November/December weight management challenge

[Dannielle]

Out of curiosity, how did you and your doc arrive at TSH number that you feel is good for you and/or why do you keep it on the lowest end of normal? I was diagnosed with a very mild case of Graves over the summer and have been on a low dose of anti-thyroid meds since late August. I then put on five rather stubborn pounds that may or may have nothing to do with it. When I first started the meds, my TSH shot up to 3. We halved my dose. I get bloodwork done in a couple of weeks. My endo said something about wanting to get me closer to 1 TSH. I have to wonder whether my dose is still a tad high. I hate having to rely on a drug for my metabolism. Before this, I never struggled to keep my weight within my ideal range.

When I was being treated for hypothyroidism alone (nothing else factored in) my endo kept my tsh around 1-2. These days my endo keeps my tsh a little extra suppressed as I've been treated for stage 3 thyroid cancer. I no longer have a thyroid gland so there's no point to the pituitary gland sending out messages to produce thyroid hormones. All that would do in my case is aggravate an autoimmune response (I still test positive for anti-thyroid antibodies) and create a pro-cancer environment.

I totally understand your struggle. Before now I never DIDN'T struggle with my weight. I'm really grateful for the brainstorming because I'm now pretty sure that I must be in the hyperthyroid zone. Hopefully a little tweak of the meds will set everything straight (my Raynaud's is going nuts right now too so maybe that'll calm down too)

I'm not all that familiar with Graves (all my issues have been on the other end of the spectrum) but I can tell ya I don't feel good with a tsh of 3.

[indysteel]

Wow, Danielle. It sounds like you have been through a lot. I am hopeful that my doc and I will figure it out with some trial and error. What's strange is that I learned over the summer that in previous years, my TSH had been closer to hypo. No one ever said anything to me about my numbers at that point. During that time, I was riding 5k miles a year, doing yoga for 3-5 hours a week, eating like a horse and struggling to keep weight on. I generally felt good. So I have no idea what a good normal us for me or what I should aim to feel like.

[GLC1968]

Weight is up this week and I have zero idea why. My exercise and diet have been 100% spot on, so I'm not going to stress out about it.

145.6

[rivergal]

169.4 this week. Not moving fast, but still down. That, this time of year, is a big plus!