Hi, I am 50 years old. I was diagnosed with as hypo at age 39. ...

Hi, I feel the same way you do! I am 30 but I used to eat whatever I wanted and I noticed last year that I was exercising 4x/week and eating healthy and was gaining weight. I am on 50 mcg synthroid and when I went for my last blood test the doctor said my levels are fine now. But, I am still tired and gained 5 pounds since the last visit (a month ago). I basically had to beg him to up my dose to 75 mcg 2x per week to see if that helps with the weight. I hear that there is another medication that doctors combine with the synthroid that sometimes helps (cytomel I think). I also have a friend taking Amaror (not sure of spelling) and she lost 25 pounds in the first month taking it. Doctors don't like to give it though because it is a pig thyroid and also because it is not the standard treatment they use. I get frustrated like you do because I feel like the doctors are so narrow minded and just because the blood results say things are fine, doesn't mean I feel fine! They also hate to try new medications. They all insist on syntrhoid and just increasing the synthroid dose. I would look for another doctor if he is just brushing you off. I am going to give this higher dose a chance and then look for another doctor. I have noticed that with the increase dosage I actually didn't need a nap for two days which is unheard of for me! I have also read that coconut oil helps with thryoid functioning. Read coconutdiet.com and good luck!

Thanks for your response to my post. I go on Monday to get a TSH, so if he increases my dosage, who knows what will happen. I would love to test something else. If I could be like your friend and lose 25 lbs, that would be great! Hope the 75mcg does the trick for you. All the best! jf

I just turned 30 a couple of months ago and have been on synthroid for 3 years. I have been at 175 mcg for 2 years now. I spent the first year having blood tests every 6 weeks until they finally got my numbers in the "normal" range. So, 175 mcg seems high for someone my age, but my doctor doesn't seem concered. I have a 5 year old, play tennis, eat healthy and work out 4 to 6 times a week. I have still managed to gain 22lbs since my diagnosis. My doctor doesn't seem to care b/c my levels are in the normal range and I am not overweight (5'10" 155lbs). Every women an my side of the family has hypothyroid, I am the highest dose and youngest case. Any suggestions? My mom said I should see her endocrinologist instead of my internest. She is on Armour but has the same complaints...

I have 3 words for you...FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR! I get so aggrevated with the doctors when I read all these posts where they aren't listening to their patients. Just because your levels are "normal" (whatever that is) doesn't mean you feel good. I start feeling bad when my TSH levels reach 1.5 and that's well with in the labs "normal" range, but it doesn't keep me from needing a nap. I feel best at TSH levels of .5 to.7. And if the doctor is brushing off your weight gain, then my best advice is to find another doctor. I used to feel "weird" about switching doctors until I realized that nobody is going to care about how you feel except you (or a decent doctor). They are out there you just need to find them. The first question I would ask is "how will you determine my dosage" or something along those lines and see what they say. If they say we'll keep you in the normal range, run away...if they say we'll treat you until your symptoms subside and you feel better, you might have found a winner. One piece of advice is to track your actual TSH level each time you have bloodwork done to figure out at which level you feel best and are able to manage the weight. Once you have that you can work with your doctor or find a new doctor to help you maintain that level. Best of luck to you!