[kprofthestars]

I started pehn 37.5 on May 1st and three days later I recieved a perscription for thyroid med. My question is this....... wouldn't the thyroid med alone cause me to lose weight? If my thyroid wasn't functioning like it was suppose to wouldn't that possibly be why I gained in the first place? Just curious.

[lmball]

It depends was it overactive or underactive thyroid?

[BINA]

IF YOUR THYROID IS UNDERACTIVE, YES THAT WOULD BE THE REASON WHY U GAINED THE WEIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE. WITH OVERACTIVE THYROID PEOPLE LOSE THE WEIGHT AND THEY CAN EAT WHATEVER THEY WONT AND WONT GAIN A POUND. WITH UNDERACTIVE THYROID U CAN BE ON A DIET AND THE CHANCES ARE U MIGHT LOSE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF WEIGHT OR NOT ANY WEIGHT AT ALL UNLESS YOU START TAKING THYROID MEDS.I DONT KNOW IF U CAN USE PHEN AND THY MEDS AT THE SAME TIME, U MIGHT WANNA CHECK THAT OUT WITH YOUR DOC. I KNOW WHEN I ASKED FOR PHEN, MY DOC HAD TO DO BLOOD WORK FOR THYROID, AND TOLD ME IF MY THYROID IS UNDERACTIVE THAT I WILL GET PRESC FOR THY, AND NO PHEN.FOURTUNATELLY THE BLOOD WORK WAS NORMAL AND I GOT PHEN.

[BINA]

THY MEDS WONT MAKE U LOSE A LOT OF WEIGHT, THEY ONLY MIGHT STOP FUTURE WEIGHT GAIN.

[Carrie5210]

Yes, having an underactive thyroid causes weight gain....but thyroid issues are not always so cut and dry......an underactive thyroid can be attributed to your thyroid or to your thyroid and your pituitary gland and/or endricrine problems as well. And not everyone that has Hyperthyroidism loses weight or is skinny.....

Also being on thyroid medication does not always stop you from gaining weight, it's a long misbelief that people who take thyroid medication lose weight, most people do not lose weight on it. When you have issues that cause problems with your thyroid, it causes long term problems with your BMR (basal metabolic rate) that can last long past starting thyroid medication. And once you start the medication it can take a long time to adjust the levels to find a happy place where your body actually reacts correctly to it....then if you are not responding to the normal T4 synthetic that is usually prescribed (synthroid) there is the option of convincing your doctor to try the natural thyroid T4 (Armour, Westhroid) or a combination of natural T4 and a synthetic T3 (cytomel) as there are some who do not convert T4 to T3. Then there is the constant blood tests to see where your TSH and Free T3 and T4 levels are to eventually get them to within a normal blood reading (adjusting those levels).......and then there some people who may have normal readings but their symptoms are still presenting.....

As far as taking along with Phen, well there are doctors that say you can take it and it's fine, others that won't. Most of what I have come across said do not take if you are HYPERthyroid (over active thyroid). It's going to be the doctor's choice as to whether they feel comfortable doing so in the condition of someone that is Hypothyroid....do your research.

Being as educated and well informed about your condition as you can be will benefit you in the end. Knowledge is power and power is control when it comes to your own medical care....regardless if you are talking about thyroid issues and weight gain/loss or breast cancer.

[rant_s0me]

i agree with Carrie5210

ive been hypo for 4 years and have been taking meds since then. i gained 20lbs in a month (out of nowhere-i thought i was pregnant again!) and it took even longer for the dr to diagnose me having thyroid disease. i would have to get my blood drawn every 2 weeks to every month to check my TSH, T4 and T3 levels. After 4 years, my medication is still being adjusted bc we havent found the dosage that is right for my body... and the symptoms still persist. Good luck trying to persuade a dr to switch you to a natural thyroid hormone. dr's feel that its unnecessary if your TSH is in the "normal range".. i have lost NO weight since i have been taking synthroid BUT, i have a friend who has; simply bc her dr. put her on TOO high of a dose and it sent her body from being hypo to hyper!!--so, she lost weight but, her symptoms became more pronounced..

My OBGYN prescribed me Phen to help lose my baby weight (since i cant lose weight on my own being hypo-) i double checked with him to make sure it was ok to take with my synthroid and he said it was.

It is very important to take your thyroid meds!! with your thyroid not functioning, it can cause other problems-and send your body into a downward spiral... PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH!

[kprofthestars]

Thanks for all your help y'all. The dr that put me on the phen, put me on the thyroid meds (Armour) So far I have lost 10 lbs in a week. But that is from the Dr scales compared to my own and Dr. scales alaways weigh you more than your own .
But since I bought mine Friday,I weigh every morning and I have lost 6 pounds. I dont know if I am going to stay on the phen though. I feel like I am exhausted when I take it. I dont know if I am add or not. My son is. I know when I broke my arm 7 years ago they gave me vicodin for the pain and when I took them I got wired for days. I kinda suspect I may be.

[kprofthestars]

Oops! Sorry not 10 pounds 9

[rant_s0me]

KPROFTSTARS- if the Phen is making you tired. try breaking your dose in half. same thing happened to me. since i began halfing my dose, i havent been nearly fatigued!

[Carrie5210]

How many grains of Armour are you on? What did your tests show when they came back? Did he test your TSH alone, or did he do a full panel to test your Free T4 and T3 levels?

Being tired is probably not from the Phen, but as a result of the Hypothyroid issue, but in light of just starting the Thyroid medication and the fact that he put you on natural thyroid (disected pig thyroid actually) I'm kind of surprised he didn't wait to see how you reacted to it and adjust your levels prior to adding anything else to it.

I took Armour for a year, I have compensated hypothyroidism, fancy name for "it's here today, gone tomorrow, might be back in a year" condition.....certain things bring it back, but I have had it my whole life and it plays havoc with my life...I usually don't need a test to tell me it's back, the symptoms are enough for me to know I need my medication restarted.....but for people who are flat out hypo, it can take a long time to find a level of medication that works, and then it can change overnight that it is no longer working......I'm just surprised that he did not give your body a chance to settle with the medication before starting you on a weight loss regime associated with another medication. Did he recommend you see an Endocrinologist?

Phentermine actually treats ADD, so if you suffer from it, the Phen will lessen it's condition, much like Adderall would or Ritalin, which it is recommended you not take them while on the phen (nothing in an interaction drug book on them, just told not to take together).

Everyone reacts differently to medications, and your body needs to get used to the fact that you have thyroid medication in it as well....you are kind of bombarding yourself with substances that you have to get used to.....once you are, you will feel better, but I still say you should have had the opportunity to get used to one before adding the other....Armour is different then synthroid, I had no problem with the synthroid, well other then it NOT working at all....but the Armour, wow, that took some getting used to, I took 2 grains and had to work up to the dose, even though it was equivalent to my dose of synthroid. I also had to add the cytomel, which may also be something you will have to address later on. Something you may want to bring up to your doctor, the issue of T4 conversion to T3.....buy the book "Living Well With Hypothyroidism" Get it off Amazon....I got a cheap good used copy from there, had some really good information in it that alot of doctors are not aware of with the condition......EDUCATE YOURSELF!

I will say that my doctor, who treated me for my thyroid issue also treated me for my weight loss, but it was a year after I started my thyroid meds and I came off the thyroid medication before I began anything else.....I waited to see if I could come off them before hitting my system with other strong medications.....but I know there was a lady here on the board who takes syntroid and cytomel and phen, she was doing very very well on all of it but she has not been on it quite some time.....