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hyper thyroid and can't lose weight

Posted , 12 users are following.

angel21399
angel21399

I am so exhauseted and depressed dealing with symptoms I have no control over.When I was first diagnosed with Graves disease I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Now that I am on Methimazole for the past 8 months, Ive returned to teaching my fitness class and running during the week.  I've always eaten healthy but for crying out loud, I could eat bird seed and gain weight over night.  My endo says that when I suddenly gain 6-8 pounds for no reason, go immediately to get blood work and cut back the methimazole to 5mg a day.  That is so frustrating to hear!! So easy to say to  someone when they don't have the problem themselves. I thought that hyper meant the weight stays off easier so figuring out what to eat, not to eat, exercise too much or not enough, or wait to see how much weight you can gain before your medication is changed is frustrating. AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Sometimes I feel sluggish and other days I feel like I'm having anxieties and trying to sleep with a million questions is just as frustrating.  I just don't know how to deal with something that I've had control over my whole life and now have no control over. I almost had a breakdown in the middle of Whole Foods the other day figuring out what to buy or not.  I actually thought about just sitting on the floor in the middle of the aisle and yell but didn't want to be lead out in a straight jacket.If anyone has this issue,  How do you deal with this daily????

1 like, 42 replies

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  • Guest
    Guest angel21399

    Posted

    Hi angel21399, I am currently on 5mg Carbimazole (converted to the active form Methimazole in the body)  and am facing  a similar struggle. Some days I am able to go to the gym and have a workout, other days I feel so sluggish I could fall asleep walking on a treatmill. 

    What you have to realise is that not all days are the same even for people with normal thyroid function. Physical exercise tends to increase the metabolism. That's why I try to stay active even when I feel tired. On those days I reduce the intensity of my workouts  and focus on stretches and gentle exercise.  

    The other thing is that Methimazole has a biological half-life of 5-6 hours. I  started to take my medication during the early evening. That way the highest concentration of Methimazole in my blood stream occurs during the night reducing the feelings of anxiety and the heart pounding when I am trying to sleep.  

    After reading the posts of linda187 I starting taking Carnitine. I think this has helped to keep thyroid levels under control with just a low dose of Carbimazole. While I was hyper I had big problems with muscle weakness and pain and I think Carnitine has helped me to improve muscle function overall.

     

    • angel21399
      angel21399 Guest

      Posted

      I am on 10 mg a day of methimazole and I do have in the morning and the other 5 at night.  I also thought about starting on Carnitine.  It can't hurt to try. I have found in teaching my class at the gym that keeps me sane as usual and that's the good thing but like you, there are days that I get winded and I don't even teach a cardio class.  It's strictly weights and I get out of breath. The same goes for when I go running. The same distance one day feels like a piece of cake and others it feels uphill and against the wind. So annoying...

      Like JakeDDD wrote "one step at a time!"

       

    • Guest
      Guest angel21399

      Posted

      Just be aware that especially acetyl L-carnitine may contribute to lower your thyroid levels. I started taking 500 mg acetyl L-carnitine about a week before I was scheduled to have the next blood test. If your levels do change  your endocrinologist will be able to detect it and reduce  your medicine accordingly. 
    • linda187
      linda187 Guest

      Posted

      That's correct Dan.  Acetyl-L-Carnitine is very sensitive with regard to thyroid levels and will lower them extremely quickly especially when combined with even a low dose of Methimazole because it crosses the blood-brain barrier.  It really helped me but I had to be extremely cautious with it and get frequent blood draws and make frequent adjustments.  Others who tried it after I posted on Boards were not careful enough with it because they did not realize how potent it is and they went very hypo very quickly.  I do believe it helped me get into remission when my levels were stuck for two years, especially my TSH.
    • linda187
      linda187

      Posted

      I think the Regular L-Carnitine is better to start with.  That is what the research by the Italian Endocrinologist was done on and it proved it was very beneficial for hyperthyroid patients.  It is not as sensitive as the Acetyl-L-Carnitine.
  • hypnocool
    hypnocool angel21399

    Posted

    First off what is your TSH level?maybe t4 and t3 also?

    So I was in your shoes and probably still am.  Im so p*ssed, if why I can't lose weight or it's hard and I've been working out a lot and eat less than the calories Im supposed to.  Just doesn't make sense.  I could easily lose weight if I get off this methimazole but I've seen myself like that and it doesn't look good.  I was skinny but I could tell I was sick.  Like it doesn't look healthy skinny.  First is to get your blood test TSH t4 t3 stable.  I was in a up and down status and very frustrating because I want to lose weight but I can't because Im over medicated and my dr haven't found the sweet spot on meds.  Now that Im stable kind of, 5mg methimazole every other day.  I started working out again.  Stress does makes our disease come out more.  I just try to relax myself most of the time so I won't fall back in over medication.  I started working Jan 2 2016 and I've only lost weight 3lbs and I do workout 4x a week and cardio on off days. So it's very frustrating, because when you're hyper if will melt this muscles that I just built then when your hypo from over medication it doesn't want you to lose those fat.  I got tested for Magnesium, Vit D defficiency and the results.  I was OK with magnesium and Vit D just a tad below.  So I started these Vit D supplements.  Maybe that's why I could I feel a bit hypo.  Or my meds needs to be adjusted again.  But I'll wait 2 more weeks to get blood test done before jumping to get blood drawn.  Just need sometime to get my body adjusted to this Vit D.  Long story short, you are not alone.  And hope I could get this weight down to normal

    • angel21399
      angel21399 hypnocool

      Posted

      I went back to check my last blood test to see my levels in December. TSH : 1.73

      T3: 87

      T4 .84

      My doctor said that my levels are going to start to make me tired and depressed and start putting on weight.  Thats when I thought in my head, like hell that's going to happen...

      I know when I go back next month for more blood work everything will be different.  Theres no way that I feel things have leveled off.  Leveled off to me is being able to control your weight. Its feels good to have a sound board to bounce feelings off of but at the same time I feel like a whiney ass.  My friends have no freakin clue what Im talking about so I say nothing to them anymore and just say "im good!".

      I already teach in a gym after work, 3x a week and workout on my own 3 other days and I run 5 days a week between 25-35 miles and guess what??? It doesn't make a difference. 

      From the other posts that Ive read, I went yesterday and bought L-Carnitine. I found it in liquid form and thought it would probably taste like @#$ but its bad at all. Each tablespoon is 1000 mg so I do three a day. I'll wait to see what it does in a month before I buy it again but it can't hurt.

      Hope your weekend was a good one!!

    • linda187
      linda187 angel21399

      Posted

      Hi Angel

      Labs differ in their norms from lab to lab and country to country.  It helps if you post the ranges for normal for your lab beside each test.  Also the tests that should be done are Free T3 and Free T4, not Regular T3 and Regular T4.  I also took the liquid L-Carnitine because it was available by prescription and therefore covered by my Health insurance.  Your TSH is well within the normal range.  If you have the ranges I could advise better.  It may be that it is now time to lower your Methimazole dose but without knowing your lab's ranges, I can not comment about that.

    • hypnocool
      hypnocool angel21399

      Posted

      So my levels are normal and finally losing weight but my calories intake have been lowered than regular people.  if i eat 1200cals ill probably gain or maintain my weight per day.  Then I change it to 1100 and i maintain it.  if i eat 900-1000cal food i lose the weight. .5 per week... and that's not including the 250kcal that I just workout.  so about 700cal-800cal... It's a really low calorie intake than what I'm used to.... I took out carbs and more proteins like yogurt and stuff... It's the price we pay for having hyperthyroid... So now I'm curious on hows your weight goal goiing.. I'm also 5'2" so small and maybe i need lower calories.... sometimes it doesnt make sense...
  • ally71313
    ally71313 angel21399

    Posted

    Hi my name is ally and i have had hyperthyroidism since 2009 idk how i got it ? Doctor doesnt know either says from stress or dieting too much , well i never really paid attention to my thyroid never took meds how the doc. Directed me too had to babies since then youngest is 2yrs ever since then i feel like crap everything gets to me i dont sleep i dont eat i have real bad anxiety im so frustrated!!! I read all the posts but i still dont get how all this works (please help ) i feel like im going crazy
    • hypnocool
      hypnocool ally71313

      Posted

      i think i got mine from stress...really stressed out problems... and also genes from my dads side.  You should take meds if you are hyperthyroid.  To help you with your anxiety... Before hyper I was the lets go kinda girl.   We're going surfing, lets go..I didnt know how to swim and I did surf just almost drown.  We're going hanggliding, lets go... Now, we're going to ride roller coaster and I said I can't Im afraid.  Too much anxiety and afraid of it now.... But recently,  I saw this huge slide and would want to try it now... Long story short, you need meds to help you balance things out and you need the right dose for it.  also take multi vitamins without iodine
    • ally71313
      ally71313 hypnocool

      Posted

      Im the same way i even get scared to go on the FWY I start freaking out , what kind of vitamins do you recommend? Thanks
    • hypnocool
      hypnocool ally71313

      Posted

      So i was in another discussion and vitamin supplements came up... I got tested for VIT D and Magnesium defficients.  Vit D just tad bit low, and magnesium was on borderline on low side but it made the cut to normal.  So I just decided then to just take multi vitamins for it... Who knows what else am I in defficient for.  I just wished my endo woud've paid attention to this deffieciencies... It sucked that I have to find out in this forum.  Dr. should've tested me this before.  I was also told to get Total Carnitine and free carnitine tested, but my endo can't order it so I have to find a regular dr to do it.  About anxiety I read in another discussion that magnesium helps with anxiety so just take multi vitamins they have all the vitamins in it including magnesium just low dose... and look for no iodine in it... I had to read each label at the back of these vitamins because most of them have iodine in it...
    • ally71313
      ally71313 hypnocool

      Posted

      Hi im sorry to bother you but i got my lab results my doctor raised up my meds to 10mg methimazole 2xs a day and propanolo 5mg 2xs a day my T3 is 9.5 and my TSH is 0.01 and T4 3.1 idk what this all means please help ? I cant sleep and even tho im taking my meds my tremors get worse at night for some reason
    • hypnocool
      hypnocool ally71313

      Posted

      Your TSH level is low means your hyperthyroid, which then making more T4 and T3 hormones... How's your diet what have you been eating? Just curious...  
    • ally71313
      ally71313 hypnocool

      Posted

      I asked my GP and endo about my diet and they said i can eat anything so i havent cut anything out
    • linda187
      linda187 ally71313

      Posted

      Eating healthy will help  your recovery.  That means eating fruits, vegetables and proteins.  Avoid sugar, try avoiding gluten and see if that helps.  Aspartame, an artificial sweetener, makes hyperthyroidism worse so avoid that.
    • ally71313
      ally71313 linda187

      Posted

      Okay i will change my diet thank you so much for a the help i really got more help within 24hrs theu this site then theu my GP that i have been seeing for a lil over 1 yr thanks again
    • linda187
      linda187 ally71313

      Posted

      I think we as patients have to work with our docs because we do need them.  Docs are trained in certain ways and not others and if they do it differently than the way they were trained, they are ostracized by their peers.  And patients have to stop being powerless about their own health care and take more responsibility to learn as much as they can about their conditions and make informed choices about their treatment.  I know when I did that it worked well for me.   My Endo is very important in my care and I ask him questions.  If I disagree with a recommenation he makes, I tell him I will give that some thought and get back to him and I do.
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