Has anyone put weight on with hyperthyroidism?

[MaryG13]

For the past year my doctor has said my thyroid blood results are slightly high. I do have some symptoms like anxious, not sleeping, my period every 3 weeks and increased appetite. However I've actually gained 3 stone and was always under the impression you lost weight with high thyroid, granted I wouldn't have had a big appetite before and now it's huge. I'm awaiting results on recent blood tests, and am not on any medication for my thyroid.

[tattybogle]

Not personally, as i'm hypo, but i have read that it is possible to gain weight and be hyperthyroid, probably for the reason you suspect ... it makes some people have a much bigger appetite than previously, and we're all different in how we react to things.

I 'break the rules' in the other direction, hypothyroid ought to increase weight but i only put back the weight i'd lost previously (from a brief period of hyper before going hypo) and just reached a normal healthy weight and never put more on.

I didn't get diagnosed for years because no-one (including me) thought it could be hypothyroidism when i wasn't overweight. but when they looked my TSH was 7ish and i had thousands of TPOab (Thyroid peroxidase antibodies), and delayed ankle reflexes, a swollen tongue, and nose , and puffy eyes, and lost the outer eyebrows.(and was a zombie !)

By the way , just so you know , Autoimmune hypothyroidism (hashimoto's disease) often starts with a brief period or hyper, so not all 'hyperthyroid' results end up being 'true' hyperthyroidism (Graves disease)

Graves disease is confirmed by Endocrinologist testing for TRab (Thyroid stimulating hormone Receptor antibodies) and usually has fT4 and fT3 levels that are many times the normal range, as well as TSH that is very low or undetectable.

We do see people here who have the first (hyper) stage of hashimoto's being mistakenly treated for Graves before the TRab have been checked. The levels of fT4 and fT3 in this case are usually not as high as in Graves .

edit . *have just read you post again.. did the Doctor actually say 'Hyperthyroid' at any point , or just 'thyroid blood results are high' ?

The TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is one of the tests usually done by GP's to check thyroid function,

and the TSH is HIGH in HYPOthyroidism

And LOW in HYPERthyroidism

So a 'slightly high TSH' would suggest the beginning of hypothyroidism, in which case weight gain would be expected.

[MaryG13 in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks so much for your reply, no they said my thyroid was high. As I'm only new to this I'm not sure of all the terminology.

[tattybogle in reply to MaryG13]

Ok , so actually all the symptoms you mention (together with the weight gain in particular) could equally well fit with hypO thyroidism. (annoyingly many symptoms of hypo and hyper can be similar)

Simple guide to terminology, and how it works :-

TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) this is a signal from the pituitary gland to the thyroid gland to ask for more or less thyroid hormone ( T4 / T3 ) to be produced.

A high TSH number like 10 means 'make more T4/T3 please'

and a low TSH number like 0 means 'stop making T4 /T3 now i have more than i need'

TSH is the test most Gp's use to diagnose thyroid problems, If this is the one your GP's is meaning when he says 'slightly high' then he means you are a bit HypOthyroid.

fT4 (freeT4) is the name of a blood test that measures the thyroid Hormone T4 (Thyroxine) that is available.

if you are hypothyroid (meaning your thyroid gland is not capable of making enough T4 (and T3) they give you synthetic T4 instead , which is called Levothyroxine.

TSH and fT4 are usually all that GP's do , unless they are checking for hypErthyroidism, in which case they may check

fT3 (free T3)

T3 is the active version of T4.

T4 is a sort of inactive long lasting storage /transport Hormone, which is turned into active T3 in the cells.

This is an oversimplification , but it's enough of an understanding to start figuring out what's what.

[NIKEGIRL]

Hi. I have Graves. Diagnosed with positive and elevated TPO, TSI and Trab antibodies. I have gained weight. I was eating 3,500 to 5,000 calories a day. So definitely eating a lot. I was lucky I had the antibodies tested and my T4 was 5 times over the limit and my T3 was 8 times over the limit, so not slightly over but well and truly over. I hope this will be of some help. Antibody testing is crucial. Good luck. When u know more place a post again. Kindest regards NIKEGIRL

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Hashimoto’s, which is autoimmune hypothyroidism, frequently starts with transient hyperthyroid results and symptoms, plus hypothyroid symptoms like weight gain, before becoming increasingly hypothyroid

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to 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

Ask GP to test vitamin levels

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 .

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

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Thriva Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins By DIY fingerpick test

thriva.co/tests/thyroid-test

Thriva also offer just vitamin testing

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

Graves Disease antibodies test

medichecks.com/products/tsh...

If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease).

About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue to.

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Link about Hashimoto’s

thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...

Link about Graves’ disease

thyroiduk.org/hyperthyroid-...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...

[MaryG13 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you so much for advice. I do have low vitamin D and have been taking supplements for a few years. My level is now in a good place. I also had low folic acid last year which I have managed to increase.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to MaryG13]

Suggest you get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done ASAP

Come back with new post once you get results

[pennyannie]

Hello Mary and welcome to the forum :

True hyperthyroidism is when your T3 and T4 thyroid hormone levels keep rising and this needs medical invention. A referral to a hospital endocrinologist would be the first step and the prescribing of anti thyroid drugs would be actioned to block your levels rising any further and you would normally be under regular check ups and care from the hospital.

I would tend to think you are dealing with Hashimoto's rather than Graves. Both are auto immune thyroid diseases and initially present in the same way but are treated differently.

With Hashimoto's your immune system attacks your thyroid causing your thyroid go a bit "haywire ' with your thyroid hormone production becoming erratic and you experiencing symptoms.

This phase is commonly referred to as a "hyper swing " as your body experiences some hyper systems but as with all swings it " swings back " and can leave your thyroid slightly worse for wear from the attack, and then you will experience more " hypo type " symptoms.

When the attack is over the thyroid tries to recover and return to normal but with every attack it becomes a little more damaged and over the longer term you will need to be prescribed thyroid hormone replacement to compensate for the dying glands reduced output.

So throughout this period you sound as though you have experienced a mixture of both hyper and hypo symptoms which does sound like Hashimoto's auto immune thyroid disease.

Has your doctor ever run a thyroid blood test to confirm a diagnosis of anything ?

Do you have any blood test results and ranges to share with forum members ?

There are specific antibodies for both Graves and Hashimoto's and this is the first step and medical evidence needed so to know what you are dealing with, and what you then need to understand.

If you go onto the Thyroid UK website, this is the charity who support this amazing forum, you will find details of all thyroid health conditions so you can read up yourself and be better prepared at your next doctor's appointment.

[Ginger25]

Hello,everyone! Yes I gain a lot of weight and it is so hard to lose it! I have the thyroid removed and I have Graves’ disease. Any advice? Thank you!

[pennyannie in reply to Ginger25]

Hello Ginger

I too have Graves and am post RAI thyroid ablation:

Can I suggest you start your own post as then you'll receive answers pertaining to your issues only :

Thank you :

[Cavapoochonowner]

Hello, I have graves disease and before I was diagnosed I lost a lot of weight.I am naturally thin but was very gaunt.I was having to eat every couple of hours, going to the toilet straight after, was sweating buckets and full of nervous energy.My t4 levels were 3 times what they should be.I put the weight back on as soon as my levels were reduced by carbimazole.I am currently on block and replace with both carbimazole and thyroxine and have put on a bit of weight but I'm shielding and obviously not walking about as usual.Don't know if this helps at all.

[humanbean]

my thyroid blood results are slightly high

I always find that statement to be impossible to interpret, and trust my own interpretation.

In general terms...

In Hypothyroidism :

TSH is high

Free T4 and Free T3 are low

In Hyperthyroidism :

TSH is low

Free T4 and Free T3 are high

So when people say their thyroid results are high, are they referring to the TSH or the T4 and T3 levels? And it turns out that some people are referring to high TSH and others are referring to high T4 and T3. It doesn't help matters that doctors often seem to go out of their way to confuse patients. And in some cases doctors themselves don't know which is which. There have been several cases reported on this forum of patients on Levothyroxine being told their TSH is high and so their dose must be lowered!

P.S. I'm not having a go at you, MaryG13, but the fact that doctors are so imprecise in their terminology.

[MaryG13]

Thanks all for you're comments. As I am new to all of this I unfortunately don't understand a lot of it yet. Unfortunately my doctor just says it's high and doesn't go into specifics. I'm going to request a meeting and the testing recommended here and ask for a copy of my results so that I have more specifics. I need to go on a learning process to understand all the information related to this but thank you all once again.