Thyroid Medications and Weight Loss

What to do if you gain weight with hypothyroidism or its treatment

On its own, hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) can cause modest weight gain. The right dose of the thyroid hormone replacement drug levothyroxine can often aid in weight loss by normalizing thyroid hormone levels.1 However, if the dose is too low, you can actually gain even more weight.2

What’s perhaps even more frustrating is that some people are still not able to lose excess weight even when their dose of levothyroxine is correct.3 Upping the dose might seem the rational solution, but this could lead to serious problems such as bone and muscle loss and irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia).4

This article offers advice on what you can do if you find that you have gained weight after starting your thyroid medication.

It’s important that you take the right amount of your thyroid hormone replacement drug to avoid problems like weight gain.

Some healthcare providers may only prescribe enough to get your thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level into the upper end of the normal range. This may not be enough to resolve your symptoms or optimize your metabolism, though.

Many thyroid experts find that a TSH level below 2.0 is ideal for the resolution of symptoms.5 If your TSH is at the higher end of the reference range, talk to your healthcare provider about increasing your dose of levothyroxine.

What to do if you gain weight with hypothyroidism or its treatment

On its own, hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) can cause modest weight gain. The right dose of the thyroid hormone replacement drug levothyroxine can often aid in weight loss by normalizing thyroid hormone levels.1 However, if the dose is too low, you can actually gain even more weight.2

What’s perhaps even more frustrating is that some people are still not able to lose excess weight even when their dose of levothyroxine is correct.3 Upping the dose might seem the rational solution, but this could lead to serious problems such as bone and muscle loss and irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia).4

This article offers advice on what you can do if you find that you have gained weight after starting your thyroid medication.

It’s important that you take the right amount of your thyroid hormone replacement drug to avoid problems like weight gain.

Some healthcare providers may only prescribe enough to get your thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level into the upper end of the normal range. This may not be enough to resolve your symptoms or optimize your metabolism, though.

Many thyroid experts find that a TSH level below 2.0 is ideal for the resolution of symptoms.5 If your TSH is at the higher end of the reference range, talk to your healthcare provider about increasing your dose of levothyroxine.