Can Diet Pills Affect Your Thyroid – If you’re overweight, obese and have hair loss, your body may not be producing enough hormones, reports PubMed Health. Thyroid medications, such as levothyroxine, can help with these symptoms, but only if you really have a thyroid problem. If your doctor approves, you can also combine certain types of diet pills with levothyroxine to help you lose weight faster.
Levothyroxine, commonly sold as Synthroid, treats hypothyroidism, according to PubMed Health. If you have hypothyroidism, your thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones and interferes with your body’s normal functions, including loss of energy. Although levothyroxine can help improve your thyroid function, you may experience unwanted side effects such as headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, nervousness, insomnia, and increased appetite.
Can Diet Pills Affect Your Thyroid
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, orlistat is a prescription and over-the-counter dietary supplement that helps your body break down fat from the food you eat. Orlistat is sold as a generic for Alli and the prescription drug Xenical and can help you lose 3-7 pounds more per year than you would with diet and exercise alone. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center Drug Checker, you can safely take levothyroxine with orlistat. However, take all your medications and supplements two hours before or after taking Orlistat.
Weight Loss Medicines
Phentermine, or Adipex-P, is the most popular diet pill in the United States, according to the NIDDK. Phentermine reduces your appetite and increases your energy; Can you take phentermine with levothyroxine, according to the UMMC Drug Checker? However, do not take phentermine if you have high blood pressure or a history of drug abuse. You also cannot take phentermine for more than 12 weeks at a time due to its habit forming potential.
According to the NIDDK, your doctor may prescribe diethylpropion or phendimetrazine to help suppress your appetite and make it easier to follow a diet. You can take any of these medications while taking levothyroxine unless your doctor advises otherwise, according to the UMMC Drug Checker. Do not take appetite suppressants if you are pregnant, nursing, or elderly. Most doctors only prescribe diethylpropion or phendimetrazine for three to six weeks. Thyroid hormones can be found in prescription drugs and some over-the-counter weight loss supplements. Thyroid hormones should not be used for regular weight loss.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved thyroid hormones to treat hypothyroidism, a condition that occurs when the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones. Hypothyroidism can occur after problems with the endocrine system or after thyroidectomy, which may be necessary to treat thyroid cancer. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, weight gain, thinning hair, and cold intolerance. Hypothyroidism is diagnosed with a blood test and usually requires lifelong treatment with thyroid hormones taken daily.
Prescription thyroid hormones work by replacing natural hormones that are not being produced because the gland is not working properly or is being removed. The most commonly used thyroid hormone is levothyroxine (Synthroid®), but there are others. Thyroid hormones increase the body’s metabolism, which can lead to weight gain.
Effects Of Hypothyroidism: Thinning Hair, Heart Attack And More
Because thyroid hormones can increase the body’s metabolism and promote weight gain, there has been interest in using them as dietary supplements. Some people use prescription thyroid medication for this, but thyroid hormone is also sometimes seen as an illegal supplement and an expensive weight loss supplement. Unlike prescription drugs, which are strictly controlled, over-the-counter weight loss products may contain different hormone preparations in varying strengths. Because over-the-counter weight loss products are dietary supplements, they should not contain prescription drugs such as thyroid hormones.
Taking too much thyroid hormone can cause symptoms of hyperthyroidism, a condition in which the body has too much thyroid hormone. In the short term, people with hyperthyroidism may experience a fast heart rate, anxiety, hot flushes, and stomach upset. In more severe cases, confusion, high temperature, and irregular heartbeat may occur. If thyroid hormones are taken for too long, heart failure and osteoporosis (hardening of the bones) can occur.
The human body is very sensitive to changes in thyroid hormone levels, and adverse effects can occur after taking too little thyroid hormone. For this reason, people should not take thyroid hormone medication unless under a doctor’s care to treat hypothyroidism. People should not take weight loss supplements that contain thyroid hormones. If unwanted or unexpected symptoms occur while you are taking an over-the-counter weight loss product, see a doctor as soon as possible.
If you think someone has taken thyroid hormone by mistake or is having an adverse reaction to a medication or supplement, do not induce vomiting. Get personalized approval directly online or call management at 1-800-222-1222. Both options are free, private and available 24 hours a day.
Prescription And Over The Counter Weight Loss Pills
Case No. 1: A 29-year-old man was found dead in his home. Although it was cold outside, the window was open and she was wearing a small blanket. She has a bottle of thyroid medication nearby, which she takes to lose weight. His tests showed evidence of a heart attack and blood work showed high thyroid hormone levels.
Case #2. A 50-year-old woman with a history of partial thyroidectomy is taking extra thyroid hormone for weight loss. He went to the emergency room because of chest pains and was diagnosed with cardiac arrest. She was admitted to the hospital and her labs showed that her thyroid hormone levels were very high. While in the hospital, his heart stopped and he died.
Case #3: A 32-year-old woman took a weight loss supplement containing thyroid hormone and experienced side effects. After calling the company, she stopped adding and her symptoms stopped.
Thyrotoxicosis after eating food purchased on the Internet – Staten Island, New York, 2015 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Underactive Thyroid (hypothyroidism)
Bhasin S, Wallace W, Lawrence JB, Lesch M. Sudden death associated with thyroid hormone contamination. Am J Med 1981: 71:887–890.
Hartung B, Schott M, Daldrup T, Ritz-Timme S. Fatal thyroid storm after uncontrolled liothyronine for weight loss. Int J Legal Med 2010; 124:637–640.
Kang GY, Parks JR, Fileta B, et al. Thyroxine and triiodothyronine content of commercially available thyroid health supplements. Throid 2013; 23:00 1233-1237.
Poon WT, Ng SW, Lai CK, Chan YW, Mak WL. Thyrotoxicosis is a reality in herbal weight loss supplements. Clin Toxicol (Phila). April 2008; 46: 290-2. The thyroid gland is a small butterfly-shaped gland at the front of your neck. It is a misunderstood part of the endocrine system that is often blamed for obesity.
Is It Safe To Take Thyroid Hormones For Weight Loss?
“There are a lot of misconceptions about the thyroid, especially in nutrition,” says Northwestern Medicine endocrinologist Ayla Bakar, Ph.D. “The bottom line is that everything is good in moderation, and for the most part, diet will not affect thyroid function.”
Cruciferous vegetables, which include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale, are thought to interfere with the way the thyroid uses iodine. Iodine plays a role in the production of thyroid hormones. The truth is, you can and should eat these foods.
“Cruciferous fruits are some of the most nutritious and healthful foods out there, and I encourage thyroid patients to continue eating them well,” said Dr. Bakar says: “You have to eat a lot of these vegetables, which are useless for them, to block the iodine and thereby the thyroid gland from producing hormones.”
You do not need to take iodine supplements if you live in the United States or other first world countries where iodine is added to many foods, including table salt. Although iodine deficiency is one cause of hypothyroidism, if you are not iodine deficient, you do not need to take iodine supplements, commonly known as kelp supplements.
Thyroid Medication Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make
“Iodine supplementation is a lie,” said Dr. Bakar says: “They can actually have a negative effect on thyroid function if you take them without a doctor’s prescription.”
“There is a lot of misinformation about gluten-free diets and Hashimoto’s,” said Dr. Bakar says: “I think this stems from the fact that Hashimoto’s and celiac disease, where gluten intolerance is the main symptom, are autoimmune diseases.”
Celiac disease can coexist with Hashimoto’s. In this case, patients should follow a gluten-free diet to manage their celiac disease, not Hashimoto’s.
There may be excess weight associated with an underactive thyroid, but it is usually only 5 to 7 pounds.
Repair Your Thyroid
“More important than this has nothing to do with thyroid function,” said Dr. Bakar says: “To avoid weight gain, I tell hypothyroid patients to watch their calorie intake and stay away from, say, empty calories from sugary drinks.”
“Like everyone else, people with thyroid disease should eat a healthy and balanced diet,” says Dr. Bakar repeats. “Diet will not cure your thyroid disease, and it will not cause thyroid disease.”
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