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Go Back   Active Low-Carber Forums > Main Low-Carb Diets Forums & Support > Low Carb Health & Technical Forums > Thyroid Disease
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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Feb-23-12, 22:44
metalqueen metalqueen is offline
New Member
Posts: 3
 
Plan: gluten free vegan
Stats: 180/215/160 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Question massive weight gain on eltroxin...HELP! :(

Hi everyone

So I was told to switch from the dessicated thyroid I have been on for my hypothyroidism for the past 12 years since it was not working so well. Granted, I had been missing the odd day here and there over the past year and I never took it at the same time each day and so I had a weight gain and my blood work showed my thyroid to be hypo again. So then my doc told me to raise my dessicated amount which I did and within a couple of months I went hyper a bit. At this point I switched to eltroxin. One month after taking it, my weight has gone up by 15lbs....this has never happened to me before! If anything I should be losing weight since when I started the eltroxcin I also became a gluten free vegan on top of already being low carb!! My tests from the other day showed the eltroxin to be working, my TSH is 2.1 and my T4 is 14.1 but the endocrinologist told me I should go to weight watchers! And he also told me I had hashimotos and no amount of eating gluten free or vegan would help so do not bother. I am really depressed and wonder if I should go back to dessicated...need some help, please. .
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, Feb-24-12, 09:04
*bookish*'s Avatar
*bookish* *bookish* is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 153
 
Plan: <50g a day, gluten-free
Stats: 202.8/180.6/145 Female 5'7
BF:
Progress: 38%
Location: Toronto
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Oh girl that's the worst! Do you think your doctor would switch you back to dessicated? Or maybe add a t3 to your current meds? Without ranges on your test results it's hard to say for sure, but your t4 looks pretty high.

Are you getting enough protein/fat with the foods you are eating? I imagine you're eating a bunch of soy, so you may want to do some reading on soy and thyroid function. I have Hashimoto's too and avoid that stuff like the plague.

And sorry, but your endo sounds like a real d!ck.
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Feb-24-12, 09:22
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Well, being vegan isn't going to help your hashi's, but being gluten free might. Get your free t3 tested. I've never heard of eltroxin. Is it a synthetic T4?


As always, do some reading at STTM
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Feb-24-12, 11:42
metalqueen metalqueen is offline
New Member
Posts: 3
 
Plan: gluten free vegan
Stats: 180/215/160 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Unhappy

I stay away from soy and all goitrogens. I use organic brown rice protein powder several times a day. All my food is organic now and free from additives or weird ingredients, have become as pure as possible.

I have lots of my dessicated meds still so I think I will just go back to them and go back on 185mg although that was when my problems started...

I wish I knew why my thyroid changed in the first place. I had been on 185mg of dessicated for a long time, years, and had blood work done in Dec 2010 which showed my levels to be normal...so they told me. And I felt good and was losing weight, had more energy, life was good. But then at some point into 2011, I lost my energy, became droopy and lifeless and gained all the weight back that I had lost and more. Yet I was still just as active despite having no energy, I forced myself. And I was still eating the same way, pretty healthy. By Sept 2011 I was so tired of feeling so blah and fat so I gave up sugar...after 2 months, I still had no change and also was noticing a swelling of my upper stomach on and off so I went gluten free. But after a month of gluten free, nothing had changed. That is when I had my thyroid testing and was told it was TSH 10.1 but I just do not know when it changed, or why it changed.

I upped my meds at that point to 245mg but felt no different, still blah, and after 6 weeks my doc said my levels showed me to be hyper. I had no hyper symptoms though. So I was desperate at that point and switched to eltroxin which is a different version of synthroid I believe. A synthetic med, which I had avoided for years but the doctor hates dessicated and finally pushed me off.

Now I am still lethargic, miserable and 15lbs heavier despite my ultra healthy eating!!

I am so upset and depressed...please someone help me.
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  #5   ^
Old Fri, Feb-24-12, 13:01
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Get off the vegan diet and see if that helps your energy levels. I've read so many stories from ex-vegans that they really suffered on the diet but were suffering under the assumption it was so very healthy, but they had a lot of problems until they got off.
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  #6   ^
Old Fri, Feb-24-12, 13:59
metalqueen metalqueen is offline
New Member
Posts: 3
 
Plan: gluten free vegan
Stats: 180/215/160 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress:
Unhappy

But how can it be the vegan diet since I have been suffering with this chronic lethargy long before I tried being vegan? I don't think being vegan has anything to do with it since I have only been vegan for a month and the lethargy has been on and on and on for the past year now...

It is the 15lb weight gain in a month that is freaking me out the most...
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  #7   ^
Old Fri, Feb-24-12, 14:39
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Okay, you didn't say how long you've been vegan, so I assumed you'd been doing it awhile.

You really need to get more thorough thyroid testing done. STTM has good advice about that. If your current doctor won't do it you might have to get it down yourself.

There's always the possibility that it isn't thyroid, or only thyroid. You could have other autoimmune issues going on, adrenal fatigue, and so on.
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