Under active thyroid, on medication but just cannot lose weight

[ThePenIsBlue]

I am so depressed. I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid approx 18 months ago after going to the doctor for extreme fatigue, joint pain and the fact I was putting on weight despite exercise and decent diet and not changing much in my life.

sinde then I have had 2 follow up blood tests which deem my medication is at a correct dose: 50micrograms of levothyroxine.

I have not lost a pound. In fact, I seem to be putting on weight. I am so fed up. I am on my feet all day, walk lots, do 4 x hiit/spin/swim sessions a week.

I eat well, I am careful. I am getting desperate now. Surely if I’m on the right dose of medication it should be just as easy/ hard for me to lose weight as the next person? Or will the fact I’ve got an under active thyroid make is more difficult, even with medication.

please tell me your experiences

I lose weight if I eat less that 1000 calories per day consistently. Other than that the medication has no effect on weight loss

Do you know what your thyroid numbers are?
If my tsh is not below 2, I cannot lose weight at all.

I’m sure I read that people on Levothyroxine still find it hard to lose weight but I know loads of people report that they do.

Sorry OP, it really must feel so frustrating!

I've been on Levothyroxine for nearly 15 years and the only time I have lost weight is with calorie controlled shakes.
The tablets have made no effect on my weight, sorry OP.
I have no clue on the science behind it but I was expecting to lose weight when I first started taking them but it never happened

Ask what your TSH is and also you need to be checking T3 as that is what controls your metabolism and not T4. Levothyroxine is just T4 and not everyone can convert that to T3.
Also ask them to check for Hashimoto antibodies. I have Hashimotos and I try to eat the auto immune protocol to address this.
Also look at root cause. Doctors just treat symptoms but there are functional health doctors out there who will look at things like needing heavy metal detox, parasites, mold sensitivities etc etc
I'm on year 3 of hypo struggles but plenty that can help. The NHS in range numbers are well over what everyone I know actually feels like they need to be in! I had an endocrinologist who said GPS know sod all about thyroids! Haha

What I am eating now 5 years ago would have me losing weight. I don’t understand. Surely the medication is making me like a “normal” person who can therefore lose weight “normally.” I don’t expect the medication to be a magic weight loss pill, but I expected to be able to lose weight if I tried.

im tempted to start doubling my dose…. 😞

Thank you for this. I have to admit I don’t know anything about this. I think I need to be pushier with my GP

I'm the same. On 50mg levothyroxine. I'm being really careful with what I eat but still gain weight rather than lose. I tested it out last year for a long period and I have to eat under 1200 kcal a day to actually lose weight consistently. If I eat that little longer term though I'm super grumpy and struggle to concentrate.
I've now been referred for bariatric surgery. My BMI is 37 but I have major back issues so I fit the criteria. I've given up trying to lose weight the conventional way.

I've been on levo for 12 years, weight loss is very difficult. I also have hashimotos. Without levo I would probably die, so have no option to stop taking it. Please do not up your dose, being overmedicated comes with some unpleasant symptoms, fast heart rate, palpitations, diarrhoea, sweating, bigger appetite, hair loss. Slimming world worked for me, but the losses were slow. Calorie counting helped to maintain my weight but didn't ever lose anything.

Please don’t double your dose, if your tsh drops too low you can have cardiac arrhythmias.

I only lost weight when I followed slimming world and lost a stone.

sinde then I have had 2 follow up blood tests which deem my medication is at a correct dose: 50micrograms of levothyroxine.
You need to be getting copies of the actually results, reading, and understanding them. Your GP is likely happy with you at the upper end of the 'normal' TSH range. But every other thyroid patient I've spoke to is like me, we're only really right in ourselves in the lower half of the range.

I was hoping people would tell me it’s not usual, I should be losing weight. This is awful if I am just stuck like this.

I know this is an old thread, but isn't 50 a low starter dose? (I have Graves'so this isn't my wheelhouse, but Health Unlocked's thyroid forum is very helpful). I thought the standard dosage is 1.6 per kg of bodyweight bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/levothyroxine-sodium/#indications-and-dose

No point getting pushier with GP, you'll alienate them without getting any better help.

Do your own online research, there are some good websites and some good facebook groups. Once you have a better understanding you will be better placed moving forward. I supplement the Thyroxine (T4) prescribed with T3 (Tyromel) that I buy in Turkey. (The NHS rarely approves T3 as a months supply costs them a fortune due to their outdated and stupid contracts. (AT best £63 per month down from at least 4 times that)). When I buy it in Turkey it costs me just over £1 for 3 months supply - online it is currently about £11 for the same so Fuck knows why it costs the NHS so much.

But I am not advising you to do what I do. The advice I am giving is to do your research and then decide what to do.

sorry Tiromel NOT Tyromel

I’m on 100mcg Levothyroxine daily and can’t lose weight unless I severely restrict my calories to less than 1200 a day. But then all I think about all day is food and it’s torture. It’s depressing!

They started me on 25 and I weigh 99kg...

Eventually ended up on 75

I’m on 100mg Levothyroxine but was on 50Mg, then 75mg for quite sometime. I really struggled initially, gained over 3 stone and it all felt completely hopeless. Eventually I found lane swimming and drastically changed my diet, which has helped and I’m back to normal weight. In my experience you have to be stricter on your diet than people who do not have this health problem and I also need to exercise harder. But it IS possible to lose the weight OP, just keep at it. Tell yourself it can be done and you’re going to do it. It wasn’t until I said “fuck this, I CAN do this” that it actually happened.
They should do a yearly health check as well to make sure your dosage is correct. GL.

Unfortunately, it seems to be even more difficult to lose weight even when on the correct dose of Thyroxine. My pharmacist commented on this when I had a medications review. I have been on it for nearly twenty years. Make sure you take your tablet with water first thing in the morning and do not have any to eat for at least half an hour afterwards. I also have lipodoema so a double whammy. If only losing weight was as easy as “eat less, move more.”

I'm on nearly 200mcg daily. I did lose 100lb with diet and exercise but that was 8 years ago and weight has crept back on - when my thyroid dose is right I lose weight, then I am over medicated and put on half a stone in a week. I also have lipoedema.

I lose weight with a TSH of 0.4-0.5. for long term weightloss I have to weigh and measure everything and log calories. It simply had never worked otherwise. I also use a heart rate monitor to track exercise calories.

@Vallmo47 I also swim and I’d recommend it for weight loss and general fitness…I’ve been lazy lately though and weight has crept on (plus I ate/drank too much over Christmas!

I’m on 150mg and definitely agree that your bloods need to be checked regularly, I’m actually checked every six months as my TSH fluctuates a lot.

Although I don’t struggle that much with my weight, tbh, despite having an underactive thyroid for years. No idea why that is, I’d assume the opposite!

50mcg is a starting dose, so you are almost certainly very under medicated.

You need to be aiming for FT4 and FT3 in the top 25% of their reference ranges. You also need ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D at optimal levels.

ThyroidUK will help you.

Following as I'm the same!

Underactive thyroid currently on 50mg and have been for about 3 months and I think my level went from 6 unmedicated to 1 so they are saying 50mg is correct. I've asked to be retested though. I've put on a stone since the summer 😱 constantly exhausted, aching joints.

I also take super high vit d as my GP said I should.