Trivial question for those with under active thyroids

[fatpatsthong]

Sorry - it's a weight one.

I am awaiting a second blood test to determine if I have an under active thyroid - if I do it will be sub clinical rather than a straightforward underactive one I think.

I do have symptoms which seem to be getting worse - tired, hideously intolerant to cold (I cry if I get too cold - clearly a bit pathetic!) incredibly achey joints, brain fog etc so providing the blood tests go the way I expect, I will be asking to trial medication.

I have gained a stone over the past year for a few reasons so now about a stone overweight. I am finding it near impossible to lose and obviously thyroid won't be helping that. However I am gaining at a drop of a hat. Like if I am not actively eating less than 1200, I gain. This is miserable.

I know that medication is not so magical weight loss aid, I'm not expecting that at all and know I'm in for a slog. But does it halt the gain? The idea of constantly starving myself just to stay at 11 stone is literally making me cry - that's no life!

Just to be clear, it's the thyroid impact I'm asking about. I'm ok with what I need to do to lose weight in general and it does work incredibly slowly. It's just being able to maintain

Yes, in a word. (Or at least for me it did) I had all the other symptoms you mentioned (the worst one for me was the absolute soul destroying exhaustion) and I couldn't stop gaining weight. I was 3 months post partum at the time and still breastfeeding like crazy so the weight should have been falling off me, but instead I blew up like a big fat balloon.

Within a month or so of being medicated (and making no changes to my diet) I had dropped nearly 10kg. Three years and another baby later, I'm now 25kg lighter with only slight adjustments to my diet (basically because I'm no longer so exhausted, I have stopped drinking a billion lattes and eating tons of sugar every day)

Good luck - for me the difference in how I felt was huge and I felt like a different (better) person.

I have an underactive thyroid - was diagnosed about 15 years ago and am on 200mg of thyroxine.

To be honest I have never struggled with my weight and am a size 8. The thyroid doesn't seem to affect it, although whether that's because I am on the right dose, I don't know.

Interesting thank you. The majority of the gain is down to hideously stressful job, being sedentary and eating crap so I am not making excuses for that. But give I've reversed all that and am eating half of what I was but still gaining, it is upsetting.

I hear you re the tiredness. I had to stop mid run last week because my legs were just too tired after 15 minutes where I could run for an hour before

Another vote for yes, it helps weight loss!
Before starting thyroxine I was permanently cold, exhausted and craving carbs, and had gone up to a size 14. The crunch came when I was taking my (at the time) young kids up a steepish hill to visit an Iron Age fort at the top.
I had to give up barely 200 yards up the hill, gasping for breath and with a fast irregular heartbeat. I was so concerned about what might have happened to my kids if I’d collapsed or died out there in the middle of nowhere, I went straight to get tested.
Now on thyroxine, I’ve kept a normal BMI ever since, and can trundle up hills comfortably in my 60’s.
I think having hypothyroidism is a perfect storm for weight gain- not only does it mean a sluggish metabolism, poor exercise tolerance and a bit of puffy fluid retention, but the feeling cold and depressed all the time makes you crave stodge for comfort.
If you are indeed hypothyroid, you will find your diet easier to stick to, exercise less exhausting, and your “get up and go” will come back from wherever it’s got up and gone to!

I didn’t lose weight really on levo until I started running. I’d been too exhausted to exercise before.

I haven't lost weight on it

But to be fair i think like most medication it works differently on different people

However...if my medication isnt right i gain at the sight of food, if its right i can lose weight albeit very slowly

I haven't lost weight on it either.

Thank you - am less bothered about losing weight on it, more not gaining and being able to maintain.

From what I've read , often it doesn't help too much with loss but being able to eat normally (ie generally healthy with the occasional 'splurge') and not gain is what I'm after really.

fat

Yeah, I'd say in my case that's generally it

It can take me a while to realise that my meds aren't right as im obviously a bit of an idiot or i cant get to my doctor or they refuse to increase the dosage

But hopefully that won't be the case with you

I’m in the same boat. My levels are not out of range though so they won’t do anything - my last private blood test my TSH was 3.9, not high enough for treatment in the U.K. but would definitely be treated elsewhere in Europe, America, Australia etc. Very frustrating.

Weirdly, I found out I had a vit D deficiency and started high dose supplements and lost 5lb in a fortnight, then out of nowhere put on 6lb in a week. Nothing changed in terms of eating and exercise. I have no clue what’s going on any more!

I haven’t lost any weight on levothyroxine but then I am on steroid meds for asthma. Personally I don’t find much difference with or without the thyroid medication but I am at a loss to know what else to do. I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditus.

I'm in the same boat too OP. Last TSH was 8.4 and they say that's still sub-clinical and so won't treat. I had a test again yesterday and am awaiting the results. I've been in this holding pattern for a year now. GP tests every 8 to 12 weeks and does nothing. This time last year it was 5.2 and has steady increased with each test.

Like you I've put on over a stone in a year. If I go over 1200 calories I gain weight. If I eat next to nothing I maintain rather than lose. Like the last two days... just eaten lunch, nothing else except cups of tea or sparkling water. Got on scales this morning. Exactly what I was on Sunday morning

Be aware OP, that if you too are sub-clinical GP is very unlikely to give you meds. I've been told they won't even consider it until my TSH reaches 10 at least.

Oh and yes... I have the other symptoms you describe too. Even in the hot, hot summer of last year I needed a hot water bottle in bed for my feet!

Once medicated, I stopped gaining but only lost weight when I did low carb.

thenightsky I really urge you to please change your GP immediately or get a private appointment with an Endocrinologist who specialises in thyroid disorders. Your doctor is talking nonsense. And it will get worse at which point the associated symptoms may not clear up completely no matter how much treatment you get. Wait until your system slows down futher?! The truth is most hypothyroid patients are forced to take charge of their health themselves because of ignorance like your doctor is displaying. Get your thyroid antibodies tested you can get kits to do it online.

Agreed - print off the NICE guidelines which state they can offer a trial of treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH between 4 and 10).

Hi! I got tested three times in the UK and was told I was clear each time. I KNEW something was wrong because of the symptoms, and because my identical twin was diagnosed (in a different country).
When I moved to Oz, I saw a new doctor, and was diagnosed with Hashimotos. I've been much better since then, but sadly, no huge weight loss. My doc is a holistic doctor, so I take dessicated pig thyroid supplement at 125mg.

I thought the doctors I saw in the UK were not interested in my condition. Keep going, keep insisting. Good luck

I haven’t lost weight on it without working at it, but it is easier to shift weight, mainly because as pps have said, being under makes me crave sugar and carbs. Your body knows it needs energy and goes for the easily assimilated sugars.
I put on over a stone last year as my thyroid was under all year but my GP was inisting it was fine. I saw someone privately in the end, i now have a bit more energy , but I need to diet to shift the chub.

I was diagnosed around 8 years ago through a routine blood test. I have always felt the cold, but that has been a lifelong thing and hasn't changed. I had no symptoms prior to the diagnosis - and felt exactly the same after the tablets brought my thyroid into normal levels. No weight problems. Tiredness was entirely dependent on what I was doing and how much sleep I got. So to me it made no difference whatsoever and I only take the tablets because I think I probably should.

I have hashimotos. The meds help with yiredness but not weight gain

The tiredness is the worst part. And the joint aching

The joint pain is terrible.