[ewmb]

#1067315

I gained weight, about 25 pounds, when I was hypo on methimazole and since I’ve been getting more toward normal on my levoxyl replacement hormone ( now on it almost 3 months) I feel like my body is readjusting itself. I have had to go back to my Weight Watchers training to get back on track but have already lost 8 pounds. I will tell you that I would rather feel well and be a little larger than to be so skinny again and feel the way I did when I was very hyper. I have not really started to exercise again but am able to do more every day. Today I painted my front door! I think how long you’ve been sick with the Graves may have a lot to do with weight ups and downs. I was sick for 2 years even on methimazole I didn’t feel right. Think of the weight change as just a reaction to your body recalibrating after being sick. You might actually feel a lot healthier at another weight. That said I know you don’t want to become clinically overweight or obese as that is unhealthy. Check out your BMI number somewhere on the web and you’ll probably find that you can cut yourself a little slack number wise. Just as some people don’t feel well with a "smack in the middle normal TSH" you might or might not feel well at a higher or lower weight.

I am trying to focus on getting healthy again and I think the weight will come off and I will not be so worried about it as I have other things in my life besides always thinking about how I feel. I am going through menopause now too and I know that that known hormone change can produce some weight gain. It’s all a part of life……

Keep thinking positively…….

ewmb

[enough3]

#1018820

Hey Everyone..it’s me again with another question.

Today makes 9 days post RAI. I’m so scared to eat over 1800 calories. I have not read anything on this board about people maintaining weight post RAI. I gained back the 10 lbs that I lost with the hyper part…gained it back slowly while on PTU. Other than weighing 110lbs when I was hyper…I have always weight 120lbs. I have not gained any weight…but I’m sooooooooo fearful that I will wake up one day and gain like crazy. How careful do I need to be post RAI?

Will I still be able to wear all my clothes. I’m a very small person…..it’s freaking me out..lol

My Endo said that I may gain a couple lbs….not to worry….but everyone on here seemed to gain…

need some honest answers…and maybe some encouraging stories.

[Julie3588]

#1067316

I too was terrified about gaining weight. I suspect that I first went hyper my senior year of high school and I got down to around 125 (I’m 5’7") by the time I was finally diagnosed freshmen year of college. I was definitely not a healthy weight, my bones were popping out and I looked sickly, I could barely stand up. I was put on Tapazole and actually went hypo when on it. Over about 2 months I went up to around 155 which was a bit scary but I can honestly say besides feeling a bit self conscious, being a teenage girl and all at the time, I felt worlds healthier. I’m now a senior in college and I relapsed a few months ago. I lost about 10lbs during this time. I got RAI over the summer and have been trying to find my "right dose" of synthroid for the last 2 months. I am around 150-155 now depending on the week. I’d like to be around 145 but I know that I have to let my body heal before I jump into exercise just yet. Since my Graves started during the end of puberty I really have no idea what my "normal" weight is. I just try to tell myself that as long as I’m in a healthy weight range I should be kind to my body. I’ve definitely noticed that being hypo makes me retain a ton of water weight, sometimes up to 10lbs. This usually melts right off as soon as I am no longer clinically hypo but those last few pounds are the tough ones. I feel like I could starve myself and not lose a pound. I’ve just accepted that this is where my body had reset itself. There’s no sense in fighting it.

Like ewmb said, as long as you FEEL healthier, be kind to yourself about weight. It’s better to be 10lb heavier and healthy than skinny and sick. It can be a bit embarrassing. I remember returning to school after the summer 20lbs heavier and all I wanted to scream was "It’s the disease!" In reality, everyone was telling me how much better I looked because I was now healthy. It’s easy to beat yourself up about it but I try to think of the weight as a sign of health. As long as you maintain a healthy lifestyle, you shouldn’t have a problem with being an unhealthy weight.

[hockey]

#1067317

Hello enough3,

Yes – fear about eating too much following RAI – I’ve been there and the feeling still lingers although not all the time. The first week after RAI, I didn’t eat much, just loaded up on water!

I too am scared of eating too much and packing on the pounds as when I was first diagnosed with GD and it was mentioned that you need to kill your thyroid and then take replacement, the only people I knew on replacement were obese – yikes!! Some of my fear is that I will go to the other side of the pendulum (anorexia).

Anyhow – so far, since my numbers are more hyper than before I did the RAI, I’ve stopped worrying about what I eat .. I think I would have ended up losing weight if it had not been for some fo the Halloween treats I ended up eating. Some of my clothes are a little on the big side now, not much, but they look a bit baggy – so when they start to feel a little better, I will put the brakes on my eating habits … somedays being a stay-at-home mom makes it hard as the pantry is tooooo close and too easy to access – this will be a HUGE problem when my metabolism does slow down. Hopefully I’ll find a way to cope. I guess you don’t really know when you’re going to stop being hyper and then end up in hypo land with a reduced metabolism at which time the pounds would start to add up … I am glad that I need to get blood tests every 2 weeks to see what’s happening as I’m assuming that as the t3/t4 numbers become more normal, my metabolism will be slowing down. I’m also hoping that my appetite will decrease as I hit a more normal range of t3/t4. How often are you scheduled for blood tests?

Even though I haven’t worried too much about what I’ve been eating in the last couple of weeks, I badly need new clothes and winter jacket etc. but I am putting it all off for a year or so until I get a better sense of what size I am going to end up at. Hopefully it’s the same size, but I can live with going up a size. I’m not much of a shopper so if I can delay buying clothes so that I only have to do it once, I think I will as I’m assuming that I will likely end up being a size bigger (back to pre-GD, 10 lbs heavier than current weight).

I’m hoping that when I do finally start gaining weight, it will actually be muscle >> I know I’ve lost a lot of upper body (core) muscle. Anyone know the best way to build muscle?

[sharona219]

#1067318

Weight bearing is your best bet for gaining muscle back. But mix it up. Push ups are actually weight bearing. You don’t have to join the gym. 2 milk jugs with varying amounts of water will work.

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