Can't Stop Gaining Weight? 15 Signs Your Thyroid's Gone Haywire

My thyroid tests were all normal, but I felt very tired and had no stamina at all. It turned out I had a multinodular goiter. I saw numerous doctors before I was diagnosed. A couple of them suggested it was all in my head. That seems to be a common practice with doctors: If they cannot diagnose, then it must be in your head. I had total thyroidectomy. And it is an uphill battle. I wish I could exercise as much as I want. And it is not a matter of being lazy, folks. It is a total lack of energy. In addition, before people get properly treated, it doesn't matter whether you exercise or not, whether you don't overeat or not. You still lose your battler with the weight gain. So don't judge. You have no clue what you are talking about.

I wouldn't touch this with my worst enemy's thyroid!!!!

Agreed Elizabeth

I love how all these poster have medical degrees and feel free to put others down.

I agree completely with Hillary and not me….Hashimotos is awful, intolerable, and medicine is NOT a miracle cure. In fact I don’t think the medicine does much good, but I take it because what have I got to lose at this point…maybe the extra weight?! (pfft riiiight). I’m to the point now I rely solely on supplements to get the nutrients I need, I’ve cut my diet so low to the degree I start to see stars and feel like I could pass out. BUT with this autoimmune disease it’s the only way I’ve managed to drop the weight (yes I exercise too)…no thanks to the meds.

Hillary: Most of the women in my family develop hypothyroidism in their 30s. My mother, my grandmother, most of the cousins.... None of them have had any trouble getting back on track once they were diagnosed and the medication started to do its job. Finding the right dose/ medication took some time for a few of them, but once they found it, getting back on track was as simple as taking it and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If your medication is doing its job, your thyroid levels have returned to normal (which as mentioned, can take a fair amount of trial and error) and you aren't losing the weight, than it isn't your thyroid that is the problem anymore. It's your calorie intake.

2 thumbs up, MintyMe!

I blew out both thyroid and adrenals and my liver was tanking by the time I found someone to help me. I have had a life-long eating disorder (too little, not too much) and so the thyroid symptoms sent me into a tailspin. I was exercising until I quite literally collapsed. Doc put me on a battery of thryoid alternatives and adrenal boosters. Without them, I can't get out of bed. I have a nutritionist who monitors every morsel that I eat, and a pt to monitor my exercise to make sure I have not overdone it. Its expensive and tedious, but I'm finally losing.
It is amazing how many ignoramouses there are in this world, must have been dropped on their heads as babies.

Hillary is right. Just because you start taking thyroid meds for Hashimoto's disease does NOT mean you'll lose all that weight gain. I was undiagnosed for 4-5 years--I was told I was depressed, I was perimenopausal, then menopausal, I was accused of over eating when the opposite was true. It was a nightmare. It took a change of doctor to get the correct diagnosis--a TSH of 22!! the doctor had never seen such a high level.

I thought all I needed to do was take Levothyroxine and my weight would go back to my usual slender self. No, it didn't. It took 6 years to undo the damage to my weight gain. Even now, I only need to eat just a few extra calories and my weight soars. What a drag.

Please be more understanding of what a low thyroid conditions means.

I went to my Doctor with the symptoms of dry cracked heels and Carpal Tunnel complaints.
She ordered Thyroid blood tests and I found out I was hypothyroid!!! I also was very tired and depressed. The one thing I am now checking it that a person may need more then just Synthroid medication and to pat attention to all of the different thyroid levels.
If you are over forty and female and have some of these symptoms, get a blood test, to be sure...

Hillary: I had a thyroid problem that didn't get diagnosed for quite a while because I was still in my teens. I was borderline overweight at 150 lbs (I'm 5'5"). They put me on synthroid and I lost thirty pounds in ten weeks, no lie. If you really do have a problem hormonally, the weight will melt off as promised. If your problem is only slight, then it'll only slightly melt.

I have no thyroid problems because my thyroid is in a jar in a lab somewhere. After years of undiagnosed hashimotos ( according to several specialists and my surgeon) I developed thyroid cancer, yes if untreated thyroid problems can turn to cancer. It is a simple cheap test to find out if you hae problems and lots simpler than a pap test or mammogram, and should be part of every physical.

I suspect that I may have a hypothyroid condition. After reading all of the symptoms, I seem to have many of them. I've been evaluated by an endocrinologist, and he has not diagnosed any thyroid imbalances, but I have the dryness, unexplained weight gain, and the depressed mental acuity. I have had second opinions, but not from a specialist. I am not self-diagnosing but I wonder whether doctors sometimes have preconceived notions of what is wrong with a patient, then tailor their diagnosis to fit those ideas.

Hmm. MintyMe does have a point. So many of these symptoms are so common that many women (and their doctors) may never consider that a thyroid problem may be to blame. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis when I was 14. At that time I was fatigued (sleeping 14 hours a day most days), had skin so dry it was cracked and bleeding, had an intolerance to cold, had periods that lasted 9 days and were terribly painful, had barely any appetite, had gained weight, and was depressed. I chalked it all up to puberty and never thought there was something wrong with my thyroid until a screening test for school picked up a high TSH. My symptoms didn't get any better with treatment, as my pediatric endo felt that so long as I was in the normal range, even if only barely so, she had done her job. It wasn't until I switched to an adult endocrinologist, who felt that patients with Hashimoto's do best with hormone replacement levels that are somewhat TSH-suppressive (below 1.5), that my symptoms went away. And after some time of trial and error and reporting symptoms to my doc and blood testing, that's what worked for me.

As for what Hillary mentioned, it's true, losing the weight gained from Hashimoto's is practically impossible without proper treatment. I was barely consuming 1,200 calories around the time I was diagnosed (my mother tallied my caloric intake because I was barely eating), yet I could not shed the 40 lbs I had gained. (My doctor wasn't concerned because up to that point I had always been underweight, so she was happy to see me put on some pounds for a change.) After being properly treated, my weight dropped, not back to where I had been before it started, but to a good place (5'6", currently 125 lbs).

For those who feel that an article like this will cause women to self-diagnose, that is always a risk with these kinds of articles, but I think the point of this article is to open our eyes to the possibility that those very common symptoms that we ignore and chalk up to menopause/stress/work/kids might be due to a thyroid disorder, and to encourage readers to have that important talk with a healthcare provider, since that is the only way thyroid disease can be properly addressed and treated. And for those who, after reading this article, think you may have a thyroid disorder, be warned- some docs don't really take your symptoms into consideration, only your numbers. If that happens to you, where you are still having symptoms but your doc says your numbers are fine, find another doctor, one who looks at the whole picture, and considers other alternatives. Quality of life sucks when you're hypothyroid.

Yikes...lots of "mean girls" here! It's just common sense that medical conditions should be diagnosed by medical professionals. The internet can be a good source of information, and we all need to take an active role in our own health, but that should be the limit of our diagnosing! If you are worried, take it to your doctor!

Im with MintyMe. The internet causes people to self-diagnose all the time. SO some fatty claims they have a thyroid problem and they stop working out cuz they'll "never lose the weight."

Most of these symptoms are just a typical part of an average woman's life.

* I'm always tired. (Because I'm working 60 hours a week)
* My skin has become dry and rough. (that moisturizing body wash doesn't cut it after all)
* My hair has turned dry and coarse. (teasing, blowing, flat ironing...)
* I've become very sensitive to cold. (it's still winter)
* My periods are heavy and irregular. (too much stress plus I switched BC pills)
* My face is often puffy. (Did I really eat that whole bag of chips? yes)
* I've gained weight unexpectedly. (I didn't exercise all winter. opps. And ate that bag of chips)
* I feel really down or depressed. (I'm tired and fat-- need summer sun and a vacation!)
* I often have muscle cramps or muscle pain and tenderness. (because I haven't worked out in ages then I think I can go a mile on the treadmill)
* My heart rate is slower than normal. (maybe if I exercised...)
* I'm constipated. (skimped on veggies all week, drank wine instead of water.)
* I'm struggling with infertility. (been switching my BC pills. )
* I feel slow mentally. (sleep deprived)
* I have a swelling at the base of my neck, just below my Adam's apple (ok one symptom?)
* I'm not very interested in sex. (my boyfriend has being a jerk lately and I'm too tired anyway. Plus I feel fat.)

By the way. Weight loss is almost impossible. I'm finally losing weight and I'm hypothyroid on the Dukan Diet. Slow but steady. Seems like the only way I can lose weight is on a high protein diet. I've tried so many and basically nothing. It's one of the hardest things I ever had to do but I'm so tired of the bloat and swelling.I've lost almost 20 lbs. since April 23 of this year. I'm so amazed! This diet is not easy and it just got to the point where my health was being affected. My doctor does'nt love the diet but she knows how difficult it's been and has to have me on Lipator, and others because of my weight and health risks. I agree with Hillary . It's all bull telling you it will get healthier. It never does.

I have had thyroid disease since childhood. First I had hyperthyroid which gave me rapid heartbeat and I was very underweight. I also was cold all the time. Then as I aged it turned into hypothroid. I have found out that there are so many women out there whom are not aware of how many people are affected. I too have gained weight and have many of the above mentioned symptoms. It is not an easy disease to control although everyone says it is. I take a thyroid medication daily, I have a goiter and the medication is not all that helpful. I have read that taking a more natural form of throid med works much better but it is hard to find a doctor that will give it to you. It's also not covered as easily by most insurance. The artficial one I take is made from horse urine. Great! It's hard to find a doctor that really knows their stuff in this field as it is very complex. The weight gain gets even worse during menopause. It's as if your body just does what it wants. Adrenial glands should be checked as well. Stress will blow them out. Many women suffer from this and are told it's just your thyroid. I had a natural doctor whom tested all different blood tests out there for thryroid as there are more than the basics that most doctors run. There are T3 T4 and more. Most doctors will not test your adrenials either. When I was tested by this doctor I was shocked to find out how off my system was. Other regular doctors ignored doing these tests. This natural doctor told me of certain suppliments I could take and prescribed thyroid medication. [I did'nt end up with the natural thyroid medication as my ins. would'nt cover the other] What a huge difference I felt though taking care of my adrenials. I was'nt tired, or depressed. I actually had energy! All I'm saying I guess is to read up on these issues to inform yourself. Doctors don't seem very informative on this topic and just do the basics.

On the flip side... just because you have even a few of these symptoms does not automatically mean you have a thyroid problem... because some of these symptoms are also symptoms of simply being overweight and not eating right... so while this article shouldn't be giving false hope, it shouldn't also give a free pass to live an unhealthy lifestyle. Only a health care professional can diagnose a thyroid disorder...