Aa
weight loss with low thyroid
What will be helpful to make weight loss easier with low thyroid levels, I am taking synthyroid 0.025 mg. for the low thyroid levels.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Do you have a copy of your most current thyroid labs? If so, please post the tests run, results and reference ranges, which vary lab to lab, so must come from your own report. You should be getting at least, TSH, FT3 and FT4 done each time.
This will help members better assess your situation and possibly make suggestions in regards to your treatment.
Do you know if you have Hashimoto's or not?
This will help members better assess your situation and possibly make suggestions in regards to your treatment.
Do you know if you have Hashimoto's or not?
Thank you for your response. It was very informative, and told me lots of things I was not aware of, as suggested I need to find a good thyroid dr.
In order to get your biologically active thyroid hormones (Free T3 and Free T4, not Total T3 and Total T4) to the proper levels, you need a good thyroid doctor. By that I mean one that will treat you clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 levels as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results.
You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with from a distance. The letter is sent to the PCP of the patient to help guide treatment.
For Physicians of Patients Taking Thyroid Hormones
Mild-moderate thyroid insufficiency is quite common and is an unrecognized cause of depression, obesity, high cholesterol, cold intolerance, atherosclerosis, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia. It is often secondary, so the TSH is normal, but the FT4 and FT3 levels are low in the reference ranged. Thyroid supplementation to produce higher FT3 and FT4 levels within the reference ranges can improve mood, energy, and alertness; help with weight control, and lower cholesterol levels. I have prescribed thyroid hormones for your patient because his/her symptoms, physical signs, and/or blood tests suggested that he/she had inadequate levels for optimal quality of life and long-term health. If they showed clear improvements, I kept them on the thyroid supplementation. The final dose we decided upon was based on symptoms and signs first, and on free T3 and free T4 levels second. As the TSH was usually normal initially, it is frequently suppressed when thyroid levels are optimized clinically. FT3 and FT4 are usually within the ranges, ruling out significant thyrotoxicosis.
We were all taught that the TSH perfectly portrays a person’s thyroid hormone status, supplemented or unsupplemented, and we need only obtain a “normal” TSH to know that our patient had no excess or deficiency of thyroid hormones. In fact, there is no reason to believe that the hypothalamic-pituitary axis is always perfect, and lots of evidence that it is not. TSH-based thyroidology is an unjustified faith in the infallibility of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. One must instead base the diagnosis and dosing on symptoms first, and on the free T4 and free T3 levels second. Even here, “normal” is not good enough. The labs’ reference ranges for FT4 and FT3 are not optimal ranges; they are statistics: 95%-inclusive population ranges. They are excessively broad (2 to 3x from bottom to top) and define only the bottom 2.5% of the population studied as “low”. The prevalence of hypothyroidism is much greater than 2.5%.
T4-only therapy (Synthroid®, Levoxyl®), to merely “normalize” the TSH is frequently inadequate treatment as the H-P axis overreacts to once-daily oral thyroid hormone peaks, compared to the gland’s steady 24-hr glandular secretion. TSH-normalizing T4 therapy often leaves both FT4 and FT3 levels relatively low, and the patient symptomatic. Recognizing this, Nat. Acad. of Clinical Biochemistry guidelines call giving enough T4 to keep the TSH near the bottom of its RR (<1) and the FT4 at or just above its RR. But this is not sufficient; the ultimate criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient. I have prescribed natural dessicated thyroid for your patient (Armour, Nature-Throid) because it contains both T4 and T3 (40mcg and 9mcg respectively per 60mg). This assures sufficient T3 levels and thyroid effects in the body. Since NDT has more T3 than the human thyroid gland produces, the well- replaced patient’s FT4 will be below the middle of its range, and the FT3 will be high “normal” or slightly high before the next AM dose.
Excessive thyroid dosing causes many negative symptoms, and such patients do not feel well. I suggest lowering the dose in any patient who has developed insomnia, shakiness, irritability, palpitations, overheating, etc.. Atrial fibrillation can unfortunately occur in susceptible patients with any increase in their thyroid levels. It should not recur if the dose is kept lower than their threshold. Thyroid hormone does not cause bone loss, it simply increases metabolism and therefore the rate of the current bone formation or loss. Most older women are losing bone due to their combined sex steroid, DHEA, Vitamin D, and growth hormone deficiencies. The solution is not life-long hypothyroidism, but the correction of their other deficiencies.
You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with from a distance. The letter is sent to the PCP of the patient to help guide treatment.
For Physicians of Patients Taking Thyroid Hormones
Mild-moderate thyroid insufficiency is quite common and is an unrecognized cause of depression, obesity, high cholesterol, cold intolerance, atherosclerosis, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia. It is often secondary, so the TSH is normal, but the FT4 and FT3 levels are low in the reference ranged. Thyroid supplementation to produce higher FT3 and FT4 levels within the reference ranges can improve mood, energy, and alertness; help with weight control, and lower cholesterol levels. I have prescribed thyroid hormones for your patient because his/her symptoms, physical signs, and/or blood tests suggested that he/she had inadequate levels for optimal quality of life and long-term health. If they showed clear improvements, I kept them on the thyroid supplementation. The final dose we decided upon was based on symptoms and signs first, and on free T3 and free T4 levels second. As the TSH was usually normal initially, it is frequently suppressed when thyroid levels are optimized clinically. FT3 and FT4 are usually within the ranges, ruling out significant thyrotoxicosis.
We were all taught that the TSH perfectly portrays a person’s thyroid hormone status, supplemented or unsupplemented, and we need only obtain a “normal” TSH to know that our patient had no excess or deficiency of thyroid hormones. In fact, there is no reason to believe that the hypothalamic-pituitary axis is always perfect, and lots of evidence that it is not. TSH-based thyroidology is an unjustified faith in the infallibility of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. One must instead base the diagnosis and dosing on symptoms first, and on the free T4 and free T3 levels second. Even here, “normal” is not good enough. The labs’ reference ranges for FT4 and FT3 are not optimal ranges; they are statistics: 95%-inclusive population ranges. They are excessively broad (2 to 3x from bottom to top) and define only the bottom 2.5% of the population studied as “low”. The prevalence of hypothyroidism is much greater than 2.5%.
T4-only therapy (Synthroid®, Levoxyl®), to merely “normalize” the TSH is frequently inadequate treatment as the H-P axis overreacts to once-daily oral thyroid hormone peaks, compared to the gland’s steady 24-hr glandular secretion. TSH-normalizing T4 therapy often leaves both FT4 and FT3 levels relatively low, and the patient symptomatic. Recognizing this, Nat. Acad. of Clinical Biochemistry guidelines call giving enough T4 to keep the TSH near the bottom of its RR (<1) and the FT4 at or just above its RR. But this is not sufficient; the ultimate criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient. I have prescribed natural dessicated thyroid for your patient (Armour, Nature-Throid) because it contains both T4 and T3 (40mcg and 9mcg respectively per 60mg). This assures sufficient T3 levels and thyroid effects in the body. Since NDT has more T3 than the human thyroid gland produces, the well- replaced patient’s FT4 will be below the middle of its range, and the FT3 will be high “normal” or slightly high before the next AM dose.
Excessive thyroid dosing causes many negative symptoms, and such patients do not feel well. I suggest lowering the dose in any patient who has developed insomnia, shakiness, irritability, palpitations, overheating, etc.. Atrial fibrillation can unfortunately occur in susceptible patients with any increase in their thyroid levels. It should not recur if the dose is kept lower than their threshold. Thyroid hormone does not cause bone loss, it simply increases metabolism and therefore the rate of the current bone formation or loss. Most older women are losing bone due to their combined sex steroid, DHEA, Vitamin D, and growth hormone deficiencies. The solution is not life-long hypothyroidism, but the correction of their other deficiencies.
If your thyroid isn't functioning correctly it can have a horrible effect on your metabolism and make it dang near impossible to loose weight.
With a happier thyroid all you need is a balanced diet and a mix of cardio and weight training exercise.
Move away from everything in a package. Eat plenty of fresh veggies and fruits, have lean meats, low fat dairy, and whole grains. A good ratio -is to have a dinner saucer almost half full of veggies, a quart full of good proteins, and a quarter full of grains. Make sure you eat all 3 meals and add 1-2 snack, so that you're eating every few hours. I usually keep these snacks to fruit or yogurt but boiled eggs, nuts, low fat cheese can be a good option too. You also need about 30g of fiber in a day and almost 2 liters of water in a day. I know that sounds like a lot of water, but just keep a 1 liter bottle on you and you'll be amazed at how much you go through it.
For your exercise, if you're only just starting out go for 30 minutes a day for 5-6 days in a week. Make sure you don't over stress your body too much by starting out with too much. Over time push upwards to 2 hours of working out a day. Make sure to balance it out so that you get good cardio as well as overall training- eg just running wouldn't work out your back, abs, or arms.
With a happier thyroid all you need is a balanced diet and a mix of cardio and weight training exercise.
Move away from everything in a package. Eat plenty of fresh veggies and fruits, have lean meats, low fat dairy, and whole grains. A good ratio -is to have a dinner saucer almost half full of veggies, a quart full of good proteins, and a quarter full of grains. Make sure you eat all 3 meals and add 1-2 snack, so that you're eating every few hours. I usually keep these snacks to fruit or yogurt but boiled eggs, nuts, low fat cheese can be a good option too. You also need about 30g of fiber in a day and almost 2 liters of water in a day. I know that sounds like a lot of water, but just keep a 1 liter bottle on you and you'll be amazed at how much you go through it.
For your exercise, if you're only just starting out go for 30 minutes a day for 5-6 days in a week. Make sure you don't over stress your body too much by starting out with too much. Over time push upwards to 2 hours of working out a day. Make sure to balance it out so that you get good cardio as well as overall training- eg just running wouldn't work out your back, abs, or arms.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community
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.
