Feeling a little desperate. I have been hypothyroid since age 11 ans am now in my 40’s. I have never been able to get my Weigjt under control and as I get older am feeling increasingly worried and frustrated by this. I have had 2 weight loss surgeries with little impact. My bmi is still 48. My eating isn’t bad. I have the odd day but generally eat healthily and a vegetarian diet. I exercise but have joint problems because of my weight. I am treated on thyroid sicca (one consultant took me off it years ago and put me on thyroxine and I put on 5 stone in 6months) my thyroid is in normal range. I get b12 injections and iron infusions. I do struggle to take supplements as they aggravate my stomach so try to take small tablets or sprays. Recently I have been turned down for gallbladder surgery because of my weight and am daily pain and regular flare ups requiring morphine. This is now getting me really down as I look to the future and can see my ability to sort my joints etc becoming limited and quality of life going downhill. Any advice on where to go next or any consultants I can try. I don’t mind going private initially but would struggle to pay for medication full time. Sorry for the long depressing message. Any advice gratefully received xx
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Hi TheaW. I know that many of us feel similar despair about whether losing weight can/will ever happen. Sending hugs x
When you posted previously you said you were on Armour—is that what you mean by Thyroid sicca (that’s not a phrase I recognise)?
How much Armour do you take?
You said your blood tests were in normal range—we know that “normal” often doesn’t mean optimal. Do you have blood test results to share? It would help to know where you’re at, so to speak.
Thank you. Yes it is armour. I take 60mg 3 times per day. I actually don’t have recent results but Just about to have bloods next week so will post results when I have them. Thanks for taking the time to respond x
My gp does test those regularly. Hence I am on supplements. I don’t think I have hashimos from what I have read and was tested a few years back now and didn’t show up on the breath test thing x
Do you know if you have autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies?
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3
plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at original diagnosis
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum
EXACTLY What vitamin supplements are you currently taking
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)
And maintaining vitamin levels after bariatric surgery is difficult
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 and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
On T3 or NDT - day before test split daily dose into 3 smaller doses, spread through the day at approx 8 hour intervals, taking last dose 8-12 hours before test
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
The two main private blood test companies, as already detailed, also offer a nurse home visit service and believe, between them, pretty much cover the whole country and this is the service I arrange, as it takes the stress out of the whole procedure.
Armour is a brand of Natural Desiccated Thyroid and contains all the same known hormones as that of the human gland, trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin plus a measure of T3 at around 9 mcg plus a measure of T4 at around 38 mcg per grain/tablet.
NDT is the original and successfully used treatment for hypothyroidism for over 100 years and then mid last century Big Pharma launched their T3 and T4 medications on the back of NDT and also introduced the ranges, guidelines and the " science " of the blood tests to be used alongside their thyroid hormone replacement option.
With NDT you dose to the relief of symptoms and not a blood test nor range designed to be used alongside Big Pharma's thyroid hormone replacement medications
If NDT works for you, your blood test will likely show a low suppressed TSH, a lowish T4 reading but a proportionately higher T3 reading - state that you are taking NDT - Armour, though the doctor's comments may not be appropriate, as not all doctors know how to read NDT blood tests.
No thyroid hormone replacement works well until your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are up, and maintained at optimal levels, and it might make sense to get these run at the same time.
I believe the private blood test is referred to as an advanced thyroid function test and has around 10 blood analysis to include all the above plus inflammation and antibodies and you just start a new post with the results and ranges when you receive back the results, direct to you, it's your blood test result, to do with as you see fit and you are not obliged to give or show it to anybody.
Re getting blood taken. A couple of years ago I used Medichecks for the testing and paid £30 for the nurse at the surgery to do the blood draw. She filled the vial, all I had to do was post it. I believe there are a number of places you can get blood draw, but I preferred to go to a person of competence whom I already knew. I found gluten free helped me, I’ve ‘fallen off the wagon’ and must start again because I felt hugely better. I hope you manage to get your other problems sorted. I know the very knowledgable people on this forum will help you. Take care
Hello sorry for all what you're suffering. I'm hypo to for 25 years after birth of my daughter. I've hasimotos, also pernicious anaemia.
I struggled for 15 years on levothyroxine then tried nature thyroid that was better but I ended up on T3 only the last 7 years and believe it's the best for me. I've struggled with weight and fluid retention all these hypo years. It's literally only been from February 2021 I went on a low carb diet/ keto and fasting. I fast 16 hours that includes my sleep of a night. I only eat meats fish and veg and salads and plenty of it, herbs spices, never hungry. I also include berries and a bit of cream and butters. and I drink loads of water. Coffee, teas. It's not hard at all. We don't need loads of extras just basic clean food with good fats.
I've lost 40 pounds in a year slow but sure. I've got 20 pounds more to go. I don't think about the weight loss I just walk and focus on my meals day by day. I don't drink alcohol, no sugars or substitutes. I got serious about this because I don't want more health problems and my blood test came back as pre diabetic. So I thought that's it. As we know thyroid issues are more than enough to cope with.
Basically the key is to lower our insulin to burn fat, thats the holy grail. No carbs no sugars. No counting calories. Only carbs from your veggies and salads.
My gut is absorbing all my nutrients really well now.
So it's important to get all your nutrients up as you no doubt know.
Anyway people here will comment on what vitamins you need to be optimal. It's extremely important because that's the foundation for any thyroid hormone to work.
Don't give up, start a new, be kind to yourself, take it day by day. You can do it. It really works.
Carbs from breads pasta rice potatoes and sugars are the worst if you are trying to loose weight. It causes insulin resistance and makes it impossible to loose weight. You have the power.
Hi TheaWAlong with your vegetarian diet, you may want to look at increasing your protein intake. This could include eggs, beans, lentils and full fat yoghurt. You could also incorporate protein shakes/powders. Higher protein intake helps to limit muscle loss and burn fat. You should have protein 3 times a day…
I completely agree I feel the best when I am on this diet. It’s basically what we have evolved to eat. It’s simple good food. Bread rice and pasta seems to slow my digestion down. I find skipping breakfast or dinner or eating within a 12 hour window gives my body time to digest and lowers insulin levels.
As is often said on here it’s worth going gluten free. By adopting this diet you’re automatically adopting a gluten free diet. Fish, eggs, meat, lots of veg, good fats. I add in a bit of 100% chocolate too. There’s no sugar in that and I absolutely love it now.
Good luck. Post your blood results here and we can all help you to feel better 🤗
I am doing AIP diet which is no gluten, no dairy and no nightshades… it’s strict but doable. Haven’t lost weight, but symptoms getting better overall which means I’m heading in the right direction.
Can you only lose weight when your TSH is optimal? Mine is far from it. I’m on levo (75), but feel it needs to go up…
I did fasting before Christmas, but the holidays took away the habit. Will fasting help me get into an optimal range? Or better to do fasting once I’m in an optimal range?
Exactly! When I read 60mcg that was my first thought. My doctor ignores TSH and guides me by the hormones. I take 180mcg. For the first time in my life my weight has stayed consistent.
You need to start your own post with these results. Under medicated!
GPs are useless- I was under medicated 6 months on 25 µg of levothyroxine and made very ill by my GP who did not know what she was doing.
Start a new post put this and any other results on. Ideally FT3, FT4, vitamin levels, antibodies, etc. The culmination of all the advice I received on this forum saved my life. Literally! I had to get private bloods done but so worth it. NHS work to saving money not clinical excellence and in the process make many too ill to contribute to society (false economy).
Explain exactly how you are feeling at the moment because that is very/most important and if you don’t mind pop some stats regarding weight, height, age to give people an idea of what you are BUT no other personal information (name etc) should be included though.
Here’s mine 😊
I am now on a therapeutic dose of levothyroxine, I’m 53 years, 5 foot eight, I am about 15 stone (which I do need to work on) and on 150 µg of levothyroxine. I noted all symptoms and noticed them fall away incrementally as my dose of Levothyroxine was increased.
Carbs from breads pasta rice potatoes and sugars are the worst if you are trying to loose weight. It causes insulin resistance and makes it impossible to loose weight. You have the power.
That’s exactly what I found Elizajoe - that kind of carbs were definitely my downfall.
That’s helpful. Thank you! I know my gp won’t prescribe t3. I took it years ago and was my best on it. My nervousness is my gp will refer me to an endo and I am scared I will be taken off the armour. One person suggested that I take more armour as then my t3 will increase. I will take a look at the links x
I can only speak to what has worked for me. After years of research I discovered a commonality between a portion of the population with Aspergers and coincidentally a portion of people diagnosed with Episodic Cushings Disease share an inability to digest and metabolize carbohydrates. For these people, their mitochondria just don't know what to do with them, they get stored as fat and are accompanied by inflammation. I started eating the keto diet as a two week experiment and not only lost weight at a breakneck speed, but my health turned around so rapidly that I have decided to eat this way for the rest of my life. If I have a lapse in judgement and eat fries, pasta, bread or the like, I pay immediately in terms of swelling and fatigue. I am down 85 pounds now and feel 20 years younger. I don't know if it will work for you, but it has been my answer. Incidentally, I have heard that Armour contains a stabilizer that interferes with absorption for some people. There is also the possibility that you are thyroid resistant at the cellular level. You can test normal and still have all the hypo symptoms.
Hi TheaW I've found the only thing that worked for me was the Fast800 with time restricted eating. After losing the weight I needed to lose my diet is not so restricted now but I still follow a time restricted eating regime. I did not do any crazy exercise plan I wish I could but my muscles and joints can't do it. All I did was walking. The Fast800 was difficult at first but persevere. I found also increasing my water intake helped and I rarely had hunger pains.
I also have struggled with weight since Rai treatment and being menopausal, nothing worked for me and I was very upset over my weight. I have started Michael Mosely 800 keto and found it very effective, I have lost 10lb in 2 weeks. Its not easy and you really need to plan meals in advance to avoid failure and 1st week on diet is awful, headaches and mood swings but now I feel much more energetic, aches and pains have stopped. I know this diet isnt for everyone and if there are additional health problems you may need to speak to GP first. It isnt all about loading up on fats on this diet which is your normal keto diet, these need monitoring too, to lose the weight. Just realised you have gall bladder probs so may be you need to speak to GP before considering this type diet although I am not consumming a lot of fat . Really feel for you and I wish you well
After RAI thyroid ablation many patients find themselves improved including some T3 with their T4 prescription to better replicate all the known thyroid hormones that the thyroid once supported them with :
I find fasting helps to keep my weight down. I don’t eat breakfast so fast for 16/17 hours every day. Once a week I do a 24 hour water / coffee fast. I eat a large filling lunch and don’t eat again until the following lunchtime. It’s tough at first but I find it helps to keep my weight down, but it is a struggle when you are hypo so certainly best to focus on getting your medication optimal and your vits and minerals until you try it.
Hi TheaW. I am Hypothyroid and taking 1000 Levothyroxine. I also have Non alcoholic Liver Disease, fatty liver and had my Gall Bladder taken out 25 years ago. I have osteoarthritis in my joints so cant do much exercise although I manage 1/2 hr Hydrotherapy a week and short walks. I too have been unable to loose weight until I went on the 1:1 diet in October. I have since lost over 2 stone and am able to walk further than before. I too believe that people like us cant metabolize carbohydrates and sugars, they keep us fat. Once I have lost the weight I need too I will keep to a Keto type diet. I believe I will have to restrict carbs and sugars for the rest of my life. The 1:1 diet is getting the weight off and I believe is the one the NHS put people on when they are undergoing bariatric surgery. Its no more expensive than your weekly food bill. Its working for me but Its a different journey for us all, so good luck what ever you do, just keep doing something, don't give up. Take Care x
Could you ask your doctor to refer you to the Second Nature course. It is for weight loss but it’s a lot more. It covers well being, exercise, mindfulness, all sorts of areas.When I started I wasn’t in a great place, overweight, a massive back problem, has just broken a wrist and bern told I had osteoporosis etc I was fed up and chocolate was my very best friend.
Second Nature brought a lot of positivity into my life - gosh I make it sound like some sort of religious revival which it definitely isn’t.
You start in a small group with a leader, you can speak to each other online whenever you want to. You can make ‘friends’ with other group members if you want to - or not. Some people never asked any questions or commented within the group but three of us kept the rest of the group going.
They provide really good recipes. When I started I was sent a pair of really good WiFi scales, a wrist tracker a bit like a Fitbit but I use my Apple Watch and a recipe book. I’m not sure about the scales because a friend said her sister didn’t get that when she joined.
I’ve loved doing the course - it starts off as a 12 week course with a different theme every week then you work on other areas of your own choice for four weeks at a time - things like nutrition, sleep, exercise - I was limited because of my fractured sacrum - motivation - all that sort of thing.
I was referred because of my blood sugar - it was creeping up to T2 but that’s gone now.
I think weight can be a nightmare when you are hypothyroid and people often aren’t all that supportive.
Years ago I was hyper - I had Graves’ disease - which was horrible but my thyroid became very under active during my treatments and that was really horrible too and from what I’ve read on here I think it’s more difficult to get good treatment if you are hypo. So it figures unless your thyroid levels are optimal things are going to be very difficult for you.
Sending you very best wishes and hope you can get sorted out soon.
I was looking at Second Nature last week but talked myself out of it, especially after reading some reviews (I know of course that reviews will be polarised to those who found it great and those who didn’t) I tried Noom but hated it—there wasn’t anything I didn’t already know (anyone who’s been on multiple diets knows a lot already—it’s the following through that gets difficult…).
It does look to be a lower carb plan though? Which would probably work well for me. I have completely lost the plot at the moment. I think my thyroid levels are ok-ish (need to check soon but I don’t feel undermedicated). I’m just so bloooming stressed with work at the moment that I just want to stuff my face by the evening, no matter how good my intentions.
What quality of support do you get on Second Nature—I don’t know if you can share any detail about the discussions or not?
Well I don’t pay for SN because I get it through the NHS - diabetes prevention. I think it might be expensive if you pay for it yourself though but I don’t know.
It does take up a lot of time - or it does for me. You plan your menus for a week, using the recipe book they send you and online recipe collection, they support you when it comes to planning your daily & weekly menus, you keep an online journal or a gratitude diary every day. One of the aims is to get 8 hours sleep every night - it took a while but I’ve finally cracked that
The GP who referred me was useless. She sent me a link to a group that was for people with diabetes so they replied and said I didn’t meet their criteria but sent me a link to another group - they met on Microsoft Teams once a week which I didn’t really fancy and when I told them that the second group gave me a link to SN which has suited me perfectly.
I like how it works.
I started back in August last year and I’ve lost 10.3 kg without any difficulty. Their recipes are amazing and easy to make quality of eating has gone up so much since I started. It’s basically low cal (which really suits me) but nothing is off the table really.
I was in a group of eight people. Our leader contacted us every morning to see how we were getting on, she had tips and ideas to help us. You could either speak to her in the group or on a private message. She would link us up to all sorts of articles and YouTube videos that she thought would help us. There is a massive amount of support. After the first 12 weeks you are linked up to other members who have already done the 12 week course and you can join other groups depending on what areas you want to work on. People on all of those groups all support each other - just like on Healthunlocked.
I suppose you could say it retrains you in all sorts of ways - not just losing weight - the idea being that good eating and healthy living becomes second nature to you. I’ve found it life changing. For me it arrived in my life at the right time. I’d had a load of health problems one after the other, then covid came, then second lockdown, Christmas cancelled, I kind of lost heart with life, I wasn’t depressed as such but I was pretty fed up and this just filled a gap in my life at the right time. Everything you need is provided for you in the plan but you have do to put a lot of effort into it.
I think you need to get your thyroid levels sorted out first because if they’re not right it could be soul destroying trying to lose weight. ☀️
Thanks for the reply Fruitandnutcase - that’s really helpful to know.
I don’t honestly know what to do at the moment—I keep trying different things and not clicking with anything, even with things that have worked well in the past.
I’d willingly pay for something if I felt it’d be worth it. That’s not intended to sound like I’m rash with cash, more that I’m getting increasingly desperate. I’ve got a home blood test that includes an HBA1c but can already guess that I’m at least pre-diabetic and keep finding reasons not to get it done, LOL. Need to pull up my very big pants and get on with it. 🙂 The scary number on the scales isn’t doing it…
It is not unusual, when hypothyroid, to have 'unexplained' weight gain. It is due to hypo (low) thyroidism and not being on an optimum dose of thyroid hormones that enables your metabolism to rise.
After you’ve looked into your thyroid levels and getting the relevant tests that have been mentioned previously.
Is it possible you can see a dietitian or nutritionist to see if they can help, if your thyroid is seen to be ok in GPs eyes?
I mentioned nutritionist as I feel they give more of a holistic angle on well-being that I’ve not encountered with a dietitian.
My experience of dietitian's have been… right this happens in the body, our body needs this and this much, but not taking much else into consideration like we are all different … all a bit one shoe fits all and obviously out of the same mould of most medical professionals as it’s the only HCPC diet related area that’s regulated by law, which I do feel NHS favour.
You do get registered Nutritionists, but actually anyone can do a courses and call yourself a nutritionist but not a dietitian.
You may find a few Drs have nutritionist qualifications and are more open minded than some dietitian’s in my experience, maybe I’ve just not seen an open minded dietitian.
Maybe someone can recommend a good dietitian or nutritionist.
As others have mentioned getting our hormones in check is really vital.
Insulin rollercoasters causes everything else to respond and if that’s off it can cause others to follow, cortisol is another if we’re in constant state of fight or flight thus will have negative impact on health too.
So insulin is a good place to start.
I’m not actually a fan of very restrictive diets, well not until everything is tested and ruled out as a problem and absolutely nothing else works.
Intermittent fasting works for some but not everyone.
As with anything what suits one doesn’t necessarily suit another… our genetics our lifestyle our sensitivities even I think most importantly our attitude and mental health, it impacts everything.
So I wouldn’t say one way is better than another to try diet wise, I’m not qualified to do so.
Food can influence everything in positive and negative way, it isn’t just something to keep us full up until next meal.
Medication can sometimes a detrimental effect on our gut additives in these as well as the drugs themselves and supplements so getting that environment right to handle vital drugs we require is important.
Think probiotics and prebiotic which helps good gut health and there’s essential supplements for vegetarians and vegans eg B12 (as you’re aware and have) and algae based omega 3s…seed etc based omega 3 isn’t all that’s required.
Some people don’t convert beta carotene found in vegetables, where that’s their only source of Vitamin A and it’s converted into the much needed Retinol which is found in animal products.
Magnesium, selenium and zinc help the bioavailability of nutrients and are often lacking in our diet.
I think sometimes it’s just knowing what suits you, rather than forcing some type of food you’re not going to enjoy or a regimen which is so out of touch with your daily life is often not best way to start.
Can you keep a diary of how you feel with certain foods and did you eat less or more than normal that day.
Just do small changes at a time… I have no idea obviously if you’ve already know or have been doing any of this, but I identified a few foods that constantly was keeping me hungry by writing down what I briefly ate I never put down weights and measures it was in my case as coeliac I wrote gf pasta (white rice) well there’s few out there some with added corn or brown rice or the higher fibre lentil, pulses etc types and I found eventually I actually was eating way more white variety than the higher fibre ones and still hungry, obviously it was spiking my blood sugar same goes for bread with me and biggest trigger for me is white potatoes… so I knew basically swapping these things out and adding in something else helped me and stabilised my insulin and that had a knock on effect with everything else eventually.
It also stopped me feeling so hungry which was where I was over eating but that’s not the case for everyone.
I do think it’s known that white anything spikes more than most foods, that said some healthier carbs in some people actually spike them too.
There’s a few tricks to slow down spikes eating fat and having fibre before carbs can in some … Ceylon cinnamon has had some effects in lowering but not sure totally sure enough studies out there to prove this, but works for some.
Professor Tim Spector often experiments in these areas via a continuous glucose monitor.
This way he can pinpoint exactly what has negative impacts on his blood sugar on what he eats.
So getting these insulin spike’s evened out helped other hormones level out.
Obviously I’m perimenopausal
and on hrt to help those other rollercoasters.
Sleep can be a big decider on how you feel and eat, they say a bad nights sleep, many can consume more food the next day.
I do hope your surgery will assist you in your journey and not put more obstacles in your way.
My weight came on after having my daughter and didn’t realise I had hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s, PA or coeliac disease, I was just often tired, always felt cold and constipated and couldn’t shift my weight.
Most of those went once on T4.
It was 18 years plus year later of having my daughter I was diagnosed with all my conditions, even bit of weight came off on T4, but within the year on medication I started muscular problems now I’ve finally seen private endocrinologist (another 8yrs later) and on T3 and I think it’s having positive outcomes on my metabolism and I’m losing few pounds slowly which is best way.
I’ve now studied and eliminate many areas, now tackling my thyroid.
I also can't lose weight. I have struggled with hypothyroid symptoms for over 20 years. My thyroid was removed and I was put on levothyroxine 150mcg. My bloods say the numbers are fine, but I am not. I feel awful all the time. I found a website that you may find interesting.I hope you get the proper help. I certainly can't. Take a look at the information at this site. verywellhealth.com/thyroid-...
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