Hypothyroid & insatiable hunger!

[LiLi77]

I have an insatiable hunger, all the time. Even on low-carb, it's still there.

I was taking Stacker 2 w/Ephedra (I know, tsk tsk) but I've been diagnosed hypothyroid recently and my Synthyroid med has a big no-no warning about taking diet pills in combination with it. So the Stacker 2 is bye-bye. And the Synthyroid isn't helping my appetite decrease yet - maybe I need my dose "up'd" but that won't happen until my next Dr. appt. at least, in 2-3 months.

Are there any other natural supplements that help with hunger supression? Does Green Tea really work (I hate the taste but will try to like it if it helps)? Anything else natural I can do?

[Queen Mab]

Don't drink green tea if you're hypo. The natural floride that it contains will decrease your thyroid function.

[LiLi77]

Good to know...thanks. Any other do's or don'ts with respect to diet and supplements for hypo? My GP put me on synthyroid just after seeing my TSH but hasn't yet run all the other thyroid tests (which I wish she had, but my TSH is at a 7.02). She just gave me my meds and sent me on my merry way without telling me what else to do or not to do.

[Queen Mab]

nonstickpam107 is our resident thyroid expert. I'm sure she'll come and visit your thread, or if your impatient, you can PM her, she's very helpful.

Do a search on her thyroid threads, there's enough info. contained in them to keep you busy for years.

LiLi, when I first started my thyroid medication it caused me to have low blood sugar, and I could have eaten a horse, but now that I'm used to the meds I'm fine.

[la.lady]

I too have a terrible appitie and I'm hypothyroid. I have been on thyroid pills for 30 years. I have never lost my appitite even doing LC. I fell like the thyroid pills just make you hungry. It does speed up your matabolisim, so therefore hunger hits.

[Galoutofdixie]

Hi Lili,

I'm hypo too. Been on meds for about 5yrs. now. I think the reason you are so hungry is that that you are probably still fatiqued from the hypo. Before I was diagnosed I was so tired and hungry. Doc said that was the bodies way of trying to give you more energy.( ie, more food) It takes about 6wks for the synthroid to start kicking in.

About supplements: Just remember to take your meds on a empty stomach. Coffee is okay, but no cream in it for an hour. If you take calcium or iron, wait at least 6 hrs. after your meds. The calcium and iron bind to the thyroid hormone, you won't get the full effect if you take them to close together. No soy, it binds to the thyroid hormone as well, and is also bad for the thyroid. You need to cook broccolie, cauliflower and cabbage, as the raw ones are a food that effect thyroid function as well. You can eat them cooked though. If you can't wait an hour to eat in the morning, then go ahead and eat. But be consistant and always do it that way. That is the most important thing. When your doc. does your follow-up test, he will up your dose to compensate for eating first thing in the morning if needed. He may not need to, but be prepared for some dose tweaking for about the next year. Don't worry about that, it's normal. It takes between 6 months to a year to become optimized. Then get checked yearly after that, or more often if you're not feeling well.

If your not already doing it, try going back to induction for a couple of weeks. That should help with the hunger until the meds start to kick in. Hope this helps.

Chris

[bobbysgirl]

As far as supplements go, I hear that Kelp is a good thing to take when you're hypothyroid.

[nonstickpam107]

You might want to do some searching over at the about.com website for thyroid disease. Because kelp (or iodine) isn't a good thing with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism. Search on it. About 150 years ago in the US there were a some iodine deficient thyroid disease, but nowadays, autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's) is the most common form of the disease.

Pam

[JennIAm]

Hi

I'm hypothyroid (diagnosed 4 yrs ago) and take both Cytomel and Synthroid daily. One piece of advice I can give you is to read a book called Thyroid Power, by Dr. Richard Shames. This book changed my life, quite literally - in a good way

From the book (I also happened to have spoken directly to Dr. Shames on the telephone), I learned which foods to stay away from and what to eat in order to help my condition and not aggravate it.

I also now take a supplement called MedCaps T3 from a company called Xymogen (suggested to me by the Dr.) and let me tell you - IT HAS BEEN A GODSEND I take 4/day, 2 w/breakfast & 2 w/my evening meal, along with Xymogen's Daily Active Nutrients, which is a multivitamin pack containing 4 supplements (taken 2/day).

This vitamin regimen has really changed my life. My sluggish thyroid no longer hinders my ability to live (and - now - enjoy) my life. If you are really serious about seeing some results, I recommend this highly. I think Xymogen has a web page, but you can't order from it quite yet, so you may have to phone to order. Good luck!

Also, this is my first post here. So. Hello, everyone

[changemylife!]

A comment and a question:
My Levoxyl medication read-sheet that comes from Rite Aid says that the medication increases your appetite! Great, huh? As mentioned previously, I'm also definitely hungrier when my meds are off and i'm fatigued. I crave carbs because I guess my body is trying to get energy from anywhere.
My question - I never knew green tea wasn't good! How about black tea? I'm trying to switch from coffee to my favorite tea: Vanilla Caramel from Bigelow. It has caffeine, but I'm hoping it'll be easier on my stomach. Is black tea okay for hypos?