Anyone here on Synthroid?

[lisathew8lifter]

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.


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.

Hi Trisk,
I am sorry if you thought i was implying that my inability to lose weight was because of synthroid. I did not mean to infer that.

Thank you for taking the time to respond with a very informative post. I need to go back and review your writings and check into the term hypoinsulinemic. I have not heard of that until your post. How did the doctor determine that was your situation?

I discussed combo therapy with my endo and although not nearly (not even close actually!) as knowledgable as you in the topic, i have done research.

First of all, I need to be diligently tracking what I eat. I have known that, but work and life have gotten in the way. I stick to a diet of foods that are in their natural state and try to eat very few processed foods. It may be that I'm not eating enough - but without tracking my caloric intake I will not know. Duh. I will get better about doing this.

I also am interested to know how you are able to keep your energy levels up going low carb. I realize you touched on this before and forgive me if I read this wrong (it was in another post that I cannot see while I type) but did you say you stick to 30g carbs per day?!?!

I, too, have been looking to crack the code so to speak and figure out what makes my body work efficiently. Now that I have my thyroid under control, it is time to get a handle on the weight. I realize I am fortunate to "only" have 20 pounds to lose but I am trying to avoid the road to diabetes, and coronary artery disease like my mother.

[Triskeliongirl]

Just re-read post 42 in this thread. I think it answers all your questions, and good luck at sorting this out!

Hypoinsulinemic means I undersecrete insulin. You should start by asking for an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). If that doesn't look good, then you can get your insulin as well as glucose measured during an OGTT test (they may not be willing to do this right away since the insulin test is more expensive, or they may, you can always ask). A good endo should be able to do this for you.

[Dogmama]

During your weight loss journey, keep in mind that we're all very different. 30g carbs would have me on top of a tall building with an automatic weapon. The production of glucose from protein is a very slow process and works differently in all of us. That's why some people do very well on protein dominant type of diets and others fail.

[lisathew8lifter]

During your weight loss journey, keep in mind that we're all very different. 30g carbs would have me on top of a tall building with an automatic weapon. The production of glucose from protein is a very slow process and works differently in all of us. That's why some people do very well on protein dominant type of diets and others fail.

I think I'd be joining you at the top of a tall building for a fleeting moment ... right before I jumped off of it! i could get 30g carbs by 9 a.m. most days...and I would likely struggle to maintain the energy i need to do the work outs that I do.

[surgtech1956]

I finished my first week on Synthyroid. Don't notice anything.

[lisathew8lifter]

I finished my first week on Synthyroid. Don't notice anything.

I started to notice less fatigue after a few weeks of starting the med. I think with any drug it takes a few weeks to adjust.

[lisathew8lifter]

Hey Trisk,
I made my appt with my endo for Friday and am printing this out and bringing it with. Thank you again for the info!

I have two questions:

What does OGTT stand for? I am hoping my doctor will know (if not i think i might look into finding a new one!)

also

In post #42 you stated you have low triglycerides and cholesterol. Has that always been that way? When my TSH is high, so are the triglycerides and the cholesterol levels. I was just curious if these are low as a result of the way you are eating now or if they have always been low. I need to go back and look at my fasting glucose number to see if that has been borderline high.

Thanks again.

[Triskeliongirl]

1. OGTT means an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test.

2. My triglycerides and cholesterol both went down on the low carb diet.

[GreatPaws]

surgetech- one week isn't enough to "feel" anything. Synthyroid works when it builds up in your system. It's not immediate like aspirin or Tylenol. My doc says it's usually 4-6 weeks to feel ANYTHING. And it will depend upon what you TSH was at diagnosis. Since people are being put on Synthyroid for very low numbers now adays (it used to be your doc laughed at you and told you you were normal at 3) if you're much higher than 20 it might take awhile.

I was diagnosed at 14 when I failed to thrive. I stopped growing for 3 years and, even with a strong family history, my mother had to pull teeth to get them to run a simple TSH test. Gee, I was 412. No, that's not a typo.

When I was 28, I had a I-131 uptake scan test done to test the functioning level of thyroid tissue. After about 4 shots with the gamma camera, the doc called out to stop the test. I have no functioning thyroid. ( Nor pancreas, for that matter, but the OGTT found that later.) So I'm on complete t4 replacement and have been on the same dose since age 14 - 200. No matter what my weight. So dose is not always 100% proportional to weight.

If you want to investigate T3, all you have to do is ask for a Full thyroid panel. I've been on Cytomel since 1999 and wouldn't go a day without it. I haven't found it to be any more expensive than Synthyroid. I haven't tried the natural t3/t4 stuff but I've talked to people who love it. I think it's whatever works for your body.

I will tell you a strange story. When I was 19 and was sick of college, I went to massage therapy school for 6 months. They taught alot of healing methods and therapies and we had one person come in who claimed they could tell what medications you took just by touching your feet. We were all skeptical, but lined up. Darned if that woman didn't say "Synthroid! And lots of it!". She said people on Synthroid have "fake" feeling feet- like they're made of wax. To this day I"m still trying to feel it...

Nice to see such a great discussion and people sharing their experiences! The only time I have "horror" stories is when I forget to take my pills...