Thyroid Meds & Weight Gain

sunnyaz said:

You are very welcome!
It may be that you aren't on enough replacement hormone. This depends on your current weight. I am 173 pounds right now and taking 175 mcg's daily if this gives you any indication of where you should be. I would ask your doctor as soon as possible. They should be trying to keep you hyperthyroid after a cancer diagnosis for at least the first three years. As you loose the weight you will probably need to have your dosage adjusted as well.

You are right, most people have told me that it is impossible to loose the weight without a thyroid. I am bound and determined to beat the odds though. I worked too damn hard to get to a size four before my diagnosis and I will die trying to get back there. I work for a doctor that specializes in weight control and have a few tips if you are interested.

1. Eat an apple or at least half an apple about half and hour before every meal. The pectin coats the stomach and makes it harder to absorb fat that you consume.
2. Eat your biggest meal of the day in the morning then slowly tapper off towards sundown. Don't eat after sundown. Water only.
3. Water, water, water. Fat is water soluble. You will pee out fat that you are burning.
4. Eat smaller meals more often. Don't eat three meals a day. Have breakfast, snack, light lunch, snack and small dinner.
5. Your stomach is only as big as your fist. Don't eat any more food (condensed) than the size of your fist in one sitting.
6. Don't ever starve yourself. If you feel hungry eat something until you are "just" satisfied. This keeps your metabolism from going into starvation mode. This is how the hCG diet works. The hCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin) is the chemical in pregnant woman that stops them from going into starvation mode. This way the baby gets as much nutrition as it needs. If you keep your metabolism moving it will keep burning fat and calories. Lots of people have used hCG to loose weight and it's been effective. However, as you probably already know, any weight loss program includes modifying your life style for good.
7. Exercise daily even if it just a walk. Try to get your heart rate up to 80% of it's max capacity for your age for at least 20 minutes per day. Work up from there. Don't over work your body or you will not want to keep it up. Also working too hard doesn't benefit you any more than a simple work out that gets you sweating a little and gets your heart rate up to 80% not 100%.
8. My doctor prescribes an appetite suppressant called Phentermine. Yes, it's the first part of Phen in the Phen/Phen diet that caused so much debate in prior years. None of our patients have had any bad side effects from the Phentermine 37.5 mg. I have decided not to use the suppressant because appetite isn't my issue. I am pretty well controlled in that area.

I have been able to maintain my current weight for about three months and I haven't really been busting my butt to get to the gym because I am gone eleven hours a day with my job and drive time. Working for a doctor is time consuming. I try to fit in work outs and "me time" on the weekends. At least I know when I finally do get back to a size four, I will be able to maintain it more easily than I could before. I believe we can do this! I fully intend to beat the odds and I know you will too. Maybe after we succeed we should meet and co-author a book for Thyroid cancer patients and weight loss.

Blessings and healthy wishes,
Julie-SunnyAZ

sunnyaz said:

Ironic...... not really.
Hi bkane,

Most NP's are awesome! I used to work for one and he knows more than most doctors I have worked with. Strange that your doctor would put you on an appetite suppressant before checking your thyroid levels first. That is the first thing we do at our clinic for each new patient.

I am exhausted too. I hate to say it but replacement hormone just isn't the same as having a thyroid. Even at 175 mcg's a day I just want to sleep but having trouble doing so. It's a no win situation. Depression and mood fluctuations are also a problem with me. I was generally a pretty happy person before my symptoms began. Before my diagnosis when I started feeling like crap, I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder, Fibromyalgia and an assortment of other diseases that didn't make sense to me. I knew it all had to do with my Thyroid but my doctor wouldn't listen to me. Just because blood work comes back normal doesn't mean there isn't a problem. I had all of the classic symptoms of a non-functioning thyroid. My doctor just thought I was a hypochondriac. At least now he doesn't condescend to me like he used to. It's the "hah, I told you" concept I have to hold over his head. He actually takes what I say seriously now. I am able to call the office, tell him my symptoms, request the medication I need and they call it in for me with no questions asked. If I hadn't been in the Medical field and found my own thyroid nodule, who knows where I would be right now.

I take diazepam 5 mg's in the evening after work to relax and then I take an over the counter sleep aid about half an hour before bed. I just use the generic equivalent to Unisom. This seems to keep me out for eight hours a night. I try to not use the diazepam unless I feel really anxious because it is addictive. I still have some disturbing dreams but I don't usually remember them in the morning. Maybe twenty-five percent of the time I remember them in detail.

I think getting a higher dose of Synthroid is going to be good for your entire well being. Give it about two weeks to start really feeling the effects of the new dose. Remember that it takes T4 about two weeks to convert to TSH in your body. Ask your doctor for a prescription for anxiety and something to help you sleep more sound. It WILL make a difference in how you feel physically and mentally.

Keep me posted, you are in my prayers. By the way, I don't know your first name. Are you willing to share it on line?

Blessings,
Julie-SunnyAZ

sunnyaz said:

I agree with Craig
Barbara,

I agree with Craig. I think your dose needs to be more like 175 mcg's. There should be no reason to have you "get used to the medicine" since it's a naturally occurring hormone in your body. After a cancer diagnosis the goal is to keep you hyperthyroid for the first three years from your last diagnosis/recurrence. My TSH is .4 and that is where they want to keep me. Have you gotten your labs and found out where your TSH level is? At the 125 mcg dose you should have another lab two weeks after you started it to find out where your levels are. It will take that long for the T4 to change to TSH in your body. If you are not below 1 you should have your dose increased.

Blessings,
Julie-SunnyAZ

sunnyaz said:

Dosage
Yes, it takes two weeks for the T4 (levothyroxine ie. Synthroid) to turn to TSH in your body. There is no way to notice a difference or be able to tell from labs until that point. I know this is frustrating but you just need to hang in there. I still think that you needed to start out at 175 mcg's just from what you have told me. My doctor started me on that dose and got it right the first time. It is based on weight, age etc. I think that you and I are about the same age and weight within a few pounds and years.

I am hoping and praying that you will feel better soon. I know this is no real consolation but here is the reality. I am right where I need to be with my meds/TSH levels and I still have issues. On the weekends I take two hour naps and sleep at least ten hours a night to make up for only eight hours I get during the week. Eight used to be plenty of sleep for me. Now I wake up tired and never feel rested no matter how much I sleep. My TSH level is Hyperthyroid at 0.4. I realize that I will never be the same again. There should be a law that anyone without a Thyroid is able to go on disability because I just don't know how I am going to get through the next twenty years until I am able to retire.

Blessings,
Julie-SunnyAZ