Anyone here on Synthroid?

[lisathew8lifter]

hello there,
i have been on thyroid meds since 2004. at first i lost weight and i was able to pretty much eat anything and keep it off. i admit, i took that for granted and when i started school as an adult learner working full time, i got lazy and the work outs took a back seat.

i continued to take generic synthroid for the four years i was going to school and the weight kept creeping up. i gained about 30 pounds over four years (luckily that was only one pants size, no joke) and after graduating last fall, i focused my efforts on resuming my active lifestyle and losing that weight.

after working out for three months sometimes three times per day (my work has a fitness center and i was taking classes at lunch and at night), i learned that i gained weight at my yearly exam. i about flipped!!!! i went back to my endocrinologist who gave me every test known to wo/man and we learned my TSH had crept up to where it was when i first started taking meds.

fast forward: i am now on a mild appetite suppressant and i am on 12 mcg higher dosage of non generic synthroid. since february, i have lost 11 pounds. while i'm happy with this loss, i have realized that this will be a struggle for the REST of my life and i always must WATCH everything i eat and everything i do. i require far fewer calories than the average person and the only way i see results is by increasing the exercise (sometimes two and one half hours per day) and decreasing the food intake.

so, my point is:
generic thyroid meds are frowned upon by my medical professional
you must always be on top of your TSH and make sure you monitor that
you likely will feel better by being on the meds but the price you will pay is that it may be harder for you to maintain your desired weight.

i hope this helps!??!

[surgtech1956]

what is the mild appetite suppressant? I'm just starting my Synthyroid.

[lisathew8lifter]

what is the mild appetite suppressant? I'm just starting my Synthyroid.

It is a prescription drug called phentermine

[maillotpois]

Wasn't that part of Phen - phen that was linked to heart wall degradation?

[snapdragen]

Wasn't that part of Phen - phen that was linked to heart wall degradation?

Yup, it was. It's considered a controlled substance.

[lisathew8lifter]

Yup, it was. It's considered a controlled substance.

WHAT?!? Can someone provide a link to this info?

[snapdragen]

WHAT?!? Can someone provide a link to this info?

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/sc.../schedules.htm

Schedule IV

[Kano]

Wasn't that part of Phen - phen that was linked to heart wall degradation?

It was the other Fen -- Fenfluramine that was taken off the market in 1997because of the heart valve issue.

Karen in Boise

[lisathew8lifter]

It was the other Fen -- Fenfluramine that was taken off the market in 1997because of the heart valve issue.

Karen in Boise

thanks Karen! i had asked because my endo had assured me that these were not related. i am only on the phentermine temporarily until i lose the 30 pounds (now 21) that i have to lose. my mother has diabetes and since all of my excess is around my middle, it isn't just about looking good, its about my long term health. when my TSH is high, so are my triglycerides and my cholesterol and we want to be sure we keep all of that in check.

[Triskeliongirl]

you likely will feel better by being on the meds but the price you will pay is that it may be harder for you to maintain your desired weight.

Are you suggesting that is harder to maintain your weight on medication? Its harder to maintain your weight when your TSH is high! As long as you are being appropriately treated (depending the person, its the right does of synthroid, synthroid/cytomel, or armour) it should get easier, not harder, to lose or maintain weight, i.e. think of thyroid hormone as being important for your metabolism, if it is down, your metabolism is slow, so it will be harder to lose weight.

Even if you TSH is normal, if you still feel sluggish and/or your free T3 is low you may need some form of T4/T3 combo therapy. I would explore this before taking an apetite suppresant. Or, see if there isn't something else going on that interferes with weight loss. In my case it wasn't until I got on T4/T3 combo therapy AND found out I had impaired glucose tolerance so went on a low carb diet that I could lose weight.

[lisathew8lifter]

Are you suggesting that is harder to maintain your weight on medication? Its harder to maintain your weight when your TSH is high! As long as you are being appropriately treated (depending the person, its the right does of synthroid, synthroid/cytomel, or armour) it should get easier, not harder, to lose or maintain weight, i.e. think of thyroid hormone as being important for your metabolism, if it is down, your metabolism is slow, so it will be harder to lose weight.

Even if you TSH is normal, if you still feel sluggish and/or your free T3 is low you may need some form of T4/T3 combo therapy. I would explore this before taking an apetite suppresant. Or, see if there isn't something else going on that interferes with weight loss. In my case it wasn't until I got on T4/T3 combo therapy AND found out I had impaired glucose tolerance so went on a low carb diet that I could lose weight.

Sorry but in my case, i totally disagree with you. My TSH is 1.05 right now and I have worked my *** off to lose 9 pounds since February. I work out sometimes 3 hours per day and my TSH has not been this low EVER. My endo tested me for anything and everything with regard to my metabolism and everything was within the normal range if not low end of normal. The appetite suppressant was to jump start the weight loss because I had been gaining not losing despite the work outs.

I believe there is a fine line when playing around with your TSH and your metabolism. If you over medicate that poses other health issues and if you under medicate that causes a different set of concerns. This is just my personal experience, for what it is worth.

[tctrek]

Sorry but in my case, I work out sometimes 3 hours per day and my TSH has not been this low EVER. My endo tested me for anything and everything with regard to my metabolism and everything was within the normal range if not low end of normal. The appetite suppressant was to jump start the weight loss because I had been gaining not losing despite the work outs.

Lisa - I have the same problem, but I think it is a coincidence that you are hypothroid, on Synthroid and not able to lose weight. Working out 3 hours a day, depending on how many calories you are eating, can/will throw your body into a starvation mode. Your body could be storing as much as it can of what you eat as FAT! Because you are working it so hard and eating so little. Your net calories per day should not ever be less than 1,000 and better yet 1,200. That means if you can eat 1800 calories and burn 600 calories in exercise. If you workout 1 hour or less per day, you can get away with eating less calories, but never less than 1,000 per day no matter what.

I will wager that there are plenty of women on this forum who are NOT hypothyroid and who eat great and workout a lot and can't lose weight. Don't fool yourself into thinking it's your thyroid -- look at our other eating habits and make sure you are eating a fresh, balanced diet that wil support your body during hard exercise.

[snapdragen]

I find taking amphetamines to lose weight a really bad idea, but that's just me......hell, meth worked for a friend of mine.

[maillotpois]

I would consult with a nutritionist to ensure you are not pushing your body into starvation mode, as tctrek suggests, which will affect your metabolism in ways that don't show up ion a TSH test. It you are doing 3 hours a day of aerobic exercise, you need to fuel your body appropriately. Talk to your doctor about nutrition as an alternative to drugs. Mastering the nutrition piece is also something you can/should do your whole life - as opposed to amphetamines.

[Triskeliongirl]

You didn't understand what I said. Its not just about having a normal TSH. I too was being treated with synthroid, had a TSH of 1, was eating 1200 calories a day, biking 100 miles a week, and gaining weight.

But, it wasn't cuz I was taking synthroid as you conclude, its because my hypothyroidism wasn't being adequately treated by synthroid alone. In some cases, you will have a low free T3, which right away tells you there is a conversion problem. By that I mean that synthroid is T4, which is an inactive precurser to T3, the active form of thryoid hormone. In that case its obvious you need to be on T3 (cytomel). In my case my T3 and TSH were both normal, so at that point I was referred to an endo who put me on T4/T3 combo therapy. At the same time we discovered I was hypoinsulinemic, so I was put on a low carb diet. THEN, and only then, I finally was able to lose 35 lb and get to a healthy normal weight.

Now, I am not saying that you have exactly what I have, but it is definitely wrong to blame synthroid for your weight problem. If you are still having a weight problem on synthroid, it means something else is still not right and you and your endo. need to look for other reasons you are struggling so much with your weight.

I teach this stuff to medical students, and I am absolutely certain that having too much thyroid hormone as you suggest does not make you gain weight. THere are reasons you don't want to be overmedicated, but weight gain is not one of them (its quite the opposite, folks that are hyperthryoid will lose weight, but there are lots of good reasons not to overmedicate). You need to find the UNDERLYING REASON you struggle with your weight rather than using amphetamines as a quick fix. Here, I am speaking from a lifetime of experience that once we got to the route of my problem, a 50 year battle with weight control was stopped dead in its tracks. I felt as if my weight simply normalized, not like I was dieting anymore. I was satisified with reasonable amounts of food. If I cut back, I would lose, if I overate I would gain, but things started to work as they should, and I have maintained my loss for 2 years by simply eating healthy food in moderate portions (but low in carbs due to my impaired glucose tolerance/hypoinsulinemia) and leading a healthy lifestyle, something that never worked for me before I understood that I had a body that couldn't process carbs correctly.

Sorry but in my case, i totally disagree with you. My TSH is 1.05 right now and I have worked my *** off to lose 9 pounds since February. I work out sometimes 3 hours per day and my TSH has not been this low EVER. My endo tested me for anything and everything with regard to my metabolism and everything was within the normal range if not low end of normal. The appetite suppressant was to jump start the weight loss because I had been gaining not losing despite the work outs.

I believe there is a fine line when playing around with your TSH and your metabolism. If you over medicate that poses other health issues and if you under medicate that causes a different set of concerns. This is just my personal experience, for what it is worth.