[gingerr36]

in reply to: ATD and weight gain? #1071723

You mentioned waiting to get the doctor’s approval to do strength training…oddly enough no one ever told me to stop physical activity. IS THAT UNUSUAL? My legs felt a tad weak when I was diagnosed, but I’ve been able to do everything I always have. The last couple months especially I’ve been lifting 10 lb weights and doing a little ballet conditioning for my legs. I never thought to check with the doctor.
I see lots of people giving advice on this forum that my endo directly contradicts. For example, my doctor says that even on PTU I can eat seafood, soy, and iodized salt. He just doesn’t want me to take kelp supplements or to eat sushi 3 times a day. I’ve seen many posters here say iodized salt, soy, and seafood are all big no nos unless you’ve had your thyroid removed.
I wonder if my endo is misinformed or something. Perhaps that’s why he thinks it’s fine for me to go from being a healthy weight for years (without having GD) to being nearly obese in a few months. Apart from being frustrated about my wedding ring fitting too tight and the extra belly fat, I’m irritated that the doctor doesn’t care or even pretend to care about my weight. It really makes me wish that I wasn’t stuck in a stupid HMO.
One bit of weight loss advice I can take away from these boards is to get 7 hours sleep. That’s a tough one for me, but it’s a lot less annoying than Weight Watchers.
Anyhow, best of luck to all GD chubbsters.

[gingerr36]

in reply to: ATD and weight gain? #1071721

I hope to hear from someone, though this thread is old…
I’m 25. I was diagnosed in December 2009. I also have type 1 diabetes. My symptoms seem to have come on rather quickly. I think I only had GD a few weeks before I sought medical help. It caused high blood sugars, rage, and heart palpitations, so it couldn’t be ignored.
I’ve been on methimazole (which I was allegeric to) and then PTU since diagnosis. I became hypo after 2 months, and after 4 months I reached normal TSH, T3 and T4 levels on 50 mg of PTU/day. The doctor wants to take me off PTU in December this year. He didn’t think ATDs would work, but he says I’m proving him wrong. That all seems great, but the weight gain I’ve experienced is downright depressing.
I only lost 7 or 8 pounds prior to diagnosis, unlike some folks who lose 50 or 60. Prior to diagnosis I had been the exact same weight for 2 years. Unlike many GD patients, I have never been skinny and have battled to stay lean since I was in middle school. Since starting PTU I have put on the 7 or 8 pounds I had lost plus another 10. I’m very short, so an extra 10 pounds is a lot for me. My BMI is up to 28! ERRRRGGG!!! I was hypo for a month or 2, so I thought once my labs normalized I might lose the extra 10 pounds the PTU packed on me. Nothing has happened. When I mentioned my concern about the weight to my endo he shrugged it off. He didn’t seem to care at all, and didn’t make any suggestions. It is unbelievably frustrating. Maybe if I gian more weight he will start caring.
I cook all our meals. We don’t eat frozen, processed, junk foods. I’m already not drinking juice and soda due to the diabetes. I’m already taking extra fiber. I take a 30 minute walk every day and do strength training before bed. I don’t know what to do. I feel awful that this has happened. I have never weighed this much before. My clothes do not fit.
Has anyone who has been successful with ATDs lost the extra weight they put on? Did it happen gradually by itself once you were in remission? What helped with the weight? Money’s tight right now, so I can’t join a gym or take classes. I can’t even try weight loss aids like SlimQuick because they put kelp in it, so I’m really at my wit’s end.

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