on synthroid and gaining weight

My insurance only pays the max on generic thyroid medicine also. I have been told by many doctors not to take generic thyroid medication. (I would like to know why the insurance companies feel they have the right to make this this choice for me over a medical doctor's advice!). When the pharmacists on occasions make a mistake and give me generic I can tell it within a short time. It is like I take no thyroid supplements at all. I gain weight, feel sluggish and crappy. Take my advice and void your insurance and get the name brand thyroid. It is not that costly and well worth the difference.

I have been on Synthroid for about 6 weeks now. At first I gained weight too but quickly dropped it. I think the reason I lost weight was because I starting taking it at the exact same time every morning. I made no changes to my diet and even starting working out less.My doctor actually told me that in order for it to be the most effective, you should take it in the morning and not eat for 30 minutes after. I didn't read everyones response so maybe someone already mentioned this? Also I think that your reaction to synthroid could be genetic or biological. Both my mom and brother take sythroid. My mom has lost 10 pounds in 3 months and my brother has lost at least 10 within the first month he started taking it.

ive been taking synethroid for 3 wks now and have lost 6 lbs-i have a niece who had to start taking it and she is a totally different person-physically as well as mentally-she lost alot of weight-her thyroids were completely disfunctional-as for my symptoms-i stayed very fatigued continuously and moody-i was told my levels were too high-told me to get checked again in 4 weeks. Iguess it can go both ways; weight loss and gain

I have been on Synthroid for over 10 yrs, at first it was great! I lost weight, felt super, and kept the weight off, with minimal effort, six months ago they upped my dose from 0.125mcg, to 0.137mcg, and I have gained 25 pounds in that time.. and cannot lose it, I walk 5 miles a day, eat good, no cheese, blah blah.. I just want to get back to what I was, 5'7" 140lbs.. this 165lbs bologna seriously stinks! none of my pants fit.. I feel bloated..

Yesterday my doc took levels and today called saying they were going to reduce my Synthroid back down to 0.125 I will let you all know how it goes..
It doesn't make sense to me.. if 0.125mcg made me feel great, lose weight, my hair grew back in, why does more synthroid make me gain weight? and is that the cause?[/code]

I am so glad to find that there are other people with this problem. I had been off of synthroid for about 1 year, and then started it 4 months ago. Since then, I have gained 20 lbs and have tremendous stretch marks on my stomach. I began treating my thyroid disease in order to loose weight and to stop feeling fatigue. Perhaps I can change medicines? What other hypo-thyroid medicines are available? Anyone out there who has had success switching to a different one?

hooooolllyyy crap. im so glad i came upon this site! im sixteen and i just started with in two or three months ago taking synthroid and i have been staying pretty active and see that im quite large in the thighs, butt, and stomach more that usual. i was thinking maybe its just because i need to work out more, but i run sometimes and go to the gym (not allll the time) but a lot and before i was skinny and that was all i needed. but thanks guys. i feel at ease now. also im taking prozac, has anyone ever eperienced weight gain with that? it works extremley well for me and ive been taking them since i was 8, but im wondering if thats what might be causing it aswell. thanks!!!!!!

A lot of these symptoms could be because your perscription being switched at the pharmacy and you are not receiving consistent therapy. There are 9 different generic levothyroxine meds on the market and the FDA allows a + or - bioequivallency, so what that means is you could be getting a generic levothyroxine med one month and the next a different w/a +12 bioequivallence, then the next a different med. This can kick you into a hypothyroid state where you will gain weight. Talk to your Dr. and ask them to write DAW or DNS on the script, depending on the terminology of your state for dispense as written. And make sure you are receiving synthroid from the pharacy, the synthroid pills say synthroid on the pill itself. Pharmacists receive bonuses on the amount of generics they use and will switch the script without your or the doctor's knowledge. Synthroid is a narrow theraputic index drug, just like coumadin, and it is imperative that your receive consistent therapy.

Synthroid medication CAN make you gain weight. I have been on Synthroid for 47 years, since age 7 and have always been on the slimmer side. Recently, due to an increase in dosage, I also gained weight which was very perplexing since I was always under the impression that synthroid actually keeps weight in check and increases metabolism. To make a long story short, I ended up at an endocronologist who retested my blood, T3, T4, TSH . it showed it was a bit high. I was told that too much, or too little can cause weight gain. It is a real balancing act to get the right dosage and can change within a 6 month period, so periodic testing is crucial. My dosage was modified to 100 mcg 6 days a week instead of 7, which averages out to about 85.7 mcg weekly. This small adjustment can make a difference, I will post back after 2 months to confirm the weight effect. My weight has been the same for 35 years, until the last year when I gained 18 pounds for no reason ( I thought) The endocronologist said that by reducing the dosage, it may allow my body to re-set my metabolism. Also , the endocronoligist told me that it is crucial to take synthroid, which is the real deal, instead of levothyroxin. which is not a true "A" equivalent to synthroid. Never, flip flop between generic and synthroid ! I did not know this, and my insurance plan was sending me levothyroxin. I kept telling my family doctor that I could tell the difference and felt different, like the meds were not working. She more or less told me it was in my head. After seeing the endocronologit, who specializes in this area, she really educated me how important it is to take "synthroid" and not the generic. Also of note, that the blood test numbers, in addition to how the patient feels and symptoms , must both be taken into consideration to find the correct dosage. The correct dosage can also change from year to year, so please do your follow up blood test. I am hoping the temporary overdosing was a factor in my weight gain. I will confirm the answer to that in two months.