Hashimoto/cushing and big weight gain

[Gailardia]

Hello,

I am completly desperate. ..
I'll explain : from my 14th to  my 19th I was overweight, and even obese at my 18th  ( 110 kilos for 180cm height ) At that time, I was told I had a hyperthyroidisme ( Which I think was already Hashimoto ). I, in January 2009, took a medicine which was supposed to stop my thyroid from working too much ( sorry I don't know the name in English ) After that, I didn't lose weight, but I felt better : not tired nor depressed anymore.

The second of January 2010, I decided to lose weight. I, therefor, lost 54 kilos, I was eventually feeling good and happy. ( I lost weight by doing adiet and A LOT of sport )
In March 2011 I began to put up weight, little by little, any now I put up 15 kilos. I asked my doctor to make a blood test to check if it came from my thyroid, and it does. In Septembre, I learnt I had Hashimoto. I took a treatment of T4  ( euthyrox ) and 2 weeks ago I began with some t3 ( Cynomel ) ( these are the reasults I had two weeks ago : TSH : 4.78 T4 : 17 T3 2.8 )
The last three weeks I put up 4 kilos.
I've never stopped doing sports ( ~ 7 hours per week ) and am always doing a diet. I am soo frustrated, I try doing everything correctly, but I can't stpo putting up weight.
It's soon to be Christmas, and I won't be able to party of anything because I look aweful, and can't eat normaly.. .

Anyway, I realised I put up ONLY fat, I have strange red marks on my belly ( which is getting very very big ), my skin looks really bad and thin, I am depressed, So I was wondering, maybe my weight gain is not coming from my Hashimoto, but from a Cushing syndrom, could it be possible ?

I have an appointment with my doctor this morning, but for him, I'm just a hypochondriac. But we'll see.

So yeah, if anyon has any ideas to help me, please do, I cannot keep on like this, I don't want to be obese again.. .

Thank you soo much in advance !

~Lou

[Barb135]

Not everyone loses all their weight, just because they start on thyroid medication.  I gained 30 pounds in about 3 months, prior to being diagnosed hypo and I'm still struggling to get if off.  Sometimes, I've been lucky enough to drop several pounds, but then it seems to come right back.  I do have a lot of problems with retaining fluid, which of course, causes drastic swings in my weight.  

Other medications can also have an effect on your weight, as some tend to cause weight gain.

Gailardia, there are some things you might want to consider.  One is to get tested for insulin resistance, which is another condition that can certainly cause weight gain/inability to lose.  The other is to take another look at your diet.  You may not be eating enough calories for your size.  Cutting calories by too much can cause your body to hold onto existing stores of fat, because there's not enough food coming in.  You have to have so many calories/day, just to keep up with basic body functions, but you're doing a lot of exercise on top of that.

You might also want to change up your exercise, since doing the same thing every day, causes your body to get used to it and it's no longer a challenge.  You might try jogging one day and weights or yoga, etc the next.

You also still have some room to raise your FT3.  Not sure how long you've been on your current dose of cytomel, but you may need an increase, though you're already on a pretty hefty dose.

You could also try adding selenium supplementation, as studies show that selenium may help with the conversion of FT4 to FT3.  

[thethinme]

I'm sorry to hear about your weight. I am 40 now and went through this for more than 10 years. Yo-yo dieting, and then in the last couple of years not being able to lose any weight even with diet and exercise. But, I didn't know I was Hypo, just found out a month ago.

Last year I decided to have weight loss surgery, specifically one called Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy - VSG, which is the best one in my opinion. I saw on the obesityhelp forum that a lot of people who had thyroid diseases had this surgery done. I lost 40 kg / 80 pounds last year and am back to the weight I had before (59kg/130lbs) and have been mantaining for months without much effort. Perhaps this could be a good option for you? I would read into that. One thing I know: after my surgery, I don't need to worry about gaining weight anymore.

I almost regret having the surgery when I found out I had hypo, and that's where my weight gain was probably from, but I have the impression that even if one treats thyroid issues, you may continue with weight problems... Hope the veterans can chime in and let us know if it's true.

[Gailardia]

I need help, or just some advice to help me losing weight, please.. .
I just can't keep up like this, I don't want to live the same as before, beeing bullyied, insulted, thinking very bad of myself and all the things you go through when you are obese~

[Gailardia]

Hello,

Sorry for the late reply, but I haven't got any good news. I continued putting up weight. Now I weight 72 kilos. I have, for three weeks now, run 7 hours per week and eat more or less 1300 calories per day. I eat whole weat bread only the morning, with fruits, milk and stuff, and then for lunch and dinner, only proteins and vegetables.

My latest test gave this result :

FT4 : 16 --- 11-22
FT3 : 4 --- 2.8 - 6

I don't feel any better, still tired, feeling depressed, loosing my memory.. . But that's not that bad, I can make do, but I defenetly can't make do with this weight. A good new, or what could be on, is that I had my periode 3 weeks ago, which I hadn't had for two years.

For the Cytomel, I now take 0,375. I take one at 4.50 am, when I get up, one at 10 am when I finished my jogging and one at 1.30 pm, before starting the afternoon. But really, it doesn't change anything.

I take some herbals medicines, but really, I don't know .. .
I'll start school at full time in the beginning of September, but I don't want to be that bad looking.

Anyway, thanks again, and have a nice day.

~Lou

[Barb135]

Merry Christmas

[Barb135]

Okay, this is what I got, please confirm it's correct.

Free T4 = 17   (range 11-22)
Free T3 = 2.8   (range 2.8-6)

Most of us find that we feel best with FT4 about mid range and FT3 in the upper 1/3 of its range.  Your FT4 is just above mid range, but FT3 is way at the bottom of the range.  

This usually suggests that you don't convert FT4 to FT3 very well.  Since you just began the cytomel 2 weeks ago, it's possible that it hasn't had a chance to raise your blood levels of Free T3, which is the hormone that pretty much regulates  metabolism.

I think you might want to stick with your current medication for a while, then retest.  Even though cytomel is a "fast acting" medication, it can still take a while for it to actually raise your FT3 level, plus your body must have time to "heal", since being low on thyroid hormone is an illness.

What blood tests did your doctor do yesterday?  Did he repeat the FT4 and FT3?  Please post tests, results and reference ranges when you get the results.

Are you taking the cytomel all in one dose or are you splitting it into multiple doses throughout the day?  Many people find that splitting T3 medication into 2 or more smaller doses each day, keeps their levels more steady, so they don't get have so many "peaks and valleys".  You could try taking one dose early in the day, another around mid day, then a third around mid afternoon.  It's generally recommended that T3 med not be taken after about 3 PM, as it could interfere with sleep. Your personal schedule would actually determine the times that would work best for you.

[Gailardia]

Good morning,

thank you soo much for answering.

So, the T4-T3 are the free ones, and the references are :
- T4 : 11-22
- T3 : 2.8-6

I take Euthyrox ( T4 ) 125 and Cynomel ( T3 ) 0.25.
I think it's because my body is used to recieve a lot of hormons ( because I had a hyperthyroidisme for severla years, with a T4 of 97 ) that now, even if my T4 and T3 are normal, it is not enought for me to feel good.

Anyway, my doctor made a blood test and I have an appointment the 9th.
He said that because I do a lot of sports and a diet, I should normaly not go back to 110. But yeah, it's very frustrating.

Thanks again for your help, and I wish you a merry Chirstmas.

~Lou

[Barb135]

It's unlikely that you have Cushings, though you can get a simple blood test (ACTH) find out for sure.

It seems that your thyroid is causing your trouble, so if you don't mind answering some more questions, we might be able to help you.

Are the T4 and T3 tests that were done, for Free or Total?  This is very important, because testing for the total amount of these hormones is not very useful. Also, we need to know the reference ranges, because these vary from lab to lab, so must come from your own report.

Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease, in which the body sees the thyroid as "foreign", so produces antibodies to destroy it. With Hashimoto's, the thyroid produces less and less hormones, as the destruction process takes place.  This process often takes years to complete; in the meantime, the patient can swing from hyper to hypo, which seems to be what's happened to you, with your hyper episode in 2010, then becoming hypo in 2011.

What dosages of thyroid medication are you on?  

Weight gain/inability to lose is a major symptom of being hypo, but once your thyroid levels (mostly Free T3) are optimal, you should be able to lose weight.  

Please let us know if the T3 and T4 tests were for Free or Total and what the reference ranges are.  That will help us determine if your levels are right for you.  You may simply need an adjustment in medication.