Struggling to lose weight - Levothyroxine

[glasshalfsomething]

Anyone else in the same position?

Was diagnosed as under active thyroid 5 years ago. Been on thyroxine since. Post baby, I've really struggled with weight loss. Currently on 1400 calories (relatively clean, low carb) and stayed the same for 4 weeks. Do I really need to drop to 1000-1200 a day?

GP says levels are fine and they won't test any deeper (they bring the lab - apparently they decide what to test me for).

Guess I'm just really frustrated. Almost 3st overweight - 2 stone would take me back to where I'd be really happy.

Anyone else succeeded to
Lose weight in a similar circumstance?

I'm hypothyroid too, and even with the replacement therapy it's hard to lose weight.

Can you add some exercise rather than cutting more calories? Just walking a mile or two per day would help.

I'm running 5k x2 or 3 a week, and getting at least 10K ages a day. Trying to add in some classes this week too to see if that can help.

You really should be losing on 1400 a day then.

Are you using one of the apps to track net calories? I like Loseit! but MyFitnessPal is probably just as good.

And you have to be fanatical about counting every last bloody calorie.

I hear you! I'm on 100 micrograms a day of levothyroxine (blood test last week and that may again increase) and I find it really difficult to lose weight.

@MissConductUS - I think fanatic is the way to go!

@glasshalfsomething - I have an Ozeri kitchen scale. I eat nothing unless I weigh or measure it first. Then it goes into the app,. I use another app called Runkeeper to track my runs and walks and it sends the data over to Loseit.

If I am this methodical about it, I can lose a pound or two a week.

I am on 150 mg of Levothyroxine per day. I just started weight watchers and have managed to loose 11.2 kg in seven weeks. So now I am just fat instead of really fat. I actually never thought I would manage to loose weight at all. So it is not impossible

That's really reassuring @Effiewhaursmabaffies!

I'm guessing my old 80/20 rule no longer applies. I just don't know if I can face a life of constant calorie counting! How dull.

I can face a life of constant calorie counting! How dull.

It is a huge pain in the arse but I find it very effective as a way of not overeating or eating between meals. It keeps me accountable.

Yes I’m on on 100mg of levothyroxin and pre under active thyroid could lose weight so easily. Now my weight doesn’t alter whether I eat salads and low carb or eat pizza and cake - it just stays the same. So frustrating!

Is t it just @Shesaysso! I wonder if there is any medical intervention to get us back in an even keel.

Yes, I'm the same! I'm so fed up. The only time I've lost weight was doing the blood sugar diet which I did last year when I lost about 9 pounds. And doing 5:2 just maintained. Three weeks off over the last year and I'm back where I started. I'm now low carbing with 5:2. No change.

I've just given up alcohol entirely to see if that changes anything. I'm not holding my breath.

Pretty miserable that going down to 800 cals per day is all that works.

I'm on 125mg & lost 4 stone in 6 months. Stuck to 1800 cal per day & did exercise 2/3x per week. I used my fitness pal to calculate calories based on my weight & activity levels at 1lb loss per week.

If you are exercising regularly you need more calories.

Could it be fluid retention? When I was undertreated I retained so much fluid I could barely bend my arms and legs and my face and belly were very bloated.

Some people need to be on enough thyroxine to keep tsh below 1. If your gp has you on just enough to keep tsh within range it may be very difficult to lose weight.

I also needed to add liothyronine to be symptom-free.

Counting calories and increased exercise can be counter-productive if you are hypo. I don’t believe that reducing your calorie intake even further will help.

I bet that your test results are anything but “fine”. Many doctors seem poorly equipped to deal with hypothyroidism, and think having test results “in range” is OK (it’s where in range that is most important). They tell us how easy it is to treat. It can be so much more complicated.

My Mum has been taking levothyroxine for years; decades.

She joined slimming world 2 years ago and the weight has dropped off her. We call her the whippet because she's got a slender wirey look to her now!

Has anyone successfully challenged their GP to investigate further, change brand of meds or test alternate levels?

Yes, yes and yes. I got a referral to an endocrinologist who I knew would consider my well-being as well as my test results (see TUK below). He raised my levo so my tsh was below 1 and my t3 and t4 were in the upper part of the range. I had private tests for b12, folate d, iron and ferritin and took supplements where needed. I tried taking the same brand of levo (and then changing brands to see if there was any difference) but it can be difficult to do unless your pharmacist will work with you. When I'd been on the higher dose of levo for long enough without much improvement my endo recommended my gp prescribed liothyronine and within a short time the water weight fell off, energy levels improved, other symptoms (palpitations, constipation, hair loss) disappeared.

TUK helped a lot: healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk Like any other website there is some nonsense there but also lots of very useful info.

glasshalfsomething I continually challenged my GP, changed brands, and pushed for them to do further testing. I also had an endocrinologist, and spent years assuming that all these doctors were looking after me. I was told that symptoms could not be thyroid-related, but was continually offered many other medications to deal with the individual symptoms (multiple pain relief medications, PPIs, anti-depressants, steroids, anti-inflammatories, etc., even surgery to sort out my carpal tunnel and shoulder problems – very common in hypothyroidism). It is also very common to have nutrient deficiencies if you are hypo, and a good diet may not be enough to sort those out.

As thefirstmrsdewinter says, take a look at the HealthUnlocked forum on Thyroid UK – it’s what I did, and it gradually dawned on me that I absolutely was NOT being looked after.

I am now well through my own efforts. I still take prescribed levothyroxine, but also self-medicate with T3 (liothyronine) – with the full knowledge of my new endocrinologist and GP. There are many lifestyle and diet changes you can make, which I have done. I lost four stone in weight, lost all the awful symptoms I’d suffered for years. I get private blood tests done to monitor things that my endocrinologist won’t.

My endocrinologist supports me, my blinkered GP thinks I have had some sort of miracle cure, and that it is nothing to do with anything I’ve done.

IsJustMe I dread to think how many people are living in total misery (and blamed for their own health problems due to the weight gain and lack of confidence that can result from inadequate treatment) because they're on 25 or 50mcg levo when they could and should be on 100 or 150 (or 200+ in some cases). For whatever reason cost of course they're really reluctant to prescribe t3, yet it can be a life-changing medicine for some people.

I had devastating depression for decades (+ two breakdowns, years of largely useless meds etc) and now I feel fine. My theory is that I'm well because my thyroid issues are being managed well.

Wow @IsJustMe! That's really interesting.

Going to book another GP appoint and see if I can push for an endo referral.

thefirstmrsdewinter Yeah, tell me about it :( Many hypo people, and most GPs and endocrinologists I’ve ever met really don't understand how bad thyroid disease can be.

I also spent most of my adult life on anti-depressants (but only had the one breakdown), and battling awful gut problems, and other little niggling symptoms. Once diagnosed, my health deteriorated even further; I started learning about Hashimoto’s, and everything fell into place.

T3 and diet/lifestyle changes have been life-saving for me. I try not to feel bitter about all those years when I was labelled as a depressed hypochondriac.

Hypo women who are overweight, tired and depressed often blame themselves, and are blamed by many medical professionals too, for not knuckling down and “just sorting themselves out”. Every time I hear of someone who is overweight and hypo, and unable to lose weight – and particularly when told their blood test are “normal”, my heart sinks.

glasshalfsomething Get a copy of your blood test results, just to see how “fine” they really are. And definitely start reading the information on Thyroid UK, and on their forum, HealthUnlocked. It might prove to be an eye-opener.

If your GP doesn’t want to play ball and, if you can afford to do it, it is dead easy to get private blood tests done to include a full thyroid panel, and things like B12, vitamin D etc. Medichecks and Blue Horizon are the most popular.

And breathe …