Euthyrox

[Mike Lister]

Is anyone here who takes Euthyrox and if so, did you have problems with weight gain? If you did, do you have any tips or pointers?

 

This is a Euthyrox specific issue for people who have had total thyroidectomy and must take hormone replacements, please do not post your diet tips, unless it is Euthyrox specific.

 

Following surgery 44 days ago, my weight was 84.1 which is close to my long term average weight. I started taking 0.5 mcg Euthyrox and after 8 days the dose was increased to 0.75 mcg, the long term dose guidelines are 1 mcg per kg or body weight although this may be lower in older people, I'm 74 years old. I'm due my first blood based hormones review at the end of the week when I pray the dose will not be increased. I weigh myself daily at the same time and am now 86.3, despite adjusting my diet to try and reduce weight.

 

I eat one small meal a day. For breakfast I eat fresh fruit with low sugar content, lunch varies but is always small/medium and sensible, I've discovered that rice is like a fat magnet for me. Dinner is a bowl of soup or a small salad.  It is said that it takes between 4 and 6 weeks for the body weight to stabilize, I think I'm at that point. My biggest problem is that I have spinal issues which are manageable at a lower body weight, at my present weight they are difficult. I also need to exercise which a combination of body weight and lumbar issues makes tricky.

 

Any insight from personal experience will be appreciated.

[Prubangboy]

Much empathy for your health issues.

 

My anecdotal experience and internet reading tells me that thyroid problems like mine (100 msg of Euthrox a day) make it hard to lose weight and easy to gain it.

 

It's discouraging that a year of gym-going and alcohol and carb restriction has resulted in only 7 kilo's lost -with progress at a standstill now for a while. The life-change that was sold to me by ripped abs male models in Men's Health Magazine is proving elusive.

 

With calories as low as your's are, squeezing in more protein is hard. I try to pick wisely and abet my diet with a protein shake a day from 7/11, which I sort of regard as my dessert quotient -I haven't had a beloved mango and sticky rice in a year.

 

Problem: protein is always very low in fiber, so I eat a small serving of pineapple a day. I guess that's 2 "bad" desserts a day. So shoot me.

 

I hope you get a good response here because the thyroid blues is a common problem with no easy solutions.

[Mike Lister]

8 minutes ago, Prubangboy said:

Much empathy for your health issues.

 

My anecdotal experience and internet reading tells me that thyroid problems like mine (100 msg of Euthrox a day) make it hard to lose weight and easy to gain it.

 

It's discouraging that a year of gym-going and alcohol and carb restriction has resulted in only 7 kilo's lost -with progress at a standstill now for a while. The life-change that was sold to me by ripped abs male models in Men's Health Magazine is proving elusive.

 

With calories as low as your's are, squeezing in more protein is hard. I try to pick wisely and abet my diet with a protein shake a day from 7/11, which I sort of regard as my dessert quotient -I haven't had a beloved mango and sticky rice in a year.

 

Problem: protein is always very low in fiber, so I eat a small serving of pineapple a day. I guess that's 2 "bad" desserts a day. So shoot me.

 

I hope you get a good response here because the thyroid blues is a common problem with no easy solutions.

Many many thanks for those things, I thought I was the only one out there!

 

One of the many things I've read on this subject is the link between the hormone guided weight gain and increased blood glucose levels leading to higher HbA1C. I thought I'd fought and won the Type 2 battle by restricting my diet and exercising daily but it seems like it may come back.....grrr, frustrating.

 

I've also read that thyroidectomy patients are happiest (!) when their TSH levels are between 0.5 and 2.5 and their T4 levels between 1.4 and 1.7. Call me odd if you like but my numbers have barely even been in those ranges! For the past 10 years my TSH has been under 0.7 and my T4 has averaged 1.2 (but it did reach 1.3 once in 2015). I can hardly wait for my hormones doctor to tell me she's going to increase my dosage, I may have to go to my diet Plan B which is two dried leaves, a blade of grass and a lick of an ice cube once a day. :)

[Prubangboy]

Another grievious injustice:

 

After a year+ of living like a macrobiotic monk, am I more energetic, having better poops, sleeping better, happier? Have I ever enjoyed "the burn" post-gym?

 

No. 

 

I can claim a small bump in self-esteem in that I'm taking care of myself responsibly. I can drag two 8-packs of big water bottles up 24 steps without stopping. If I can think of a third thing, I'll ping back here.

 

Men's Health Magazine lied to me. I was gullible at the "she's only a cashier"-level. For example, post 65, weight lifting 3 times a week does less for you than 2 times a week, due to the need for old-guy recuperation. If you do yoga and weights, they both do a little bit less for you than if you did one full-on.

 

Health is a funnel that can only handle so much input at one time. Past 70, that funnel definitely narrows. Be self-loving, pragmatic, and realistic. I'm at the gym these days to stay out of managed care, not to be more appealing to women. 

 

The only other thyroid advice I have is to take rest when you need it, for as long as you need it. Maybe learn some relaxation-breathing techniques if you're a bit Type A. It's not just the quantity of the rest, but also the quality. Learn what deep rest feels like. You already know what extraordinary fatigue feels like. 

 

Joe Rogan (who I hate worse than Satan) said that you should envision that you have X number of energy units a day and you should strategize to use them optimally. For Thyroid people, that goes double.

 

 

Edited January 3 by Prubangboy

[BigStar]

I've taken Euthyrox for more than 20 years. Never had a problem with weight gain. Low carb diet, resistance exercise, some cardio has always kept my BMI and numbers in good order. Same age as you. 

 

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, BigStar said:

I've taken Euthyrox for more than 20 years. Never had a problem with weight gain. Low carb diet, resistance exercise, some cardio has always kept my BMI and numbers in good order. Same age as you. 

 

Total or partial thyroidectomy, and, dosage of Euthyrox, please?

[BigStar]

9 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Total or partial thyroidectomy, and, dosage of Euthyrox, please?

 

Total, as I had had a known risk factor from medical mismanagement in adolescence. 150 mcg/day. No noticeable side effects.

 

Edited January 3 by BigStar

[Mike Lister]

5 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

Total, as I had had a known risk factor from medical mismanagement in adolescence. 150 mcg/day. No noticeable side effects.

 

Sorry, one more question, your weight? Thanks

[BigStar]

Just now, Mike Lister said:

Sorry, one more question, your weight? Thanks

 

73 kg, 182 cm tall.

[Sheryl]

The levothyroxine itself (which I also take) does nto  cause weight gain.

 

What will cause weight gain, is being hypothyroid i.e. if your levels are still too low.

 

When you see the doctor be sure to mention the weight gain issue and that it occurred despite strictly limited food intake.

 

 

[Mike Lister]

1 minute ago, BigStar said:

 

73 kg, 182 cm tall.

Wow, that's 2 units per kilo whereas the guide is only 1 per kg. Also, the formula for weight gain is low TSH, hi T4, it sounds like you're breaking all the rules.

[BigStar]

2 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Wow, that's 2 units per kilo whereas the guide is only 1 per kg. Also, the formula for weight gain is low TSH, hi T4, it sounds like you're breaking all the rules.

 

Dr. June, best endocrinologist at Bumrungrad, made the call. Been working well for 2 decades now, go figure.

[Sheryl]

6 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

, the formula for weight gain is low TSH, hi T4, it sounds like you're breaking all the rules.

???

 

low TSH and high T4 = hyperthyroid which would cause weight loss, not weight gain

[Mike Lister]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

???

 

low TSH and high T4 = hyperthyroid which would cause weight loss, not weight gain

Sorry, I rushed my earlier reply whilst waiting for lunch. I have both weight gain and weight loss combinations in my phone in advance of my meeting and I copied the wrong one in my reply, what you have written is of course correct. I will indeed mention this to the hormone specialist on Sunday and will report what was said, along with blood test results.

 

Trivia:

 

Breakfast today was six assorted fresh fruit segments.

 

Lunch was a (small) grilled chicken breast, a tablespoon (literally) of mashed potato, five assorted piece of boiled vegetables and a small plain salad. 

 

Dinner will be a small mixed salad.

 

I'm guessing that's around 250 cals + 500 cals + 250 cals, say 1,000 cals max.

 

Big sigh! 

 

 

 

 

[BigStar]

6 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

Following surgery 44 days ago, my weight was 84.1 which is close to my long term average weight.

 

We dunno if 84.1 is an optimal long term average weight or not.

 

6 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

I weigh myself daily at the same time and am now 86.3, despite adjusting my diet to try and reduce weight.

 

I eat one small meal a day. For breakfast I eat fresh fruit with low sugar content, lunch varies but is always small/medium and sensible,

 

Avoiding insulin spikes might help. For example, I eat no fruits but only berries. We dunno what's in that soup you're eating. Here's The No Sugar, No Starch Diet created by Dr. Westman when with the Lifestyle Medicine Clinic at Duke University Medical Center, using Atkins principles (nobody here understands Atkins or low carb, so pay no attention to the detractors). Add carbs back in your diet, judiciously, after you've lost weight and are stable.

 

6 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

My biggest problem is that I have spinal issues which are manageable at a lower body weight, at my present weight they are difficult. I also need to exercise which a combination of body weight and lumbar issues makes tricky.

 

My sympathies. Of course you do need to exercise, but much less is needed than commonly believed to be quite fit.

 

As a start, you might read Body by Science: A Research Based Program for Strength Training, Body building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week. Then consider techniques like TSC (Timed Static Contractions) (Drew Baye's the man on these). I use TSC for a number of exercises; they're tough and they work.

 

I don't have lumbar issues, so I do interval training on a recumbent exercise bike, 2x10 min per week, 3 intervals per session. And my V02 max (calculated) is in the athletic category for my age. The influencer there is the lead researcher on the subject, Martin Gibala, who has this book out: The One-Minute Workout: Science Shows a Way to Get Fit That's Smarter, Faster, Shorter.

 

I do 2 sets per week of hyperextensions and reverse hyperextensions, bodyweight only, for targeted back strengthening. Dead hangs for back decompression. I'm not an athlete or even athletic.

 

Re: protein, you can add in protein powder. Whey has really gone up in price, so I've changed to pea protein. Fairly cheap on Lazada.

 

Edited January 3 by BigStar

[Maud]

I agree with Sheryl, weight gain is more associated with hypothyroidism.  Where you are taking hormone replacement that would suggest you are still under medicated, but you will need your forthcoming blood work to confirm that.

When reviewing that blood work it is important to review TSH, T4 and T3, not just T4 and TSH.

I hope you can get onto an even keel soon, but it can take a while to balance thyroid hormones.

[Wrwest]

I have been on 75mg daily of Euthyrox daily for some years now as a result of low thyroid blood readings. While I have had weight gain since retiring to Thailand (arrived 66k and nw 80K at 67 cm), I attribute that to ceasing use of the gym just previous to Covid), a rather sanitary life style and my Thai Wife's looking after me.

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, Wrwest said:

I have been on 75mg daily of Euthyrox daily for some years now as a result of low thyroid blood readings. While I have had weight gain since retiring to Thailand (arrived 66k and nw 80K at 67 cm), I attribute that to ceasing use of the gym just previous to Covid), a rather sanitary life style and my Thai Wife's looking after me.

At only 67 cms you're rather short, I'm guessing you mean 87?

[newbee2022]

Apparently the dosage is not levelled out perfectly. Therefore the blood tests. However, both side effects (gaining, losing) are mentioned in the leaflet.

Wait for the results. It might take some more blood tests to find the adequate dosage.

[Mike Lister]

I've brought forward my meeting with the hormones specialist from Sunday until 6pm today, it's been 6 weeks since my last blood test so I'm pretty sure the dosage needs increasing. I'm getting big despite hardly eating anything.

[lopburi3]

10 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

At only 67 cms you're rather short, I'm guessing you mean 87?

Are you serious?  Perhaps 167 or 187 cm might be more logical?

[Mike Lister]

8 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Are you serious?  Perhaps 167 or 187 cm might be more logical?

No. :))

[gamb00ler]

My wife takes 87.5µg Euthyrox daily (1.75 * 50µg).  She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 15 years ago and had her thyroid destroyed by taking some form of radioactive Iodine.  She was initially treated by Dr. Thepe in Bangkok and then by a wonderful endocrinologist in USA.  I don't remember what they set her initial dosage to be but it soon settled in the 85-90 range.  She weighs about 60kg.  She hasn't had the weight gain problem.

 

It's a real nuisance that the thyroid hormone is only available in 50 and 100 dosages here in Thailand.  My wife is getting to be an expert in pill cutting.  It's so much easier with the dosages available in US:

 

[lopburi3]

1 minute ago, Mike Lister said:

No. :))

You must realize that many of us take anything written in the forum(s) as proof that it is a fact.  Say it enough and it is.

[Mike Lister]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

You must realize that many of us take anything written in the forum(s) as proof that it is a fact.  Say it enough and it is.

Sorry, I was merely trying to lighten things up a little, I think most people understand that 87 cms is only 2 ft 8inches.

[Mike Lister]

5 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

My wife takes 87.5µg Euthyrox daily (1.75 * 50µg).  She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 15 years ago and had her thyroid destroyed by taking some form of radioactive Iodine.  She was initially treated by Dr. Thepe in Bangkok and then by a wonderful endocrinologist in USA.  I don't remember what they set her initial dosage to be but it soon settled in the 85-90 range.  She weighs about 60kg.  She hasn't had the weight gain problem.

 

It's a real nuisance that the thyroid hormone is only available in 50 and 100 dosages here in Thailand.  My wife is getting to be an expert in pill cutting.  It's so much easier with the dosages available in US:

 

Yep, buy shares in companies that sell pill splitters! 

 

Thanks for that, I agree the sizes are not convenient but glad that you found good endo's.

[lopburi3]

19 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Sorry, I was merely trying to lighten things up a little, I think most people understand that 87 cms is only 2 ft 8inches.

Sadly suspect some of us Americans of age would not have a clue - but really did not intend my post as a dig - just can not find a normal smile emoji anymore - selection offered looks more like a horror movie.  And yes - I did take my 50 ug today.

[newbee2022]

4 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

I've brought forward my meeting with the hormones specialist from Sunday until 6pm today, it's been 6 weeks since my last blood test so I'm pretty sure the dosage needs increasing. I'm getting big despite hardly eating anything.

I'm convinced you didn't find the right dosage yet. As I stated it might take another 2 or 3 blood tests (once monthly) Be a little bit patient if you can.

[London Lowf]

I don't have much to contribute as all this talk of TSH, T4 and T3 is gobbledygook to me. However, I had a total laryngectomy fourteen years ago after failed chemo/radio treatment for throat cancer. If I remember correctly I was started on 100mcg levthyroxine a day which was then increased to 125mcg and then lowered to 112.5mcg a day which I have been on for many years. I have comprehensive blood tests every six months.

 

I am 173cm and 70 years old. When I am at home in the UK I really enjoy my food and I maintain 60/61kg (the same as I was at age 18) but at the end of my three-month stints in Thailand I have always dropped to 56/57kg - I find that Thai food and the relentless hot weather in Phuket kill my appetite. I no longer go to the gym or ride a mountain bike but I try to walk as much as possible.

 

I agree that the OP just needs to find his right dosage - good luck.

 

PS: Yes, the availability of only 100mcg and 50mcg pills in Thailand is a nuisance on the rare ocassions that I have to top up over there, but in the UK it's not much better with just 100/50/25 and so I have to alternate 100/125 daily doses.

Edited January 4 by London Lowf

[Mike Lister]

My blood tests today came out as follows:

 

TSH is high at 5.90 and FT4 is in range on the low side at 1.05 (range is 0.70 to 1.48). FT3 is 3.09

 

My dosage has been increased from 0.75 to 1.0, Dr Endo suspects the end result will be around 1.40 but she's taking it in baby steps because of concern about my heart (I have a stent). Oh yes, am also instructed to take 100 mg Vit C to help aid absorption.

 

I also asked for my Calcium to be tested. Previously I was on 6,000 mg a day which was reduced to the current 3,000mg, tonight it has been reduced to 1,500. High dosage Calcium has been causing constipation which might be the cause of some weight gain and bloating discomfort (my movements are irregular at best).

 

Back to see Dr Endo in 5 weeks. 

 

Thank you so much to everyone who posted on this subject, PM'd me and offered support and advice and shared their story, it is all greatly appreciated.

 

I'll leave this open in case there's more to add later.