NDT makes me gain weight

[Vanced]

I have been up to 6 grains of Thiroyd and all I get is hot, I don't loose any weight, in fact I start gaining weight. Does anyone know what is going on here?

Like with a ll thyroid meds, at first things work well then it seems by body rebells and the positive effects go the other way.

The only way I can loose weight is to use T4, however this comes with side effects like dry skin and hair and a bloated face. T3 kills my libido and gives me anxiety. Currently I am combining Synthroid T4 and NDT, however I look like a mess.

Is there a solution?

 

[answersfound]

It sounds like you are taking way too much. The excess t4 is converting to rt3 and blocking metabolism. I would cut back to 1-2 grains. Pregnenolone may help you too.

 

[Vanced]

Yes I thought that might be happening. A few years ago I worked up to 200mcg of just T4 and was feeling great, this lasted a few months before things went south again, so I know I can feel very well on it.

I actually have some Preg so will give that a go, do you know if it can reduce rt3?

 

[tara]

Are you needing to gain weight? Have you had a low appetite that has recovered since you started the NDT? Are you eating more? Were you undereating before?

6 grains of NDT seems like a lot - did you build up gradually as recommended (small increments ~ 3 weekly intervals, while monitoring temps and pulse), so you could assess appropriate dose?

 

[Vanced]

I don't need to gain weight no, I could do with losing around a stone in fat tbh. I was undereating but have stopped restricting now.

I worked up to 6 grains over a period of months because I wasn't loosing any weight. When on cynoplus I was loosing weight and quite fast (but the t3 killed my libido and I was loosing muscle), ndt has not had the same effect at all.

After taking one or two grains, I blow up in water after a few hours all over my body, the actual fat gain may just be what I would be gaining off all meds anyway due to being hypo.

I am going to try t4 only with preg and see how things go, fingers crossed.

 

[tara]

Maybe the extra stone is just the consequence of your previous restriction. How long since you stopped restricting? If the restriction was severe/long-term I gather it can take quite a while of adequate food for the body to get beyond storing fat for the next famine to rebuilding all the other organs and restoring metabolic processes.

The loss of muscle mass on T3 seems to illustrate the benefit of the bodies strategy of reducing metabolism in the face of energy deficit - it protects us from burning away our lean tissue so fast.

It wouldn't surprise me if if you got overloaded with too much T4 from supplementing lots of NDT.

 

[Vanced]

Hi Tara, the extra weight has come back since I stopped taking t3, whilst on cynoplus I lost weight however some was muscle and it came with side effects. I stopped restricting a few years ago now.

My T4 only experiment is causing me to gain weight pretty fast (fat/water), however I don't think my hair and skin has ever looked this good so it is obviously doing something. Mentally I feel good as well, very calm and low anxiety. The puffy face symptoms I was having before have gone which is encouraging. I am going to add 2 grains of Tman NDT now for the additional t3 to try and balance things and hopefully lean out a bit.

 

[tara]

I would encourage you to monitor your body temps and pulse, esp. before and during dosage changes. I think this will give you more information to guide supplementation than just going by your weight. I'd also encourage gradual increments, eg 1/4 - 1/2 tablet after 2-4 weeks, rather than adding two whole tablets at an increment.

 

[cout12]

I would encourage you to monitor your body temps and pulse, esp. before and during dosage changes. I think this will give you more information to guide supplementation than just going by your weight. I'd also encourage gradual increments, eg 1/4 - 1/2 tablet after 2-4 weeks, rather than adding two whole tablets at an increment.

is your temp supposed to raise right after you take it? what if it doesn't raise, or go down? take more? less? use a different one?

 

[tara]

I would encourage you to monitor your body temps and pulse, esp. before and during dosage changes. I think this will give you more information to guide supplementation than just going by your weight. I'd also encourage gradual increments, eg 1/4 - 1/2 tablet after 2-4 weeks, rather than adding two whole tablets at an increment.

is your temp supposed to raise right after you take it? what if it doesn't raise, or go down? take more? less? use a different one?

T4 has a long half life. It can take 2-4 weeks at a stable dose to reach stable blood levels. So don't expect a big jump in functioning immediately after taking the first one or two doses, and don't assume you know much about the effects after a day or two.

I have neither experience nor expertise with this, just read a bit. So do find more expertise and opinion than mine. But here's my view on it.

If starting from no supplemental thyroid, I would suggest:
Measure and record every day for a fortnight. There may be other ways to do it, but eg at waking, ~an hour after breakfast, and in the afternoon.
If it is consistently low, or inconsistent but shows stress hormones are what makes it sometimes high, and is low when stress hormones go down, consider doing sth to increase general metabolism. If it is high at waking and lowers after breakfast, then it may have been stress hormones rather than thyroid that gave the higher waking temps, and the lower post-breakfast temp may be more relevant.

As you know, I tend to favour addressing food, sunlight, breathing, sleep, life stress, etc first, and then if that doesn't get things going in the right direction, consider cautious supplement.

Start a small dose, eg 1/4 tablet. If it makes you feel worse or lowers temp, discontinue and consider the rest of the context to figure out why that might be. Could be too much T4 having anti-metabolic effects. Maybe need higher T3 ratio. Could be inadequate nourishment. Could be that stress hormones came down and that lowered temps. Could be stress hormones were making you feel good, and lowering them allows you to feel tired and get needed rest/sleep. Could be excipients in that product.
If it does not make you feel bad, or lower temps, continue with small does, and monitor temps and pulse for a fortnight. After a fortnight, if temps are up a little but not yet enough, add another 1/4 tablet, monitor, etc.
If nothing good happens from a small dose, trying a different brand or trying a higher T3 ratio may be useful. T3 has a short half life, so you can tell much more quickly (less than an hour) if it is helpful. Very tiny doses of it can make a difference - Peat talks about nibbling a tiny bit of a T3 tablet.

Taking too much T4 can sometimes cause the body to take measures to defend itself by doing other things to reduce metabolism. This can put systems in a state where it is harder to get the dosage right. That is why I would expect approaching optimal supplement levels cautiously from below could often get you to a good place faster than taking large doses from the outset.