I literally can not loose weight

[ArtfulLimeUser]

Since I had my daughter in 2023 my health has declined rapidly.
my weight as steadily gone up to 14 stone (I’m 5 ft 3), my hair is thinning, I’ve been diagnosed wit adenomyosis, pelvic congestion syndrome, chronic tonsiltiis, I’m awaiting a tonsillectomy and a hysterectomy. That’s just the back story. I am waiting to see endocrinology in August and the lymphedema nurses for my leg swelling.
when my daughter was about 1, I rapidly lost 2 stone and was very poorly, my gp thought I had cancer. I had so many tests and nothing was ever found. Then I just started piling the weight on. I’ve tried EVERYTHING. I am so so active and have a very healthy diet. But my weight won’t stop increasing. I absolutely eat in a calorie deficit. I know it is something medical related but does anyone have any insight on what this could be? Up to now for my various symptoms I have seen 2 gastro doctors, vascular as my legs are very swollen, rheumatology as I had gout symptoms but it was arthritis, haematology for constant infections, weight loss in the beginning and swollen lymph nodes and ent for my tonsils. I also saw cardiology as I was having chest pain and shortness of breath. Everything from these doctors have been okay.
I am at breaking point

Yes this happened to me too, if you try a protein breakfast like an egg spinach and cheese omelette do you get the same reaction? Or just with high sugar things.

Doesn’t happen with everything! What was your diagnosis if you don’t mind me asking?

I’ve had the same with protein vs sugar (even healthy sugar) based meals. Breakfast is now almost all protein - eggs, cheese, milk, lots of chia and flax seeds in yoghurt, overnight oats, protein bars if I don’t have time to make anything.

I try to get 120-150 grams of protein every day which is a lot, being vegetarian. It really does make a difference though.

Is it possible that you are heavy because of the swelling in your legs and possibly elsewhere? Water is very heavy. Hope you get it sorted.

I dont have a diagnosis but I guess something to do with my insulin possibly pre diabetes. I feel so much better having less sugar in my diet. At the time I thought it was just being exhausted with young kids.

Probably not, I’m 5ft 4 and wouldn’t be.

I think hypothyroid causes some water retention. Some of your symptoms sound like hypothyroid. I had symptoms for years before my thyroid tests showed my thyroid function was low. According to my immunologist, this is not uncommon because it takes some time for the thyroid to degrade enough to show in the labs, but the autoimmunity is causing inflammation in the body long before that. There are a lot of annoying symptoms to hypothyroid that aren't life threatening so they don't really seem to get treated. Mainly they are looking for whether your labs are in the right range and as long as that's the case, the rest of it they will just shrug their shoulders a bit. At least that was my experience.

You have had lots of good thoughts from pp so won't provide more. I had postpartum thyroiditis after my ds was born. It really made me incredibly poorly. Apparently my thyroid is back to normal but I have never felt normal since and my ds is 3. So more of a HH here. Hope you get some answers soon ❤️

With so many symptoms happening at once, it really does sound like something that needs a joined-up approach rather than looking at each symptom separately.
It's good that you're seeing endocrinology soon, as hormones can sometimes play a big role in unexplained weight changes and other symptoms. In the meantime, I'd keep a diary of your symptoms, weight changes and anything else you notice, as it may help at your appointment.

Update- saw endocrinologist and she strongly believes I have cushings disease. Had the relevant bloods and back in a few weeks to discuss the next tests

Are you sleeping properly?

With tonsils you maybe suffering apneas.

Poor sleep absolutely affects weight.

Agree about thyroid too. Hopefully the endocrinologist will look at a full thyroid picture not just 1 which is what blood tests at GP tend to focus on.

X posts. Glad you have got an avenue that’s being explored.

She also had my thyroid is asymmetrical so that’s being looked at too

My maintenance is 1550. Its a measly amount of food.

Oh that’s great that you got some feedback @ArtfulLimeUserand may have solutions to aid you to better health.

I thought the same - loose - really?

Just a typo, not an issue in the grand scheme of things with what I’m going through at the moment.

Ah sorry for being a snippy
cow !

Heya OP. I have all the exact symptoms as you - swelling legs, gaining weight even when I was on 800 cals a day for 6 weeks, shortness of breath and chest pains with nothing showing on cardiac tests etc. I also don't really get hungry and rarely finish a meal despite only eating once a day.

It was all thyroid related. Can you look in your NHS app and see what your actual TSH and T4 results are? The NHS is pretty bad with thyroid issues and says a TSH of under 10 is fine, but most people with no thyroid issues are actually sub 2 and symptoms can start at 4. My doctor will only put my dose up once my TSH gets over 10 but I feel super unwell the moment it goes over 4.

I finally saw endocrinology a few days ago, and I'm now on the highest dose of thyroxine my GP has ever seen. But my legs are already starting to drain even without my diuretics. I'm hoping my weight will start to become manageable soon as my levels finally start to become normal.

Can't believe people are on here splitting feathers about spelling when the poor woman is going through a terrible time

Hope you get answers soon op 💐

I know it’s insane.
Some days I think if I didn’t have my children I wouldn’t be here by choice. I feel so poorly all the time. I fake a quality of life to give my children the best of everything and so they don’t see mummy poorly but when they go to sleep at night I am absolutely broken.
My weights gone up again; my face is huge and swollen, I’m so tight chested and exhausted. I’ve just had enough.

Thank you so much.
endo has checked my thyroid bloods too. Hoping for answers soon. Thank you xxx

If you’re feeling ill/tired after eating, it could be something like dumping syndrome or reactive hypoglycaemia.

You can get a continuous glucose monitor on Amazon (Libre is the most common)- they’re easy to use and will continually monitor your blood sugar for two weeks. If your body is releasing too much insulin after you eat, then too much sugar is taken up (and stored as fat), while there’s too little left in your blood stream (making you feel ill). It’s kind of the opposite of diabetes. Definitely something an endocrinologist would be able to investigate.

Swollen face could certainly be linked to Cushings as suggested by endo. I hope you get answers very soon. Hang on in there, you will feel better once they get whatever is causing the imbalance under control. Certainly don't listen to the posters on here disbelieving about what you eat or encouraging you to eat less. Not their fault but they obviously have no clue about things like Cushings.