[sagerhiley]

Hi all,
I've been reading the posts for a couple days now and decided to join in.

My History:
Where do I start? I tend to type alot so bear with me, I hope it will be interesting, and probably somebody can relate.
I had my first baby girl in 1997 when I was 18. Before getting pregnant I was 130-135lbs. (I'm 5'6.5) I gained about 55 lbs with that pregnancy, (too much lunch line food, I was still in high school! )
But after I had her I remember getting back down to about 145 within about 2 months, then all of a sudden gaining it all back and never could get it off.
Fast forward to 1999, had 2 miscarriages-my body not making enough progesterone was found to be the cause. Tried again 6 months later, taking progesterone as prescribed by OB, we had another baby girl. I gained 32 lbs that pregnancy, a few months after birth had lost it all then BAM, gained it all back plus...

End of 2003-Weighed 205, at wits end, all the time with dry skin, emotional, hair falling out etc. Went to the Dr. because my back went out-crying because I weighed so much and I knew that's why I had back trouble. She suggests testing my thyroid. Come to find out I was "slightly" hypo (my mom then tells me my 2 sisters also went hypo after 1st baby). Dr. puts me on Levoxyl, we get dosage straightened out and the weight starts falling off, plus I started paying attn to what I was eating and switched to lower fat lower calorie, and joined the gym.
Lost 28lbs in 3 months, the last month of which I was pregnant and didn't know it yet.
So I start off my last pregnancy in April 2004 at 178lbs, only gained 11 lbs over the 7lbs I had lost in the 1st month. Another girl, weighed 8 1/2 lbs, so as soon as I delivered I weighed less than when I conceived! I was sky high, weight kept coming off for 2 months.

Got down to 174 then BAM gaining a lb every day, no energy, hate what my house looks like but no energy to fix it. .. back goes out again, go to the Dr. guess what? TSH is at 16 (I feel my best at .5) Doubled my meds, weight keeps coming on, wait 6 weeks, labs again...TSH at 32! HOLY CRAP! (Do you see a pattern here from my previous pregnancies? I just didn't know I was hypo) Doubled meds again, switched to Synthroid, wait 8 weeks...

And that brings us to 9/16/05 TSH comes in at .3! YEAHH! Dr says now I can start phentermine. I had been doing south beach the past 8 weeks went from 202 to 192.

So I started taking phentermine 37.5 (Apidex P) from our local pharmacy Saturday 9/17. That day I cleaned my house, took my 3 kids to visit grandma, went grocery shopping with them, mowed the lawn, did laundry. It was great. (I should mention that I work full time, plus own my own Medical Professional Consulting Business, plus help my husband run his business so I am normally busy anyway but never have energy left for my house) It wasn't a jittery energy just felt clean.

I didn't sleep much that night or the next. But by today I'm sleeping Ok and the energy has leveled off a bit. I don't have to force myself to begin eating but I don't crave or get hungry. I can't eat very much though I just feel full, I think the first few days I didn't get enough calories but now I'm doing Ok. Sticking to South Beach 2nd phase foods. I am committed to changing my eating habits through this process. I'm so excited yesterday I was at 186.2.

So that's my story so far, I'm sorry its so long. I just hope someone else with Hypothyroidism or with symptoms may benefit from this.

[zoey]

I'm right there with you!!! Had my first 2 girls at 16 and 17 and gained massive weight with both of them. Yoyoed up and down and 5 years later got pregnant again. Only gained like 16 pounds. I too walked out of the hospital weighing less than before I got pregnant. Not that it lasted!! Doctors said hypothyroidism, but since they didn't feel it was that bad said no to any medication. Don't know about any levels but I do know that my thyroid glands are so big, you can actually see the lumps in my neck! They just told me to watch my diet and excercise more! Great doctors, huh? Anyway, all this to say, I feel for you and welcome. I hope that we can help you with all the support we can.

[sagerhiley]

Thanks! I look forward to reading everyone's updates and posting my own.

When my TSH was at it's highest when I laid down on my back it felt like someone had their hands on my throat pushing down lightly, enough to be uncomfortable. It gave me the sensation that it was hard for me to breathe but it wasn't. Do you feel that way?

If you still feel you have symptoms I would definitely encourage you to get another TSH, T3, T4 and free T4 tests done. Or at least ask the Dr. for your lab results so you can see how far off you really were. (Normal TSH is .5-3.5 but the 3.5 was changed in the last few years from 5.5, so some Dr's still go by the old range) I have heard many stories of Dr's who won't prescribe meds because you're not that far off, but from my story you can see that some people fluctuate quite a bit so it can depend on when your labs are drawn. I'm lucky I was able to find a Dr. who is more accomodating and will do what I ask more than most Dr's will. Most times I wouldn't want a Dr. like that but in this case...

You can also try some natural things to increase your thyroid function, Kelp (your Thyroid needs iodine to function properly) and Coconut Oil are what I've read about and been using.

Who knows, maybe you've already looked into all this, just thought I'd share...

I think you're awesome for losing w/o meds, you have a lot of willpower. High Five!

[zoey]

Actually I know nothing about the thyroid thing except that I can see the stupid glands(makes me get a real funny looking sunburn) and yes I have had that choking feeling for years. It was about 13 years ago when I saw the doctor and I was so mad that I just said Fine I guess I'll just suffer then. Part of me was scared of being that fat person that just said It's not my fault it's a thyroid problem. Thank you for the compliment but actually I have practically no willpower, which is why I decided not to use any medications. I have an extemely addictive personality. Developed a serious drug problem in my teens. Fortunately I kicked that habit early. Still can't let go of the cigarettes though. I'm still trying, but it's the hardest addiction there is. That's why I love this place. I can come here and vent to my hearts content whenever I start to lose track of my goals. It helps me to remember that I'm not alone in this. If you have seen some of my other posts(especially today) you will see that I am totally dedicated to this forum. I don't think I could have come this far if I hadn't found this place.

[sagerhiley]

You should check out http://thyroid.about.com/, go to the Thyroid 101 Basics on the left side first, then explore from there. There is TONS of info here. I learned through the last year that I have to be aware of what my tests results should be and what my body symptoms are, not just rely on Dr's to do and know everything. I firmly believe we have to take control of our own health, in conjunction with our Dr's.

Good Luck!

[zoey]

Thanks for the tip on that website. Armed with enough information like that, maybe I can actually get a doctor to listen to me.