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Hi I started to take levothyroxine last August for hypot...

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Hi

I started to take levothyroxine last August for hypothyroidism. I have always been slim, no problems with weight UNTIL NOW. Since I started taking the medication my weight started to creep up. In six months I have put on a stone and my tummy is sticking out as if I'm pregnant. I have been on various internet sites to find out why this is happening and I can't find the answers. I believe it is the medication. I spoke to someone from British Thyroid Foundation and she was very rude and unhelpful. She insisted that it wasn't the medication. Well, I had no problems with weight for 35 years and all of a sudden when taking Levothyroxine my weight shoots up, there is something going wrong and I'm not at all happy.

This is very depressing. I feel are we all being tried out as guinea pigs and then in years to come they will admit to it!!

Has anyone else had the same problem cos I'm at my wits end. I want to come off this medication its made me feel a lot worse than before.

[i:ff9b7f48e7]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:ff9b7f48e7]

13 likes, 124 replies

124 Replies

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  • anita02855
    anita02855 Guest

    Posted

    The bloating you are experiencing could be that the absorbtion isnt gradual enough.  this can sometimes happen until it levels out.  Admitingly the hormone regulates the body including digestion speed.  This bloating sounds like its a little fast at the moment.  Did your doctor start with 25mg and increase no sooner than 6 weeks?

    I suggest avoiding foods that inhibit absorbtion such as soya and miso soup and soya type chinese sauces, too much cacifourous foods and white bread goods.

    The weight-gain sounds like you are on a high dose, are you eating more to get full?  This is not professional advice but... cut dose by 25mg and eat some soya for a couple of days to reduce the bloating as it inhibits the extra dose absorbtion and may give some relief.  The reduction of mg should reduce the plate portion as well.

    Write an eating plan of foods that aggrevate.

    Get well soon,

    • crystal15088
      crystal15088 anita02855

      Posted

      I was started at 50mcg till my bloodwork and seen for my higymoto disease (sp?) then 100mcg back in Feb. I had been in baggy clothes all winter here in the upper peninsula of Michigan i could feel the bloating was going on but had no idea how much and how fast i was gaining till warmer weather hit so having all these doctor appts each week and being weighed i noticed a pattern of weight gain. I'm nit eating more id say if anything i was eating less about once a day meals. This is actual fat not just weight gain. I'm considering the human body and how things try to correct themselves so here's another hypothesis...if your thyroid is producing more at first from this disease then doctors say I'm on the downhill side of it and now my body needs more and gives this drug but everything in the body as its working together compensates for the deficiencies so maybe doctors need to take into consideration the math whole math equation levels of all parts before deciding just to give medication for just this our just that. I'm gaining three pounds biweekly and that's not good on the heart..some may be water weight but definitely a belly now hanging over my pants isn't my normal make up so in your posting i understand i should of explained myself a little clearer. I've been on lower doses off and on over the past couple years quit taking it for six months lost the weight but being inn a new area getting started with regular doctor visits who are pro attack on this disease bumped me to the 100mcg again and this is a repeat I'm figuring out.
    • crystal15088
      crystal15088 anita02855

      Posted

      I was started at 50mcg till my bloodwork and seen for my higymoto disease (sp?) then 100mcg back in Feb. I had been in baggy clothes all winter here in the upper peninsula of Michigan i could feel the bloating was going on but had no idea how much and how fast i was gaining till warmer weather hit so having all these doctor appts each week and being weighed i noticed a pattern of weight gain. I'm nit eating more id say if anything i was eating less about once a day meals. This is actual fat not just weight gain. I'm considering the human body and how things try to correct themselves so here's another hypothesis...if your thyroid is producing more at first from this disease then doctors say I'm on the downhill side of it and now my body needs more and gives this drug but everything in the body as its working together compensates for the deficiencies so maybe doctors need to take into consideration the math whole math equation levels of all parts before deciding just to give medication for just this our just that. I'm gaining three pounds biweekly and that's not good on the heart..some may be water weight but definitely a belly now hanging over my pants isn't my normal make up so in your posting i understand i should of explained myself a little clearer. I've been on lower doses off and on over the past couple years quit taking it for six months lost the weight but being inn a new area getting started with regular doctor visits who are pro attack on this disease bumped me to the 100mcg again and this is a repeat I'm figuring out.
    • crystal15088
      crystal15088 anita02855

      Posted

      I was started at 50mcg till my bloodwork and seen for my higymoto disease (sp?) then 100mcg back in Feb. I had been in baggy clothes all winter here in the upper peninsula of Michigan i could feel the bloating was going on but had no idea how much and how fast i was gaining till warmer weather hit so having all these doctor appts each week and being weighed i noticed a pattern of weight gain. I'm nit eating more id say if anything i was eating less about once a day meals. This is actual fat not just weight gain. I'm considering the human body and how things try to correct themselves so here's another hypothesis...if your thyroid is producing more at first from this disease then doctors say I'm on the downhill side of it and now my body needs more and gives this drug but everything in the body as its working together compensates for the deficiencies so maybe doctors need to take into consideration the math whole math equation levels of all parts before deciding just to give medication for just this our just that. I'm gaining three pounds biweekly and that's not good on the heart..some may be water weight but definitely a belly now hanging over my pants isn't my normal make up so in your posting i understand i should of explained myself a little clearer. I've been on lower doses off and on over the past couple years quit taking it for six months lost the weight but being inn a new area getting started with regular doctor visits who are pro attack on this disease bumped me to the 100mcg again and this is a repeat I'm figuring out.
  • muddubud
    muddubud Guest

    Posted

    Hi, I am a 24 year old guy weighing 50 kgs and 6ft in height.. Yes i am skinny... I was diagnosed with thyroid 12 years ago and I have been taking thyroxin sodium medications since then, my thyroid level is normal in recent tests... I Am finding very hard to put onweight.. I have tried almost everything from gym to protein shakes to increase in food intake.. But nothing has helped me in gaining weight.. I have always been a sharp witty guy and have no other health issues...

    My question is; is it the tablets that I'm taking thereason for me being underweight, should I stop taking it, how can I put on some weight.

    • LAHs
      LAHs muddubud

      Posted

      Muddubud, check your T3 level you may be overproducing T3 from the T4 you are getting from your "thyroxin sodium" - you lucky devil!

      Most people who are hypothyridic put on weight because they cannot do this conversion. When I increased my Levo (thyroxin sodium) dose quite high my T3 went up and I began to lose weight without any regard to what I was eating (or size of portion would be more accurate).

      You may be just nosing into the hyper range, get your T3 tested, if it is pushing maximum then drop your ThxSod a little bit. If that doesn't make any difference (it will take a couple of months to find out), then drop it a little bit more. At some point you will join our club, that of being slightly hypo and, as a result, overweight.

  • Weevee43
    Weevee43 Guest

    Posted

    Hello

    I know you posted this a long time ago, but I had exactly the same experience in my mid forties after starting Levothyroxine, the weight started piling on.  However, a few months later i also stopped smoking, so then it is difficult to know which was having the strongest effect.  On a happier note, since starting levothyroxine my mood, mental health, resistence to illness, and energy levels have all inproved significantly.  This year. feeling desperate about my huge bulk, I joined a keep fit club (for the first time in my life), I've also made inroads in reducing my carb intake (basically less sugary snacks and bread replaced with fruit and veg).  I've lost nearly a stone in six months, so although it's slow, it;s signicant and sustained and I feel much fitter and stronger and a bit slimmer!  I hope things are working out for you too smile

  • Susie59
    Susie59 Guest

    Posted

    I have read all the discussions and feel confused.  So many stories.  However, the one common thread is the weight issue and it is why I found the thread to begin with.  I was diagnosed 10 years ago.  Have taken my 75mg of Levothyroxine as prescribed.  My diet does have some pitfalls.  I eat sugar snacks at the weekend and try and lay off though the week with the odd biscuit or two.  I don't drink alcohol but for 5 glasses of wine per year roughly.  I don't indulge in chocolate or take aways.  Compared to many I am pretty good and those at slimming world eat more calories per day than me on average.  I am 3 dress sizes heavier and my husband urges me to go to the doctor to find out why as he knows what my diet is like.  it depresses me, makes me frustrated etc.  You all know how that all feels.  The reason I don't go is they just patronise me.   I am begining to feel the only way to lose weight is to stick with a diet so strict I will not even sniff a grain of sugar and eat only a trace of fat per day followed by a tough 2 hour work out per day.   I truly believe that but like many of you catch 22.  My joints hurt.  Is exercise good for me to that extent?  My hands are in the air on this one.  In the UK I believe we cannot obtain Armour.  All the best to you all.
    • susanna1948
      susanna1948 Susie59

      Posted

      Hi Susie59, it would not matter if you never ate sugar again ever your weight would still be a struggle. Gym exercise is not the answer and will only affect your joints so do t do it. You would be better off walking steady for a couple of hours a day changing the route you take daily so your body does not get use to the same turan, you need to walk up and down hills scramble through woods, walk along the beach even walk through water, this is all better than a 2 hour gruelling work out in a gym and it will help with the weight loss I lost a stone in about 3 months which I know is not a lot but on levo it's an enormous amount when one is struggling and my dress size dropped from 16 to 12 so it does work.

      all the best

    • Susie59
      Susie59 susanna1948

      Posted

      Cannot think of one argument against your comment.  Only last night I was checking out the web for dance classes and think I might invest in some Ceroc dancing. Looks fun, Looks sociable and only 1 hour ago I found a local women's walking group and thought I might check them out.  You must have read my mind.  I joined slimming world last week and apart from around 3 kit kats and a slice of cake throughout the week the diet is what I normally eat everyday but at least it keeps my food intake in check.  I also changed when I take my tablets.  Rather than in the morning where I usually eat cereal with milk first thing I now take it before bed.  Thats around 3/4 hours after food and a good 6/7 hours starvation. We try.

    • Iamrosey2
      Iamrosey2 Susie59

      Posted

      Hi Susie smile  Sounds like you and I have similiar stories except I'm on it recently.  The excercise is definately good...I'm going to commit TODAY to getting walking, stretching etc in...every day..I have been lax and that's probaby why I've gained weight.  When I was first diagnosed I was careful about diet and excercise and actually started losing...I know what I need to eleiminate and add...now I just need to do it!!!  I'm experimenting with diet to see if it affects my joints and it really does seem to.  Salt and alcohol seem to be biggies to me sad  my favorite things lol.  May i ask how your cholestoral is ?  Mine went sky high after I went on this..but my GOOD cholestoral is high also so not sure if I need to really worry since I'm reading that whole thing is overblown ALSO!!!

  • julie92491
    julie92491 Guest

    Posted

    I have the same problem!!! Tummy swollen all time!! Going to see if there's an alternative. Just feel like a beached whale!!

  • Rosiebranston
    Rosiebranston Guest

    Posted

    I went onto Levothyroxin in 1999, I had been borderline for years and put weight on with that.   I hoped that once I went onto the medication I would lose weight, no.   I now have Hashimoto's and even when Hypothyroid I can't tolerate Levothyoxin anymore.   I am now on NDT, Natural Desicated Thyroid, which I am having to pay for myself as the NHS won't license it, even though this was the original medicatio for Hypothyroidism and used from 1892 to 1970.  Since having this problem I have done endless research and one of the things I have learnt is that the side effects of Levothyroxin are weight gain and fatgiue, which are the two main sympotoms of Hypothyroidism, no win situation here.  I won't lose weight on NDT until the Hashimoto's has settled down, which it hasn't at the moment, but have heard that people on NDT do lose weight.

  • MeganD
    MeganD Guest

    Posted

    Hello. i was diaganosed last year with hypothyroidism. Doctore said i was producing 10 times over. i really dont know much. what i do know. is i misscarried twice. after second time i went from like 297 down to 257 from september of 2013 to april 2014. i became pregnant with our son and dropped down to 209 in the trimester because i was sick 24/7 literally. anyways. once that was over i went up to 234 and after i gave birth on december 21, 2014 i was at 220. my weight went back and forth between 225 and 235. i was later diagnosed with hypothyroidism, i had surgery march 24, 2016 and had my thyroid removed. I am now on Levothyroxine. my dose has been lowered 2 times because my blood work keeps saying it is to high. problem is ever sense i had my thyroid removed and i was place on it i have gained weight fast and no matter what i do it just seems to pack on. my last weigh was 280. i had finally gotten into size 18 and now im back in size 20 and 22. im so tired all the time. i ache all over. no energy at all. and because of the drastic weight gain of 45+ pounds it has made it hard for me to get around. i tire so quick. i have a 19 month old who needs me and i feel im failing him. i dont know what to do. ive mention it severaly times to doctors but all they want to do is surgery to cut part of my actual stomach on the inside away. no one wants to address the actual problem. cutting my stomach away wont fix the weight gain. sure ill probably lose some weight at first but after the first year my stomach will re stretch and ill still be having issue with the weight gain.
  • Iamrosey2
    Iamrosey2 Guest

    Posted

    I've had similar experience and also joint pain

    • Iamrosey2
      Iamrosey2

      Posted

      wow...this is interesting..did you see the reply by aabbb she got off it after 6 years and no more joint pain
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