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Re: thyroid meds for pcos? to J.W.J.From: Anne (anonymous@obgyn.net)Wed, 8 May 2002 12:41:21 -0500 (CDT)
At Tue, 7 May 2002, J.W.J. wrote: > >At Tue, 7 May 2002, Anne wrote: >> >>Someone might lose it if they stopped, I didn't. I gained 20 pounds the >>first time I was overmedicated, and 15 the second time and then 10 more >>either due to PCOS onset or because after being overmedicated I became >>undermedicated quite quickly. >> >>I excerised like crazy but it wasn't until I got on glucophage that I >>lost some of the overmedication weight, I still have 20-25 pounds to >>lose... >> >>Anne >> >>(all my excess weight was gained due to one medication or another) >> >Yikes! >I am suspecting that this might have happened to me. I read the Atkins >book and he said to do a temperature test to see if your thyroid was >working correctly. According to him, it was not, so my doctor put me on >Thyrolar just to try it for a few months even though my levels tested >normal. I gained 24 pounds. I stopped the medication, but can't lose >the weight. The weird thing was, I felt SO good while on the >medication, and after I went off of it I felt so awful for awhile. >Couldn't quite figure that out. Anyway, I tend to lean toward your >views of alternative medicine now--I wish I'd never tried it. >Were you IR when you went on glucophage? >I've been on it for over four months now and haven't lost an ounce. How >long did it take you to lose anything? Doctors keep telling me I'm just >throwing my money away taking this stuff because my fasting insulin >level was so low to begin with--it was only 5. However, I had over a >4:1 LH:FSH ratio. Didn't you recently post your current levels--wasn't >it you who said your LH level was so low now? Did that come about >entirely from taking glucophage? >Thanks for answering. >Jessica > >-- >J.W.J. > Jessica, Thyrolar is a combo drug. It contains both T3 and T4. You might not have needed the extra T3. Our bodies make T3 from T4. If you have low thryoid the usual thing to do (once confirmed by a blood test of TSH, free T4 and free T3 ) is to supplement with T4 (unithroid, levoxyl, synthroid). If you take too much T3 your T4 will go down and you will feel awful -- but you will feel great to start off with -- it's not weird its common among people who use T3/T4 combo drugs. You can supplement T3 separately with a medication called cytomel, it made me feel great for a while but then I felt myself going hyper and quit it. BTW -- the temperature test isn't really accurate as it can be effected by hormone fluctuations. I was IR when I went on glucophage - my insulin was at 13 which wasn't high but I had a lot of symptoms and I had been on a very good exercise program for 8 months and 1600 calorie diet and didn't lose a single pound. I lost 15 pounds without exercising after going on glucophage - my doctor couldn't believe I hadn't lost it through exercise. I have lost 20 pounds total since being on glucophage. It didn't melt away like it has for some. I started out at 500mg, was on 1000mg for 4 months or so and have been on 1500 for about a couple of months now. It's been 7 months altogether and the loss has gotten slower, but then I'm doing weight training - I have been losing fat and gaining muscle. I did post my labs and wondered about my LH being too low now. I don't know if it was entirely from the glucophage or if it was also diet and exercise. I turned to alternative medicine because conventional doctors had failed me. My alternative doctor failed me far far worse. Now I stick to conventional doctors, but I absolutely do not rely on them and I'm not afraid to argue with them, question them, or fire them. I was listening to NPR last week where they were discussing alternative medicine and one panelist said there is no such thing as alternative medicine, there is either proven or unproven medicine --- that rang true for me from my experiences. But then again, some people seem to do great with it. But when it comes to thyroid supplementation, look in the physician's desk reference there are all kinds of warnings about not prescribing it without lab tests. In many states it's against the law to do so. I credit my high fiber diet for my weight loss and for giving me the greatest improvement and making me feel just really great. I eat lots of fruit and veggies and whole grains with an occasional serving of lean chicken and dairy (I'd eat more dairy but I'm lactose intolerant and lactaid doesn't help much). I use whey protein in my oatmeal and eat organic peanut butter with the fat drained for protein too. Exercise has also made a huge difference. I looked at the Atkin's diet, I tried just doing the low carb high protein thing and got very sick. There are quite a few dangers with Atkins, you might want to investigate and consider whether another type of diet would work better for you. I read a lot about dietary approaches to IR/PCOS and I think the balanced zone diet approach is really good, and so is high fiber/vegetarian which worked better for me than the zone approach and I find it easier than trying to balance each meal. Sorry to ramble. Hope this helps. Anne
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