Has anyone kept at the same weight or lost weight on 'natural thyroid hormone replacement?

[Bec7]

Hi everyone, I have hashimotos and am now above borderline and need to go on medication.

I am in a position where I am lucky enough to know about my condition and want to start on the best medication possible before I try for a baby. Which medications have worked for you, in as much as you haven't put on weight or have even lost weight whilst taking them.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Becky

[donna]

hi bec7,l have hashimotos ..had put on lots of weight before diagnoses (had it l beleve for years but no anti body test just tsh)

l was first given levo by gp..couldnt tollerate ,terrible hot sweats and more pain..

spoke to lyn mynott..she advised check adrenals/cortisol

they were BADLY not working..

still putting on weight.

went private was given armour and also dhea/pregnenalone

still putting on weight..

my dr said that l wasnt still on the optimum

dose..we have been playing with this all year..(last l year had to go back on levo again and cynomel t3 which wasn't good for me,this was because of the shortage)

l have become allergic to soo much ..he says my body reacts to these things as the immune system classes them as attack against my body the same as it would against flu or other illness..

so l found myself still getting fat and not getting better!( and you would think by not eating ANY dairy,gluten,grains,beans or pulses!) l would be THIN..l did once loose weight on the atkins but looking back it was because l cut out the carbs bread etc... l also cut out all sugar as l was heading down the diabetic route..(my levels have gone down)

l have mentioned LOTS that l am on the mary j shomon diet

(read my blog) l am not loosing weight BUT l have remained the same for a 5months which to me is great as it is a sort of a result .

l feel that l am in control ...though of course diapointed lm not loosing.

l cant seem to up my armour as the sweats return with an added 1/12 of a grain..and now l cant tollerate the dhea/pregnenalone..l 1/2 the capsules then 1/4 them..but even at a 1/4 l have spent the last four days in a zombie like state headache and l cant see properly which is scary! l didnt take the capsule yesterday and felt much more awake and alert.l would take the capsule in the morning ( having woken up quite alert and bright l would instanty feel so sleepy and a cloud over my head)..

lm going to have the capsules made up in individual ingredients so l can try and find out which component is making me bad..l think its the pregnenolone..this way it will be an exact dose (cutting the powder yourself isnt an exact science!)for me l feel so much better on armour than l did on the levo ,even when he added t3 l felt bad..l was at this time sticking to my funny diet so it was a good base line..

the blog l follow by molly is about her weight lose AND she has lots loads!

but she has also announced this week she is pregnant! which is great news for her.. her blog is mollysthyroidjourney.blogspot.com

l do hope you get what is correct for you..with best wishes

[Bec7 in reply to donna]

Thank you Donna. It seems that thyroid medication is a very difficult thing to get right. I guess I'll just have to start somewhere!

Sorry to hear you're going through an awful lot at the moment, I hope that you feel better soon and work out which of the ingredients are making you feel so poorly. I too am intelerant to sugar and wheat and quite a few other things and I don't eat any of the ingredients that make me feel ill in my diet. Where are you going to get your pills made up for you?

Thank you for introducing me to molly's blog - i shall be following this from now on,

hope you've had a good weekend,

Becky

[donna in reply to donna]

hi becky,

thanks for your reply.its comforting that l am NOT the only one who has a limited diet.l have had a nice weekend thanks doing NOT A LOT for a change!hope you had a good one?l see a dr in london but all of my tests and medicines are obtained from belguim..leila toussi pharmacien the chemist and bloods /24hr urine are tested at Laboratoire d'analyses medicales roman pais....and my supplements are supplied by omnicare express ( they are linked to pharmacy as l fax all of my prescriptions to them and they arrive in the same package.l am just sorting out my order now so l can fax it off..having just recieved the new prescription for the dhea /pregnenolone in smaller amounts...l know l need it!as l am awake till 3 in the morning and cant wake up in the morning ( different from haveing a late night!)and l am nervous ,jangley and shakey AGAIN!so l DO need to take them but small amount? l can only try!

keep in touch donna

[Chippysue]

Bec, it isn't an easy answer as we are all very very different. Natural desiccated thyroid treatment is the only treatment that will make some people feel well whilst it doesn't agree with others.

As far as weight loss is concerned, for me I am successfully losing weight (following Slimming World) since being fully medicated, I could not shift an ounce of the 4 stone that I had put on beforehand.

In my opinion it make sense to take levothyroxine which is free and helps thousands or probably millions of people restore their health and if you do have complications where you cannot get rid of all of your symptoms then going down the line of adding T3 (under medical supervision) is advisable. Obviously this is your choice, if you don't want to try synthetic replacement then this is up to you.

Good luck, please keep us posted!

[penny]

Just catching up on old messages, hence the time-delay...

When Armour was not available (was on 3 grains), was given small dose of levo., (would like to hit GP), put on 3 stones over 2 months and only lost 1 in past 18 months. I now take Nature-throid and self-medicate as I know how I feel and the GP is not interested in that. However, when I was first diagnosed, after many years of 'normal' blood tests, I was prescribed Armour by a private doctor as he prefers the full T range. I now do either urine or saliva tests to monitor my levels, which are done privately. I do not tolerate Levothyroxine very well, nor synthetic T3 so stick with Nature-throid and adrenal support. I can't say that I feel wonderful but certainly a lot better than before. After my first dose of Armour, many years ago, I lost 1 stone in 1 month, without dieting. In fact I increased my intake of food as I was starving myself as I couldn't work out why I was putting on so much weight.

As I now have FM and am finding that I am really stiff and in pain I have just started going to a gym. Luckily I have a really good one locally and because I couldn't manage any of the exercises in the gym they put me on the toning tables. Well, what a difference! It is making movement much easier and although I haven't lost the weight they normally expect ( I have lost 3lbs in 2 months), I have toned up and lost inches.

Armour is available on the NHS. I forget where I first came across this but the GP can prescribe non-standard medication using a special form and this is then free of charge. Armour is kept by pharmacies and supplied by the wholesaler IDIS. (I used to get mine from Tesco.) I stopped Armour as they re-formulated and this did not suit me.

I hope this helps.

[LouiseRoberts in reply to penny]

We have information on obtaining NDT from your GP on a 'Named Patient Basis', send me a message with your email addy if you would like it.

Louise

xx

[jazztilly in reply to LouiseRoberts]

Please could you send me details about 'named patient basis'

regards

J

[LouiseRoberts in reply to jazztilly]

Drop me an email if you need info [e-mail]