[Kimberly]

#1063039

Hello and welcome to the boards!

Anxiety can be caused by the hyperthyroid state itself. However, if by "crawling out of your skin" you are referring to itching — and this is something that has started since you began taking the Tapazole — I would mention this to your doctor or pharmacist, just to make sure this isn’t an allergic reaction to the meds. If it’s a mild reaction, many docs are OK with keeping patients on the meds, sometimes in conjunction with Benadryl to provide some relief. If you are having a more serious reaction, your doctor may recommend switching to PTU…or proceeding with a different treatment option.

On the weight issue, I first want to mention that if you *lost* weight while hypER, the weight gain is actually a positive sign that you are returning to good health. Weight that is lost while hypER is not “good” weight loss, as we tend to lose lean muscle mass.

However, I know there are many patients out there (like myself) who did NOT lose weight while hypER and have struggled with weight issues after starting treatment. If you do a search for “weight” on this forum, you can see that there are many posters who share your concerns. Here are a few recommendations from a nutritionist who presented at our 2009 conference:

1. Include breakfast daily within 2 hours of waking up.
2. Don’t go longer than 5 hours in between meals
3. Select “high volume” and “high fiber” foods such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains
4. Limit servings of healthy fats to 1 per day
5. Prioritize at LEAST 7 hours of sleep a night

Once a doctor’s clearance is obtained to engage in activity, she also recommended 150 minutes per week of physical activity, plus strength training 2 times per week.

Personally, I have found the best success with counting calories — my general practitioner recommended the specific calorie target that I used. It’s required a LOT of extra work in terms of weighing and measuring portions, but I am *finally* getting results.

Best of luck – please check back and let us know how you are doing!

[heatherw]

#1018163

i was curious to know if there is any way to try and lose weight while on tapazole. i never had the weight loss problem from graves disease before i started taking meds..unfortunately…the only good thing about graves. i am already gaining weight and i want to try and slow that down if i can. also is it normal to feel like i am crawling out of my skin while on this med? i feel ridiculously anxious and i don’t know why. sorry for all the questions but i am new to this site.

thanks
heatherw

[heatherw]

#1063040

thank you so much. i am like you i never did lose the weight from grave’s disease. so i will definitely talk to my doctor about some options.

[heatherw]

#1063041

can you take alli while taking tapazole?

[snelsen]

#1063042

Hi Heather,
In response to your question about Alli. I suggest you follow up on your interest by doing three things.
1. Read the Mayo Clinic website discussion of this weight loss drug. It is a reliable, informative resource for you. Read through the entire two pages. There is a list of side effects. Be sure to pay attention to the bowel changes, which can be significant to your life style in a negative way. You should pay attention to the caution that is listed of medical conditions where you maybe should not consider this drug One is THYROID DISEASE.

2. So you should definitely call your endo, consult with him/her about it. It would be very helpful if you would give him the Mayo Clinic website reference, too.
(Websites that are promoting a drug are not good places to obtain objective information. Their motivation is to sell their product.)
The website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alli/W … IONGROUP=2
If, for some reason, put Mayo Clinic and alli in a google search engine.

2. REad Kimberly’s excellent post about weight management. It is excellent, logical, and healthy. Incidentally, in the Mayo Clinic discussion, it correctly says that exercise and healthy eating needs to be done if taking the drug, to have results of losing~7 over a period of a year.

[heatherw]

#1063043

i appreciate the info. for some reason instead of losing weight with graves disease i am bigger than i have ever been and the tapazole is making me gain more. i have always tried to be a healthy eater as far as my diet goes. i just have heart disease and many other health problems on both sides of my family and i am afraid of gaining any more weight so i am trying to counter effect that problem. i have started exercising 6 days a week and have dropped my caloric intake to around 1000 calories a day. i just want to minimize the weight gain. i will definitely check out the mayoclinic website and do some more research.

[Ski]

#1063044

One of the things that can play into the weight gain is the "muscle wasting" we suffer while hyperthyroid. As I’m sure you know, strong, healthy muscle tissue burns calories even at rest, and helps us manage our weight. When we are hyperthyroid, the large muscles (upper thighs, chest, upper back) are the most affected by the muscle wasting caused by hyperthyroidism (speeds up the "destroy" process, suppresses the "rebuild" process), but all of our muscles can suffer, and that results in a lower "burn rate," which is something a person doesn’t expect, so eating the same calorie content can end up in weight gain. After we return to normal hormone levels, we regain muscle tissue, but that also "appears" as though it’s fat weight gain, when in fact it is good that our muscle tissue is returning. At that point you can begin to rebuild the new muscle tissue, but it is soft and mushy muscle, and needs to be VERY carefully strengthened to make sure you avoid injury.

If you are still hyperthyroid to any degree, the exercise you are doing actually may be working counter to what you’d like ~ it would further destroy muscle, and your body wouldn’t be able to replace it while you’re still hyperthyroid ~ so talk frankly with your doctor about the current state of your body before you continue along that path for long. Also, if you’re still hyper, that can lead to dangerous arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) when you’re exercising, so again, another reason to talk with the doctor to make sure you’re at a point where this is a good idea.

Once you have reached a normal, stable level of thyroid hormone, your best starting point will be visiting a physical therapist. They can tell you exactly what level of strength and endurance you currently have, and they can put you on a safe path of exercise to strengthen the muscle in as short a period of time as is possible.

I know it’s hard, weight gain is SO debilitating. I’ve been overweight my whole life (though, looking at pictures from my early 20s, I sure wish I was THAT kind of "fat" again!!!), and it’s a constant emotional and physical battle. Your determination will get you through it, I can tell, and you WILL return to your normal, healthy body. Just make sure you’re doing this safely.

[Kimberly]

#1063045

heatherw – I agree with Shirley’s thoughts on Alli and Ski’s thoughts on exercise.

Also, the nutritionist who spoke at our conference suggested *not* going below 1150 calories per day, in order to make sure that your body is getting all the essential vitamins and nutrients that it needs.

I would recommend that you speak to your endocrinologist or general practitioner regarding an appropriate daily calorie intake for your height and build. I *totally* understand how frustrating the weight issue is…but you definitely don’t want to lose weight at the expense of your overall health!

[Author]

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