I'm 20 years old and I'm VERY active (as in I play a sport in college 6 days a week). For a two month period about six months ago I struggled with throwing up. In that time I lost about 10-15 pounds but I was absolutely miserable so I was able to completely stop after those two months. Anyways, when I stopped, I immediately gained those 10-15 pounds back plus about 10 more. I didn't care though because I was feeling better but then about a month later it really kicked in that I was not a big fan of all of the extra weight. Since about 4 months ago, I have been trying very hard to lose weight. I do 2 hours of cardio every day and lift weights a few times a week. I have been counting my calories and eating only my alloted 1400 calories and if anything I have gained weight. Additionally, I have a huge problem with stomach fat as it will NOT go away regardless of how much I workout. I was wondering if this brief period of throwing up could have given me hypothyroid or if a fat concentration in the abdomen is a symptom? Thanks.
Vomiting is not necessarily a symptom of hypothyroid, and weight gain, although common in hypothyroidism, is not definitive either. Taking thyroid medication doesn't make you lose weight.
The only way to figure out what's going on is to get a full check up, including full blood panel including thyroid (tsh, free t4, free t3)---I would talk to the doctor about the throwing up, you may indeed have a stomach problem of some sort.
I doubt it. But you need to get your levels checked. I'm glad you stopped the bulimia, it's a very dangerous road to go down. Hopefully your labs will reveal something. Also check those vitamin levels (D, B12, Magnesium, ferritin, etc). You really need a complete workup and you need to communicate your history honestly with your doctor.
Anorexia and bulimia are definite risk factors for hypothyroidism. Reduced thyroid function is an survival adaptation the body uses to conserve as many calories as possible. You may not be vomiting anymore, but if your obsession with weight is continuing to manifest itself in over-exercise, that could also reduce thyroid function the same as anorexia/bulimia. When the eating disorder has been successfully and permanently reversed, the thyroid function should return to normal.
A singular issue of weight would not caused by hypothyroidism. HypoT causes multiple symptoms, up to a dozen or more, and fatigue would be such that you would not likely be physically able to do all the exercise.
