Thyroid Problems and weight gain

[Ilovecake]

does anyone else have thyroid disease?

 

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease a few months before my ex dumped me. Actually that was one of the reasons he dumped me, I gained weight when I started treatment and also quit smoking after 22 years at the same time. My metabolism just quit on me. I started plumping up like crazy. I have gained over 30 lb in 2 years.

 

I want so badly to lose the weight because I just don’t feel good enough about myself to even think about dating. Men still talk to me and tell me I’m beautiful but I have my ex’s voice in the back of my head saying “I didn’t sign on for this”.

 

The problem I’m having is that (partly because I was very sick for 15 years) I never ever exercised, now due to my graves disease I have a heart arrhythmia that limits what I can do. I started walking a lot and watching everything I eat but the lbs are not coming off. I don’t know how far I can push the exercise as I’m completely out of shape and afraid to give myself a heart attack.

 

Has anyone had experience with thyroid related weight gain? Have you lost it? How did you do it?

[eraser]

What kind of thyroid medication are you on?

[Ilovecake]

I've been on Methimazole for almost 2 years. Last year they tried to take me off when my levels were normal but I went back to hyper really fast and got extremely sick. They upped my meds and I went hypo that's when most of the weight gained happened. I've had the meds adjusted again and am almost at a good level, TSH is a bit in the hypo range still.

[carhill]

I treated my mom for hypothyroidism, but my understanding is that Graves Disease manifests in the opposite, namely *hyper*thyroidism. Weight gain and irritability were common in her case but, generally, unexplained weight *loss* even with increased appetite is a symptom of Grave's.

 

What meds are you taking and are you taking anything for the arrhythmia? Has a doctor recommended cardioconversion?

 

In my mom's case, the doctor medicated her with Levoxyl and I (and later the nursing home) provided her an age-appropriate balanced diet. She dropped from a high of 180 lbs prior to treatment down to about 138 when I placed her and has maintained that weight even though now bedridden. The treatment also stabilized her blood glucose and blood pressure, lessening or eliminating meds in those areas.

 

My bet is, if you're eating a proper diet and exercising and the weight still remains, it's a body chemistry issue. What's your current TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level?

[bac]

From what I know, the Graves disease requires surgery. And surgery is the best way to get rid of it.

I have a friend who has the disease and she has normal weight because she goes to gym daily and on a good diet. But, she has the problem with eyes. It is not typical to gain weight with this medical condition.

 

Anyway, do you know how many calories you consume daily?

As average, you should consume from 1500 to 1800 calories daily to maintain stable weight. If you want to lose weight, you should consume from 1100 to 1350 ccal daily. If you consume more than 2000 ccal daily, you are expected to gain weight no matter what kind of disease you have.

[pureinheart]

does anyone else have thyroid disease?

 

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease a few months before my ex dumped me. Actually that was one of the reasons he dumped me, I gained weight when I started treatment and also quit smoking after 22 years at the same time. My metabolism just quit on me. I started plumping up like crazy. I have gained over 30 lb in 2 years.

 

I want so badly to lose the weight because I just don’t feel good enough about myself to even think about dating. Men still talk to me and tell me I’m beautiful but I have my ex’s voice in the back of my head saying “I didn’t sign on for this”.

 

The problem I’m having is that (partly because I was very sick for 15 years) I never ever exercised, now due to my graves disease I have a heart arrhythmia that limits what I can do. I started walking a lot and watching everything I eat but the lbs are not coming off. I don’t know how far I can push the exercise as I’m completely out of shape and afraid to give myself a heart attack.

 

Has anyone had experience with thyroid related weight gain? Have you lost it? How did you do it?

 

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in the beginning of 2007. It was horrible. Prior to the diagnosis, I had been under severe stress for quite a few years, smoked and was addicted to diet Pepsi.

 

My aggitation levels were high. My heart would race during a confrontation of any nature, good or bad, I was unable to handle anything. it was the worst thing I'd ever been through.

 

The weird thing was that I too, during the worst hyper portion gained a bunch of weight in like 3 mo, where before I was real skinny.

 

I hated the Tapozole, I took one 10mg pill and couldn't stay awake...so split it in half and then quarters....I was supposed to be on 20 or 20mg, but refused to take so much due to not being able to work....I was considered severe hyperthyroid, yet none of the doctors would put me out on medical...I was doing an extremely physical job at the time...that pissed me off.

 

I'm still on the Tapozole, 5 mg a day....I upped it because I think I've gone a little more hyper during the seasonal change...

 

Ilovecake, this has been horrible, and I need to take better care of myself too...I ended up loosing all of the weight, but have put 20lbs back on because I have bad habits...

 

I did a lot of research on this, but things might have changed since my studies...I used herbal remedies also, which helped greatly to calm me down naturally. I quit smoking too as 50% of smokers who have Graves Disease end up with Thyroid Eye Disease (TED)....oh and diet stuff can be a contributer to GD...

 

Hey Carhill, I'd like your imput...you seem to atune to medicine...

 

Like ILC, my metabilsm went haywire...ya ILC, I too would be interested in your TSH reading...mine in the beginning was not registerable...not on the charts, now it's in the middle...

 

Take Care ILC...I understand what you've been through(((((huggggssss))))

[pureinheart]

From what I know, the Graves disease requires surgery. And surgery is the best way to get rid of it.

I have a friend who has the disease and she has normal weight because she goes to gym daily and on a good diet. But, she has the problem with eyes. It is not typical to gain weight with this medical condition.

 

Anyway, do you know how many calories you consume daily?

As average, you should consume from 1500 to 1800 calories daily to maintain stable weight. If you want to lose weight, you should consume from 1100 to 1350 ccal daily. If you consume more than 2000 ccal daily, you are expected to gain weight no matter what kind of disease you have.

 

Hi bac,

 

Being thin all my life...sure there were times weight would fluctuate, although for the mostpart skinny...when I went really hyper, I was starving all of the time...it was way weird.

 

My heart goes out to your friend with the TED (Thyroid Eye Disease).

 

Man...I consume about 5K calories per day...lol...people used to crack up at how much I could eat and not gain weight, but I was also very active too. I have always been "hyper" in the true sense of the word, it's hard to sit still...it's why school was soooo hard for me...lol.