about 5am. Vit D & folic acid & other supplements about 9am. Exercise during the morning. Celery, cucumber, tomatoes, a bit of humus & yoghurt with orlistat about 1-2pm. Other supplements about 5. Nuts & orlistat about 6.30. Tea & orlistat about 8.30. Generally drink tea all day and sugar free pop or diet tonic in the evenings.
Levo, supplements & orlistat have to been taken hours apart, hence the timings.
What else can I do because I cannot carry on putting on weight!
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Rufty10
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Yikes. Don’t take the Orlistat. There’s zero point in taking it (I could just end the sentence there...) especially if your diet isn’t bad in the first place. And your diet sounds fine. What an idiot of a doctor you seem to have...
What were your most recent thyroid blood test results? Last time you posted them you were undermedicated.
Hello, I was on 150 which is low for my weight. But based on the results in Sept the GP said I was over medicated & they have dropped it to 125. TSH was 0.03 (range 0.35-5.5), T4=17 (range 7-17) & T3=5.4 (range not known). My antibodies were low, but rising; 39 a year ago, 57 in Jan, but they wont test again. I thought my results looked fine?
We need lab red ranges to be sure but if that FT3 result is using one of the more standard ranges you almost certainly weren’t overmedicated on 150mcg a day.
As you have Hashimoto’s are you on strictly gluten free diet
2 years ago you were only on 75mcg levothyroxine
Presumably you have had increase(s) in dose levothyroxine since then
Do you always get same brand of levothyroxine
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested. Also EXTREMELY important to regularly test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies
Exactly What vitamin supplements are you currently taking, when were vitamin levels last tested
Please add actual results and ranges
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Yes I went up to 150 but was reduced to 125 at the same time I started the Orlistat. Latest results are above. My B12 and vit D was through the floor 2 years ago too. GP refused treatment but I paid to see and endo who said I needed treatment. I have B12 injections weekly & take 10,000IU vit D a day at the moment (with all co-factors).
As you have B12 injections it’s recommended also to supplement a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in (not folic acid) may be beneficial.
Igennus Super B is good quality and cheap vitamin B complex. Contains folate. Full dose is two tablets per day. Many/most people may only need one tablet per day. Certainly only start on one per day (or even half tablet per day for first couple of weeks)
Or Thorne Basic B is another option that contain folate, but is large capsule
If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
My vit D was up to 112 after a year. In the summer I go down to 5000iu a day but at the moment I am barely going out. I also take boron, K2, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, selenium, Choline & Inositol, vitamin E, vitamin C, Lactobacillus Gasseri Athletes Probiotic , Omega 3 Fish Oil, OMEGA 3+6+9 Flaxseed Oil, currently on multi B vitamin (principally B6) holiday. I do take the magnesium in the evening away from everything else.
Thanks again. GP wont test vitamins again. Was lucky to get D done twice. Although they want to retest B12 which specifically shouldn't be retested. They have no idea about vitamins.
With all the supplements I am taking my vitamins will be ok. I've cut out all obvious gluten. I need milk for my tea though, I've not much else left to cut out so I am puzzled as to how I've put on nearly half a stone on the Orlistat when I'm eating even less.
With that type of diet, all the orlistat is going to do is stop you from absorbing fat soluble vitamins (eg vit D) - usually it gives you dirty underwear, too. High intensity exercise will deplete your T3 unless you are optimally medicated (TSH under 1, FT4 and FT3 about two thirds of the way up the range). Dump the diet drinks - studies have shown that they make people gain weight as your body doesn't know they have no sugar and still makes an insulin response, and they have no nutritional value. Nuts, legumes (in hummus) and many types of tomato still have high carbs, so do many low fat dairy products. To cut carbs you need plenty of fat, moderate protein and no orlistat or you'll be really ill.
Thanks for the advice. There is an article on diet drinks on the diabetes uk website: diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/stu.... Not sure what else I can cut out now. I do take the fat soluble vitamins as far away from the Orlistat as possible. Though I'm running out of tablet alarms. And yes, never venture far from the loo.
I wouldn't cut anything out except junk (diet drinks, for example). Drink water instead. I would do a proper keto diet with no orlistat or a "normal" diet. What you are eating now will make you feel appalling - you'll have to burn protein for energy and that means your muscles (including heart) and, unless your exercise is heavy weight lifting, you'll lose lots of muscle mass and therefore burn fewer calories at rest.Your brain won't have enough fuel and you'll feel tired and wiped out. It's not unlike the diets we did before body building shows back in the 80s and I know how bad they made you feel - and that was people with healthy thyroids and for a max of 6-10 weeks at a time. To lose fat, you need to et your thyroid hormones and vitamins optimal.
I totally agree with other comments that excessive exercise greatly depletes T3. Orlistat only removes 1/3 of the fat that you consume at the time of eating...IF you consume any fat. It does deplete any fat soluble vitamins and minerals also. It DOES NOT remove actual body fat! When I look at your comment, it looks like you're not eating anything containing much "fat" for the orlistat to eliminate. You actually could be eating too little if you are only eating what you included in your post. Your body may have gone into survival mode and when that happens you need less and less calories. There are some good books on eating smart for weight loss. You'd be surprised at the amount of food you need to eat. Sounds crazy I know, but you need to research it.
Thank you. As I explained to the GP, I had already cut all obvious fat from my diet years ago. On the rare occasion I have toast or a sandwich I never butter the bread, I cut all traces of fat from meat and never use oil in cooking. I drink a lot of weak tea but use skimmed milk for that. I have little hope of getting the right dosage for my thyroid as the GPs are hell bent on reducing my dosage. They denied me B12 treatment for 5 years when I was very, very poorly.
Why are you cutting all fat from your diet? Your body NEEDS good types of fat to absorb a number of vitamins and minerals. Good fats are olive oil, avocados and their oil, coconut oil, nuts, salmon etc. You need good carbs...leafy greens and other green veggies. Reasonable amounts of protein are needed too. You need to get with a good dietician, to help set up a good way of eating. At the moment, between your extreme exercising and restrictive diet, you are starving your body.
Cutting obvious fat out isn't cutting all fat out. But I am putting on 2-4 lbs a week. From under 11st to over 14.5 and rising which is also very dangerous. But I was doing that years before this sudden increase started so that's not the only factor.
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Ferritin or liver supplements? Anyone tried them?
Fed up with trying, this just isn't working for me
Trying armour thyroid, levothyroxine just not working :(
