liza_h
Active Member
- Messages
- 27
- Type of diabetes
- Prediabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
It seems that you have had an extreme version of thyroid problems. I really feel for you as the past 10 years with a simpler version of being under-active have been challenging enough so I cannot imagine the difficulties you've had over 40 years. I'm surprised that you weren't given Thyroxine earlier.I was similar although it took approx 40 years for my Thyroid to sort itself out and I have been on Thyroxine for 7 years. After my body nearly shut down in my late teens when I went on a very low calorie diet (similar to the Newcastle diet) an endocrinologist told me that I was one of his few patients who could truly blame their metabolism for their weight problems.
I would fall out with your endocrinologist regarding his "one of the few" statement. I have studied/qualified in nutrition and sports science and throughout my adult life I kept very fit and active until my thyroid issues so I'm used to tracking calorie intake, expenditure and so on.
At a TSH of 2 and above I cannot lose weight. Above 3 and I gain weight even in calorie deficit. When I reach TSH of nearly 3 I begin to have other underactive symptoms, which include insomnia, extreme tiredness/lethargy and muscle cramps all of which effect my ability to exercise. I also get uncontrollable carb cravings which would lead to more weight gain.
I've had the doctors with the attitude that my problems haven't been due to my underactive thyroid. I've had doctors who won't give an increase in T4 until I go above TSH 5 - because they don't believe my symptoms. One doctor even told me another patient has a much higher TSH than me and he's fine... as if we're all machines and all function in exactly the same way.
I can spend 2 years between TSH 3-5 in which time I gain even more weight, lose muscle mass etc. I know because I studied sport/nutrition and can track it. These doctors don't know my sports/nutrition background. They just see an ageing overweight woman and go by the figures on the computer and policies determined by politics.
I feel that your endo is another "expert" who wants to blame the patient because it's the easy answer, instead of accepting that for some of us (me for example) a small amount of T4 can make a big difference. I am very sensitive to really small amounts of T4. Luckily I convert well to T3. Small amounts of T4 make a big difference to my health and ability to lose weight/ keep weight stable. I'm sure that there are many who need to take T4 much sooner than we do.
I spoke to a more sympathetic GP last summer who gave me a small raise in T4 and I can titrate my dose to my symptoms. This has enabled me to lose over 2 stone, exercise again and lower my blood glucose levels while keeping my TSH between 0.5-2. I've decided going forward that I will have to continue to follow my thyroid symptoms.