Medicine To Lose Weight Hypothyroid

Hypothyroidism refers to an underactive thyroid, which can cause weight gain. Taking medication for this condition may help a person lose excess weight.

Treating an underactive thyroid may cause a person to lose some weight, but thyroid medication is not a weight loss drug. People who do not have an underactive thyroid should not take thyroid medications in an attempt to lose weight.

While thyroid medication may help people manage their condition, it is unlikely to dramatically change a person’s weight. In people without thyroid disease, taking thyroid hormones can be dangerous. It may cause an overactive thyroid, called hyperthyroidism.

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A slower metabolism may cause a person to gain weight. People with hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, may gain some weight. This is usually around 5–10 lb, but it may be more or less, depending on the individual.

Hyperthyroidism, a condition where the metabolism is too fast. Hyperthyroidism is dangerous and may even cause thyroid storm — a life threatening condition.

For this reason, it is not safe to use thyroid medication as a weight loss drug, take more than the amount a doctor prescribes, or take thyroid supplements without medical oversight. People should not take thyroid medication in an attempt to lose weight or without the guidance of a doctor.

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The FDA has also approved two other drugs, Armor Thyroid and Nature Thyroid. These drugs use a thyroid hormone made from animal hormones. They have similar side effects to other thyroid drugs.

Some people use these “natural” animal-based thyroid supplements as weight loss drugs. However, this is just as dangerous as using synthetic hormones for weight loss, and it can cause serious risks and side effects.

Iron and calcium supplements and medications such as antacids may make it more difficult for the body to absorb thyroid medication. Individuals should wait to take these drugs until at least 4 hours after taking levothyroxine or other thyroid hormones.

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Thyroid medication does not offer any specific health benefit to people without hypothyroidism. In fact, it may be harmful. It is not a “diet pill, ” and it is unlikely to cause significant weight loss whether or not a person has hypothyroidism.

In older people and those with underlying heart disease, too much thyroid hormone can cause serious heart-health issues. These may include arrhythmias and heart damage.

People taking thyroid medication who develop these side effects should contact a doctor. They can assess their symptoms and test their thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.

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Talking with a doctor before trying alternative therapies is important, especially if a person has severe hypothyroidism. Using an alternative therapy instead of a proven treatment can be dangerous.

People with hypothyroidism who are hoping to lose weight may find additional support from an endocrinologist, who can evaluate lifestyle, diet, exercise, and factors such as insulin resistance and overall health.

Thyroid medication is not a weight loss drug, and people should not use it as such. For this reason, there is no best thyroid medication for weight loss in a person who does not have hypothyroidism.

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Anyone concerned about their weight should contact a doctor and ask about testing for hypothyroidism and other conditions, such as diabetes. People should never take any prescription drug without a doctor’s permission.

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That’s all well and good, but why is it that so many thyroid patients continue to stay overweight despite taking thyroid medication?

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And why is it that so many thyroid patients continue to experience low thyroid symptoms despite taking the very medication which should solve both problems?

The answer to both of these questions is basically the same and it has to do with the type and dose of thyroid medication that is being used.

The truth is that some thyroid medications are better tolerated and are considered to be more effective than others, especially when it comes to helping with weight loss.

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In other words, is there a ‘best’ thyroid medication for weight loss?One that stands above the others and one that you can reliably count on to help you lose weight whenever you take it?

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There definitely is a class of thyroid medications that can give you a much higher chance of success in your weight loss efforts, but nothing is ever guaranteed.

The class of thyroid medication that I am talking about is much more powerful than the most commonly prescribed thyroid medications like levothyroxine and Synthroid.

T2 thyroid hormone can definitely give T3 a run for its money when we are talking about its impact on metabolism and weight

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Even though T2 thyroid hormone is much less biologically active compared to T3, it seems to have a more targeted effect on the mechanisms which control metabolism.

It’s hard to declare a winner between these two, but one thing is for sure, we can definitively state that T4 thyroid hormone is not even a contender.

T3 thyroid hormone is found in several different thyroid medications and T2 thyroid hormone is available as an over-the-counter supplement (it’s the only active thyroid hormone that doesn’t require a prescription).

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So let’s focus on T3 for a moment since it’s slightly more difficult to get and is found in multiple thyroid medications.

For this reason, T4 thyroid hormone can be thought of as a reserve thyroid hormone that your body can draw upon for use when it needs it.

And it is this extra activation or conversion step which seems to make all of the difference for many thyroid patients (3).

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We also have several studies which show that thyroid patients who switch to NDT medication (like Armour thyroid) from T4-only thyroid medications like levothyroxine, lose weight and feel better(4).

What’s even more interesting is that the weight loss mentioned above occurred without dietary changes or exercise which implies that the change in thyroid medication by itself was sufficient to impact metabolism and weight.

In addition to these studies, we also have data directly reported from thyroid patients which shows that they prefer thyroid medications with T3 in them compared to those with T4 only.

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T2 thyroid hormone has been shown to increase resting metabolic rate (5) most likely through its impact on T3 thyroid hormone receptors.

Based on available data and thyroid patient experience, it’s pretty clear that if weight loss is your goal then you should probably be incorporating both T3 and T2 thyroid hormones into your daily regimen.

How can this be when I just stated that T3 medications are some of the best for weight loss? Shouldn’t she be losing weight effortlessly?

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When all is said and done, person A claims emphatically that liothyronine is a failure and does not help with weight loss while, on the other hand, person B claims that liothyronine is an amazing weight loss medication and has helped her lose 10 pounds without changing her diet or exercise routine.

And this is a perfect example of how dosing plays a huge role in how well you feel as a thyroid patient.

The assumption made by many thyroid patients is that their doctor knows how to dose them so they assume that this couldn’t possibly be causing any problems but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

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If you want your thyroid medication to be effective then you need to make sure you are not only on the right type of thyroid medication but also that your dose of thyroid medication is optimized for your body.

If the answer to my weight problem isn’t solved by my current thyroid medication dose then the answer must be to simply take more of the same thing but at a higher dose.

This is also why you do not want to use thyroid medication to aid with weight loss if you don’t have a thyroid problem!

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These medications, while they can be effective for some, often fail to help many thyroid patients (as many as 20% (6)) feel better.

It has been shown that these medications can readily be converted into the inactive thyroid hormone metabolite known as reverse T3 instead of the active thyroid hormone T3.

And if your body takes levothyroxine and turns it into rT3 instead of T3 then your symptoms and weight gain may get worse.

Lose Weight With Low Thyroid

In addition to this protective mechanism, we know that hyperthyroid states cause dysregulation in hormones that help regulate your weight such as cortisol and insulin.

The hyperthyroid state may contribute to insulin resistance (7), as well as cortisol resistance (8), thereby making your