OMG! I have been diagnosed with hypothyroid and my Dr. wants to put me on Synthroid. Everything I have read on synthroid causes weight gain. I have worked so hard to loose weight I just can't emagine taking anything to make me gain. I am not going to take it no way.

I've been on synthroid for 6 years and just had the sleeve April 25th. I've lost 25 lbs and am stil loosing as normal before surgery I asked the doctor and he said as long as your thyroid levels are normal which is what synthroid helps to do and I follow my diet and exercise that's not even an issue. So take your meds you will do more harm to your body by not taking your meds. It's really not bad. Do research on what happens if you leave it untreated and you'll change your mind.

Agree best to take it

I have lost 140 pounds with my sleeve in the past 18 months.

I have been on synthroid for 3 years, they have decreased it since surgery twice. YES, I do have to really watch my calories. My BMR is lower due to my slow thyroid. I am not able to eat a ton and not work out but I have not gained one pound. You just have to be more careful, and if you haven't yet start a vigorous workout regimen. That will help with your metabolism and make you feel better.

Also, you can not take any other pills with synthroid for 2 hours. No food for an hour before or after. I have started taking it right before bed.

I have been on it since they removed my thyroid over 10 years ago. I have had it reduced once since I have lost weight. I am down 67 lbs. I am a slow loser but I am losing. Best of luck and take your meds.

I have hypothyroidism. Was discovered in my last pregnancy nearly 12 years ago. Your thyroid function is essential for metabolism. The medication does not cause weight gain. In fact, around my 3 month mark my weight loss seemed stalled for a few weeks. My TSH was very elevated and my medication was increased. My weight started coming off.

Where did you get that Synthroid causes weight gain?!? ABSOLUTELY false! HYPOTHYROIDISM causes a drag in the metabolism. The disease causes weight gain. The drug props your thyroid up so it can attempt to function properly.

If you don't take it, your thyroid may likely continue to deteriorate. I suppose it could slow down any weight loss you want from the sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if a neglected sick thyroid would run a higher risk of developing cancer, though I haven't researched that because I never miss my Synthroid. If you are hell-bent on avoiding Synthroid, I'd suggest finding out if you should prepare for cancer in a few years.

I don't mean to sound harsh.... Truly. Just learn all you can. Ignorance begets fear. Fear begets anger. Conquer it. Learn all you can. Managed with one tiny pill daily, Hypothyroidism is one of the mildest long-term chronic conditions one can face.

Where did you get that Synthroid causes weight gain?!? ABSOLUTELY false! HYPOTHYROIDISM causes a drag in the metabolism. The disease causes weight gain. The drug props your thyroid up so it can attempt to function properly.

If you don't take it' date=' your thyroid may likely continue to deteriorate. I suppose it could slow down any weight loss you want from the sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if a neglected sick thyroid would run a higher risk of developing cancer, though I haven't researched that because I never miss my Synthroid. If you are hell-bent on avoiding Synthroid, I'd suggest finding out if you should prepare for cancer in a few years.

I don't mean to sound harsh.... Truly. Just learn all you can. Ignorance begets fear. Fear begets anger. Conquer it. Learn all you can. Managed with one tiny pill daily, Hypothyroidism is one of the mildest long-term chronic conditions one can face.[/quote']

Cancer ! Come on that's a little extreme! Is there any proof that hyperthyroidism causes cancer?

I've had this condition for 10 yrs and in the uk we are given a drug called Thyroxine and that sorts it out. Remaining untreated is definitely not recommended though.

Synthroid user here also...no issues with my weight loss... I wouldn't ignore your thyroid, no way, no how..

Sent from my iPhone using VST

Any new diagnosis can be scary. But, don't worry. Hypothyroidism can be managed as other posters here have pointed out. Some of my goals in getting vsg surgery were to avoid type 2 diabetes (I have PCOS with insulin resistance ) and get off b/p meds, etc. Medication-wise, I want to be down to just the synthroid. I take it first thing in the morning so that I can start hydrating early. The hour I have to wait to eat anything gives me time to get ready and plan my meals for the day. I have blood tests every 6 months or so to check my levels and that's the extent of the inconvenience. Seriously, just take your medication and it will be fine.

I've have hypothyroidism for 14 years and I take synthroid. The actual medication doesn't make you gain weight, it is the condition. But I had surgery on Monday and I have already lost 9 lbs last I checked two days ago! You be fine! You need the medication to help stabilize your hormones and better control your metabolism so that you can lose weight.

Synthroid user here for 4 years... sleeved on Jan 11th 2013 and down 85 lbs.... Take it and you will be fine... Not take it and you may not be fine.

Synthroid user here for 4 years... sleeved on Jan 11th 2013 and down 85 lbs.... Take it and you will be fine... Not take it and you may not be fine.

85 lbs in 4 1/2 months? WOW! I'm down 27 lbs in 5 weeks. The notion that one with Hashimoto's can lose that much THAT FAST is music to my eyes!

I have had hypothyroidism all my adult life (am 52) and take Oroxine or Thyroxine. I only gain weight if I'm not getting enough of it. From what others have said here Synthoid is the same ( I don't think it's a brand we have DownUnder). It's the condition that causes weight gain, not the medication.

Re thyroid cancer, Hashimoto's followed later by thyroid cancer certainly runs in my family... so I've grown up believing managing your thyroid function diligently was important.

So many doctors just read the numbers off your blood test results without applying any other thought processes - how they think they can call themselves specialists and do that is beyond me. I could a child to diagnose me if that is all that is required - the "normal range" is always right alongside if your own result. But that's not just all there is to it, so if you don't feel well don't let your specialist get away with doing that to you!

The "normal range" applies to the population, not to individuals - your personal TSH, T3 and T4 ideal levels don't travel up and down within the "normal range" (although they do change a bit with stress, weather, weight and activity levels). If you are inside the normal range but have symptoms of thyroid dysfunction then you are probably not at your correct level. I don't function well at either the high or low end of the supposed normal range, and need to be smack bang in the middle. Others do better at one end or the other.

Join your country's Thyroid Association and you'll get great access to sensible information and articles - the Australian Thyroid Association is brilliant at empowering patients, and I've often printed off articles to share with my doctor. It always allows us to have a very sensible discussion about how well I feel and what contribution - if any - my thyroid function might be making to that.

Good luck.

Cancer ! Come on that's a little extreme! Is there any proof that hyperthyroidism causes cancer?

I've had this condition for 10 yrs and in the uk we are given a drug called Thyroxine and that sorts it out. Remaining untreated is definitely not recommended though.

Underactive Thyroid Linked to Liver Cancer Risk

By Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Published: May 06, 2009

Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 -- Long-term hypothyroidism may nearly triple the risk of developing liver cancer, researchers found.

The association was independent of established hepatocellular carcinoma risk factors, but significant only among women, according to Manal M. Hassan, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues.

These case-control study findings shouldn't be surprising, the researchers wrote in the May issue of Hepatology.

Hypothyroidism has been linked to chronic liver diseases and implicated in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is considered a predisposing condition for liver cancer.

This may result from the essential role of thyroid hormones in lipid mobilization and degradation and fatty acid oxidation, Dr. Hassan's group said. When they're out of balance, "all of these conditions may enhance the susceptibility to chronic inflammation, DNA damage, and hepatocellular carcinoma development."

In the study, an underactive thyroid increased hepatocellular carcinoma risk independent of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (adjusted odds ratio 2.0, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.3) and independent of diabetes (adjusted OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.3).

Together, though, these factors appeared to have more than an additive effect (adjusted OR 34.3 for hypothyroidism plus HCV and 7.9 for hypothyroidism plus diabetes, respectively).

"Screening and proper management of thyroid diseases in patients with diabetes or hepatitis C virus infection may help prevent hepatocellular cancer," they said.

The ongoing hospital-based case-control study involved 420 hepatocellular carcinoma patients newly diagnosed at M.D. Anderson.

The controls included 1,104 healthy, genetically unrelated family members (such as spouses and in-laws) of M.D. Anderson patients with cancers other than liver, gastrointestinal, lung, or head and neck.

Overall, more of the hepatocellular carcinoma cases than controls reported a history of thyroid disease (15.0% versus 12.1%).

Likewise, a history of hypothyroidism -- the most common type of thyroid disease -- was significantly more common among cases than controls (11.7% versus 8.0%, P=0.03).

Long-term hypothyroidism of more than three-years duration conferred a significant, 2.1-fold excess risk of liver cancer, compared with no history of thyroid disorders.

The multivariate analysis found the association only among women.

Women with a prior, long-term history of hypothyroidism for three to 10 years had a 2.6-fold higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (95% CI 1.0 to 7.2). For women with a history of hypothyroidism lasting more than 10 years, the risk was 2.9 times as high (P<0.001).

The two- to threefold increased risk of liver cancer remained for hypothyroidism in analyses controlling for obesity at different ages, for all established hepatocellular carcinoma risk factors, and even in analyses restricted to nondrinkers, nonsmokers, and those without hepatitis or diabetes.

The greater susceptibility of women than men with the same condition may be partially explained by the liver's role as a major target tissue for the proliferative effect of growth hormones, their receptors, and binding Protein, the researchers suggested.

They noted that further prospective study is needed in different populations to validate the findings and to determine the underlying mechanisms.

While the self-reported thyroid disease may have been prone to recall bias, the investigators found no discrepancy in the medical records.

The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants and the Texas Tobacco Settlement. The researchers reported no conflicts of interest.

Primary source: Hepatology

Source reference:

Hassan MM, et al "Association between hypothyroidism and hepatocellular carcinoma: a case-control study in the United States" Hepatology 2009; 49: 1563-70.

While I don't doubt this is true we should always be wary of 'damned statistics'. If the usual risk of get a primary liver cancer is 0.005% (and it's something like that in developed countries in Europe, America and Australia/NZ), then this article is saying that having hypothyroidism increases your risk to about 0.0135%.

You could have other risk factors too, such as obesity AND hypothyroidism, so you'd need to adjust for those. But don't think hypothyroidism is fast lane ticket to liver cancer.... the odds are well and truly that you won't get it.