An average TSH of 5.6 put 15 pounds a year for four years on me, as well as causing other problems. My doctor would look at T3 and T4, along with TSH, and if all those were within hypothyroid range (7 *certainly* is, the .5-2.5 is a nice, modern version of the healthy range) she would medicate, as would the original doctor who diagnosed me.
I have absolutely no advice other than I know it is VERY common to begin having thyroid issues after pregnancy. It also sounds like you were a bit blown off by your doctor if you tested at a 7. I think I'd look for another opinion.
Were those lab normals or general normals? (also, I'm assuming you meant you tested 0.7 not 7.0) Which testing method did they use? These are important questions, because it can affect the results a lot and if you're already having concerns and your insurance will cover it, you might just want to have an endocrinologist rerun your bloodwork and go over your history. Pregnancy can stress the thyroid gland and the standard norms for diagnosis were revised a few years ago, plus the whole test method issue. The most common one can be so inconsistent that the labs are supposed to run it twice and report the average, but sometimes they're, uh, in a hurry... On the other hand, if your weight and BMI are all good healthy numbers and ratios, dr may just not think anything needs to move.
I believe the doctor tested TSH levels in the blood. I mean 7.0, not 0.7. According to what I'm reading online and my understanding from the doctor, over 4 is hypothyroid (underactive thyroid function). However, there does seem to be several different tests, of which a result of 7 might mean completely different things
( ... )
If you've been researching thyroid, then you already know that a low thyroid affects SO much more than just weight, so please make sure a follow-up is done, and that you get on the appropriate meds for it if you need to. It's that important.
Re weight loss, the only thing I can suggest is that the body sadly gets used to certain exercise patterns, and what used to work ceases to. The general theory now is to shake it up a bit, confuse the body, literally, and do something completely different a few times a week (google "muscle confusion" or "Muscle confusion workout").
Yes, you are looking pretty buff. :-) If it were me I'd up the protein just a tad and make sure some of the fat is high fiber. Protein is what helps build muscle, and while you need some fat to help burn fat, higher fiber can help get rid of the fat that you're not needing. Fiber is Nature's "Draino". :-)
See, I HAVE been changing up exercise. A hour a day walk, every day, is the absolute minimum I do. As the months rolled on without results, I added in more. Some days I walk two hours, some days I walk and add in jogging. Some days I walk and kill myself on elliptical machine. Other days I walk and ride bike (45 minutes, 13 miles an hour, so I'm not just ambling about). My walks are fast paced, too. I just can't imagine that it should take more than I'm already doing to see a least a *tiny* result. It is seriously discouraging. :-(
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This is an excellent community and I bet you'd get some good (and a few lame) suggestions from some of the ladies here: http://community.livejournal.com/naturalfamily/
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If you've been researching thyroid, then you already know that a low thyroid affects SO much more than just weight, so please make sure a follow-up is done, and that you get on the appropriate meds for it if you need to. It's that important.
Re weight loss, the only thing I can suggest is that the body sadly gets used to certain exercise patterns, and what used to work ceases to. The general theory now is to shake it up a bit, confuse the body, literally, and do something completely different a few times a week (google "muscle confusion" or "Muscle confusion workout").
Yes, you are looking pretty buff. :-) If it were me I'd up the protein just a tad and make sure some of the fat is high fiber. Protein is what helps build muscle, and while you need some fat to help burn fat, higher fiber can help get rid of the fat that you're not needing. Fiber is Nature's "Draino". :-)
Oh and drink lots of waterish stuff.
[smooch]
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- donna
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