Thyroid Removal and Weight Management

[JeannetteLynn]

My thyroid gland was removed twenty years ago due to Thyroid Cancer.  I have been overweight all my life.  But, at Thanksgiving this year, my brother calculated my BMR for me and I began losing four to five pounds a month.  In February, my doctor prescribed two new meds:  Alesse to control my irregular menstrual cycle and iron for anemia.  Since March, my weight loss has stalled, even though I am still counting calories and burning five hundred calories five days a week at the gym.  Could the cause of the stall be either of the new meds?

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

oral contraceptive can affect weight.   Also, once you've lost 10-15% of your body weight, weight loss typically plateaus and it is more difficult to continue losing.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

with the addition of an estrogen (alesse) -- the thyroid medication dose may need increase -- ask for the thyroid to be retested.

[JeannetteLynn]

Thanks for the advice.  I'll get my thyroid level retested and see if the estrogen is affecting my levels.  I do have another concern, though.  Since starting the Alesse, I have had several people tell me that people with thyroid problems shouldn't take birth control because of the hormone interaction.  Is it a bad idea to take estrogen when I don't have a thyroid gland?  Also, I read on a website (Mayo Clinic or WebMD, don't remember) that taking iron can interfere with your levels.  Is this true?