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I was diagnosed with Graves 2 1/2 months ago. I was put on Tapazole. Well I have now gained 6 – 7 pounds already. My symptoms have improved but this weight gain is making me wish I had never gone in for testing. My Endo doc said I will only gain weight if I eat the way I had been eating. Well, I am eating half of what I was and working out a lot (weight lifting, yoga, pilates, treadmill), the scale just keeps inching up. I am getting very depressed over this weight. I have always been in the low – normal weight range for my height which makes this very distrubing for me.
I have looked at other web sites and I am hoping some of what I read is just horror stories and not the norm. If I gain 100 pounds I don’t know what I’ll do. I know it is only 6 or 7 pounds now, but it has only been a couple months. If I keep up at this rate I’ll be wearing a mumu in a couple more months with people asking when my baby is due!!!
When I asked my regular doc about the weight gain, she told me to get used to it. She said that I will NEVER go back to my prior weight, that I will have a higher “normal” weight–WRONG ANSWER…My questions are: Do most people gain weight (even with careful eating and plenty of exercise), if so how much, how do you l lose it and is this from medication? Help!
Hi Tammyt.
It is not a simple answer. Graves’ speeds up the metabolism and that makes many of us lose weight. So the body goes into survival mode and tries to save every ounce of and muscle it can. Once you start to get treatment for Graves’ the body thinks it can start to replace the fat and muscle you lost while hyper.
By cutting back your food and exercising you are tricking the body into thinking it needs to go back to survival mode and pack on the fat for what it perceives as lean times ahead.
Contact a good nutritionist and they can help you with a diet that will provide your body what it needs. Ask your doctor about exercise. You may need to cut back or stop. The weight gain can be high but if you realize that the body is trying to rebuild your muscle and regain what it lost it is easier to look at it that way.
Once things level out, diet and exercise will gain back muscle mass and the fat will go away. It will take time. Trying to eat less and excess exercise may only through you into a weight gain cycle again.
We are only a click away.
Jake
On-line FacilitatorShortly after I was diagnosed and put on PTU I also started gaining weight. When I brought this up with my endo she explained to me that most of her Graves patients gain between 10-20 pounds once in treatment.
Here’s the problem: As Graves patients our thyroid is hyper. However, it is unknown how long we’ve had this hyper thyroid. Therefore, body was not normalized and in some cases burned energy faster than it would had it been in a normal state. As our body becomes ‘normal’ we have to make adjustments. Sometimes, as our body becomes ‘normal’ we have to go with the flow and thank God that we have been diagnosed and that a few pounds gained is better than the alternative.
I’m speaking from first-hand exerience here. At my sickest January (and I was gravely ill before diagnosis – excuse the pun) I was down to 154 pounds. I now weigh 172. I could get all bent out of shape and upset (and I do get that way sometimes) but after almost 6 months of PTU I have made an incredible recovery.
The hardest part is having to get to know the new “us”. Although you never had a weight problem, your body was not in a fully healthy state. My advice: focus on eating well, continue exercising (thank God you can do that – I wasn’t allowed to exercise for more than 4 months), and try to understand that maybe some weight gain means that your body is becoming normal.
My endo gave me great advice from the very beginning. First we tackle the Graves Disease, then when tackle the weight gain. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
I hope this helps you. Believe me, I know how hard it is.
Take care.
Dear Tammy, I just want to let you know that I know what you are going through. I was diagnosed with graves on April 5th. We started tapazole immediately plus a beta blocker. He told me to exercise only moderately until my heart rate was under control. Three months later I found that my pulse is down and my tremors and extreme heat intolerance is gone. That should be a sign the tap is working. Unfortunately, I also gained almost 20lbs. It’s so hard because from Jan thru March I lost weight and everyone kept complementing me. Now, I’m sure they are all saying behind my back that I gained it back. But the others are right. First, we need to get the Grave’s under control and then the weight. In the meantime, today is my first day that I am keeping a food diary and trying to really cut down on my portion size like my doctor said. I am also trying to make it a point to fit exercise into my schedule more often. We will see what happens, but I really, really feel your frustration. I cried many a days about this one. Trying to be positive now. I will post about my progress(hopefully I’ll see some). Take care and try to keep positive.
I’ve read how most people with Graves disease lose weight, but my daughter has had a very unhealthy looking weight gain. It appears to have a lot of fluid retention. She’s had a great increase in appetite and less energy, and I guess that’s the cause.
Can she expect to lose this unusual weight once she has treatment and goes through a normal zone for a short period of time? Or just continue to gain as she goes into hypo? Do most people lose once they start replacement therapy meds?There is no way to predict what will happen. The weight issue is flukey. I never gained an ounce while hypo, other people do. The main thing is this, once your daughter gets back to normal — normal levels of hormone, feeling normal, normal stamina, etc. — her weight issues should go back to normal as well. She may need to spend more time than she would like exercising and dietting to get rid of the gain, she may not. The best thing to do is try to get a good, balanced diet in front of her right now. Try to eliminate junk foods, fried foods, etc. from the cabinets and dinner table. Lots of veggies. This should be done as much for diet reasons as dietary ones — her body needs the nutrients now, probably pretty desparately.
Bobbi — NGDF Online FAcilitator
I was diagnosed with graves and had the RAI. From there I went Hypo and put on 41 pounds in three months time. I am on the hormone replacement now (Levoxyl) and have stopped gaining but can’t seem to loose any either, even though the doctors said I would. I also experience the oposite of your daughter, I had a extreme lack of appetite, one meal a day and still put on all that wieght. I am now trying to find out when or if its even possible to loose this weight. I’ll try to keep you posted.
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