HYPERthyroidism

[narose]

Hello All!

I am a new member of the ADBB and I got excited when I saw this section. I was recently diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism in November of last year. I was prescribed the medication Propylthiouracil (PTU) an antithyroid drug. Once the medication was in my system good I immediately put on pound anfter pound. My next appointment in January I had gained a total of 25 lbs and jumped a pants size (or two). My doctor encouraged me to just watch what I eat and exercise. My next appointment at the beginning of this month (April) I had luckily lost 9 lbs. I still feel awful because none of my clothes fit and the ones that do fit are tight in the wrong places.

I had talked to one more hyper-- person and he told me that he gained weight once he started his medication. Just wanted to know has anyone else experienced this? Do you know of any natural supplements that will help with this type of problem.

[Sarah1341]

I am hyperthyroid - but I am one of the few that actually gained weight with the "hyper" thryoid. Most people lose weight. I was not consistent with taking the pills, so after 2 years (and actually, just about two months ago) I had the radioactive treatment. It has definitely helped me. I'm finally feeling better. Not sure on the supplements though.

How are you doing? I know your message is pretty old.

[ttdriver]

I developed Graves Disease in 1997 and was seriously ill. I had all the typical hyper symptoms: sweating, increased heartrate, hairloss, weight loss, excessive bowel movements, tremors, you name it. I was put on PTU also (9 pills per day) for several months and also put on Inderal to control the tremors. It was the worst time in my life. I had a voracious appetite, but still lost weight. I looked sick, felt sick, and was sick. My resting heartrate was around 120 bpm. Normal is around 60. The doctor was very frightened that I might go into "thyroid storm" and wanted me to select my treatment of choice (either radioactive iodine or surgical removal of my thyroid) as soon as it was safe to do so. They had to get my Graves under control with the PTU first.

Once under control, I opted for the surgery since I was afraid of the long-term side effects of the radioactive iodine (despite being told it was "safe", ya gotta wonder why they tell you to not share your drinking cups with anyone, to flush the toilet twice after you go to the bathroom, etc.) Anyway, I had a subtotal thyroidectomy in 1998 and never regretted it. Well, maybe I regretted the fact that after the surgery, my voracious appetite remained, but the weightloss STOPPED which resulted in a weight gain of nearly 50 pounds !!

Anyway, now, 4 and a half years on Atkins lifetime maintenance, I've shed all the weight and then some (thank you, Dr. A!) and feel better than ever. I do take Levothroid 100 mcg a day, but haven't had any more issues.

Hyperthyroidism is UGLY!!! BTW, PTU is a carcinogenic drug, so you'd be wise NOT to take it any longer than you have to.

Betty

[Sarah1341]

Thanks for sharing this Betty! I have put on 40 pounds in almost 3 years . My doctor indicated that my body and eating were trying to keep up with my thyroid, causing weight gain. Thankfully, I never became as sick as what you are describing. I definitely had most of those symptoms, except the weight loss. But I never felt too terrible.

However, since having the radioactive treatment, I have felt tired, can hardly move, gained a little more weight and just felt terrible. They said it takes 3-6 months for your body to catch up. It just has me really down right now. I feel like I'm missing out on life, missing out on enjoying my son and my DH, etc.

But, reading your story gives me hope .

To the original poster, I absolutely agree with Betty on being careful with the PTU and not taking this for an extended period of time.

[Sarah1341]

Betty - have you gone into hypothyroid now? Are you having to take a daily medication? Any info you can share on what I could expect from this point would be greatly appreciated!

[2big4mysize]

if your thyroid was completly distroyed by your radiation treatment then you will need to take thyroid hormone ofr the rest of your lift as every cell in our body needs it for metabilic reasons. Please keep ontop of your falling levels with frequent blood testing as hypo can be just as deadly.
there are also several foods that are Atkins legal that aren't nice to thyriod hormones and or theoir production. we have them listed in the goitrogen topic. As long as you keep the amounts of them you comsume consistant you shouldn't have any issues with them and your new normal thyroid levels.

happy low carbing

[Sarah1341]

Thanks for that info. I will have to check out those veggies. My doc hasn't spoken w/me about hypo very much yet. I just had the radioactive done in June, so I'm having a blood test every month until my body catches up. I am anxious to see her for my Sept appointment because I'm feeling terrible. I'm back to insomnia, major fatigue, and all sorts of other things. Just not feeling top notch right now. Which makes me feel like my family is suffering because of it

[2big4mysize]

when is your Sept appointment? since you have symptoms see if you can move it up if it is late in the month

[Sarah1341]

Well I talked w/my doc this week and had another blood test done. I am officially hypo now. Sadly, I got really sick from this for the past week - to the point that I felt like I could hardly move. But since she received the results, she put me on a new med (don't know the name off hand) that I started on Wednesday and I'm starting to feel a little better again. At least I am walking around again. I was having muscle aches and pains in my back, arms, legs and jaw line that I was just barely moving. I have a little research to do on hypo becauce this doctor's office has explained absolutely nothing to me. I am also looking for a new doctor's office.

[2big4mysize]

you can die from untreated or even under treated hypo so by all means find out about it. we have lots of info here about it. you are most likely on a thyroxine replacement med and will need more blood work to get the level exactly right for you. one thing you need to do is check the list stickied at the top of foods that interfer with thyroid hormones and then don't eliminate them from your diet but keep the amount you eat consistance and let your new doc know as soon as you add a new one like the nuts in the 3rd rung of Atkins OWL or soy products in the 6th rung so you can get retested to see if you need more meds.

Once your level is in range for you (and remember if you don't feel right even though it maybe in theraputic range it isn't the right dose for you) you should be symptom free as long as you take your meds daily. if you get symptoms see your doc ASAP since you will be out of range again and need your meds upped.
once you get your meds right your weight loss should resume too.