Overactive Thyroid Treatment Weight Gain Worry!

[Thecharlady38]

Hello, can anyone put my mind at rest regarding weight gain with OT treatment? I have read some horror stories about people putting on 1/2/3 stone and more! I have lost probably only a few pounds in the last few weeks. I have just been put on Carbimazole (only 5mg), and Propanolol 3 times a day, while waiting for an Endo appointment which could of course take months given the current situation. I generally feel well and don’t have a problem with cutting back on naughty food (☹️), I also have an active job and do the 5.2 way of eating. But there are many stories of people gaining weight DESPITE exercising & eating well, which is rather depressing! Can anyone tell me their experiences good or bad - will I have weight problems for ever more after my Thyroid has been treated, or can it come off again after treatment has finished? Will it be huge amounts or only regaining what I lost? Sorry if this concern sounds trivial and shallow! And apologies for the rambling length!

Sorry you haven't had a reply.

I have both Graves' disease (which causes an overactive thyroid) and hypothyroidism (so I fluctuate between the two).

Unfortunately treatment for hyperthyroidism usually causes the thyroid to become underactive at some point before they can get your levels at an optimal point.

When you are underactive your metabolism slows right down and exercising and dieting will actually make you put on weight as both deplete your thyroid hormones further. When I first became hypo I put on two stone. It hasn't carried on piling on with every episode though. I lose a bit sometimes and then put it back on but not over the original 2 stone.

It is depressing. And annoyingly when I am overactive I don't seem to lose weight 😢

Sorry I don't have better news for you other than to tell you when you feel underactive the weight gain will be the least of your worries.

In my experience many doctors are completely rubbish when it comes to dealing with thyroid issues. If you don't feel well and your doctor is not helping you get a second or third or fourth opinion.

And sign up to the Thyroid UK forum on Health Unlocked.

Thank you for your message, and sorry you’ve had a tough time with your weight. I was expecting my Carbimazole dosage to go up to 20mg following my most recent blood test, but the Endo rang to say that the numbers are improving with 5mg and so to stay on that for now. I have another test & telephone consultation in about 5/6 weeks, he said if the numbers improve again the dosage will be cut down further. I have altogether lost just under a stone in weight since the diagnosis, and if I put only that back on I won’t mind. Hopefully staying on the smaller dosage will be enough to not run the risk of going under - it is something my Endo talked about as needing to avoid. I still feel well, and the only symptom I have really is weight loss. I’m hoping the Beta Blockers are helping with the fast heart rate, it wasn’t something I was aware of until the GP told me that it was fast! I’m keeping everything crossed that the numbers normalise in the next few weeks!

Hi @Thecharlady - I've had graves and now have hashimotos, and have had auto immune thyroid disease for over a decade now. I find my health and weight is best when my thyroid is a stable level. When I feel normal I can eat properly, exercise properly, and sleep well, which means I'm a good weight (bmi 22 ish). When I was hyper I felt too ill to exercise as my heart rate was insane, and when hypo I felt too tired and sluggish to do anything. I feel fine these days, as everything is stable right now. My weight has veered either side of this by a stone, max.

I found out I was hyperactive last year - my T4 levels were over 100 so I was quite bad and was put on 40mg of carbimozole daily for about 6 weeks and then down to 20mg and eventually down to 5mg. I stopped taking it completely after about 8 months as my levels were fine. Unfortunately 9 months later I have relapsed. Not as bad (T4 levels are 40) but am back on 20mg of carbimozole for another few weeks at least. Weight wise, I lost around 7lbs both times (going from 8.5stone to 8 stone). Went back to my normal weight the last time, didn't put on any extra and still haven't put the weight back on yet from this time. My consultant is now talking about radioactive iodine treatment and I am concerned that this will make me put on weight as it is common to go underactive afterwards.

I have tried dieting to lose weight i have gained txking 5mg carbimazole . I have gained 7 lbs and it will not shift . Any ideas .

I didn't gain any weight on carbimazole.

Hi just wondering if anyone has similar symptoms as me I'm 7 weeks pregnant and seem to be having HG symptoms I have an overactive thyroid autoimmune disease and this is my first pregnancy I am being sick at least 5-7 times a day and feeling nauseous all day I'm struggling to get out of bed to even go to the toilet and can not keep anything down which is also having an impact on my relationship because he doesn't seem to understand how difficult it is for me because he has seen women cope better. Again I'm also feeling anxiety towards eating because of vomiting and am extremely anxious to go back to work because of the vomiting anyone out there who can help with these symptoms please.