Cyproheptadine advice!

prider90

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Oct 22, 2015
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First of all hello everybody ! Greetings from Romania.
I wanna tell u my story
Im 25yo 1.75m and have subclinical hypothyroidism since 19. ( TSH = high, T3,T4 = normal ). Been struggling to gain weight like forever :))
I've been lifting weights since 22 and eating approx 3000kcal per day. Managed to gain approx 12 kgs and got to 66.
Now i wanna try cyproheptadine for appetite and weight gain. ( i have B vitamin deficit and poor appetite ).
I ve been reading a study that says cypro can lower TSH. Planning to take for 6 months and so then do some bloodwork to see TSH level.
My question is regarding dosage. Is 4mg per day before sleep a good start? I'm afraid that drowsiness will affect my gym performance. Is this effect every time i take cypro or it will go over time? Also i had a friend who took 4mg for 2 months and got dry mouth and some dental abcess because of this.
Many thanks !
 

Sheik

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I would definitely not start at 4 mg. Peat has recommended starting at .5 mg, and for some people even that's a bit much. You can work your way up to 4. I found that the drowsiness can last well into the next day, so I prefer to take it a couple of hours before bedtime. And yes, the drowsiness will lessen over time.

I've never heard of it causing dry mouth. That certainly hasn't been a problem for me.
 

tara

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:welcome prider90

Sheik said:
post 105435 I would definitely not start at 4 mg. Peat has recommended starting at .5 mg, and for some people even that's a bit much. You can work your way up to 4. I found that the drowsiness can last well into the next day, so I prefer to take it a couple of hours before bedtime. And yes, the drowsiness will lessen over time.

I've never heard of it causing dry mouth. That certainly hasn't been a problem for me.
:1
I'd suggest starting with 1/8 tablet early evening when you can sleep a lot the next couple of days if you need to. Then increase to quarter after a week or so if you want to, etc.
I'm no expert in weight training, but I get the impression that there is not much benefit to training every day over training every second or third day, or less, esp. if you are struggling to eat enough and maintain and restore yourself and you have been diagnosed as hypothyroid.
Do you have your TSH etc lab numbers, or just a drs word that TSH is high and the others normal?
If you are doing a lot of training, then I imagine you might be needing more than 3000calories, esp. if you have a bit of catch up growing to do.
Cyproheptadine has been used a bit to improve appetite for people who don't feel like eating enough. I've never heard of it contributing to dental abscess - is there a reason to think they are related and not just coincidental?

Have you tried any other tactics to improve metabolism so far? I'd pick eating enough as step one, including checking that you are getting enough B-vits and other nutrients. Some of us use cronometer to get a rough idea of what's in our food. (Just ignore it's recommendations on calories and PUFA.)
Liver is a good source of B-vits and vit A, and other things - Peat recommends a serving a week.
 
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prider90

prider90

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bloodwork every year showed me normal TSH T3 and T4 but I take levothyroxine eod. If i stop this, my tsh will go high again.
My diet and sleep is in check. Also i take B vitamins & whey protein. Also if i stop weight training, my apettite will dissapear. I will start with .5 mg
 

answersfound

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Throw the whey in the trash and get on a thyroid supp that has t3. If tsh is above 1, it may be normal but that does not mean it is optimal. Endo's are clowns.
 
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prider90

prider90

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my med contains Triiodothyronine and Levothyroxine :) Keeps my tsh in check but my metabolism is still pretty high
 

tara

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As you may have noticed, many of us take doctors pronouncements about thyroid hormones being in the 'normal' range with a gain of salt. Peat has said few people are really healthy with TSH over 2, and under 1 is probably better. The standard medical ranges can go up to over 4 or 5 depending on country - no idea what it is in Romania. That your doctor has prescribed you a combination of T3 and T4 puts her/him ahead of many of the drs others have dealt with - so maybe your medical syste is working better in this respect.
What indicates that your metabolism is pretty high?
Recording body temperature and resting heart rate can also provide relevant info about thyroid function.
 
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prider90

prider90

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Before i started lifting, i had only 52kg. That is when i decided to get my hormones checked....and bingo ! Also had cold feet & hands and absolutely no appetite. If i stop the thyroid medication, in 2-3 months i'm starting to have concentation problems and again cold feet. I'm pretty sure i need to take this med for the rest of my life.
 
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prider90

prider90

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how long is safe to take without stopping ? 2 months with one month pause is ok ?
 

Peata

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prider90 said:
post 108751 how long is safe to take without stopping ? 2 months with one month pause is ok ?

I have done those amounts of time before without any noticeable problems.
 
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