Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Gained 10 lbs in 1 month on desiccated thyroid

I've had Hashomoto's for 8 years and 8-9 months ago my thyroid went out of whack. I experienced strange symptoms, such weight gain, palpitations and extreme sleepiness but at some point my weight went back to normal. Most of my symptoms went away when I was put on desiccated thyroid and I’ve been on this medication since September. I feel a lot better, but now I’m gaining weight again :(.

The thing is that my test results are pretty normal (except for the tg which is usually negative) and I really don’t get why I’m gaining weight. Over the past month I’ve worked out approx 6 hours per week and my workouts have been relatively intense. I generally eat less than 2000 calories per day. Heck, I’ve been consuming less calories than I was the last time I gained 10+ lbs and I've been putting on weight a lot faster. Based on this calculator: https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/health/bmr-calculator.php I'm supposed to be eating 2000+ calories per day to maintain my normal weight. Something’s definitely off.

Here are my most recent test results, from 2-3 weeks ago:
TSH: 0.05 L (0.3-4.0)
FT3: 3.6 (2.5-5.9), bottom 32%
FT4: 14 (9-19) , right at 50%
TPO: 380 H (<40)
TG: 130 H (<40) <- this antibody was negative in August

Has anyone experienced this? What did you do?
31 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Hi Jenn.  glad you are doing better.   You do need to continue to increase your FT4 and FT3 to optimal levels.  I know you are concerned about what you referred to as hyper symptoms, but I wondered what made you think it was hyper, instead of hypo symptoms?
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
I was hyper a long time ago before I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's (it was probably Hashitoxicosis). I didn't even suspect that I had thyroid issues until my doctor told me I did a while later. I had all the symptoms and they were very different from the symptoms I experienced when I was hypo (and from the ones I have now). I lost 10 lbs and couldn't gain weight, no matter how hard I tried. I was too skinny. My face looked different, it looked weird and pale. Lots of things made me anxious for no reason. I was depressed. It was horrible. My FT4 was borderline high. My TSH was essentially zero.  

My current symptoms are more hypo, I don't feel hyper at all. I don't want to rush anything because upping the dose too fast could potentially make me hyper. My doctor thinks the dose that I'm currently on should be sufficient and that it's just that's it's going to take time until I'm symptom free and in the optimal range. I am progressively getting better. If this dose doesn't get my FT3 and FT4 to the optimal range in a few months and my symptoms stop improving she will up my dose.
Avatar universal
Are you currently taking Thyroid medication?  If so what are you taking and what is your dose?

I assume that you ARE already on thyroid med.

Are you sure that the T4 levels and ranges are for FREE T4?

The numbers and range look more like what is normally seen for "total T4"

Regardless, You are BELOW or in the basement of BOTH results.  And it is no surprise that you feel Hypo.

The Dr's are all wound up and ONLY focusing on TSH which is useless at this point.

The only suggestion I would have at the moment to discuss with your Dr is this.  If your thyroid is suppressed which is what the TSH suggests.  That is, your thyroid gland is producing little to nothing.  With that truth. It would then mean that the Free T4 and Free T3 levels that you are living with are ONLY the result of the medication.  And BOTH levels are extremely low or below range. And your symptoms are consistent with HYPO.

So you have 3 very important indicators that you are Hypo. BOTH blood level tests and most importantly your symptoms!  These should WAY overpower the useless TSH test.

Put another way.  You could ask your Dr's.  If you removed the TSH test from the process.  And you presented ONLY with the Hypo symptoms AND extremely low or BELOW range thyroid hormone levels.  What would be their opinion of your condition, and based on that, would they recommend a dosage increase, or to continue letting you suffer hypo symptoms?
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Thank you flyingfool. Yes. I'm on 75 mg desiccated thyroid (morning: 45mg, afternoon: 30 mg).

These are Canadian reference ranges for FT4. The labs here don't seem to use the same units as they do in the US (and possibly other countries?). I'm not sure why. Canada: pmol/L, US: ng/dL.

I've been on this dose for the past 6 months. My FT4 may be slightly below the low end of the reference range, but it's better than it was 5-6 ago. My FT3 is significantly higher than it was  just a few months ago (it was low/very low normal). I also feel better than I did. My doctor says that my TSH is fine. She doesn't think it's too low. Her goal is to get my FT3 and FT4 to the middle of the reference range but she says it's going to take time. She doesn't want to rush it because she knows I'm deathly afraid of going hyper because of my past experiences.

My thyroid is finally stable after over a year of instability. At this point I just want to wait and see what happens because my symptoms are relatively mild and tolerable (which, they weren't before). Hopefully my levels will continue getting better and closer to the optimal ranges overtime.
Avatar universal
I recently had my thyroid levels checked.
TSH: 0.14 (0.34-5.0)
FT4: 11 (12-22)
FT3: 4 (3.5-6)

Sometimes I still experience some hypo symptoms, but overall I'm doing a lot better than before.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Please check your messages on your personal page.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am somewhat surprised that you seem to be  doing pretty well on that dose, which is not even an average daily replacement amount of thyroid med, as discussed previously by telus2.   OF course, delaying your med dosage means that your levels are near their low for the day, but your FT4 is at bottom of the range, and  your FT3 is only at 31% of its range.  Even though everyone can have different levels at which they feel best, both of these  levels are lower than many of us have found to be adequate to relieve hypo symptoms.   The goal of treatment is to titrate your dosage so that your FT4 and FT3 levels are high enough to relieve hypo symptoms, but without going so far as to create hyper symptoms.    Accordingly,  I think you could benefit from a small increase in dosage, which I am sure will be a problem with your doctor, due to resultant low TSH.  I have discussed all this in prior messages, but I am sending you a PM with further info.    To access, click on your name and then from your personal page  click on messages.  
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Thank you Gimel. My thyroid doctor said that for now I'm going to stay on the same dose, because it seems like I'm doing well on it and she thinks that my FT4 levels will probably increase slowly overtime. She also said that my TSH is normal but too low to up my dose because we don't want to do it too fast. We want to give the body time to adjust and if needed we'll up it more in the future. For now it seems stable and relatively symptom free.

I agree with my doctor. I wouldn't want to up my dose right now because I feel fine and I don't want to take unnecessary risks. She's retesting me in 3 months and if I experience symptoms before then I can always make an appointment with her to change my dose.

As far as my TSH goes, my other doctors are the main issue here, not my thyroid doctor. They like to follow the guidelines and we want to keep them happy. My current TSH seems fine, but if it drops any lower they'll probably bug me about it and refer me to a specialist and I really don't want to have to deal with that unless it's absolutely necessary.
Avatar universal
Before discussing your latest results, we need to know if you delayed your morning dose of med until after the blood draw for those tests.  If not, then what time did you take the med and what time was the blood draw.  Even more important, feeling "pretty good" is not definitive enough.  Do you have any symptoms at all?
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Yes I delayed my morning dose.  The last time I took my thyroid medication before the blood draw happened ~26 hours before.

I have relatively mild memory problems (compared to before, my friends used to think I have Alzheimer's -like memory).
Occasional Hashimoto's face.
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community

Top Thyroid Answerers
649848 tn?1534633700
FL
Avatar universal
MI
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
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.