The FastDay Forum

Tracieknits, marlathome and betsysgr8 thanks for your helpful replies.

I have taken the bull by the horns and, today, changed doctors surgeries.

Ive struggled to accept that replaced thyroid makes it harder to loose weight but maybe I should accept that and move on, despite the docs saying this in NOT the case!!

I agree about being at the high end of normal but suffer from seeing different docs all the time who just say everything's normal because of some lab test! The 75% advice is great though, Ill work with this with hopefully a more understanding new doc.

Does anyone have any thoughts on alternative therapies/supplements that can help. I don't want to drastically change my diet as my job is all about cooking so that makes life tricky but Id be keen to hear about supplements etc.

Thanks so much again

I have taken an holistic approach, i.e. not just treating the thyroid problem per se but also looking at how the change in thyroid function interacts with other hormones/vitamins/minerals synergistically in the body. Some thyroid specialists in the UK are prepared to treat patients this way and I feel so much better by adding Vitamin D3, Omegas, Vitamin C and other supplements. Everyone's needs are different and what suits one won't suit another - it's been a long haul for me, trial and error, but I'm beginning to see an improvement after six months of trying different doses/combinations of thyroid replacement hormone and adding different supplements.

An excellent resource, and one I've used extensively, is:
http://thyroiduk.healthunlocked.com/

This forum has been an invaluable aid in sorting out my thyroid related problems.

Thanks Marlahome, thats useful information.I will check that site out.

Glad you are seeing an improvement.

Well I didn't know about taking thyroxin on an empty stomach either! I do take it about 1/2 an hour before I actually eat breakfast, but may change to night time when I brush my teeth in future.

I'm hypo too (150mcg levthyroxin) had my bloods done 10 days ago. The following day I got a call from the surgery to schedule an appointment to discuss the results. Apparently the level has "rocketed" since my bloods were last taken and I've had my dosage lowered to 125mcg.

The only difference is the fasting - I've lost weight before and the levels stayed the same, so it can't be that.

I did ask my GP if it could have anything to do with "this diet I'm on" and his reply was "I couldn't say..." One irritating thing that makes me agree with the idea of 'drugging up' the medics is that when I told him I felt fine, he said "there's such a thing as feeling TOO fine". Let him try that for a few weeks!!

I go back for another set of blood tests in about 6 weeks to monitor the levels.

Basketcase, I think that you have to take it in the morning.

One irritating thing that makes me agree with the idea of 'drugging up' the medics is that when I told him I felt fine, he said "there's such a thing as feeling TOO fine". Let him try that for a few weeks!!

Glad Im not the only one who gets this reaction!!!

Basketcase, I think that you have to take it in the morning.

You can take it at bedtime. I don't have a link but there have been studies done that show better absorbtion when taken at bedtime. The key when taking it is consistency. Try to take it about the same time every day, in the same circumstances. In other words always take it at bedtime, don't go constantly switching it around. I started out taking mine at bedtime but decided morning worked better for me (based on the other medications I take that can't be taken with it). I take it at 5:30 am when my alarm goes off (always have it sitting on my nightstand with a bottle of water) and then eat breakfast about an hour later.

On another note, I saw my endocrinologist last week and to report on my FT4 and TSH after doing 5:2 for 2 months-- my TSH hasn't moved much (was 0.05 in Feb, now 0.02) and my FT4 went up a little bit to (I think, going on memory here) 1.78 which is a tiny bit above normal range, it was within normal range back in Feb. Sorry to those in UK, I have no idea how our US measurements compare to yours.

Really? My doctor made sure I listened (she told me 2 or 3 times) when she said "first thing in the morning, not any other time of day"!
Unless it has to do with which pill one takes and how much...

Really? My doctor made sure I listened (she told me 2 or 3 times) when she said "first thing in the morning, not any other time of day"!
Unless it has to do with which pill one takes and how much...

I just got a prescription, so it obviously varies!

I've also learned that you shouldn't take it at the same time as some vitamins/minerals. Anyone know if that's correct?

One irritating thing that makes me agree with the idea of 'drugging up' the medics is that when I told him I felt fine, he said "there's such a thing as feeling TOO fine". Let him try that for a few weeks!!

Glad Im not the only one who gets this reaction!!!

Not by a long chalk, from the look of the posts on here!

TBH I'd be glad to hear that I need to take a lower dose (esp if it meant that my body was 'resetting itself'). But I can't help but remember the 2 years argument against "But you're within the normal range" that it took to get the dosage raised in the first place!

I really don't fancy another 2 years of wading through treacle because normal = average rather than taking into account that a range is just that - a range of what constitutes normal...

Anyway, so far so good. Not feeling any worse after a week at the lower dose so, hopefully, I am rebooting...

I have been fasting two days a week for the last 6 weeks and do feel like I am loosing weight and have lost at least an inch from my waist. I find this way of dieting reasonably easy to stick to which is great. I had thyroid cancer 10 years ago and had mine removed totally. Like many of you I rely on taking thyroxine 175 / 150 mg alternate days! It seems to work at that dose for me. I am due a hospital check up in 3 weeks and it will be interesting to find out if the fasting will have altered my levels in any way. I have found it SO useful to read everyone's posts and agree that thyroid problems cause each person to react differently and that sometimes GP's do not really understand it all either.

I am hypothyroid and was in my 22nd week of intermittent fasting. My last labs were performed right before I began fasting....when I was tested last week (due to some troubling symptoms that had been developing) we found that my levels had risen TSH and T3 and T4 meaning that I wasn't getting enough thyroid meds. Unfortunately, this must have been going on for a bit because I actually triggered an adrenal crash..complete with adrenaline surges, high b.p., rapid heart rate, profuse sweating, waking at night with the whole bed shaking (of course it was really me having full body tremors) I lost no weight and have insulted my adrenals. The only positive change I can point to was a decrease in my RA inflammatory levels (which is why I undertook this in the first place). It dropped 200 points in the 22 weeks. I also feel I have a healthier understanding of when I am really hungry and when I am simply eating habitually (no small thing) I'm currently on supplements to deal with the adrenal/cortisol freak out... and will be starting new thyroid dosage on Monday. Until things settle down for me, I have been advised by my Naturopathic Dr. to cease and desist with IFing.

[Betsysgr8]

Welcome to the forum SunnyArizona! How tragic to have such a reation! I have a non-functioning thyroid due to radioactive iodine treatment for Graves disease. I have found over the last 20 years that it is imperiative to go for a test ANY time symptoms of hypo or hyperthyroid appear. I found that with weight change of plus or minus 10-15 pounds merited a change in medication. It's important to keep in touch with your endocrynoligist or doctor when on any type of medication as weight change may affect the effectiviness of dosage. @Carorees may be more able to respond to the actual response you had to fasting. For now, my doctor (and many others) is very supportive with my method of weight reduction.

Response to same post in another thread.

[Tracieknits]

I'm confused - is your thyroid too fast or too slow? Hypothyroid is when your thyroid is too slow so you have to take replacement hormones to increase the levels of T3 and T4 in your body. Hyperthyroid is when your thyroid is too fast, and you have to take a medication like methamizole to slow your thyroid down and make it produce less T3 and T4. Now if your TSH increases, that's your body telling your thyroid "Hey, speed up, pokey! I need more T3 and T4".

I'm hyperthyroid. Without medication, my TSH is pretty much undetectable and my T3 and T4 are too high - and I would get tremors, shaking, high BP, elevated heart rate, etc. So my doctor has me on methamizole to slow things down.

Anyway, you should *always* follow your doctor's advice. If he says to stop fasting until you're stabilized, then absolutely you should stop! Even though my thyroid has been healing since I started fasting, and I'm now only only 1/3 the dose I was on before, everyone is different and responds to fasting or meds differently!

I hope your new medication regimen works out well for you

Tracieknits: I'm hypothyroid. My thyroid is under active, too slow.

I think I confused you by saying "levels" when I am referring to the "numbers" rather than the actual level of hormones in my body that they indicate. And yes, the higher the TSH number the lower the functioning level of the thyroid hormone in my body. So now mine ,which had been managed and stable for nearly two years is indicating I am not getting enough thyroid med. Now, I'll admit I'm not always one to "always" follow my doctor's advice...but I have a hard time ignoring the very scary (like "do I need to go to the hospital" scary) adrenaline surges. Not to mention the not-fun sensation of waking feeling like you are on one of those hotel vibrating beds...only to realize that it is ME shaking....

Based on what is happening to me I can totally see why your over-active thyroid would need less medication...since it is likely suppressing mine as well. Unfortunately, that is not, at all, the effect I was hoping for, lol.

I'm hoping that this is just a blip on my IFing because I really was excited to see the first decrease in inflammation levels since my RA diagnosis in 2007. Time will tell.....