For those who do not know me, I have Graves Disease (Hyperthyroidism) and now after my radioactive iodine treatment, I am experiencing hypothyroidism. Being hypo I have no energy and I am on thyroid meds to rebuild my thyroid.

I have been so out of it for the past two months that I have had no energy to exercise. I am a exercise freak and for two months I have been dragging around and getting wide. I gave myself a break because I heard that after having your thyroid eradicated, your system could go either way - hypo or hyper. I guess it depnds what state your thyroid was in when your condition began.

I was a sturdy size 12 until March of 2001, when I gave up smoking when I start to bulge. When the thyroid problem was attacked in July, I started to feel lethargic. I never thought that I would gain weight when I started thyroid therapy. I was always active and ready to work out. I have everything I need but no energy. I recently bought vitamins and recently saw that everything that I put on my body was too tight. I guess that is motivation enough. Also, I called my doctor to tell her that I am feel lethargic and she has told me to come in for another blood test.

Partly I feel that most of my lethargy is biological/glandular the other half is just "in my head". However, I am slowly but surely become low-carb. I am also wondering if cutting my carbs is making me tired. . . .could that also be the problem. Let me know.

Well, that's my contribution to this link. Come on everybody, share some of your weight loss secrets and woes.

I don't have any experience with thyroid, but I do know that a lot of people beginning low carb have a couple of weeks of 'blah' energy at first. It goes away as the body adjusts.

Rather than trying to fight the lethargy head-on, maybe you should reintroduce exercise slowly? Start out with walking, then maybe slowly build up to your previous program? I'm no fitness guru, but I have lots of experience with setting huge, unattainable goals for myself, and I'm slowly learning I have to be more realistic about my abilities.

Rachel

Rachel, I just want to digress for a moment. I have been in Canada five times - Montreal and I wanted to have dual citizenship because I loved the environment, the people, the flavor. However, when people talked about Vancouver, B.C., (which they now affectionately call Hongcourver), they described it as one of the most beautiful places to live and also that the people there were also very, very nice.

I have been so slow on the uptake here on this site, that only recently I have been noticing where this site is based and where my support group is writing from. So, I say hello to the Candians and the British Columbians out there from New York, New York.

O.k. Rachel, I am taking the exersise slow. I have to say that my muscles have been giving me some problems due to the thyroid, but I need to work out to rev up my motor. I have really bloated, (well to me I look like bloated and my clothes are hard to fit) and I am not a big eater. So, I have to equate this to the thyroid. This Thursday, I will get another blood test and possibly following it I will get new meds and a stronger dose of Synthroid. I am depressed with this weight, but I am trying to put it in perspective that this situation is really out of my control without medication. It becomes in control with the low carb diet and exercise. I am hopeful.

There is one question I wanted to ask you, how many carbs per day should a low carbie have in his or her diet? Let me know. Thanks again.

Hey there!
This number all depends on the plan you are following. I see that your plan says, whatever works.... How many carbs are you consuming now? Induction for Atkins is 20.

I am not following any program. I guess that is not the right way to go. All I am doing right now is just eating things that are not over 20 carbs. That is waht I am doing right now. Maybe you can recommend a program that would be good for me. I did not check out Atkins. Is it easy or am I going to have to have a lot of patience to get used to it.

The wheat bread that I am eating now is 17 carbs per slice, I do have a littel ice cream, diet sodas, tuna fish, frozen vegetables, fresh vegetables, cold cereal, ground lean meat, very little pasta, fresh fruit and jarred fruit. As I said before, I am back to exercising.

That is it. So, give me some advice. I am trying to get a handle on this so I can start helping someone else.

Thanks Fern

Hey there Control,
Right now it seems as if you have started to restrict the amount of carbs in your diet. Atkins limits the induction phase to 20 g of carbs PER DAY. It seems as if you are consuming much more than that. I would suggest that you read a book on low-carb ways of eating. A lot of members suggest reading the Atkins book and Protein Power. Also, have you introduced yourself on the Introductions forum? There is a lot of people here who could suggest different things for you to try. Also, check out the Low Carb Plans forum. There is info there on all different kinds of low-carb plans. Best of luck to you!

Linda

Hopefully your doctor will help sort things out. You might possibly need a higher dose of the levothyroxine (Synthroid), or another type of thyroid hormone. It would be good for you to arm yourself with knowledge ... thyroid disease tends to be long-term, and such an impact on many aspects of your life and health, not just fatigue and weight issues. The BEST website for thyroid information can be found at About.com. Here's the link to their Hyperthyroid information .. http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hyperthyrdgraves/index.htm .. If you are now experiencing hypo symptoms (not uncommon, unfortunately, but very treatable with the replacement hormones), do check out the hypothyroid information while you're there (the link's on the left side of the page).

Being low thyroid can sap your energy, especially if you were hypER for a while before diagnosis -- you were probably going like a ball of fire then!! As well as lethargy, it's not uncommon to experience some mild depression; it gets better .. .. Exercise will help ... but don't force more than you can handle, otherwise it defeats the purpose.

As for diet/nutrition ... controlling carbohydrates, and eliminating all sugars, refined flours and starches etc will go a long way to helping you feel better, not just losing weight. Keeping blood sugar and insulin levels stable by eating a diet higher in protein, vegetables and healthy fats will avoid the up and down swings that leave you feeling so bagged out.

You really do need to read at least one, preferably more - of the popular lowcarb program books that are out there. It's more than just a two-week menu plan of eat this, lose weight then go back to what you did before. To get you started, click on "Low Carb Tips" on the menu bar at the top of the page. Read the articles there, they're chock full of information about low-carbing. Especially read : Low Carb Basics, Low Carb Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Jazz-up your Induction! ... You'll find lots of information to get you started, menu ideas and links to official websites of some of the popular programs.

Take care, hope you're feeling better soon. And happy READING !! Keep us posted how you're doing.

Doreen