Hypothyroidism Sucks

[ChubThunder]

I've had Hypothyroidism since I was 14. I'll be 30 this month. 1.5 years ago I decided to make a change in my life to live a healthier lifestyle. I was 300lbs and I lost over 80. Since then I've gained about 40 back. It's extremely difficult for me to keep the weight off. I went to see my Endo and had some blood tests done.

TSH 10.3
T 270 (he said this is acceptable, I disagree)
Cholesterol was through the roof.
So were triglycerides

I've had Drs messing with my thyroid medicine for 15 years now. I've only been able to lose weight by what I would consider extreme dieting. Grilled chicken 4 meals a day with a veggie. And 2 shakes. Drinking water only. Lifting 4-5 days a week and cardio 5+ days a week.

As far as I'm concerned I've wasted 15 years letting the "Pro's" aka Drs medicate me. I'm willing to put in the time at the gym and dieting.

Please help.

[38onTRT]

First things first, IMHO bro I would start with getting your "diet" and gym work under control. Testosterone should be the last thing on your mind right now..

Make a promise to your self and get into the gym as many days as you can.
Cardio every morning, as much as you can. 10 minutes/ 12 minutes/ 15 minutes/ etc etc. Cardio in the AM on an Empty stomach does WONDERS for shedding fat.
Make that same promise to your self to not eat ANY sugar or Alcohol and processed foods. Basically shop in the produce and meat sections, get your self a bunch of avocados and cashews for fats and do some research. Drink TONS of water.

EVERY day will be a battle. Your mind will F U K with you on an hourly basis. It will try and talk you out of eating healthy, working out every chance it gets. DO NOT listen to it. YOUR mind is your worst enemy.

It's YOUR health. You only have 1 body, you are renting it for the rest of your existence here... Treat it well and good things will happen.

BTW, it will take at least twice as long to shed the fat as it does to gain it. Reality. Get over it and used to it. Start now. Hit me up for any help, its FREE!!

[BigPimpin76]

First things first, IMHO bro I would start with getting your "diet" and gym work under control. Testosterone should be the last thing on your mind right now.. Make a promise to your self and get into the gym as many days as you can. Cardio every morning, as much as you can. 10 minutes/ 12 minutes/ 15 minutes/ etc etc. Cardio in the AM on an Empty stomach does WONDERS for shedding fat. Make that same promise to your self to not eat ANY sugar or Alcohol and processed foods. Basically shop in the produce and meat sections, get your self a bunch of avocados and cashews for fats and do some research. Drink TONS of water. EVERY day will be a battle. Your mind will F U K with you on an hourly basis. It will try and talk you out of eating healthy, working out every chance it gets. DO NOT listen to it. YOUR mind is your worst enemy. It's YOUR health. You only have 1 body, you are renting it for the rest of your existence here... Treat it well and good things will happen. BTW, it will take at least twice as long to shed the fat as it does to gain it. Reality. Get over it and used to it. Start now. Hit me up for any help, its FREE!!

I agree here with whats beeb said!!
Mix things up more!!
Routine is the enemy!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forum

[kelkel]

Have you read or looked at stopthethyroidmadness.com?
A great book on cholesterol is "The Great Cholesterol Myth" by Dr. Stephen Sinatra.

[FapOLantern]

Dude, I was in the same boat as you, even the same T level.
I`m still tinkering with my protocol, but, taking natural dessicated thyroid (thyroid-S brand from Thailand, armour used to make great stuff but since it switched to vegan components it sucks) my life is changing dramatically.

Right now, my TSH is 0,15 (ultra sensitive), test is at 673 ng/dl and going up, and I need to take Arimidex because my test aromatises easily (before I started with the AI it was 39 pg/ml, for optimal weelbeing you need around 20-22 pg/ml, I`m at 19 pg/ml right now, and will gauge to see if I need to increase my E2.

Read the site kelkel said, it`s a gold mine of information, just try to ignore its sensacionalism and you`ll be fine, and use other tools for research. If you`re apprehensive about natural thyroid, take levothyroxine AND Cytomel (synthetic T4+T3 combo). T4-only is a terrible idea, even though, in theory, it should convert to T3 since it`s a storage hormone.

Also check your cortisol, and test for TPO antibodies and TgAB for potential hashimoto`s. Are you iodine deficient? What does your moning body temp look like?

[ChubThunder]

Thanks for all the input guys. I am going to check out that website and book too. I belong to a few thyroid forms as well and it seems a lot of people have this same problem, that's why I reached out on this forum. I've tried to get my Dr to prescribe me something other than Levothyroxine (I take 300mg), but they pretty much own the thyroid market and most Endo's won't prescribe anything else. I asked about armour and a few others and I basically got scolded for even questioning what the Dr had to say. I've also asked about taking T3 in addition to T4. I've been to 3 different Endo's this year. All of them have pulled blood work and made alterations to my medication, but I still feel like crap.

38onTRT, I eat a super clean diet. I do switch things up a bit here and there. Occasionally I'll do 93% lean beef or turkey, but I try to keep my calories under 1800 for the day. I keep a ledger of what I eat each day and how many calories & fat ect. I really don't think it's my diet, I have a friend who competes in mens physique and I eat the same diet he does before a competition, only I eat it all year long. I've been to 2 nutritionist and they are blown away when they hear what I eat and I've even been accused of lying because I'm 265lb and 5'7". They said there is no way if I ate that I would weigh as much as I do, which is why I feel like the issue is with my thyroid levels still and low T.

I can post my last blood results if you think it would help narrow things down. Or if you guys can refer a good Endo in the Southern NJ area that's willing to prescribe something outside of Synthroid?

[scotty51312]

Any Doc will usually go with synthroid which is t4, If you want your t3 levels higher in some cases t3 is the only way, Generally marketed as cytomel talk to your doc about it. 25 to 50mcg a day. If he says no, our sponsor site ar-r.com has t3 for sale as a "research chem" if you would like to try some out on your "lab rats"

[ChubThunder]

I have another Endo appointment of the 24th. If he's not willing to budge on the T3 I will most certainly be checking out that site. Thanks again for all your input.

[--->>405<<---]

hey man,

ur situation sucks.. IMO u need to take matters more into your own hands, aka: finding another (BETTER, more open-minded) doctor. i guarantee you if that asshole was 300lbs at 67" hed be doing something much different than what he has you doing!

you have insurance??? if this is the case you might do well to find a good TRT doc in your area (or even outside yourarea if need be..) i dont know a lot about thyroid, but i have enuff confidence in science and medicine to believe there is no reason you should be struggling like you are right now. the fault lies with the shitty doctor you have.

if your total test is in the 200's u NEED to get on TRT more than likely as well. i have found the right TRT doc will not only manage ur testosterone care, but also thyroid and a host of other things as well. they all kinda work together..

if ii were you i would not even go back to that guy. id be looking for another doctor IMMEDIATELY!

my brother was hyperthyroid and he had to have his thyroid removed, or disposed of, with radiation i think. he maintains a healthy weight with zero thyroid..

get another doctor.

below is what i looked like with total test of 349 (348-1197)

there is hope... get another doctor!

[thisAngelBites]

I agree a better doctor would be the way to go. And once you get your thyroid to where it needs to be (which is the number 1 thing to do), your testosterone numbers will probably increase on their own, possibly even dramatically. You might still need more T, but you will be a lot better off than you are. The Stop the Thyroid Madness page has a list of recommended doctors - find one near you and make an appointment first thing.

Is your TSH really 10.3 or is that a typo? If it is 10.3 you are simply not properly medicated for your thyroid problem. Post your free T3 and free T4, but your pituitary is basically screaming at your thyroid to make more hormone. So unless there is some other reason that your doctor is not increasing your thyroxine (like your free T3 and T4 are at the top or over the ranges), your medical care is just not very good at this point. We can't tell without your bloodwork whether you are converting T4 to T3 well, so at this point, I would not put all my faith in T3 as the holy grail.

I wonder how much carb you eat. Triglycerides are basically a result of the carbs/sugar you put in your body. It sounds like you are really struggling, and you may not want to hear this, but I think you should consider going cold turkey on everything that is sugar, processed (including shakes, which usually are full of rubbish, and often sugar) or made from grain of any kind. Eat meat, fish (especially fish and seafood!), vegetables (excluding starchy ones like carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes) and healthy fats (avocado, coconut, olive oil, grass fed animal fat, which will help to increase you HDL and your overall lipid profile) and nothing else (and I would even exclude fruit until you get the sugar cravings out of your system) and tough it out for two weeks, but don't worry about calories. You will feel like utter crap on days 2-5, but then you will start to improve and once the cravings are gone, and your thyroid hormone amounts are in better shape, I bet you the weight will start to come right off.

You can stand anything for a week or two, seriously. Limit your carbs to non starchy veg for a couple of weeks, and work on getting into a decent doc. You'll be attacking the situation on the two most important fronts: good professional advice and doing the best you can for yourself. I think you will start to feel a lot better and be well on your way to getting where you want to be.

[kelkel]

your pituitary is basically screaming at your thyroid to make more hormone.

For some reason that line cracked me up.

[ChubThunder]

Thanks for all the input. My previous TSH of 10.3 was not a typo. Since my last post the Dr has increased me from 275mcg to 300mcg. I have gotten new blood work and this is where I'm at:
T3, Total - 103
T3 Uptake - 41%
T4, Total - 8.9
Free T4 Index - 3.6
TSH - 0.15

Before the increase I looked like a junkie nodding out at 10:30am at work. Now I make it till about 1:30-2pm before I start nodding out from exhaustion. I've been taking Cellucor Super HD at work just for an energy boost so I don't lose my job. The Dr said he is going to keep my medication where it is.... He said my TSH is just out of range (low) and my T4 & T3 are just in range but on the high end... He said ideally I want a lower T3/T4 number for weight loss, but that can't be done without making my TSH even more out of range. My take on this.... I feel like I need a T3 supplement... He wants to let it ride until my next appointment on July 11th. I don't feel like waiting 2 months!