Under Active Thyroid : Diets that work for the... - Thyroid UK

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Under Active Thyroid

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2 years ago•14 Replies

Diets that work for the above, I have put on so much weight and cannot lose it. Borderline diabetic

very careful with food do not over eat. On lots of medication for other problems.

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14 Replies

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SeasideSusieRemembering2 years ago

Welcome to the forum Hidden

Weight loss can be difficult for us Hypos if we are not optimally medicated. Can you post your latest test results which will give us an idea if you are on the right dose. If you don't have your resuts and are in England then your surgery may offer online access to results, if they don't then ask the receptionist for a print out of all your latest results.

To get a full picture the tests needed are:

TSH

FT4

FT3

It's low T3 that makes weight loss difficult but this test is rarely done.

Also, for thyroid hormone to work properly we need optimal nutrient levels so that means testing

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

So whatever tests you have had done if you can post the results, along with their refernce ranges (very important as these vary from lab to lab so we need your ranges to interpret your results), we can then see if there are any obvious problems.

Also, what thyroid medication are you on, and what dose.

Do you take your thyroid meds on their own, one hour before or two hours after food, with water only and water only for an hour each side, and any other medication or supplements at least 2 hours away (some need 4 hours)? This is so that nothing affects the absorption of thyroid meds.

What other medication do you take?

• in reply toSeasideSusie2 years ago

Hello my medication is put into night and morning in the morning I take:-Bisoprol2.5mg x1Cholecalciferol 1.000unit x 2

Cyanoocobalamin 50mg x 2

Diazepam 2mg x 1

Doxazosin 1mg x 1

Esomeprazole 40mg x 1

Edoxaban 30mg x 1

Folic Acid 400 micro grams x 1

Levothyroxine Sodium 125mg

Mebeverine 125 mg

Paracetamol 500mg x 2

Pregablin 25mg x1

Tramadol 50mg capsules x 1

Tramadol 100mg modified release x 1

Venlafaxine75mg x1

Venlefaxine37.5mg x 1

Vitamin Capsule

Evening 10pm

Venlafaxine 75mg x 1

Venlafaxine 37.5mg x 1

Tramadol 50mg x 1

Tramadol 100mg modified release x 1

Pregablin 25mg x 1

Prevastatin 10mg x1

Paracetamol 500 mg x2

Montelucast 10mg x 1

Mebeverine 135mg x 1

Esomeprazole 40mg x1

Domreidone 10mg x 1

Lorazepam 1mg x 3

Lantanaproste 1 drop each eye

Trimbow inhaler 2 puffs Night & Morning

Salbutamol as necessary

Gaviscon as needed but not within 4 hours of Esomeprazole

Buprenorphine 5microgram/hour patch changed every 7days

My GP and Consultant deal with the amount of levothyroxine was on 175mg originally then 150mg and now 125mg

I have blood tests every three months to check for many things.

I have now become borderline pre diabetic and need to loose so much weight and it’s not from overeating or eating wrong things.

Thank you

BB16

SlowDragonAdministrator• in reply to2 years ago

Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and absolutely MUST be taken on its own, on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after

No other medications or vitamin supplements within 2 hours

Some like Esomeprazole, iron, magnesium, calcium must be a minimum of 4 hours away from levothyroxine

Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking

Do you always get same brand

ESSENTIAL to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once a year

So first thing is to start taking your levothyroxine well away from all other medications

Then retest thyroid and vitamin levels levels after 6-8 weeks

Many members take their levothyroxine in middle of the night, if they regularly get up for the loo

If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test

If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal

Can you add most recent thyroid and vitamin results

Have you had thyroid antibodies tested at any point recently or in the past?

About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, usually diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies

Sparklingsunshine• in reply to2 years ago

Wow you are on a lot of meds, I'm familiar with Pregablin as I have fibromyalgia and I tried it, briefly, years ago. I didn't get on with it but I always read the accompanying patient leaflet religiously before starting any medication, and I remember weight gain is a common side effect. It might be worth going through your other meds to see if weight gain is a known side effect.

Weight gain is also common with SNRI's like Venlafaxine. It might be the meds driving the weight gain. Would it be possible to get an alternative? Or to come off of them? I also tried an SNRI, two in fact, Amytriptyline and Noratriptyline, I took Ami for years for pain and to help with sleep and I put on weight with it.

Maybe a chat with your GP might be an idea. Weight fluctuations are common with so many medications.

SarahJane14712 years ago

Hi, there are a lot of medications so I’m guessing you have complex medical needs and that each med has a reason. I might be an idea to speak to your GP and consultant about a complete medication review. Please don’t stop taking anything without talking to you medical “team”. It is possible that SOME of these meds are not helping with weight loss. However I take Pregabalin and an SSRI neither of these increased my weight! Being hypothyroid did.

• in reply toSarahJane14712 years ago

Hello Yes I have complex medical needsPE

PTSD

BOD

ANXIETY

DEPRESSION

PSYCHOSIS

STAGE3CKD

BARRETTES OESOPHAGUS

HYATUS HERNIA

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

DIVERTICULITIS

UNDER ACTIVE THYROID

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

ASTHMA

NEURALGIA

OSTEO. ARTHRITIS

LOW TENSION GLAUCOMA

BORDERLINE DIABETES

HIGH CHOLESTEROL

My GP sees me fortnightly and he’s very hot on medication, he monitors it no one can change it without his say so.

SarahJane1471• in reply to2 years ago

👍

SlowDragonAdministrator2 years ago

If thyroid was correctly treated you would likely no longer need many of these Medications

Statins not recommended for anyone on levothyroxine

nhs.uk/conditions/statins/c...

If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid.

PPI like Esomeprazole are to lower stomach acid

Most thyroid patients already have very low stomach acid which causes low vitamin levels

PPI tend to lower vitamin levels even further

Request vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 levels are tested…or test privately

On levothyroxine we need GOOD vitamin levels

Thousands of posts on here about low stomach acid

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

But never assume you have low stomach acid

healthygut.com/4-common-bet...

Web links re low stomach acid and reflux and hypothyroidism

nutritionjersey.com/high-or...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/s...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

How to test your stomach acid levels

healthygut.com/articles/3-t...

meraki-nutrition.co.uk/indi...

huffingtonpost.co.uk/laura-...

lispine.com/blog/10-telling...

Ppi will lower vitamin levels even further

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/p...

webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/ne...

pharmacytimes.com/publicati...

PPI and increased risk T2 diabetes

gut.bmj.com/content/early/2...

Iron Deficiency and PPI

medpagetoday.com/resource-c...

futurity.org/anemia-proton-...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Partner20• in reply toSlowDragon2 years ago

I'm afraid that if you have hiatus hernia and Barretts these are physical conditions unaffected by hypothyroidism or its treatment. As Barretts is usually a pre-cancerous condition it us always carefully monitored with scans and biopsies, and the prescription of PPIs is a medically informed one. Yes, some people can suffer from low stomach acid, whether hypothyroid or not, but a hiatus hernia takes no notice of levels, and the effect on the oesophagus needs to be contained. Barretts is an extremely serious condition, and, coupled with hiatus hernia, comes within the remit of gastroenterology, who should be the main providers of advice in this case.

• in reply toPartner202 years ago

Thank you very much you are really spot on there. Its trying to balance everything up to hopefully move forward and find some way of losing some weight. A lot of things are a vicious circle with one causing another but not in the case of the hernia and barrettes.I was offered an operation but itsnot that easy and sometimes its better to control things in other ways.

Batty12 years ago

Your like me a laundry list of health problems on top of hypothyroidism and you really need to look at your current medications (antidepressants) don’t play well with thyroid meds I learnt this the hard way and as slowdragon said your thyroid meds must be taken alone hours away from your other meds.

• in reply toBatty12 years ago

Yes thank you, I've had most of the other problems prior to my Thyroid deciding it was going to join in. This group is amazing and it lovely to see so many caring people together

jade_s2 years ago

How are your B12/folate levels? I see you are on cyanocobalamin (I assume 50mcg, not 50mg), but there are some of us who have functional b12 deficiency -- despite blood levels looking "normal" on tests, we still have symptoms of b12 deficiency: numbness, nerve pain, tingling, bugs crawling sensation, gait/balance problems, depression, anxiety, blood pressure problems, cognitive decline, out of breath or excessive sighing, as well as low stomach acid that mimics reflux and slowed gut motility (due to Autoimmune Atrophic Gastritis). The number of times I have been offered PPI is too numerous to count, but they destroy my stomach and I do much better when I have increased stomach acid through the use of lime juice or apple cider vinegar, but of course I am not medically trained, just sharing my own experience. I was unable to lose weight until I started on B12 injections and supplemental folic acid.

If you have pernicious anemia (PA), functional B12 deficiency, or low B12 levels that do not go up on tablets, then injections are the only solution.

Note the PPIs will also induce B12 deficiency.

Symptoms of pernicious anemia / b12 deficiency: pernicious-anaemia-society....

Article on "Neuropsychiatric symptoms of B12 deficiency: not just in the elderly and often without anaemia" from the Dutch b12 deficiency group - includes documented cases of psychosis due to B12D. stichtingb12tekort.nl/engli...

The PA/B12D forum on healthunlocked: healthunlocked.com/pasoc

Good luck.

• in reply tojade_s2 years ago

Thank you very much that certainly has given me more to think about. I only came by this site accidently and im glad i did. I really have been impressed with all the lovely people on here.

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