The FastDay Forum

Is there anyone on here that has been doing long term fasting with hypothyroid disease and have had there meds reduced. If so have you had any problems with either the lower dosage of meds or with losing or gaining any weight you have lost. I have been fasting 1 year today and have had my meds reduced twice in that time. But I feel as if my meds are not right even though my doctor says they are. and I am having a hard time losing any more weight and have actually gained 4 lbs. I really don't want to return to the weight I was a year ago. Is it the fasting that is causing my meds to change and should I stop fasting for a bit. I should also say that I have had radioactive iodine treatment about 10 yrs ago so don't have a full thyroid to begin with. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Tracieknits]

Hi Dese5757
I have thyroid issues too, and am getting the radioactive iodine done on December 16. So I'm starting to read more about this.

One friend of mine wasn't feeling right on her thyroid hormone pills, and her doctor changed her to Armor Thyroid and she's fine now. Another friend didn't find improvement with that and only feels better on this horrible "whole 30" diet I could never do because it is severe and means things like no bread. But she says it's worth it. Oh boy do I hope neither one of us end up like that!!

But on to fasting and the thyroid:
Here's an article Carorees wrote for us: https://www.fastday.com/fasting/intermi ... disorders/

Here's a couple of pertinent threads--
medical-conditions-f30/topic710.html
medical-conditions-f30/topic2318.html

The British doctors follow a treatment regime for hypothyroid people that is basically out of the dark ages. In civilised and up to date countries you are deemed to need treatment or adjustments to your medication regime if you stray over 2 on the scale. Belguim, Germany etc. The USA uses 3, the UK has only just, in the last 2 years reduced the mark from 10 to 5, and most doctors don't even know that themselves they see that you are under 10 and say you are fine. The optimum level is 1 and that is what you and your doctor should be aiming for.

There are support groups for people with thyroid problems, it may be an idea to contact them and see if there is anything you can do.
One thing I would do is get copies of all your blood tests everytime and double check the readings and results online. Even just noting that you are borderline is enough reason to make a fuss with the doctor. Knowledge is power.

Yes, I am Hypothyroid and my med, Levothyroxine was reduced twice. I used to take 2.0 and now take 1.25 (I think micrograms) My Dr use's TSH levels to base Thyroid function on so it's an inverse level, that is the lower the TSH level is the higher my actual Thyroid activity is.

[carorees]

@Julieathome yes, yes. Yes! Dark ages! I am also hypothyroid. It is a contentious issue. Dark ages Drs check T3, T4 TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), then they ignore everything except TSH! blood tests for thyroid are erratic at best. We don't have Armour here but get it made at compounding chemist, theory by avant-garde Drs is that it imitates the body's natural hormone balance of T3/T4 where Thyroxine is just T4. Then there are those that test by using a computer that tests reflexes, or taking your temperature first thing for a week, if it's under 37C there could be a problem. So many different theories. My Dr who herself is hypothyroid, had to battle dark age doctors for years to get results, so she is very sympathetic to people who feel their meds are wrong.

On another note, I have reduced mine, but I think it was too high. Nothing to do with fasting.

I have been hypothyroid for more than 20 years and have been fasting for nearly 2 years.
I reckon I know when I'm going hypo because in addition to the cold and sleepiness I get a rather fuzzy feeling as if I am working in a mental fog. I agree that in general there is too much reliance on blood tests which are a very blunt measurement of what is going on. I have a medical background and in the past I have been a bit naughty and increased my dose off my own bat - say taking a double dose every other or 3rd day. I would then go to my GP and confess and when my blood was checked it would still be in the normal range so I could stay on the higher dose. I can't really recommend this but it might be worth a thought...
A few years ago I felt as if I was really slipping under. When my thyroxine dose was increased my bloods showed that I was overtreated. I had read quite a bit about natural supplements such as Armour so I asked to be referred to an endocrine clinic hoping they would have a broader approach to management. In fact they had exactly the same reliance on the blood results and said they didn't use Amour. I then said that I was hoping that something different would help me and mentioned T3 which is the active form which thyroxine is converted into. It was agreed that I could try it although I had to get my GP to prescribe it _ because of the cost I presume as it is considerably more expensive than thyroxine. Within a couple of weeks the fog lifted and I now take a combination of T3 and T4. Although I have not had to I would be prepared to pay for a private prescription of T3 if I had to.
My medication has not changed since fasting although I have lost over 3 stone. The last couple of times I have had my blood checked my TSH has been very low - 0.05 but as my T4 is towards the lower end of the normal range the 2 GPs I have seen have thankfully left my prescription alone. I feel better than I have for years since starting T3. I had been on it for some time before I started 5:2 but didn't lose weight till I started fasting.
I'm sorry that this is such a long post. I think the take home message is that you should try and be aware of how you are functioning - does it feel normal. if not keep going back and maybe ask about trying T3 ( Liothyronine)

[Tracieknits]

GMH - how lucky you are to have such a great doctor!!

Lil - I have done the exact same thing in reverse for my anti-thyroid - cutting the dose without permission and having my doctors keep me on it because my bloods were fine. I've gotten stern looks however.

I'm lucky in that I was able to negotiate with my doctor. He really wants me to get ablation and I didn't want to. So he's agreed to let me try armor if I need it, and for me to have some influence on my dosing based on how I feel. Over the past four years, I've proven that I can tell him exactly where my thyroid levels are *before* the blood tests, so I guess I've earned some trust.

Thank you all for the replies...and Tracieknits thanks for the links they really helped. I don't feel quite so alone with the med decreases. Good luck with your treatment in December. I think I will stick with the fasting and hopefully will start to lose again soon. Seems like fasting could quite possibly be repairing the thyroid.

Hello,
I'm new here and haven't yet started a 5:2 diet. I've been, though, on a very low calorie diet on and off for 2 years, the longest dieting period was 10 weeks. I don't seem to be able to lose weight anymore with the vlcd diet and I've also had to increase my Thyroxine dose. Hopefully the 5:2 diet will help me start losing again and being able to lower the dose would just be an added bonus.

@susieka. Welcome!