# Weight Gain that Won't Budge



## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

Hi All,

I'm super frustrated. I've gained 15 pounds in 3 months, and no matter what I do, the weight won't budge. I was a stable 200lbs for five years (I'm a 6'6" man) at 125mcgs of Synthroid. I felt good at that weight. Then my thyroid went haywire, TSH went up to 3.9, so the doctor upped me to 137mcgs. After four weeks at 137mcgs, my labs looked like this:

*TSH 3.190 0.450-4.500 *
*FT4 1.58 0.82-1.77 *
*FT3 3.0 2.0-4.4 *

After these labs, my doc upped me to 150mcgs Synthroid, where I have been for 3 more weeks. This is the highest dose I have ever had. Scale hasn't budged with clean eating and 6 days a week of exercise. What gives? I feel puffy, bloated, and gross. Energy has come up, but weight won't go down. Never had this issue before.

When should I do labs again? At four weeks? Six?

I was flirting with Armour months ago, but decided to wait because I was nervous to switch meds before a job change. I feel very lost as to what to do. I really don't want to gain any more weight, and it's discouraging to work so hard and see no results.

Hypoman


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

If I were making the decision, I would quit flirting w/ the Armour. You are deficient in FREE T3. You are not even at the mid-range of 3.2 and ideally for most of us, it should be at about 75% of the range given by your lab. Your TSH is also way to high. Again, for most of us, 1.0 or less is ideal.

If you start on the Armour, you will need to start on 1/2 grain, get labs in 6 to 8 week and doc should titrate by 1/4 each time until the numbers are where the should be, you start losing weight and feel good.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

What about trying5mcg of Cytomel


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

Andros said:


> If I were making the decision, I would quit flirting w/ the Armour.


Andros -- I think you're right. I'm just so nervous about making the change. I'm afraid I'll crash and go way Hypo again. Won't it be a shock to my system to go from 150mcgs to only 1/2 a grain? I know they are different meds, but that's not even close to the equivalent dose.



Lovlkn said:


> What about trying5mcg of Cytomel


Lovlkn -- I tried the Cytomel route several months ago. Didn't seem to do much for me. In fact, I gained weight! Was probably not related to the Cytomel though, and I probably didn't give it a fair shot.

It just seems that Synthroid has stopped being effective for me. The next step up for Synthroid is 175mcgs -- but if I'm not converting well, how will that help? Looking like I'll need to brave the Armour route.


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

I should also add that while the weight gain (fluid retention) is very discouraging, many of my other hypo symptoms have improved on the higher dose of Synthroid. Not all, but many. My headaches have subsided, and I have more energy. I'm actually able to work out now, which is new. Still can't lose that fluid retention though, despite sweating a lot. So if the fluid stays, that's not okay with me. I've had to buy new pants and shirts. I don't look like me - it's depressing.

It's only been 3 weeks at 150 -- is it possible that the fluid retension will subside, or would that have already happened by now?


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Oh my goodness, yes, it's very possible that the weight/water weight will shift with more time.

My experience was that it would take ~six weeks for my blood work to show improved results, but much longer for the physical symptoms to really change. Which isn't to say you wouldn't possibly benefit from T3 in some capacity...just that if you are interested in sticking with t4 meds, you might want to hang out at this dose for a bit longer.


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

joplin1975 said:


> Oh my goodness, yes, it's very possible that the weight/water weight will shift with more time.


Thanks Joplin - I'm definitely being impatient. I've just never experienced this inability to shift water weight, so it makes me nervous that it's the meds. I guess it's totally possible it's just from me being hypo, and that once my numbers are better, it'll drop back off. Did you ever experience fluid retention on Synthroid?

Waiting is so hard.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

It's hard for me to say, exactly. I only started thyroid meds after my thyroid was removed. I was severely under medicated after surgery and ended up with a TSH of 121, my frees pretty much didn't register. However, after months and months of being hypo, when my labs finally started to fall into normal range, it took a good month of two before things like my bloated "moon face" started to dissipate and my fingers and feet started to look normal and not swollen.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

If anything, it will be a pleasant shock. You will suck that FREE T3 right up. So, titrating this properly every 6 to 8 weeks is vitally important.

Yes, you will use it up but that is a good thing. This is why it has to be titrated slowly until you level out for your current lifestyle of working out and all else you do.

I work out 5 days a week a the gym (and yes, I lift free weights) and finally leveled out at 3 1/2 grains fo Armour.


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

When I switched from Synthroid to Armour, I went from 125mcg of Synthroid to 90mg of Armour. It's not that common, but my doc had a conversion chart and I actually started out on the dose of Armour that was a little bit lower than my dose of Synthroid. I did go hypo (again, sigh), but it wasn't nearly as bad as it might have been if I had started out on a lower dose of Armour. I've leveled out at 135mg of Armour now.

I don't know if I totally agree with starting out on a half grain of Armour (which is 30mg) if you've been on high dose of Synthroid already. I think it's okay if you've never been on thyroid meds at all or if you're on a very low dose of Synthroid, but it just seems like you're asking for a hypo nosedive to go from that much Synthroid to that little Armour. But that's just my opinion, I'm not a doctor!


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

Thanks for all the responses. Can I get my labs done at 4 weeks after an increase? Or do I have to wait a full 6?

I know I'm not on the right amount now, I can just feel it. The waiting part is one of the harder elements of this disorder I think.


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

Okay, I guess I'll get new labs in about a week -- that'll be the 5 week mark on 150mcgs of Synthroid. I'll post my results back here and see what everyone thinks about next steps.


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

Okay, back with lab results. After about 5 weeks on Synthroid 150mcgs my labs look like this:

TSH *1.850* 0.450-4.500

FT4 * 1.78 * 0.82-1.77

FT3 *3.2* 2.0-4.4

TSH came down a lot, and my FT4 is at the top of the range. FT3 is still low though. Is this evidence enough of a conversion issue?

After speaking to my doctor, I have two options -- try adding Cytomel again, or make the switch to Armour like we've discussed above. Thoughts?

Thanks all.


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Honestly, I would just switch to Armour. You've given Synthroid more than enough chances and it looks like you have a conversion problem since your FT4 is so high and yet your FT3 isn't keeping up.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Yup, agreed. Might as well give it a shot.


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

Yeah, I'm guessing that's my next best move. I'm feeling better than I was, but I know that I'm still off -- and these labs are really the first evidence of a conversion issue.

Too say I'm nervous about switching meds is an understatement. I really can't afford months of feeling lousy while I titrate. Has anyone had a smooth transition from Synthroid to Armour who would like to share their experience?


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Honestly, it wasn't that bad for me. Yes, I did go hypo for about 6-8 weeks after the transition, but it wasn't anything I hadn't dealt with before and it got better from there. People make such a big deal out of switching thyroid meds and it wasn't that big of a deal for me.


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

I guess some of us are more sensitive to changes than others. It's probably more fear of change than anything. I'm speaking with my doctor next week to decide what to do.


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I was nervous before switching, for sure, but it turned out to be more in my mind than anything else (which was a relief, because my body usually freaks out over the slightest thing!). Look at it this way, 1)you've given everything else a chance and nothing has made you feel better, and 2)you've dealt with being hypo before, so on the off chance you do go hypo for a bit after switching you know it's nothing new and nothing you can't handle.


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## Hypoman (Aug 7, 2010)

Thanks for all the responses. I see my doctor at the end of this month to talk about the process of switching to Armour. I think you're all correct -- it's time to try something new.

One thing I have noticed -- my fluid retention has diminished significantly over the last few weeks, but now I'm having severe heartburn. I haven't changed my diet or anything else. Could this be a delayed reaction to the dose change? Does this mean I'm slightly Hyper now?

I had this problem years ago and I finally got over it, so it's discouraging to have it come back full force. It's quite painful and nothing I do seems to help.


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