Hey Dazed, a question........
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Hey Dazed, a question........
| Tue, 11-30-2004 - 12:42pm |
you had mentioned before that you lost quite a bit of weight a few years ago, how long after that did you start having thyroid symptoms? Were you trying to lose or was it out of the blue? Were you under stress at the time?
Mary
Mary

Hi Mary,
I started really trying to lose weight about 3 years ago. I was not going about it in a very healthy way, I'll admit. I was taking those ephedra supplements (the ones they finally pulled off the market because they had terrible side effects...I'll come back to this) and wasn't really eating properly. There were days I would "forget" to eat (once for almost three days). Yes, there was a lot of stress at my job too. But I did want to lose weight. And I lost about 40 pounds total and was at my lowest weight in YEARS.
Even though my methods were not the best, by getting some of the initial weight off, I found myself much more active and was able to increase my exercise and energy level. So even when I started "remembering" to eat again, I was still losing, but in a much healthier way.
Anyway, this went on for about a year and a half. Then I met my fiance and thought I would just sort of keep my weight where it was and I stopped taking the supplements. Apparently my body didn't agree with my plans and I started gaining weight. I thought it was just because my activity level had dropped, I was eating more, and stress (I really hated my job by this point)...and I know all those things were true and had a significant effect. But the weight gain was so rapid...my habits hadn't changed THAT drastically.
Last year (December), I went to the doctor for carpal tunnel syndrome and he tested my thyroid (I had no clue about ANY of the symptoms for hypo). Lo and behold, my doctor said my tsh was over 100! Again, I had no clue anything was wrong, I attributed EVERYTHING to stress at work. So we started me on synthroid and I think we need to seriously up the dose! I see my doc's PA next week.
Now the thing about those supplements, their whole success was based on the fact that they increased your heart rate, which increased your metabolism. Of course many people saw success and continued to take the supplements (me included) but they were known to cause some people to have heart attacks, which is one of the reasons they were banned.
ANYWAY, I have often wondered if THOSE supplements somehow damaged my thyroid. It did something to my metabolic rate while I was taking it, perhaps it caused my thyroid to underperform, thereby causing the hypothyroidism, but who knows???
So, my previous weight loss was a conscious effort. And while I was stressed at work, I think it helped because it kept my mind off the "diet" thing, you know? There was about a year between when I stopped losing weight and when I was diagnosed with hypo.
I think that's probably more of an answer than you wanted! LOL! But I hope it helps!
dazed
Dazed
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Mary,
I'm not sure we'll ever know if there is a connection between the ephedra and thyroid problems. I figure if anyone is doing any type of extensive research on it, it's not for that kind of thing, you know?
I've always had an excuse for my weight...basically it's that I'm lazy and I love chocolate! LOL! But the weight did come back very fast this last time now that I think about it.
My doctors have almost always tested my thyroid, because I've always been overweight. There has never been anything "abnormal" so I also wonder why it started NOW.
I have gotten to the point that I no longer care what I weigh. From my point of view, life is too short to continually monitor every thing I eat. I have other things that need my constant attention like that. I would like to start exercising again because I know the benefits, but right now I'm just in too much pain. I keep thinking "maybe in a couple weeks" or "maybe after the holidays"...but who knows. I'm lucky in that my fiance will gently "push" me to do it, if I ask him to do that for me.
As for the stress, who knows? There could be a very real connection there. I think it's pretty generally accepted that stress can be the cause of LOTS of medical conditions, and why not this one? Stress affects everyones body differently. The only bad thing is how to prove it?
I read your post about your apparent reaction to the increased dosage...I would definitely call your doc because that does sound like it's a bit much. Those side effects you are feeling are remarkably similar to those of hyPERthyroid...and that's not good.
Let's make a holiday wish that we all get the help we need from our doc's!!
The only advice I can offer is to keep your chin up and keep trying...somehow, someday, someone (besides us) will listen!!! We have to keep hoping for that!! LOL!
Take care and see you around the board! :)
dazed
Dazed
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