I was diagnosed with hypothyroid last month and have been taking Synthroid for about 4 weeks. My question is , is the medication going to hender my weight loss efforts OR does the medication help you lose weight?

Hi Paige! I hate to be a downer, but I have been on synthroid for 18 years, and have had trouble losing weight this whole time. I now take T3 also, Cytomel, and that doesn't help, either. I wish I could find a doc who would put me on Armour, but no luck.

The thing about being hypo that really bugs me, is WHY? My doctor can't answer that one. I mean, what causes the thyroid to go haywire? I think if you find the answer to that question, you can fix your thyroid. I am starting to believe the answer to my thyroid issues is candida. So basically, I have given up on the thyroid problem, and am concentrating on getting rid of the candida and hoping the rest will fall into place.

What was your TSH numbers? Just curious. Take the synthroid, tho, it might work for you. I am extremely metabolically resistant. If your thyroid is truly low, you want to take the meds, thyroid levels can become dangerously low, or high, and you need to be monitored.

Wish I had more encouraging news. A helpful place to go is about.com. Click on "health" then click on hypothyroid. The only thyroid website you will need. Also read about candida.

-Jess

Intresting!

I will have to let you know what my numbers are. I go back to the doc next week to get re tested. I know that they werent too low. I have taken otc sleeping pills in the past and my husband is convenced that they scewed up my thyroid..?? I'm going to go look at the web site now.Thank you for the info and I will keep you posted.

Just my two cents...when I was on Synthroid...I couldn't drop a pound. When I had my doctor change me to Levoxyl, boom! 10 pounds gone. THen I started low carbing 3 months after than and I've lost 20 pounds in 3 months. Not as fast as others...but I'll take it. I'd try getting your doctor to switch you to something besides Synthroid...not necessarily Levoxyl....and see if that is the problem. Just a thought..

How did you know to ask your Doctor about the other Med? I cant believe how much info is out there about Thyroid disease and all the different meds etc. WOW. What is different between the Synthroid and I'm sorry, Lyvrox (I know thats spelled wrong) Thank you for your input and cant wait to hear back from you soon. Oh! Did the Synthroid help your symptoms? and does the New med help them too and do you have any side affects? Sorry for all of the querstions...

Hey paige-

Levoxyl IS a Synthroid-so no real difference. It is just that there are several synthetic thyroid replacements.

I actually gained 30 pounds after I started taking Levoxyl. Of course, I was doing the whole low fat crap and you know where that leads us.... What I did was finally go to the doc and bring him some information that stated a good TSH level was between 1 and 2-not 5 or 6 like the labs' normal levels. I also wanted a T3 suppliment. What he did was agree to up my thyroid level and put me on a lc diet. I immediately lost weight. He checked my thryroid a couple of times and I am making enough T3 on my own, so didn't get the extra suppliment.

The doctor warned me that hypos have low tolerance for carbs-we just don't process them well. He said that I probably would never get above 45 or 50 grams in maintenance. I played around with my carb level (as per Atkins suggests) and found out I quit losing weight at just above 40 g. So, it seems he is right. We also lose weight slower than others, so don't dispair. It will happen!