Aa
Test Results and Continuing Weight Gain
Ugh. Well, I had new labs done. I also weighed in at 160, a gain of almost 10 lbs in the last month or so and a new record for me. I'm 5'3. So I was very discouraged. However, the doc explained the results and maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Antibodies are up from 70.9 to 142.0 (high)
T4 was 5.4 (low)
Free T4 was up from 1.12 to 1.40 (good)
Free T3 was down from 3.6 to 2.9 (not good)
Vitamin D down from 35 to 21 (not good)
My doc upped my Armour to 60mg 2 times a day. I am really hoping this helps as I am going all of the eating right an dexercising and it is devastating to walk in an weigh more than you ever have in your life. My sister tells me "Welsome to yoru 30's" but according to the doc my thyroid is still sluggish.
Anyone have any advice, a pep talk, exercise advice (something that really helps boost the thyroid), or really anything, I would so welcome it.
Antibodies are up from 70.9 to 142.0 (high)
T4 was 5.4 (low)
Free T4 was up from 1.12 to 1.40 (good)
Free T3 was down from 3.6 to 2.9 (not good)
Vitamin D down from 35 to 21 (not good)
My doc upped my Armour to 60mg 2 times a day. I am really hoping this helps as I am going all of the eating right an dexercising and it is devastating to walk in an weigh more than you ever have in your life. My sister tells me "Welsome to yoru 30's" but according to the doc my thyroid is still sluggish.
Anyone have any advice, a pep talk, exercise advice (something that really helps boost the thyroid), or really anything, I would so welcome it.
Cloudy mind, hair loss, and memory issues are all classic symptoms of hypothyroidism.
It is very important to remember the proper usage of various tests. TSH can be very useful, but it can also be very misleading. Many people who are in the proper "range" find that they still have symptoms of hypothyroidism. Lab tests are a very, very important tool, but must be kept in context, as normal thyroid fluctuations in healthy people do not go beyond +/- .75. Therefore, someone treated to 2.0 who should be at a 1.0 level will still feel hypothyroid.
If you are still symptomatic, you simply haven't found your sweet spot yet with medication. You'll have to test, pay attention to your symptoms, change the dose, etc. Hyperthyroid symptoms are easily detectable by doctors, and as a physician is regulating your intake and paying attention to tests, this should not be an issue. Large, well-controlled studies on hypothyroid medication have shown no increase in fractures for those taking thyroid medication. Both minor hypo- and hyper- thyroid conditions have cardiovascular issues associated with them, so it is important for patients to simply find the asymptomatic point.
While a controversial therapy, even doctors who use suppressive therapy (lowering the TSH beyond the normal range in people who still have hypothyroid symptoms in the normal range) rarely lower the TSH to the level at which problems like bone fracture begin to emerge. Again, while controversial, some doctors believe that the calcitonin content in T3/T4 medications like Armour helps to remove the risk of bone loss. It is important to note, however, that many doctors are opposed to Armour supplementation. This is in part because T3 has a shorter half-life than T4, so the medication has to be dosed throughout the day. It is also in part because of commercial statements made by the producer of other drugs claiming that Armour, as it is from a natural source, has too much variation in potency to be effective. The majority of these arguments have no basis, and the majority of studies have found Armour to be just as effective as other medications. Patients and doctors simply have to work together to find the dosage and medication that relieves the patient's symptoms and reduces the risk of long-term disease.
It is very important to remember the proper usage of various tests. TSH can be very useful, but it can also be very misleading. Many people who are in the proper "range" find that they still have symptoms of hypothyroidism. Lab tests are a very, very important tool, but must be kept in context, as normal thyroid fluctuations in healthy people do not go beyond +/- .75. Therefore, someone treated to 2.0 who should be at a 1.0 level will still feel hypothyroid.
If you are still symptomatic, you simply haven't found your sweet spot yet with medication. You'll have to test, pay attention to your symptoms, change the dose, etc. Hyperthyroid symptoms are easily detectable by doctors, and as a physician is regulating your intake and paying attention to tests, this should not be an issue. Large, well-controlled studies on hypothyroid medication have shown no increase in fractures for those taking thyroid medication. Both minor hypo- and hyper- thyroid conditions have cardiovascular issues associated with them, so it is important for patients to simply find the asymptomatic point.
While a controversial therapy, even doctors who use suppressive therapy (lowering the TSH beyond the normal range in people who still have hypothyroid symptoms in the normal range) rarely lower the TSH to the level at which problems like bone fracture begin to emerge. Again, while controversial, some doctors believe that the calcitonin content in T3/T4 medications like Armour helps to remove the risk of bone loss. It is important to note, however, that many doctors are opposed to Armour supplementation. This is in part because T3 has a shorter half-life than T4, so the medication has to be dosed throughout the day. It is also in part because of commercial statements made by the producer of other drugs claiming that Armour, as it is from a natural source, has too much variation in potency to be effective. The majority of these arguments have no basis, and the majority of studies have found Armour to be just as effective as other medications. Patients and doctors simply have to work together to find the dosage and medication that relieves the patient's symptoms and reduces the risk of long-term disease.
Well I left you a wonderful comment, but alas it didn't post. Looks like you got a wonderful post from winspiff. Yes those are hypo symtoms. I was with my doctor yesterday and we are tweaking my dose due to weight loss. Right now I don't think that you are optimized and you will probably need more. Be sure doc is having you raise at 30 mg or a 1/2 grain at a time, so not to over tax your system. I was at 3 grains for quite awhile, but learned I was over medicated after losing 20 pounds. I had gained 17 pounds, before I said enough was enough. For me cutting out the carbs made a big difference for me. I believe that as being hypo we are more sensitive to carbs. I went to higher good fats, higher protein and only 30 grams of carbs during week and higher good carbs on weekends. I lift three days of week and do cardio, so it worked well for me. I have been at a plateau for awhile now and I have a great coach that is tyring to help me break that with changing things up a bit. So I guess my message to you, is weight loss will be possible again. You will have to be patient. For some good info go to realthyroidhelp.com
graywings
graywings
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No additional advice -- watch the TSH as well as a low TSH (<0.2) may be associated with increase in cardiac problems and bone loss.
Hi Again!
You are welcome. I think you are already doing the right things. I know from what everyone here says that it's difficult to lose weight when the thyroid levels are not balanced. Hopefully soon this will be remedied and then you will see the benefit of all your hard work.
I do kind of wonder about other things perhaps complicating the thyroid problem though.
Being a lay person I can't even hope to give you any medical advice, but do wonder about the low vitamin D and its effect- along with possible absorption issues.
When hypo I got body aches that made me want to be still all the time. I found it was easier for me to fight this (completely natural) reaction in the mornings. I would schedule my workouts first thing, and be as active early on as I could be. This energy would take over for hours and I was able to be almost normal for a good part of the day. I found that when I rested early in the day I felt just as exhausted at the end.
I don't know if that is helpful at all... wish I knew more.
You are welcome. I think you are already doing the right things. I know from what everyone here says that it's difficult to lose weight when the thyroid levels are not balanced. Hopefully soon this will be remedied and then you will see the benefit of all your hard work.
I do kind of wonder about other things perhaps complicating the thyroid problem though.
Being a lay person I can't even hope to give you any medical advice, but do wonder about the low vitamin D and its effect- along with possible absorption issues.
When hypo I got body aches that made me want to be still all the time. I found it was easier for me to fight this (completely natural) reaction in the mornings. I would schedule my workouts first thing, and be as active early on as I could be. This energy would take over for hours and I was able to be almost normal for a good part of the day. I found that when I rested early in the day I felt just as exhausted at the end.
I don't know if that is helpful at all... wish I knew more.
Just a patient, not a doctor. I have Hashitoxicosis and when hypo had a horrible memory.
After I had been hyper for a while I lost weight, but I had lost a little weight when I first found out about the hypo too.
Do you have PCOS? That seems to often be a factor for people with problems in that regard.
Maybe there are other things they should be testing you for.
I hope they stabilze you and get you feeling better soon.
After I had been hyper for a while I lost weight, but I had lost a little weight when I first found out about the hypo too.
Do you have PCOS? That seems to often be a factor for people with problems in that regard.
Maybe there are other things they should be testing you for.
I hope they stabilze you and get you feeling better soon.
I am sorry that the other message didn't post but the one that did was helpful as well! My doc started me at 15mg 2x daily, the raised me to 30 mgs 2x daily and I am now at 60mgs 2x daily. So this is my first 30 mg jump. I'm not noticing any real changes yet but my best friend is a Pharmacist and she says it can take up to 28 days for the Armour to take effect. Carbs are a wicked vice of mine but I will try to follow your advice and see how it goes. I'm just off from a stomach bug so all I have been able to eat has been white rice and chicken soup. (Still didn't lose weight!) but I'll give it a go now that I'm better. I have weights I keep with me while I work out on my elliptical. Also, I break my workouts in to 3 10 minute high intensity workouts as I have heard that is better for heart health and can help you avoid plateaus. Maybe that would help you? If you don't mind me asking, are you on the Armour and what dose has worked best for you?
I am looking forward to hitting that "sweet spot" and I am so glad to hear that I can lose weight. Right now I am just very discouraged as nothing I do seems to help. Thanks so much for your advice and info! :)
I am looking forward to hitting that "sweet spot" and I am so glad to hear that I can lose weight. Right now I am just very discouraged as nothing I do seems to help. Thanks so much for your advice and info! :)
Wow! Thanks so much for the info! I saw the studies on Armour as well but from what I could research the Synthroid people have more trouble with consistency than Armour. My doctor has said just what you did, that we haven't hit my spot yet and we have re-upped a couple of times. Glad to know the hair loss is due to the hypo. And I ready for the memory fog to lift. I used to be the one with the great memory and now, pfft. nada.
Again, thanks so much for your info and advice. :)
Again, thanks so much for your info and advice. :)
Thanks for the support. I am getting my Vitamin D levels back on track. My PCP is great and prescribes a lot of holistic care products for me (vitamins, etc.) Hence the Armour Thyroid (natural). Unfortunately not all of them can be written as prescription and they can be dang expensive! So she has kindly narrowed the list down and prescribed a whammy of a Vitamin D pill that should get me back on track there.
I wish I could get movign in the morning to get my workout in. I am very very not a morning person. So much so that it's a running joke in my family. I will try it on the weekends though. Thankfully my energy levels are better than what they used to be. I do hear it's better to do your workouts in the morning vs at night. I just worry that by the time they get my med sstraight I'll be so much bigger and never be able to get it off! Right now I'd be happy getting back to my previous heaviest weight of 140lbs. ;)
I worry about the thyroid nodules and what role they play in this. I just hope they shrivel up and go away (one of the meds I'm on is sposed to help with that)
klassy- my boyfriend tried saying that once. After he recovered from the punch to the gut :) he agreed he was wrong and said he saw how hard i work to try to keep the wieght at bay. Thankfully, again, my PCP is wonderful and in charge of my thyroid (no endo) and has never questioned my eating vs my thyroid.
Thanks guys for the support! You have no idea how much it means!
I wish I could get movign in the morning to get my workout in. I am very very not a morning person. So much so that it's a running joke in my family. I will try it on the weekends though. Thankfully my energy levels are better than what they used to be. I do hear it's better to do your workouts in the morning vs at night. I just worry that by the time they get my med sstraight I'll be so much bigger and never be able to get it off! Right now I'd be happy getting back to my previous heaviest weight of 140lbs. ;)
I worry about the thyroid nodules and what role they play in this. I just hope they shrivel up and go away (one of the meds I'm on is sposed to help with that)
klassy- my boyfriend tried saying that once. After he recovered from the punch to the gut :) he agreed he was wrong and said he saw how hard i work to try to keep the wieght at bay. Thankfully, again, my PCP is wonderful and in charge of my thyroid (no endo) and has never questioned my eating vs my thyroid.
Thanks guys for the support! You have no idea how much it means!
Thanks for the support. I am getting my Vitamin D levels back on track. My PCP is great and prescribes a lot of holistic care products for me (vitamins, etc.) Hence the Armour Thyroid (natural). Unfortunately not all of them can be written as prescription and they can be dang expensive! So she has kindly narrowed the list down and prescribed a whammy of a Vitamin D pill that should get me back on track there.
I wish I could get movign in the morning to get my workout in. I am very very not a morning person. So much so that it's a running joke in my family. I will try it on the weekends though. Thankfully my energy levels are better than what they used to be. I do hear it's better to do your workouts in the morning vs at night. I just worry that by the time they get my med sstraight I'll be so much bigger and never be able to get it off! Right now I'd be happy getting back to my previous heaviest weight of 140lbs. ;)
I worry about the thyroid nodules and what role they play in this. I just hope they shrivel up and go away (one of the meds I'm on is sposed to help with that)
klassy- my boyfriend tried saying that once. After he recovered from the punch to the gut :) he agreed he was wrong and said he saw how hard i work to try to keep the wieght at bay. Thankfully, again, my PCP is wonderful and in charge of my thyroid (no endo) and has never questioned my eating vs my thyroid.
Thanks guys for the support! You have no idea how much it means!
I wish I could get movign in the morning to get my workout in. I am very very not a morning person. So much so that it's a running joke in my family. I will try it on the weekends though. Thankfully my energy levels are better than what they used to be. I do hear it's better to do your workouts in the morning vs at night. I just worry that by the time they get my med sstraight I'll be so much bigger and never be able to get it off! Right now I'd be happy getting back to my previous heaviest weight of 140lbs. ;)
I worry about the thyroid nodules and what role they play in this. I just hope they shrivel up and go away (one of the meds I'm on is sposed to help with that)
klassy- my boyfriend tried saying that once. After he recovered from the punch to the gut :) he agreed he was wrong and said he saw how hard i work to try to keep the wieght at bay. Thankfully, again, my PCP is wonderful and in charge of my thyroid (no endo) and has never questioned my eating vs my thyroid.
Thanks guys for the support! You have no idea how much it means!
Thanks for the support. I am getting my Vitamin D levels back on track. My PCP is great and prescribes a lot of holistic care products for me (vitamins, etc.) Hence the Armour Thyroid (natural). Unfortunately not all of them can be written as prescription and they can be dang expensive! So she has kindly narrowed the list down and prescribed a whammy of a Vitamin D pill that should get me back on track there.
I wish I could get movign in the morning to get my workout in. I am very very not a morning person. So much so that it's a running joke in my family. I will try it on the weekends though. Thankfully my energy levels are better than what they used to be. I do hear it's better to do your workouts in the morning vs at night. I just worry that by the time they get my med sstraight I'll be so much bigger and never be able to get it off! Right now I'd be happy getting back to my previous heaviest weight of 140lbs. ;)
I worry about the thyroid nodules and what role they play in this. I just hope they shrivel up and go away (one of the meds I'm on is sposed to help with that)
klassy- my boyfriend tried saying that once. After he recovered from the punch to the gut :) he agreed he was wrong and said he saw how hard i work to try to keep the wieght at bay. Thankfully, again, my PCP is wonderful and in charge of my thyroid (no endo) and has never questioned my eating vs my thyroid.
Thanks guys for the support! You have no idea how much it means!
I wish I could get movign in the morning to get my workout in. I am very very not a morning person. So much so that it's a running joke in my family. I will try it on the weekends though. Thankfully my energy levels are better than what they used to be. I do hear it's better to do your workouts in the morning vs at night. I just worry that by the time they get my med sstraight I'll be so much bigger and never be able to get it off! Right now I'd be happy getting back to my previous heaviest weight of 140lbs. ;)
I worry about the thyroid nodules and what role they play in this. I just hope they shrivel up and go away (one of the meds I'm on is sposed to help with that)
klassy- my boyfriend tried saying that once. After he recovered from the punch to the gut :) he agreed he was wrong and said he saw how hard i work to try to keep the wieght at bay. Thankfully, again, my PCP is wonderful and in charge of my thyroid (no endo) and has never questioned my eating vs my thyroid.
Thanks guys for the support! You have no idea how much it means!
Sooner or later the doctors have got to put weight gain and thyroid together. Being told that we "eat" to much isn't the right answer. Some of us do but then a great deal of us don't!
Thanks Kit! Good to know I'm not alone. The memory thing drives me nuts! :)
I don't have PCOS but I do have ovarian issues. I have non-functional cysts, serous adenomas that I have had to have surgically removed. My NP thinks it is all related to my thyroid nodules. All I know is I would love to stabilize and get past this! Thanks for the well wishes and advice!
I don't have PCOS but I do have ovarian issues. I have non-functional cysts, serous adenomas that I have had to have surgically removed. My NP thinks it is all related to my thyroid nodules. All I know is I would love to stabilize and get past this! Thanks for the well wishes and advice!
I also am having heart palps (when I skip a dose of armour), hair loss, horrible memory. I thought these were consistent with HYPER thyroid, not hypo? I do have 2 thyroid nodules. I go for a check up on them in May. They were determined to be non-cancerous at the last FNA. I am extremely confused.
:) Thanks!
:) Thanks!
You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Cancer / Nodules & Hyperthyroidism Forum
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
