UNEXPLAINED weight gain for years. Someone please help.

[fullybuilt]

Im really stuck and have a ? about my fiancee. She is 23 years old and has gained about 60lbs in the past year. Last year she found out her thyroid was low and was prescribed syntheroid. She still kept slowly gaining weight. Then she lost her health insurance and used T3 at 25mcg daily. This worked for a while and then she kept gaining weight. She has tried everything. I've even put her on contest diets and that will only let her weight remain the same. She is about 5'5" and weighs 185lbs but its really odd b/c she looks about 150lbs if that. She has a good amount of muscle but holds a lot of water especially in the leg region something is wrong. Even when she upped her t3 dose to 50mcg still nothing. So she has gone back on syntheroid at 100mcg daily and it has had no change. I have a feeling something else went wrong. Something hormonal, b/c being on 100mcg syntheroid and doing 2hrs of cardio per day with a perfect diet she still will continue to gain weight. She went to a local dr and they were not much help. They recommened an endo, but nobody seems to know much. I was thinking she should be tested for
estradiol
progesterone
Cortisol
total test or free test(not sure which is more important for females)
Does that sound right? The local dr tested her for a cbc,glucose,metabolism,liver,etc.... and everything was normal. Is there something else that can cause this crazy weight gain. Do you recommened anything else besides what I listed above? Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[GymIntensity]

daym bro that sux. I hate to sound "negative" or like an ass or whatever, but my first thought would be its all diet. Im not saying you are not telling the truth, and also I dont know ALOT about women and as far as the "hormone" to weight gain deal. Thyroid is another issue and Ive heard ppl truly cannot keep from gaining weight with bad thyroids, but again I do not know enough about those problems to give advice on that part. Im sure there will be some knowledgable bros wake up in a few hours that can help you.
But far as the food thing, my only answer to why the diet might not work is that she is going thru the Mickey D's drive-thru before she gets home and just not telling you. but either way good luck bro, I would assume a Doctor could tell you alot more as to why she keeps gaining weight.

 

[chazk]

is she on anti depressents or birth control both can make chicks pile on tons of water bloat to where they look really full like puffy hands and fat toes along with the smooth round face and ofcoarse fat on the stomach.My girl went on depopreveria a birth control shot and gained 20lbs and looked like a total cheese puff, came off the birth control took about 8 months but then returned to normal proportions

 

[sigmund]

Definitely! Depo-provera is a nightmare for many women and weight gain is a frequently reported side effect.

Apart from that many thyroid hormone replacements, for true hypothyroidism, are not appropriate and can come with a bundle of side effects (Levoxyl, Levothroid, Synthroid are synthetic T4-only drugs).

Naturally derived thyroid medications contain natural forms of thyroid hormones NOT found in synthetics – T1 and T2, which are also very important in terms of replacement, they also contain nutrients typically found in the actual gland.

For decades, patients with hypothyroidism have been treated with a T4 (aka Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid, Levothyroxine, etc), besides being tested for a thyroid issue via TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) tests, which can fluctuate vastly from day to day. The “normal” TSH range that many docs use as a measurement is in itself not age / individual specific.

Subsequently patients suffer from lingering hypothyroid symptoms, no matter how high they raise the T4 medications. Those lingering symptoms can include, but are not limited to, chronic low-grade depression, poor stamina compared to others, low energy levels, dry hair, dry skin, high cholesterol, digestive problems, chronic illness and mental health issues.

Many patients have spent time researching the subject and alternatives and have discovered a far superior treatment with natural desiccated thyroid hormones. Additionally, they are dosing according to the elimination of symptoms, and paying attention to the free T3 and free T4, not the TSH. And results have been outstanding.

See: http://www.altsupportthyroid.org/dt.php

 

[StRoNg_WoN]

That's rough dude... my mum gained a PILE after burning out her thyroid from radiation treatment... sucks too... she's ALWAYS retaining water, and gaining weight... considering the thyroid regulates metabolism.. it makes it difficult to control...

I'm not sure what to offer as advice... but I'd be curious to see what others have to say...

 

[MTS]

I would relook at her diet
does she eat clean foods, does she eat out? does she drink soda and not water? does she drink juice? these are the questions you shoud be asking
then you should see what her caloric intake
I would look at her diet first not her hormones...if all the test are coming back ok and she's taking 100mcg of T4, then it's her lifestyle and/or diet

 

[MTS]

another thing you might want to look at is if she drinks, alcohol consumption... alcohol has a lot of empty calories and they store as fat...i know smirnoff ice has 228 calories of sugar and alcohol, if someone drinks 5 of them in one night that's 1140 calories of empty calories...i dont know what her lifestyle is like but im just giving examples to look at

 

[solidspine]

That sounds crazy, reading your post I thought it had to be the thyroid, but that sound in check,

Could be the onset of diabetes but your lab work SHOULD HAVE told you that, the labs are wrong very frequently.

I would write to Jonathan Q. Purnell, MD

He is an associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University in the dvision of edocrinology, diabetes, and clinical nutrition, and a faculty member of the Center for the Study of Weight Regulation,

He is focused
the study of disorders of weight regulation including obesity and cachexia.


Seems to have a positive IQ and No bull type guy.

 

[solidspine]

OHSU
Mailing Address:
3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd.
Portland, Oregon 97239-3098
Phone:
503 494-8311

School of Medicine 503 494-7800

 

[drdug27]

Im really stuck and have a ? about my fiancee. She is 23 years old and has gained about 60lbs in the past year. Last year she found out her thyroid was low and was prescribed syntheroid. She still kept slowly gaining weight. Then she lost her health insurance and used T3 at 25mcg daily. This worked for a while and then she kept gaining weight. She has tried everything. I've even put her on contest diets and that will only let her weight remain the same. She is about 5'5" and weighs 185lbs but its really odd b/c she looks about 150lbs if that. She has a good amount of muscle but holds a lot of water especially in the leg region something is wrong. Even when she upped her t3 dose to 50mcg still nothing. So she has gone back on syntheroid at 100mcg daily and it has had no change. I have a feeling something else went wrong. Something hormonal, b/c being on 100mcg syntheroid and doing 2hrs of cardio per day with a perfect diet she still will continue to gain weight. She went to a local dr and they were not much help. They recommened an endo, but nobody seems to know much. I was thinking she should be tested for
estradiol
progesterone
Cortisol
total test or free test(not sure which is more important for females)
Does that sound right? The local dr tested her for a cbc,glucose,metabolism,liver,etc.... and everything was normal. Is there something else that can cause this crazy weight gain. Do you recommened anything else besides what I listed above? Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

http://endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/cushings/cushings.htm