Ttyroid - Weight gain

[Jule09]

Hi,

I have been diagnosis with thyroid underactive for the last two years. I have been taking Levothyroxine 50g . seen I’ve been taking it , it has made me gain so much weight and I don’t know how to take the weight of …. any advice

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Welcome to the group. If you could fill in your profile - click your image icon top right of screen it helps people to understand your thyroid journey.

Its more likely that the thyroid condition itself has caused the weight gain and 50mcgs levo is only a starter dose. You likely need more Levo and getting vitamins to optimal levels.

Could you get a copy of your blood results and post them here? You are legally entitled to a printed copy, ask GP reception. In England there is the NHS app and some surgeries can give you access to blood results on that if you ask permission.

When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins. Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available. thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

[SlowDragon Administrator]

ALWAYS test thyroid levels early morning and last dose Levothyroxine 24 hours before test

If not been tested for 3-4 months request new test including vitamin levels and thyroid antibodies ……

As  Jaydee1507 has mentioned 50mcg Levothyroxine is only a starter dose

Dose is typically increased slowly upwards in 25mcg steps, retesting 6-9 weeks after each increase

Typical eventual dose Levothyroxine is approximately 1.6mcg Levo per kilo of your weight per day

pathlabs.rlbuht.nhs.uk/tft_...

Guiding Treatment with Thyroxine: 

In the majority of patients 50-100 μg thyroxine can be used as the starting dose. Alterations in dose are achieved by using 25-50 μg increments and adequacy of the new dose can be confirmed by repeat measurement of TSH after 2-3 months. 

The majority of patients will be clinically euthyroid with a ‘normal’ TSH and having thyroxine replacement in the range 75-150 μg/day (1.6ug/Kg on average).

The recommended approach is to titrate thyroxine therapy against the TSH concentration whilst assessing clinical well-being. The target is a serum TSH within the reference range. 

……The primary target of thyroxine replacement therapy is to make the patient feel well and to achieve a serum TSH that is within the reference range. The corresponding FT4 will be within or slightly above its reference range.

The minimum period to achieve stable concentrations after a change in dose of thyroxine is two months and thyroid function tests should not normally be requested before this period has elapsed.