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On Synthroid for One Week and Sudden Weight Gain
I think I already know the answer after reading the hundreds of posts on this board, but after taking .50 mcgs of Synthroid for only one week I have gained five pounds and a grossly distended abdomen. I went to my GYN to begin with for hormonal tests because of sudden weight gain, thinking I was menopausal. My TSH was 5.68...not extremely high, but she suggested I try Synthroid to see if it helped. I am thinking now I need to get off it entirely, only having taken it a week and packed on five pounds and and two inches around my middle already, and try another route to get hormone balance.
For the record, as an adult my weight has never varied from 110-115 pounds. I was a triathlete, runner, bodybuilder, figure competitor, bikini model until age 48, when the weight started to creep on. I had few other symptoms of hypothyroidism. Dry, gritty eyes, nail changes...that's it besides the weight gain.
I upped my exercise to include two miles of running daily, weights 5x a week, two sessions of yoga or Pilates, and recently started the "Insanity" fitness program. I eat a clean diet, six small meals a day of lean protein, veggies, fruit...very little dairy, no bread. No sugar.
I should add my T3 and T4 were within normal ranges. Should I quit the Synthroid and schedule an appointment with an endocrinologist?
For the record, as an adult my weight has never varied from 110-115 pounds. I was a triathlete, runner, bodybuilder, figure competitor, bikini model until age 48, when the weight started to creep on. I had few other symptoms of hypothyroidism. Dry, gritty eyes, nail changes...that's it besides the weight gain.
I upped my exercise to include two miles of running daily, weights 5x a week, two sessions of yoga or Pilates, and recently started the "Insanity" fitness program. I eat a clean diet, six small meals a day of lean protein, veggies, fruit...very little dairy, no bread. No sugar.
I should add my T3 and T4 were within normal ranges. Should I quit the Synthroid and schedule an appointment with an endocrinologist?
One or more sites I have read suggest that very low fat diets, along with "extreme" (whatever that means) exercise can cause in layman's terms, Thyroid resistance.
For Thyroid hormone to work it needs to cross the cell's membrane and actually enter the cell. This takes energy. And for whatever reason certain circumstances which include high levels of exercise cause the need for a rise in the amount of energy it takes for this to occur. What this means is that more or higher levels of thyroid must be in the blood in order to make up for this loss of transfer.
This is just a theory but it makes sense as to why many people need to have their blood levels well up into and above the middle of the range in order to feel well.
With your description you do a pretty "insane" amount of exercise and probably are eating VERY low fat foods. Both which contribute to this situation. So it is even possible that all that working out is actually hurting you as much as it is helping you.
For Thyroid hormone to work it needs to cross the cell's membrane and actually enter the cell. This takes energy. And for whatever reason certain circumstances which include high levels of exercise cause the need for a rise in the amount of energy it takes for this to occur. What this means is that more or higher levels of thyroid must be in the blood in order to make up for this loss of transfer.
This is just a theory but it makes sense as to why many people need to have their blood levels well up into and above the middle of the range in order to feel well.
With your description you do a pretty "insane" amount of exercise and probably are eating VERY low fat foods. Both which contribute to this situation. So it is even possible that all that working out is actually hurting you as much as it is helping you.
COMMUNITY LEADER
"I had a referral to a nephrologist due to my edema issues, and when I gave her my lab results last week she kept them. So I don't have a copy here of my T3 and T4 numbers. :-( " I agree :-(....... in future, always take a copy, if possible; with today's printers it's so easy to make a copy. If you must take an original, ask them to make a copy and give your original back. I've learned over the years, how important it is to keep copies my labs. Since you are in the U.S. your doctor is obligated by law to provide you with copies free of charge; I'd suggest that you call and ask for them, especially since you're the one who provided them in the first place.
BTW - edema is another common symptom of hypo; I get it really bad when I need an increase in med. Since you have edema, I'd guess that a lot of your weight is fluid retention; get rid of that, you'll get rid of some weight.
"Another problem I have is high cholesterol, which I've never had in my life. My fingernails are curving down at the ends, skin dry..." All hypo symptoms that indicate you need to stay on the med.
Having been where you're at, 110 pounds jumped to 115, 120, 125, 130...... with, seemingly no end in sight, I can honestly tell you that staying on the med and letting it reach full potential in your body, will give you a much better chance of stopping the gain, than if you stop the med. You might have to hold the weight steady for a bit, but that's better than the continual gain.
There's a good chance that 50 mcg will not be enough and you will have to increase as thyroid production decreases.
You need to ask your doctor to do thyroid antibody tests to determine if you have Hashimoto's, which is an autoimmune disease, in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it. The tests you need to get done are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGab). You need them both, because some people have one, some have the other, some have them both.
If you have Hashimoto's, your thyroid production will decline as the antibodies destroy healthy tissue. As thyroid production declines, you'll have to increase medication to provide adequate hormones. I'm sorry to say it's not an easy journey and it takes more patience than most of us have, so whenever we think we're out of patience, we have to conjure up some more........
"but I don't have the fatigue or tiredness that I have read some people experience." You're lucky, but be aware that not everyone has the same symptoms and as you go through the process, you might experience different ones.
This is lifelong condition and much as I hate to bear bad news, it won't go away and will certainly get worse without some type of replacement hormones.
BTW - edema is another common symptom of hypo; I get it really bad when I need an increase in med. Since you have edema, I'd guess that a lot of your weight is fluid retention; get rid of that, you'll get rid of some weight.
"Another problem I have is high cholesterol, which I've never had in my life. My fingernails are curving down at the ends, skin dry..." All hypo symptoms that indicate you need to stay on the med.
Having been where you're at, 110 pounds jumped to 115, 120, 125, 130...... with, seemingly no end in sight, I can honestly tell you that staying on the med and letting it reach full potential in your body, will give you a much better chance of stopping the gain, than if you stop the med. You might have to hold the weight steady for a bit, but that's better than the continual gain.
There's a good chance that 50 mcg will not be enough and you will have to increase as thyroid production decreases.
You need to ask your doctor to do thyroid antibody tests to determine if you have Hashimoto's, which is an autoimmune disease, in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it. The tests you need to get done are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGab). You need them both, because some people have one, some have the other, some have them both.
If you have Hashimoto's, your thyroid production will decline as the antibodies destroy healthy tissue. As thyroid production declines, you'll have to increase medication to provide adequate hormones. I'm sorry to say it's not an easy journey and it takes more patience than most of us have, so whenever we think we're out of patience, we have to conjure up some more........
"but I don't have the fatigue or tiredness that I have read some people experience." You're lucky, but be aware that not everyone has the same symptoms and as you go through the process, you might experience different ones.
This is lifelong condition and much as I hate to bear bad news, it won't go away and will certainly get worse without some type of replacement hormones.
Barb, thanks for your reply! I had a referral to a nephrologist due to my edema issues, and when I gave her my lab results last week she kept them. So I don't have a copy here of my T3 and T4 numbers. :-(
I'm just at my wits' end...if I've gained this much in a week, how in the world can I wait another 4-6 and keep gaining on the off chance the meds might work? I have consulted a database of endocs for those who specialize in thyroid disorders and metabolism rather than diabetes, but they are saying it will be 6 weeks before I can be seen as a new patient.
Another problem I have is high cholesterol, which I've never had in my life. My fingernails are curving down at the ends, skin dry...but I don't have the fatigue or tiredness that I have read some people experience.
I'm just at my wits' end...if I've gained this much in a week, how in the world can I wait another 4-6 and keep gaining on the off chance the meds might work? I have consulted a database of endocs for those who specialize in thyroid disorders and metabolism rather than diabetes, but they are saying it will be 6 weeks before I can be seen as a new patient.
Another problem I have is high cholesterol, which I've never had in my life. My fingernails are curving down at the ends, skin dry...but I don't have the fatigue or tiredness that I have read some people experience.
COMMUNITY LEADER
We were typing at the same time......... I'd tend to agree with your doctor about the 20 lbs gained.
COMMUNITY LEADER
It's not unusual for symptoms to worsen or for new ones to show up, once starting on a thyroid medication. It takes 4-6 weeks for a dose of medication to take full effect, so having been on it for only one week is not nearly enough.
Please post your "normal" T3 and T4 results; be sure they are Free T3 and Free T4, not totals; they aren't the same thing. If your lab doesn't specify "free" for each of them, they are total and are considered obsolete and not nearly so useful. Be sure to include reference ranges, which vary lab to lab and have to come from your own report.
It's very common to have thyroid levels in "normal range", but if they are too low in the range, they won't be good enough. Rule of thumb for most of us is to have FT4 about mid range and FT3 in the upper 1/3 of its range.
Since your TSH was 5.68, this indicates that you are hypo and do need the medication. There's nothing wrong with getting an appt with an endo, but do be aware that not all endos are good thyroid doctors, since many of them specialize in diabetes.
I know what it's like to have weight take a sudden leap upwards...... like you, I never weighed more than 110-115, even when pregnant until my thyroid stopped working at age 57, then I suddenly jumped up........Unfortunately, I'm not one of the lucky ones and mine didn't go back to normal when I got on the thyroid medication; now I've recently learned that I have insulin resistance on top of it, which makes the whole process that much harder.
Please post your "normal" T3 and T4 results; be sure they are Free T3 and Free T4, not totals; they aren't the same thing. If your lab doesn't specify "free" for each of them, they are total and are considered obsolete and not nearly so useful. Be sure to include reference ranges, which vary lab to lab and have to come from your own report.
It's very common to have thyroid levels in "normal range", but if they are too low in the range, they won't be good enough. Rule of thumb for most of us is to have FT4 about mid range and FT3 in the upper 1/3 of its range.
Since your TSH was 5.68, this indicates that you are hypo and do need the medication. There's nothing wrong with getting an appt with an endo, but do be aware that not all endos are good thyroid doctors, since many of them specialize in diabetes.
I know what it's like to have weight take a sudden leap upwards...... like you, I never weighed more than 110-115, even when pregnant until my thyroid stopped working at age 57, then I suddenly jumped up........Unfortunately, I'm not one of the lucky ones and mine didn't go back to normal when I got on the thyroid medication; now I've recently learned that I have insulin resistance on top of it, which makes the whole process that much harder.
Also should add that I've gained 20 pounds in one year while consistently working out and eating clean. Doctor blamed thyroid.
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