Weight

[reelingenious]

Is a Hypothyroid condition, for whatever cause, always associated with weight gain?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

No.

Some people lose weight when hypothyroid.

Loss of muscle mass, in particular, is a serious problem. The heart is mostly muscle.

[reelingenious in reply to helvella]

Now that is interesting. Before I started on this now severe downward spiral, I was able to go to the gym and do some fairly intense weight training. I had muscles and next to no fat. Now my muscle mass has gone and belly fat has taken over. In addition to elevated TSH, having uncontrollable weight gain seems to be a determining factor as to whether GP's think investigation is necessary.

I am getting depressed by doctors with, seemingly, insufficient knowledge, who can't see the whole picture.

It's time for action, but who to see?

I've got the list, but apart from the recommended Prof Weickert in Coventry, (NHS but can't get a referral), I have no idea who to see privately.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to reelingenious]

Afraid I have no suggestions of suitable practitioners.

[Nat107]

Both me and my hubby are both hypo, he never puts weight on and is never cold he is always always hot even to touch him I burn up, hot stuff lol even in winter so it’s war of the heating with us! even though his bloods in good range levels, wish I was him as me, I mostly gain weight if I don’t do strict way of eating to maintain putting any more wright on, although if I’m having a swing which I no by my symptoms I lose weight slightly but it never stays like that the weight comes back, which is so frustrating as I eat clean and healthy and I don’t eat junk or bad fats, I have always put weight on since being on levo and couldn’t lose even when I used to go the gym religiously and classes were always a struggle for me but it kept my muscle mass good it but we are not all the same everyone is different. Now I can’t exercise due to having ME so I will be losing muscle mass which is more scary & important as helvella says x

[tattybogle]

no .... i didn't gain weight , which meant nobody thought to check thyroid blood's for 4 years, which was unfortunate. I did loose a lot of weight previously in what was probably the 'hyper' phase before i slowly went hypo.. but all that happened then was i put the normal weight back on and pretty much stayed there, possibly i'd put a few extra pounds on but nothing noticeable. But in every other respect i was symptomatically and blood's wise Hypothyroid, massive TPOab's, my ankle reflex also tested as very slow to return.. cold all the time , brain dead, constantly fatigued, couldn't walk up hills etc My face went a bit puffy round the nose and eyes.

But i've always been able to eat the whole cake and the whole packet of chocolate biscuits and not put weight on...my daughter is the same, currently having to try quite hard to gain any curves cos 'she hates looking like a boy'... guess some of us just have genes that make us that way.

I'm sure if i'd have been left untreated for decades more i would have eventually put noticeable weight on , but i'd probably have been nearly in a coma by then.

[tattybogle in reply to tattybogle]

P.s i think 'not gaining weight' is a bit of a mixed blessing where dealing with Doctors/Hypothyroid treatment is concerned ... on the one hand they can't just reach for the ...." oh well, of course you feel fatigued, you're overweight, and that shows me you eat to many calories and don't move enough.. so sort that out first" option....which is a bonus.

But on the other hand , because i'm slightly underweight (technically) they have great difficulty believing i could be undermedicated, or wrongly medicated, and start looking at my 'mental state' instead as a cause for my dissatisfaction.

[reelingenious in reply to tattybogle]

The SSRI's are fairly frequently turned to resource, for GP's. Chicken and egg.......................".you feel ill because your depressed", rather than "I'm fed up because I'm unwell, getting worse and no-one is addressing it!!"

[bantam12]

No I've always been skinny and the slightest hiccup always pushes me into being underweight, I lost 12kg last year after an op and went down to 55kg and no matter what I eat I can't put it back on ☹️

[pennyannie]

Hello Reelingeious ;

Isn't it all about metabolism and everyone's unique set point of where their T3 needs to be for their optimal wellness and best possible health.

I have been overweight from a very small child and now 70 odd years later realise I was dealing with undiagnosed hypothyroidism for very many years.

I lived through the " Twiggy ' years and though knew I could never loose that much weight bought into several diets, paid people to help me loose weight and lost some pounds in weight and a lot of pounds in money , and though most schemes were successful all were short lived as ultimately businesses needs repeat business, and you are as you are.

However at 56 I was attacked and 4 months later diagnosed with Graves Disease and hyperthyroid though at diagnosis my only symptoms were exhaustion, insomnia and dry gritty eyes, and whilst on the anti thyroid medication about a year in, I lost weight though eating for England and for the first time in my life, I became a size 16 without trying and naively thought this a perk of Graves Disease.

Following RAI thyroid ablation and then classed as primary hypothyroid, on T4 Levothyroxine only, my weight slowly crept back up again and was told off by my doctor and it suggested I should consider going on a diet.

Being just under 6 feet tall with size 9 shoes and always a size 20 + I can carry excess weight without too much trouble except when in comes to buying clothes.

I now self medicate as T4 alone wasn't working well for me and after about 2 years of feeling so much better I noticed that my body shape had changed again and I'm now about a size 16/18 but this maybe more muscle mass loss as this is known side effect of Graves Disease, and also noticed that I can easily remove my rings now whereas a few years ago I was thinking of having to have them professionally removed.

So I think what I'm trying to say is - I've been hypo and hyper and now medically made hypo - my metabolism has been slow, slow, quick quick and stop and without any thyroid hormone replacement I have very little metabolism of my own and ultimately die.

We need good metabolism to sustain our lives , as we need to be able to extract vital nutrients from our food, which in turn repairs and restores our body building blocks and core strength :

Some people have a slower metabolism than others, but generally speaking, when looking for optimal conversion when diagnosed hypothyroid and on T4 Levothyroxone only most people seem to feel at their best with around a 1/4 ratio between their T3 and T4 :

I think weight is one of the most obvious symptoms of hypothyroidism that tends to plague women who are made to feel insecure and that it's all their fault.

Weight is just one issue and I think it more important to look first to achieve good health and well being and optimal thyroid hormone replacement if that is where you are needing help.

[Hidden]

Apart from when I was pregnant I have been 62kg for 20 years. Given that I'm 6'1" that makes me underweight.

My weight didn't change at all; similarly to tatty, I suspect it's why I was dismissed outright when I asked if it could be a thyroid problem. I didn't fit the picture. Spent another 4 years fighting for a diagnosis. (Which is really not long by forum standards.)

[reelingenious]

This site holds up a mirror to Thyroid diagnosis. As you intimated plant-lady, "fighting for a diagnosis" being a 4year+ marathon is wrong. I was coping, on the edge, for a long time, with "off" periods which didn't last more than a few days. But 22 months ago I had some surgery, and that seemed to tip over the first domino. I just can't understand how the medical profession can have this massive blind spot!!

[Hidden in reply to reelingenious]

The knowledge around thyroid disease is shocking. I have been luckier than most on here. One Dr I saw knew to test the 4 key vits and antibodies, the next one practically screamed at me for asking for an increase when my TSH was almost 4 because I risked overmedication and I was tired because we're in lockdown. !!

I've got a GP now who responds well to factual letters so I'm able to make some progress.

But their total lack of knowledge in regard to diagnostics and TSH rhythms failed me. My TSH was 9 during my second pregnancy and noone batted an eyelid. (I am just grateful that everything went smoothly and I had a healthy child at full-term. )

This site was and continues to be a great source of health. Without it, I would probably still not be on levo! It also helped me argue my case with the GP and I'm on 125mcg now instead of the 75mcg she was going to leave me on.

Most days when I visit the site I'm always left with the thought that "If we know all this, why don't they??" I appreciate GP's can't possibly know everything about everything and funding cuts are making the job much much harder but they should be able to freely refer us to our consultants and specialists, who should not be able to dismiss us without seeing us and they absolutely should know all that we do on this site.

* Packs up soapbox * 😂

[reelingenious]

Thanks for all the replies.What dumbfounds me most is the total lack of curiosity. I taught engineering. I'm curious to discover why my old MG is mis-firing, why my lathe is not cutting too well. Everything advances because someone is curious. I presented my previous GP with a BMJ article on Central Hypo, plus another on better low B12 detection from Tyne & Tees NHS trust, plus another article on Central. When I saw him and asked what he thought, his answer "oh I don't read that sort of stuff"!! I gave up with him then and changed surgeries!! I am about to try the "factual letter" approach again, if the brain MR, next Tuesday, shows nothing.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to reelingenious]

Many years ago, I had a pretty new car. Driving up the motorway, it started misfiring quite badly - severe loss of power. And this wasn't that long after a 12,000 mile service.

The breakdown chap pretty much immediately replaced the spark plugs. His explanation was that, while usually fine to 12,000, they simply couldn't do 24,000 miles without failing. He'd seen it many times in that model so was prepared for that to be the issue.

Went to main dealer and asked why I had a breakdown after a service. They more or less agreed the plugs would typically last 18,000 miles. I tried and tried to get through to them that if that was the case, they had to replace them at the 12,000 mile service. Otherwise pretty much every single one of us would breakdown. Convinced me of one thing, never buy a Vauxhall. (Even if every other motor company is as bad in their own ways.)

My point just being that even with the evidence laid out in front of them, spoon fed, some just don't get it.

[reelingenious]

Helvella, please don't get me started on extended service intervals as a marketing ploy!!! Unfortunately GP surgeries have become businesses not a service to the public.