About 3 years ago, I had my thyroid removed. Shortly thereafter I quit smoking and gained 25pounds Then a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with "Graves Disease". I have been dieting (under 2000 calories per day) and exercising (1 hr. 3-4 times a week) for the last 5 months and cannot lose any weight. I am getting so discouraged and depressed but my doctor says I must diet more. I haven't had red meat in 2 months and my sugar intake is near zero. I am sick of salads 5 times a week.
does anyone have this problems? Or can anyone give me some advice on how to lose weight?
Thyroid Sufferers
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goddess sparkle
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:22 pm
Paul, it seems you think too much just like me lol. I over-analyze everything! I believe you are experiencing two separate issues which happen to have similar symptoms and affect each other. You know what? I had problems with Synthroid. I did NOT like it. Doctors swear by it, but my specialist told me to stay with Levoxyl because I liked it and it worked for me. Never had major problems with it. Try it (it's the same as levothyroxine) I tried Synthroid for a short time.
Before I realized I had problems with anxiety I went to the ER a lot. I work in the x-ray dept in a hospital so I would always walk over and talk to some of the nurses I saw everyday. Nothing was ever wrong with me of course. Now I just have to talk myself out of things.
You're lucky you feel great at any time. I never do. I'm constantly tired due to thyroid and sleep apnea. But I've come to accept that I will feel this way forever. Sometimes I get so depressed from never having energy. Other people with thyroid problems agree we just have to deal with it. I'm glad you feel good. Keep at it and keep doing the bloodwork to find a level for you. Don't worry about the side effects. They're usually very mild and I believe it's a safe med.
Before I realized I had problems with anxiety I went to the ER a lot. I work in the x-ray dept in a hospital so I would always walk over and talk to some of the nurses I saw everyday. Nothing was ever wrong with me of course. Now I just have to talk myself out of things.
You're lucky you feel great at any time. I never do. I'm constantly tired due to thyroid and sleep apnea. But I've come to accept that I will feel this way forever. Sometimes I get so depressed from never having energy. Other people with thyroid problems agree we just have to deal with it. I'm glad you feel good. Keep at it and keep doing the bloodwork to find a level for you. Don't worry about the side effects. They're usually very mild and I believe it's a safe med.
"It's not over yet."
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goddess sparkle
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:22 pm
KLC2, how do you have Grave's disease if you had your thyroid removed? Did you only have part of it taken out? My sister just got diagnosed with that and she's been feeling a lot better on her meds. She was really bad, her eyes were popping out of her head.
It's a great thing stopped smoking though. My higher med dose helped me lose weight, but I needed it high because my doc thought my cancer was back. It's not recommended for weight loss. What helped was watching the fat, sugar and sodium content of all foods and rarely eating fast/junk food. You don't need to eat salad everyday. I can only handle so much salad. You gotta enjoy food and allow small treats every now and then. I used to do good for 2 weeks and then binge on everything. Now I eat very little and get full fast. I'm used to it. I try to eat organic when I can too. I used to be Vegan and then Vegetarian but it was hard. I haven't eaten beef or pork in about 3 years. I do lots of reading/research too on being healthy. Hope it helps.
It's a great thing stopped smoking though. My higher med dose helped me lose weight, but I needed it high because my doc thought my cancer was back. It's not recommended for weight loss. What helped was watching the fat, sugar and sodium content of all foods and rarely eating fast/junk food. You don't need to eat salad everyday. I can only handle so much salad. You gotta enjoy food and allow small treats every now and then. I used to do good for 2 weeks and then binge on everything. Now I eat very little and get full fast. I'm used to it. I try to eat organic when I can too. I used to be Vegan and then Vegetarian but it was hard. I haven't eaten beef or pork in about 3 years. I do lots of reading/research too on being healthy. Hope it helps.
"It's not over yet."
sparkle,
that you again for your response (and the reassurance of it being 2 separate issues w/similar effects- you do understand me!).
if you could, what exactly about synthroid were you experiencing that had you conclude that it was not for you (don't scare me)?
and you are absolutely right. i do take way to much time to analyze things. i did again this morning (but am better able to cope and not get all out of control) as now in my 5th (and probably final) week of 25 mcg of synthroid, i am feeling sluggish and having to stop exercise as it is taking too long to recover (too sore).
i see the doctor tommorrow, and i will push to go to 37.5 mcg, and will look to get a referral to an endocrinonologist.
one thing as well, the article that i was reading (which started me on the anxiety highway) was the possible issue of not having an adequate conversion of T4 into T3. are you familiar with this?
it seems that earlier on, doctors believed that including T3 with T4 brought on better feelings of well being with patients.
nowadays though, it seems that the medical community is not so sure. i have read where the patients given T3 felt better for about a month, only to have the old symptoms return. Also, they seem to be not sure about the proper dosage either, as T3 is the "active" form and is used by the body at different intervals. what do you think? i want to push my doctor to check my free T3 tommorrow as well. (Why are they so resistant to testing?)
also, when you tried synthroid and switched back to levoxyl, is that the generic version? i have read where doctors don't like you to switch from generic to the original formula. how long were you on synthroid? how long did it take you not to like it? what did you not like about it? i have been on it/ made the switch from levothyroxine back in april (4 months now?).
i really liked levothyroxine, but a relative who is also hypothyroid began planting seeds in my suggestible, panic-stricken self back in march/april that her doctor will never prescribe generics for thyroid, and that maybe it is the generic that is causing the anxiety, etc.
well, that scared me into action. i switched to synthroid. has it been better? i don't know. i have pretty much felt cloudyheaded, anxious, etc since this panic started, so i can't accurately say which is better.
the only thing that i ever felt with levothyroxine though were hot flushes (maybe 2x/day). otherwise, i felt like my old self.
i am sorry if i am pestering you with too much, but you have helped me to feel alot better dealing with this. in this 5th week, i seem to be dragging much more through my days now, and I long to be feeling like i did before all of this panic stuff started. i felt just about perfect (99%?)
oh- and thank you VERY much for the reassurance of them being 2 separate issues. i REALLY need that! you know what it is? when i get reassured (counselor, doctor, wife, you, etc) that they are separate, i immediately feel better. Now, if it was the medication, or too much meds...would that be possible? in other words, if the anxiousness or panic was caused by drugs or a high dose, would i be able to feel better by changing my mind or getting reassurance?
i don't think that i would.
but whenever i can be convinced that they are separate, then i immediately feel better.
i can't explain why i was waking up with an abnormal heartbeat (80 bpm) back in june/july while taking 50 mcg, and why i was more tense throughout the day. but now at 25 mcg, those things have completely disappeared. perhaps it was too much medication.
i pray that 37.5 is the magic # for me. my new worry is that T3 may be the problem, and how long will it take to get in to see an endo?
HELP!
that you again for your response (and the reassurance of it being 2 separate issues w/similar effects- you do understand me!).
if you could, what exactly about synthroid were you experiencing that had you conclude that it was not for you (don't scare me)?
and you are absolutely right. i do take way to much time to analyze things. i did again this morning (but am better able to cope and not get all out of control) as now in my 5th (and probably final) week of 25 mcg of synthroid, i am feeling sluggish and having to stop exercise as it is taking too long to recover (too sore).
i see the doctor tommorrow, and i will push to go to 37.5 mcg, and will look to get a referral to an endocrinonologist.
one thing as well, the article that i was reading (which started me on the anxiety highway) was the possible issue of not having an adequate conversion of T4 into T3. are you familiar with this?
it seems that earlier on, doctors believed that including T3 with T4 brought on better feelings of well being with patients.
nowadays though, it seems that the medical community is not so sure. i have read where the patients given T3 felt better for about a month, only to have the old symptoms return. Also, they seem to be not sure about the proper dosage either, as T3 is the "active" form and is used by the body at different intervals. what do you think? i want to push my doctor to check my free T3 tommorrow as well. (Why are they so resistant to testing?)
also, when you tried synthroid and switched back to levoxyl, is that the generic version? i have read where doctors don't like you to switch from generic to the original formula. how long were you on synthroid? how long did it take you not to like it? what did you not like about it? i have been on it/ made the switch from levothyroxine back in april (4 months now?).
i really liked levothyroxine, but a relative who is also hypothyroid began planting seeds in my suggestible, panic-stricken self back in march/april that her doctor will never prescribe generics for thyroid, and that maybe it is the generic that is causing the anxiety, etc.
well, that scared me into action. i switched to synthroid. has it been better? i don't know. i have pretty much felt cloudyheaded, anxious, etc since this panic started, so i can't accurately say which is better.
the only thing that i ever felt with levothyroxine though were hot flushes (maybe 2x/day). otherwise, i felt like my old self.
i am sorry if i am pestering you with too much, but you have helped me to feel alot better dealing with this. in this 5th week, i seem to be dragging much more through my days now, and I long to be feeling like i did before all of this panic stuff started. i felt just about perfect (99%?)
oh- and thank you VERY much for the reassurance of them being 2 separate issues. i REALLY need that! you know what it is? when i get reassured (counselor, doctor, wife, you, etc) that they are separate, i immediately feel better. Now, if it was the medication, or too much meds...would that be possible? in other words, if the anxiousness or panic was caused by drugs or a high dose, would i be able to feel better by changing my mind or getting reassurance?
i don't think that i would.
but whenever i can be convinced that they are separate, then i immediately feel better.
i can't explain why i was waking up with an abnormal heartbeat (80 bpm) back in june/july while taking 50 mcg, and why i was more tense throughout the day. but now at 25 mcg, those things have completely disappeared. perhaps it was too much medication.
i pray that 37.5 is the magic # for me. my new worry is that T3 may be the problem, and how long will it take to get in to see an endo?
HELP!
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goddess sparkle
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:22 pm
Hey Paul, glad some of my opinions helped. Unfortunately my thyroid and anxiety have similar symptoms and overlap soemtimes but I have to deal with having them BOTH. So I've come to feeling a little better about feeling these things all the time and they don't bother me as much. I've accepted that I will feel these things forever (thyroid) and if in the future a doctor tells me I can feel good then I will try something else. The anxiety/depression on the other hand is something I don't want to have and am trying different things to get rid of it. I think I get depressed 'cause I'm always tired.
Anyway, I was on Synthroid for about 2 months. I just got nervousness, heart tickling/palpitations. I just didn't feel right overall and went back to Levoxyl. Yes it's generic but I haven't had any problems on it until recently when my labs were abnormal and then when it was too high. Try going back to your Levothyroxine or stick with Synthroid if you're doing okay. My doc never mentioned generics not being good. I've been on Levoxyl since 2004.
I worry a lot about my cancer coming back. Even though doctors have reassured me over and over again that if you ever got cancer, that was the one to get because it's slow spreading and VERY treatable. It's still scary though, you know?
In my opinion, I would never let a regular M.D. treat my thyroid or any other serious condition. That's what specialists are for. Good luck with that.
I try not to read too much because I'm already scared about my thyroid issue as it is. I don't want to think too much about the meds not working or what works better etc. I rely on the labs to make me feel better. Hopefully they come back good when I do them next month.
Unfortunately with us, when someone doesn't know about anxiety, they can say things to scare us unknowingly. Researching is good but it can also be terrible for us. It's up to you if you can handle the information you look for. I sometimes can't. Sometimes I tell myself "Ignorance IS bliss."
I really hope you find a dose right for you. I don't really know the correct info for you since I don't have a thyroid and you do. But there is lots of support/info on the net (as you know). Read the good stuff and don't worry about the bad until you have to. Hopefully you won't have to. Hope I covered everything. Talk to you soon!
Anyway, I was on Synthroid for about 2 months. I just got nervousness, heart tickling/palpitations. I just didn't feel right overall and went back to Levoxyl. Yes it's generic but I haven't had any problems on it until recently when my labs were abnormal and then when it was too high. Try going back to your Levothyroxine or stick with Synthroid if you're doing okay. My doc never mentioned generics not being good. I've been on Levoxyl since 2004.
I worry a lot about my cancer coming back. Even though doctors have reassured me over and over again that if you ever got cancer, that was the one to get because it's slow spreading and VERY treatable. It's still scary though, you know?
In my opinion, I would never let a regular M.D. treat my thyroid or any other serious condition. That's what specialists are for. Good luck with that.
I try not to read too much because I'm already scared about my thyroid issue as it is. I don't want to think too much about the meds not working or what works better etc. I rely on the labs to make me feel better. Hopefully they come back good when I do them next month.
Unfortunately with us, when someone doesn't know about anxiety, they can say things to scare us unknowingly. Researching is good but it can also be terrible for us. It's up to you if you can handle the information you look for. I sometimes can't. Sometimes I tell myself "Ignorance IS bliss."
I really hope you find a dose right for you. I don't really know the correct info for you since I don't have a thyroid and you do. But there is lots of support/info on the net (as you know). Read the good stuff and don't worry about the bad until you have to. Hopefully you won't have to. Hope I covered everything. Talk to you soon!
"It's not over yet."
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purpmartin
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:49 pm
Hi,
I'm not sure whether I have thyroid problems or not. Maybe some of you on this thread can suggest something.
In 2006, I went to a doctor who though I was HYPOthyroid, because my temp ran low. I was on Armour thyroid for a while, but mostly it just made me feel tense, so I stopped it.
Last year, I saw an endocrinologist who said he could find nothing wrong with my thyroid. He had me do some kind of 24-hour urine collection, but I don't remember whether he gave me iodine tablets to take beforehand.
Then, about two months ago, the doctor at an environmental medicine clinic found an excretion rate of only 56% with a 24-hour urine collection after "loading" with iodine tablets. He said that means I need iodine supplementation, so I'm doing that now (not prescription thyroid medication).
I don't know whether I've ever been tested for the antibodies that determine Hashimoto's. I'll ask my primary next time I see her.
Any thoughts?
purpmartin
I'm not sure whether I have thyroid problems or not. Maybe some of you on this thread can suggest something.
In 2006, I went to a doctor who though I was HYPOthyroid, because my temp ran low. I was on Armour thyroid for a while, but mostly it just made me feel tense, so I stopped it.
Last year, I saw an endocrinologist who said he could find nothing wrong with my thyroid. He had me do some kind of 24-hour urine collection, but I don't remember whether he gave me iodine tablets to take beforehand.
Then, about two months ago, the doctor at an environmental medicine clinic found an excretion rate of only 56% with a 24-hour urine collection after "loading" with iodine tablets. He said that means I need iodine supplementation, so I'm doing that now (not prescription thyroid medication).
I don't know whether I've ever been tested for the antibodies that determine Hashimoto's. I'll ask my primary next time I see her.
Any thoughts?
purpmartin
hello all,
long time no write in this column for me, and much has changed since my last postings.
overall, i am less tense and irritable with the 25 mcg dose of synthroid as opposed to my original 50 mcg. I started on 50 mcg of levothyroxine, and this did a great job bringing me back in from a TSH of 31 to a 1.4 in just about 2 years.
the only real problems have occurred this past year, as my TSH on Levothyroxine once it began to dip below a 2.0 i began to get dizziness, tension, and moodiness which helped to translate into panic disorder with the help of the rest of my life issues at the time (moving, bad toxic job, "what do i want to be when i grow up", getting married, starting grad school, etc).
in july i finally met a D.O. who was kind enough to actually listen to me and my symptoms of tension and anxiety and tapered me down to 25 mcg.
i had about 3 weeks of difficulty this past august, as i was bloated and nauseaus(?) after eating, tired, and sore after exercise deep into my joints. my new doctor here in VA seems kind, and i appreciate her caution in going up to the next dose of 37.5, as i was having lots of heart palpatations and even waking up in the middle of the night with an elevated heart rate before it was lowered to 25. she wanted me to continue on 25 for another week to just see how i feel, and to take it easy in the weight room.
well, i took her advice and it worked. i lowered the weights and i was feeling better, and my body since then is ok now to exercise.
the only issues that i am now having, is that i am more sensitive to cold as the winter months approach here and i find myself with mental fog or fatigue which for a long time i have been attributing to my mind healing from the panic disorder.
but lately, i have not been too sure.
i have been emotional, and Sunday morning i had a spoiled rotten 'tude. i finally stopped after about 2 hours of a sort of frustrated pissy attitude and wanting to lash out at someone, and talked it over with my wife. breaking it down and discussing it felt alot better, and i was able to go on with my day.
the old "tired"/foggy head still lingers on, however, and i have been going online researching thyroid (as i was never like this prior to my diagnosis of hypothyroid), and i came upon alot of good news about Armour thyroid.
the articles discussed how patients who switch usually feel the best on armour, and find that the mental fog and moodiness usually leave.
i have to say, this is great news to me as these 2 are my longest lingering issues. i just want to feel "normal" again, and i don't want to be going to the doctor every week/month complaining of not feeling right.
has anyone else made the switch to armour from the synthetic? if so, what have you experienced (good/bad)?
any info anyone out there has would be much appreciated.
long time no write in this column for me, and much has changed since my last postings.
overall, i am less tense and irritable with the 25 mcg dose of synthroid as opposed to my original 50 mcg. I started on 50 mcg of levothyroxine, and this did a great job bringing me back in from a TSH of 31 to a 1.4 in just about 2 years.
the only real problems have occurred this past year, as my TSH on Levothyroxine once it began to dip below a 2.0 i began to get dizziness, tension, and moodiness which helped to translate into panic disorder with the help of the rest of my life issues at the time (moving, bad toxic job, "what do i want to be when i grow up", getting married, starting grad school, etc).
in july i finally met a D.O. who was kind enough to actually listen to me and my symptoms of tension and anxiety and tapered me down to 25 mcg.
i had about 3 weeks of difficulty this past august, as i was bloated and nauseaus(?) after eating, tired, and sore after exercise deep into my joints. my new doctor here in VA seems kind, and i appreciate her caution in going up to the next dose of 37.5, as i was having lots of heart palpatations and even waking up in the middle of the night with an elevated heart rate before it was lowered to 25. she wanted me to continue on 25 for another week to just see how i feel, and to take it easy in the weight room.
well, i took her advice and it worked. i lowered the weights and i was feeling better, and my body since then is ok now to exercise.
the only issues that i am now having, is that i am more sensitive to cold as the winter months approach here and i find myself with mental fog or fatigue which for a long time i have been attributing to my mind healing from the panic disorder.
but lately, i have not been too sure.
i have been emotional, and Sunday morning i had a spoiled rotten 'tude. i finally stopped after about 2 hours of a sort of frustrated pissy attitude and wanting to lash out at someone, and talked it over with my wife. breaking it down and discussing it felt alot better, and i was able to go on with my day.
the old "tired"/foggy head still lingers on, however, and i have been going online researching thyroid (as i was never like this prior to my diagnosis of hypothyroid), and i came upon alot of good news about Armour thyroid.
the articles discussed how patients who switch usually feel the best on armour, and find that the mental fog and moodiness usually leave.
i have to say, this is great news to me as these 2 are my longest lingering issues. i just want to feel "normal" again, and i don't want to be going to the doctor every week/month complaining of not feeling right.
has anyone else made the switch to armour from the synthetic? if so, what have you experienced (good/bad)?
any info anyone out there has would be much appreciated.
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unquenchable courage
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:20 am
Well, I believe I found the right link for now. I am scheduled for surgery on Thursday for Thyroid cancer. I have never been on any kind of meds but recently ordered the program due to high anxiety caused primarily (I thought) due to the loss of my 4 grandchildren...not to death but rather poor choices on my daughters part. I have had low thyroid for one year and have been treating it homeopathically, not much success. My concern is regulating my meds knowing it will be life long. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Mikki