Do you gain if you forget your thyroid medicine?

[Kristik99]

I am on Levoxyl and haven't been on it too long. We went camping this weekend and I forgot to take it with me. Despite only eating the right food and lots and lots of walking, I gained weight.

[2big4mysize]

when your thyroid hormone level is too low your cells can't metabolize stuff at their best levels and you slow down so yes you could gain weight missing your meds.

[ztachick]

Hmm i was kinda curious about his my self as i always mess up on taking my medsin the morning, im trying to get better though

[2big4mysize]

we low thyroid folk will be taking out meds for life unles they come up with thyroid transplants without the side effects oif the antirejection stuff. SO get in the habit of taking your pill as you get out of bed first thing. then you got an hour to kill before you can eat so do your Atkins exercise protgeam and kill 2 birds with one stone.

[seenikrun]

I totaly agree with ^^^
I take synthroid and I have been on it for 7 years the first year I didnt see any improvements. I thought it was the dosage so we raised it and it still wasnt doing anything. Turns out I was taking it on a full stomache. You have to take it on an empty stomach and not eat for 1 hour after to get the best results.

Its good to get in the habit of taking it first thing in the morning.

[jenivieve74]

Hi I was just reading these posts for the first time. I have been on thyroid meds for 7 yrs due to hashimotos disease. I know it takes a while for the meds to kickin when you first take them. It can take 4-6 weeks before you feel better. You def. need to take them 1-2 hrs before you eat. Also iron can block the absorbtion of the hormone. I take my meds like I should but I still have times when I am so tired and cold. I have been tired and cold for a month now. I went to the dr. and he says my levels are normal. Do you guys have times when you feel like this? Any advice? Thanks.

[2big4mysize]

yep I have hasitmotos too.

As we lose weioght we lose our fat insulation too so we need to add more layers of clothes. SOme of the foods on our Atkins can interfer with the hormones and meds too.

Did your doc do a complkete panel to be sure your T3 was noirmal too?

[jenivieve74]

I had him do all kinds of bloodwork, but as far as the thyroid bloodwork, he only did TSH. It is hard to find a good dr. that knows a lot about the thyroid. The first dr. I went to admitted that she didn't really know much about the thyroid. She didn't even know that she could do a test to find out what caused it. A year after taking meds, I told her I wanted to go see an endo dr. She let me go and the endo was upset that my dr. wasn't doing many tests to get me feeling better. Well, after my first visit with her I moved half way across the country and haven't found a good dr. in 5 yrs. I did see and endo here, but I wasn't impressed. What kinds od foods on atkins interfere with thyroid? It would help to know. I have been wearing 3 shirts everyday to stay warm.

[goin2Bgood]

From www.thyroid-info.com:
15 Reasons Why Your TSH May Be Fluctuating

Eating Too Many Goitrogenic Foods

Certain foods besides soy can also have what's known as a goitrogenic effect, or the ability to enlarge the thyroid and make it form a goiter. These foods can act like antithyroid drugs in disabling the thyroid, and causing hypothyroidism. If you still have a thyroid, you need to be more concerned about not overconsuming these goitrogens, particularly raw. What foods are goitrogenic? Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, radishes, cauliflower, African cassava, millet, babassu (a palm-tree coconut fruit popular in Brazil and Africa) cabbage, and kale are all considered goitrogenic. Some experts believe that the enzymes involved in the formation of goitrogenic materials in plants can be destroyed by cooking, so thorough cooking may minimize some or most goitrogenic potential. Eating reasonable amounts of goitrogenic foods, raw or cooked, are probably not a problem for most people.

Although not listed, broccoli also is goitrogenic. The above link also has lots of info on soy, high fiber, vitamins, supplements, prescription drugs etc.

[2big4mysize]

we have a list of them in this forum too many nuts are also goitrogens.

the key is to keep your amounts constant so you don't bounce al over the place with your levels.

Call your current doc and tell them you are cold all the time wearing 3 shirts and what can they do for you. You can have normal T4 and TSH and not normal T3 espcsially if you have Hasimoto's. The endocrine society lowered the threshold level for normal TSH to 3.0 in 2002 and many docs didn't keep current on that.

Your best place to start is with a blood test and a physical exam to see what is going on.