Hypothyroid, four stone weight gain in three months, help please

[Newjobthoughts]

Posting in chat for traffic. I feel horrendous about my appearance. Am on medication now and bloods being tracked to make sure on right amount but six months down track am still huge.

Please help me with any weightless success stories. Reading a lot about gluten free/ paleo. I feel down, ugly, it's affecting my marriage, my confidence you name it.

Thanks for reading.

I put on two (diagnosed last year). My thyroxine levels have only just settled. I'm starting the gym when I get a new job after being told I'm getting made redundant

I have always had to work at my weight and this is soul destroying, so I feel your pain xx

My Dad lost about 7st using slim fast (he is also hypothyroid)

A friend of mine was hypothyroid she was gaining weight on a diet of 1200cals a day (she thought she had ruined her metabolism after years of dieting) and got up to 8 stone overweight before getting diagnosed. She managed to lose this weight in about a year using her favourite diet which is Vegetarian Atkins but I think once medicated any sensible weight loss plan that suits you and you can stick to would work.

Can I ask what other symptoms you had that led to you to going to the doctor and suspecting thyroid issues?

Head to Thyroid UK and join up there. You will get lots of great advice. They do suggest gluten free often helps with hypothyroidism. I put on about 3 1/2 stones in the 6 months between my thyroidectomies and it is depressing.

It's a crap disease isn't it. I am about 2 stones overweight and it gets me down too. In 2017 I managed to loose 16lbs doing the Harcombe diet. It really works but after 8 months I started to slip over xmas and over time managed to put it all back on and a few extra pounds on top.

Have you checked your vitamin levels as deficiencies can also hinder you. I was low in Vit D and iron but supplemented to get my levels up. Good luck it's not easy.

Thanks all, was pickedbup in a routine medical. Had been feeling exhausted and cold for a long time but also gone through a very stressful time in my life so attributed to that.

I feel so down and rubbish but need to find motivation (I know this should be the four stone....)

My friend struggles to lose weigh when her medication is at the wrong dosage. She's had it stable for a year and lost 3 more stone but it's gone wonky lately and I know she's been back for more bloods.

Thanks all. Will definitely try to keep on top of blood tests, just feel it's a really ugly illness. I know not serious or life threatening but am fat, hair is falling out, tired and depressed

Will give GF a go!

Please don't "give gf a go".
My wife is celiac and hypothyroid.
Gf isn't a cure for hypothyroidism.
Lots of gf food is highly processed and FULL of sugar.
Stick to lots of veg and fruit, lean meat, healthy fats, low carbs.

GF often helps with thyroid problems. What's wrong with giving GF a go? I am GF alltheIttleangels and eat all the things you mention, fruit, veg, meat, fish, rice, things that are naturally GF. I do eat dairy and sugary stuff in moderation (I bake my own GF cakes and biscuits using almond and oat flour mostly). It would never have occurred to me to stuff my diet full of processed GF stuff. I didn't eat it before and I don't eat it now

I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis ( the auto
Immune underactive thyroid)

I have been diagnosed 3 years and I have only recently been stable

Please bear in mind that if you do diet you will lose weight slower than others because your metabolism is slower

Don't start any diets or cutting anything from your diet until you've seen your GP.

Go to them first, ask about dietary advice, they may refer you to a dietician (registered) who will have access to your medical notes and be in a much better position to give you advice rather than anyone on here.

Also, a tip that is never given by the GP is to book your blood test for first thing in the morning and do not take that day's meds until after the test is done. That will give a better reading than after having the meds.

I sympathise. Even when watching what I eat, I keep gaining. I am gradually getting fatter and fatter and it's really quite upsetting.

Little candle, the medication is taken in account when reading results.

And if you're not taking the meds at the right time, how are lab med going to know if the dosage is right?

Your advice is dangerous.

Ignore that advice OP. Do what the GP tells you to. Not a random on the internet that knows fuck all.

Lab med will be able to tell of you've had your meds or not. Don't make things more difficult for yourself.

OP, I got diagnosed and put on Thyroxine (luckily they got the dose right first time) this time last year. People told me it takes a year for the full improvement to be felt. I didn't lose weight for about 9 months, but have now lost a stone.

Admittedly I've been a lot more disciplined: almost completely cut out alcohol, very little sugar, lots of lo cal soups and salads. Depending on your location and budget, reformer Pilates is very good for body shape.

Thyroid medication is taken when the patient feels it is right for them, not on a rigid schedule. Some people take it at night; others take it in the morning. So if the lab assumes you've taken the tablets at a certain time, then the results are not going to be accurate anyway, which would explain huge amounts about why thyroid treatment is so shit in this country.

Yeah, I'm a random on the internet, but so are you, fortheloveofpete. I've been dealing with this for almost half my life and what you have just said contradicts what we sufferers get told by the endos, who claim it makes no difference if you miss one day of your meds, as it takes weeks for it to show up in your bloods or as symptoms. Pity none of them actually know what they are talking about.

Hi,
I was diagnosed after gaining 6 stone with my first pregnancy. And after every pregnancy(I have 5 kids) it went out of whack. So on a high dose of thyroxine now. The good news is it is possible to loose the weight. I think it just means we have to work that bit harder at it. I would always stay away from any crazy diets... as if you revert back to normal eating you will gain it all back. And sometimes more. Eat clean and exercise alot. You can do it!!! Xxxxx

Poster above who said the lab knows if you’ve taken the medication, Sorry that’s not true. People do not take it at the same time of day, some take it at night, some evening.
If you take your medication before having blood tested then it will show the highest concentration of T4/T3 in your body which will quickly start to deplete throughout the day.
Levothyroxine (T4) builds up in your system and begins to level out around 6/8 weeks which is why if you increase/decrease your medication they ask for a blood test after that period of time. T4 lasts quite a while in your body, but does need a top up each day.

T3 levels in your blood is different. T3 has a short life in your body, when you take levothyroxine, part of it converts into T3 in your blood cells.
Which is why even being on a ‘correct dose’ you can still feel like crap especially by the evening as T3 levels aren’t high enough. ( I also take liothyronine (T3) as I don’t convert enough and need a boost each day which runs out after 10 hours)

However T3 does not routinely get tested even though it is the more important one. You can have high levels of T4 in your blood but still feel awful if the T3 levels are low due to conversion not being great.

If you still feel rubbish after a few months and your gp says your blood work is fine then ask for T3 levels to be checked.

I don’t take my medication until after my blood tests. My endocrinologist is the leading professor in his field and that is what he told me to do.