female firefighter's Journal, 20 June 2018

What about your meds? Can the thyroid medicine be adjusted so that you feel better? I know people who pushed their doctors to get them to work on helping the energy level. 

I’ve talked to my Dr many times about how I feel but does no good. The med I’m on for it doesn’t feel like it’s helping at all. I’ve been dealing with this for about 3 years now. I’m also on Coumadin (blood thinner) and have been taking it for almost 14 years, so there are a lot of foods I love (spinach, broccoli, etc.) that I can only have a tbsp or two of due to the vit K in them. So, I’m really limited veggie wise and I absolutely LOVE veggies!!  

Don't give up! Losing weight is never easy. And maybe you should eat something during the day otherwise where could your body get energy? Have you recently measured your hemoglobin level? Tiredness can caused by hemoglobin level so it's worth checking. 

keep the faith. 

What kind of veggies are allowed? 

Are you on Synthroid or dessicated thyroid? It's just about impossible to lose weight with hypothyroidism unless you are on the right type and dose of thyroid. Since you are always extremely tired, you are not on the right type/dose. Starving yourself will only make things worse. 

Lots of helpful kind people here that will keep you uplifted when needed. 

this looks delicious tell me how good it was.... 

Welcome to the group - there are lots of supportive people here with a wealth of experience.  

I have hypothyroidism too. And other issues from gastric bypass surgery. I hate exercise. I NEVER want to exercise. But when I do, I feel more energized afterwards and I never, ever am sorry that I did it. I also get depressed and take meds for that. But I don’t wait for the depression to be gone before I get up and walk the dog (got a puppy so I would HAVE to take him on walks). I feel proud of myself every time I get back from a walk. I am a slow loser, only 14 lbs since I started. But it is a start. We can do this! Let’s encourage each other! 

I am 65 years old and have been trying to lose weight for 30 years. I too have hypothyroidism and was hardly eating anything and whatever I did eat seemed to just pack on the weight. I was feeling very tired most of the time, but I think that is because I was not eating enough. Recently, I purchased two cookbooks put out by Diabetic Living. The meals are balanced and I am eating more every day than I have in years. No cravings for sweets or salty snacks because what I am eating seems to be keeping my blood sugar very steady. I am also feeling very energetic and alert. Over the past six weeks I have lost 14.8 pounds. It is amazing and this is the first time I have felt that I can actually lose this weight. I really recommend that you check with your doctor to see if you might benefit from eating using a diabetic eating model. I am feeling like this is a miracle for me. All the best to you on your journey. I wish you peace joy and love. 

Do you take meds for your hypothyroidism? That may be a conversation to have with your doc. My cousin has been complaining of the same thing and then I found out that her meds haven't changed in 20 years! She changed doctors and forgot to mention it. ??? I hope you find the right answer for you. In the meantime, start with a slow walk. Just. Get. Up. Go to the end of the block and back again. Next day... go a little further :) 

Is your doctor an endocrinologist (specialist)? If he is, but won't work with you to adjust your medications, he's *not* doing his job. (I might even call it "malpractice"!) Since your doctor has been unresponsive to your concerns, perhaps you can find a new doctor. You need an endocrinologist who knows thyroid issues and *listens*. I know this can be complicated if you live in a small community, belong to an HMO, or are otherwise limited by insurance issues, but you need -- and deserve -- better medical care than you're getting. 

Aunt Sissy— use the internet to research hypothyroid diets. I’m sure you already have, but try again and do talk to your doctor again. I know so many people don’t believe it, but energy creates energy. You just have to start— the simple act of walking like SoCal Pam suggested. Increase a little each day. If you are or were a female firefighter, you know how to persevere until you get results. Keep us posted. Don’t let this very manageable condition keep you from improving your life. 

u can do it, really 😀 

Not eating doesn't help. It can slow your metabolism. Try keto. I was doing keto when I didn't know what it was. High fat, low carbs. I wasn't even exercising. I was a couch potato and lost weight. I can't eat like that anymore because I have really high cholesterol. Since I have been eating right so to speak and exercising, the scale hasn't gone down. 

Track everything you put in your mouth. I love to cook and sometime I catch myself sticking the spoon in my mouth just to taste it, I actually spit it out. I have not has a piece of bread, potato , chips since march 22. I use romaine lettuce leaves as bread and works pretty good. I do have bacon most mornings and maybe eggs, but I track everything..My scale has been stuck almost a week but I still keep eating the right things..I am not giving up and don't you either. We got this.. I do keto 

I’m assuming you are a fire fighter based on your name. Having many relatives who are firefighters, I can’t imagine that being that tired can be healthy or safe do you, your crew or the people you help. Insist that your dr adjust or change meds until you find a balance. On your days off (or when you can at the station) do your best to get good sleep. I’m finding that sleep is important to all things like diet, mood, energy etc. This app/site is great for tracking every morsel you consume. If you can’t enter it in immediately then weigh and measure and write in a notebook to add in before bed or when you have a free moment. With your job this may be hard and could take several days until you can get a few accurate days of tracking. Once you have a couple days of work days and off days tracked you will have a better idea of what foods make you more tired and where you can change or cut back. Tracking your activity during work would probably be a nightmare but I’d advise that you try this too. At least to get a decent idea of your calorie expenditure so you know about what your calorie needs are to maintain (BMR+expenditure) and you can exercise more or eat a bit less. Don’t be drastic in any of it though as with your job it could be very dangerous if you cut day 1000 calories a day and get lightheaded or pass out while on a call. Good luck and thanks for all that you do to keep your community safe :). 

Girl, how petite are you? Are you sure your goal weight should be so low? have you checked BMI charts and the like? Maybe setting a goal that's not so extremely hard to achieve will help with motivation (it does for me.) Good luck in your journey! 

Welcome Aboard! You will have to eat clean and possibly read some diet books on diabetic foods..I'm not diabetic but looking at their food selections was pretty unique.