Under active thyroid and weight loss

[piaf]

Anyone else got an underactive thyroid,and,struggling to lose weight,even with increased exercise and weight management?

[Sqad]

How do you know you have an underactive thyroid?

[piaf]

Blood test revealed the condition 6 years ago

[Sqad]

OK....then just because you are on thyroxine doesn't mean you will lose weight.

Providing that you are on the correct dose of thyroxine, any weight loss will be brought about by exercise and weight control.

If, as you say, this isn't working, then you are either eating too much, or you will never lose weight.

Sorry.

[piaf]

I am losing weight,but very slowly,but exercise has definitly changed my shape.I just wondered if there was a medical link about losing weight and having this problem

[Sqad]

One loses wight with an overactive thyroid, but gains weight with an underactive thyroid.

If your thyroid function tests are normal, then your weight problem is dietary....nothing to do with your thyroid.

[piaf]

thanks Sqad for this advice

[Sqad]

Pleasure.

[porilo]

I have an underactive thyroid and the same problem with gaining weight. The problem is that everyone thinks thyroxine is the only medicine to take. GPs normally prescribe it because it is the cheapest. It did not work for me so my GP put me on liothyronine instead, which is more expensive but has a greater effect as the body does not have to convert the T4 contained in thyroxine into T3. I suggest you ask your GP to give you liothyronine instead of thyroxine.

[momac]

Thanks for that Porilo..I have had this problem for 15 years now..each time I have blood tests it's different..then it's either increased or decreased medication..I do not overeat,am never still in the house,i have too many hobbies to be able to sit around,we go walking quite a bit and still my weight is increasing very slowly all the time..I have clothes in the wardrobe I cannot wear and I'm sick fed up of getting bigger and bigger sizes ..was always nine and a half stone and over the years it has very slowly crept up to twelve and a half now...I am definitely going to ask my G.p about liothyronine.. again thank you.

[porilo]

Wish you all the best. Lots of information is available here http://www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/index.html and that's how I first found out about liothyronine.

[Quassia]

porilo,
I take thyroxine & also thought this was the only medication. Just had a routine blood test done today. I would ask about liothyronine .. but I can see me coming up against a brick wall. Is it he same treatment as thyroxine? Doctors understandably don't like their patients telling 'them' what they would like. My weight has crept up a little just recently too.

[Sqad]

porilo.....that is an interesting post.

It has nothing to do with cost.

liothyronine is T3 and in underactive thyroid both T3 AND T4 thyroxine are reduced.

T3 is manufactured by T4 almost entirely........so anybody deficient in T3 can be topped up by giving more T4

"Ah! no!" says a certain Dr Wilson (American I think) the problem is, that the thyroid cannot convert the T4 into T3, so giving more T4 (thyroxine) is a waste of time. This is called Wilson Syndrome.

Many doctors , the majority in fact, do not accept this and there are no scientific studies to show that it exists and even if it did, then how can you replace the thyroid hormones by just giving one...T3 (liothyronine)......how do you replace the T4 (thyroxine)?

There have been trials to compare the results of T3+T4 against just T4 and the results show no difference at all.

If you replace JUST T3 (thyroxine)...then how do you get your T4 back on course?

This T3 deficiency Syndrome or Wilson's syndrome is a "hot potato" in medical circles, so i would not be surprised if nomac and quassio's doctor is not interested.

In the UK there is probably 4million people all diagnosed with hypothyroidism who are satisfactorily controlled by thyroxine replacement.

Good luck.......and it is NOTHING to do with cost.

[Sqad]

P.S Not that it matters, but i don't think that Dr Wison is medically qualified, he is a professor of Naturopathy somewhere............i might be misinformed.

[netibiza]

I have under active thyroid and last year I lost 8kilos by eating healthily and cutting out sweets. Then I put it all on again because I thought I had cracked it! So yes you can lose weight, but am struggling this time as I just haven't the willpower.

[Sqad]

netty......and that i think is the bottom line with weight increase in patients with hypothyroidism.

[netibiza]

Are all underactive thyroids, Hashimoto's disease sqad?

[netibiza]

It is the answer to most weight problems I think, eat properly and cut out sweets!

[porilo]

Well, I've never heard of Dr Wilson, whoever he or she might be. Whether he or she is qualified or not is none of my business. What IS my business is the information given to me after I was referred to a specialist endocrinologist by my GP, and, before you ask, yes the edocrinologist IS qualified, in fact she is far more qualified that my GP. Have you ever wondered why GPs are called "general practitioners"? It's because they know a lot of "general" information about a lot of illnesses, but they are not specialists. I know whom I prefer to believe.

[Sqad]

netty....no but 99% in the Western world are autoimmune in origin.(Hasimoto)

[Sqad]

porilo...fine.