Apart from your thyroid results you will not lose weight by starving yourself - your body will just go into starvation mode.
If I were you I’d go for low carb - cut out white bread, rolls etc, potatoes, large portions of white rice etc and eat ‘good carbs’ - green leafy vegetables and wholemeal bread. I’d cut out sweets and chocolate, biscuits, any fizzy drinks etc. and stick to just two pieces of fruit a day - things like berries rather than really sweet fruits.
Imagine your plate as a clock - make half all vegetables and the other half have one quarter for protein and the other for carbs.
Drink eight glasses of water a day too to keep yourself well hydrated. The vegetables and the water will act as roughage and should help with the constipation but you really need to eat decent portions of good food and take a 30/minute walk every day to get your body and system moving.
If by any chance that doesn’t work (and I’m sure it will ) you can tell your doctor what you’ve been doing and hopefully he / she will do something.
I take exception to your comment about mainstream consumers! Who exactly do you think you are talking about? I can assure you that every one of us cares about our diet and we do eat properly.
Sweets and fizzy drinks! that was such an insulting thing to say!
It’s a well known fact there is a mainstream group . It’s is not a offensive term. It’s marketable group
What a strange thing to say - I’m intrigued why you take exception . Fizzy drinks and sweets are exactly that they are not a derogatory. Why would you think that ?
You misunderstand my post - no offence intended - none to be taken
Why have you taken offence to that? It seemed like she was just saying she watches what she eats. There’s plenty of people who don’t (don’t need to or don’t want to). That said, there’s no harm in the occasional treat.
I know this is a UK site, so maybe it is not applicable. In North America the majority of people are on the SAD diet (Standard American Diet). Just the word "Standard" would make it mainstream. 63% of America’s calories come from refined and processed foods (e.g. soft drinks, packaged snacks like potato chips, packaged desserts, etc.). With Hashi we are already not "mainstream" (getting there, though ) and you are probably right that "every one of us cares about our diet and we do eat properly" (at least most of us I would think). I do not believe that the comment was meant to target you (or anybody else, for that matter). As I understand it KKKG was telling us that s/he is not falling into the "mainstream" group but very conscious of what s/he puts into her/his body. I do not find that judgmental or offensive (even if I were on a "mainstream" diet). Now, if there were some finger wagging about anybody's diet, that could easily be a different story.
I can only tell you my own experience. A GP tried not to put me on thyroid medication 9 years ago. I asked him "what possible harm could it do to try the medication and see if it helps". Actually I was so ill at the time I just lost it with him. I didn't shout because my voice had practically gone. Very, very grudgingly he agreed it probably wouldn't do any harm and prescribed.
First things first blood tests - t4 T3 and TSH plus vit D and other minerals etc and THyroid antibodies will tell if you have hashimotos. Have you had them done? See another doctor if they won’t do them!
As others have asked, are you diagnosed and currently on medication? What are your levels (and ranges) and amount/type of medication?
Personally I found face puffiness was a thing when just taking levo. I now take liothyronine (T3) as well and that reduced the puffiness very noticeably within days. I’m unable to exercise for other reasons currently and have put on a lot of weight otherwise though
Well, yes, I too can identify with these symptoms and if your metabolism isn't running well for you, all sorts of symptoms can occur.
Hypothyroidism can cause a slow bowel, and a slow digestion, which likely leads to low stomach acid, which in turn leads to difficulty extracting essential vitamins and minerals from your food, as your metabolism is running too slow for your needs.
Without your core strength strong and solid, through optimal vitamins and minerals your body is at further risk of illness, and if already on thyroid hormone replacement, none of the medications work well until your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are at optimal levels, so it's in some ways it is a viscious circle and we need to see results and ranges to know where you are in ths madness compounding your health issues even further.
If, on thyroid hormone replacement you need to be dosed and monitored on your T3 and T4 blood test results and not a TSH - but am well aware that in primary care, that is all you may well get.
It is too low a T3 that gives you the symptoms of hypothyroidism just as too high a level of T3 can give you the symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
There is much more information of all things thyroid on the Thyroid UK website, the charity who support this forum and where we all start off our journey back to better health, and where you will find the private blood test companies who can run the relevant blood tests and which we need to see to be able to explain and help you further with your question.
I was in the same boat, got nowhere with doctors or endos. Paid private for a full thyroid blood test to confirm the levels and have treated myself ever since. My no 1 issue was chronic constipation. Over the counter desiccated thyroid and getting the iron, B's, and D in good range totally resolved it for me.
I recently got my doctor to increase my dose by writing a very straight forward letter explaining my symptoms, what the guidance said about dosing and my latest private Medichecks results. I TSH was high in range and T4 and T3 low in range and he agreed to up my dose no quibbles. I pointed out that a dose increase was not going to make me over medicated with my numbers. Maybe try writing a letter if you find it difficult to get all your points across on conversation.
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