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Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => Nutrition, Products & Supplements Info => Topic started by: smaul on October 13, 2009, 01:53:45 AM
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I hope this isn't too serious a question for this place but I know there are some knowledgeable people on here!
My wife has just been diagnosed with a failed thyroid gland, after pregnancy. Basically she's been put on a replacement dose of thyroxine of 100mg.
The weird thing is that she has been putting on weight since she started the treatment, surely this is the opposite of what you would expect to happen? She's been on the treatment for about 6 weeks. She is not eating too much, counting calories she's on about 1800/day and she's average height.
Anyone know anything about this situation? Will this sort itself out?
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I hope this isn't too serious a question for this place but I know there are some knowledgeable people on here!
My wife has just been diagnosed with a failed thyroid gland, after pregnancy. Basically she's been put on a replacement dose of thyroxine of 100mg.
The weird thing is that she has been putting on weight since she started the treatment, surely this is the opposite of what you would expect to happen? She's been on the treatment for about 6 weeks. She is not eating too much, counting calories she's on about 1800/day and she's average height.
Anyone know anything about this situation? Will this sort itself out?
Thyroid issues are more severe in women than men. I think that you should maybe post this on WebMD?r
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1800 seems a little high, but you don't mention her activity level, height, breastfeeding, etc. which are all a factor. I've known several people on Synthroid and all have struggled with weight and all are on it permanently. :-\
I've asked Laura to stop by and share some insight on the thyroid.
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I hope this isn't too serious a question for this place but I know there are some knowledgeable people on here!
My wife has just been diagnosed with a failed thyroid gland, after pregnancy. Basically she's been put on a replacement dose of thyroxine of 100mg.
The weird thing is that she has been putting on weight since she started the treatment, surely this is the opposite of what you would expect to happen? She's been on the treatment for about 6 weeks. She is not eating too much, counting calories she's on about 1800/day and she's average height.
Anyone know anything about this situation? Will this sort itself out?
100mcg. not mg.
100mcg is quite a low dose.
not to mention t4 (thyroxine) isnt the active thyroid hormone.
tell your wifes doctor to get her on either t3 (cytomel), or t3+t4 (armour thyroid). t3 is direct supplementation with active thyroid. t4 needs to be converted. and the conversion is inefficient, and NOT linear.
the gaining weight issue, doesnt make sense. its possible the supplementation of t4 caused her conversion to slow down or shut down. although that would be a first, or at least very rare.
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I hope this isn't too serious a question for this place but I know there are some knowledgeable people on here!
My wife has just been diagnosed with a failed thyroid gland, after pregnancy. Basically she's been put on a replacement dose of thyroxine of 100mg.
The weird thing is that she has been putting on weight since she started the treatment, surely this is the opposite of what you would expect to happen? She's been on the treatment for about 6 weeks. She is not eating too much, counting calories she's on about 1800/day and she's average height.
Anyone know anything about this situation? Will this sort itself out?
Hi smaul. Actually a lot of woman have thyroid gland failure after pregnancy but end up having it go back to normal after some time. I do however find it weird that she's gaining weight while on the medication (if she is remaining active and eating well). Watching calories isn't the same as watching what you eat though. Make sure she passess on the high sugars (refined) and starchy carbs as much as she can. How often is the doctor checking her thyroid levels? After being on the meds for 6 weeks now she should have had her levels tested again. Did the endo also do a thyroid ultrasound or up-take scan on her?
I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer just over a year ago. I had to have my entire thyroide, plus the surrounding lymph nodes removed. I will be on thyroid medication the rest of my life as you cannot live without a thyroid or thyroid replacement medication. The thyroid although not really thought about much actually rules/controls every cell in your body. Without it, and/or replacement drugs your body will die (organs will malfunction). In fact today I just received my radioactive iodine for my yearly scan that I'll have on Wednesday to see if the cancer is still at bay. Even though the thyroid has been removed, I can still have residual thyroid cells hiding out in my body (anywhere in my body) that can be still holding/developing the cancer.
If this medication is not working for your wife, she may need to either have her dosage increased or have her medication changed all together. Cytamel will most likely not be an option as it is a short acting medication (in and out of your system in less than 24 hours per my doctor). Drugs like Synthroid and Levoxyl are longer term drugs quite effective (for me anyway - only her doctor can prescribe what is best for her). Just make sure she discusses everything with him. Have her keep a journal of everything she feels is different about her as well. Like: does her feet always feel cold, is her skin or hair getting very dry and course, or falling out more so than normal, is she tired alot, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, blurred vision, sensitive to light, cranky, headaches, weak joints, muscle pain, loss of appetite or increased appetite, the weight gain, bloated stomach, constipation, night tremors, etc. All those things IF NEW are signs of hypothyroidism and should be reported ASAP. ANY TROUBLE SWALLOWING or feeling PRESSURE on the neck like someone is squeezing her neck should also be reported.
Thanks Princess L for directing me to this thread so I could offer my input.
smaul, I hope some of what I shared is helpful to you and your wife. Take care of her. ;)
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cytomels half life is less than a day, thats true laura. but its effect on the body lasts for about 2 and a half days. so once daily dosing is totally fine with cytomel.
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cytomels half life is less than a day, thats true laura. but its effect on the body lasts for about 2 and a half days. so once daily dosing is totally fine with cytomel.
My point was that it is not for long term use.
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Hi smaul. Actually a lot of woman have thyroid gland failure after pregnancy but end up having it go back to normal after some time. I do however find it weird that she's gaining weight while on the medication (if she is remaining active and eating well). Watching calories isn't the same as watching what you eat though. Make sure she passess on the high sugars (refined) and starchy carbs as much as she can. How often is the doctor checking her thyroid levels? After being on the meds for 6 weeks now she should have had her levels tested again. Did the endo also do a thyroid ultrasound or up-take scan on her?
I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer just over a year ago. I had to have my entire thyroide, plus the surrounding lymph nodes removed. I will be on thyroid medication the rest of my life as you cannot live without a thyroid or thyroid replacement medication. The thyroid although not really thought about much actually rules/controls every cell in your body. Without it, and/or replacement drugs your body will die (organs will malfunction). In fact today I just received my radioactive iodine for my yearly scan that I'll have on Wednesday to see if the cancer is still at bay. Even though the thyroid has been removed, I can still have residual thyroid cells hiding out in my body (anywhere in my body) that can be still holding/developing the cancer.
If this medication is not working for your wife, she may need to either have her dosage increased or have her medication changed all together. Cytamel will most likely not be an option as it is a short acting medication (in and out of your system in less than 24 hours per my doctor). Drugs like Synthroid and Levoxyl are longer term drugs quite effective (for me anyway - only her doctor can prescribe what is best for her). Just make sure she discusses everything with him. Have her keep a journal of everything she feels is different about her as well. Like: does her feet always feel cold, is her skin or hair getting very dry and course, or falling out more so than normal, is she tired alot, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, blurred vision, sensitive to light, cranky, headaches, weak joints, muscle pain, loss of appetite or increased appetite, the weight gain, bloated stomach, constipation, night tremors, etc. All those things IF NEW are signs of hypothyroidism and should be reported ASAP. ANY TROUBLE SWALLOWING or feeling PRESSURE on the neck like someone is squeezing her neck should also be reported.
Thanks Princess L for directing me to this thread so I could offer my input.
smaul, I hope some of what I shared is helpful to you and your wife. Take care of her. ;)
Great reply Laura, I'll take it on board and show my wife. Thanks a lot!
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My point was that it is not for long term use.
it can be and is used for long term use in many patients
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it can be and is used for long term use in many patients
Not from what I was told by my doctor. But who knows. Each case is different.
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didnt read all of lauras response but she has postpartum thyroditis, which often starts as hyperthyroid then regresses to a euthyroid state. It can however develop into hypothyroid later on in it's course.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_thyroiditis