Please help! Levothroxin advice and advice in general needed! - Weight Loss Message Board

only19 · 06-23-2006, 07:06 PM

Hi,

I've never been on this board until tonight and am hoping someone can give me some advice or hope. I recently turned 19 and finished my freshman year in college. I started the year at around 5'3 and 120 lbs. I maintained this weight and even grew an inch until around Feb. then all of a sudden i went from 120 to 140. I do not drink so the weight came on completely from food. To me, twenty pounds in this short time seemed extreme. In April I worked to cut out the fast food and eat healthier. In May I started exercising more too, and no results were seen. Frusterated, I went to the doctor 3 weeks ago and through tests they found that my metabolism had slowed to 'extremely low'. My doctor perscribed me to Levothroxin. Now, after three weeks of eating right, exercising, and taking my medicine I still see no results, in fact I gained a pound. I feel hopeless, I went from a size two to an eight in two months and can't lose it!

Has anyone had positive results with Levothroxin or had a similar experience? Please help!!

kehorner · 06-25-2006, 11:22 PM

Levothyroxine is not a weight loss pill, but a synthetic thyroid hormone. The tests that your doctor ran were tests of your thyroid function, and you are hypothyroid. Hypothyroidism means that your thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormone, which controls metabolism. Your doctor should recheck your thyroid levels after you have been on the medication for 4-6 weeks, to see if you need to increase your dose. It may take a while to find the proper dose, and then you will need to get your levels checked every 6-12 months in case something changes. You might want to check out the thyroid board.