Objective: October 16, 2013 — Decreased thyroid function, or hypothyroidism, is commonly associated with weight gain. The main factors associated with weight gain 24 months after therapy were poor control of thyroid function on replacement therapy, diagnosis of Graves' disease and need for thyroxine replacement. The researchers compared the patients' weight gain with that of a matched comparison population of nearly 11,000 people who did not have an overactive thyroid.1, At the start of drug treatment, those who were diagnosed as having an overactive thyroid weighed less, on average than the comparison population, Dr. Boelaert says, which was expected. Pre-existing obesity, Graves' disease causing hyperthyroidism, weight loss before presentation and length of follow-up each independently predicted weight gain. Use of this website is Epub 2011 Nov 8. Pharmacodynamic Response to Anti-thyroid Drugs in Graves' Hyperthyroidism. It’s the thyroid hormones that are responsible for … Genetics . Simple awareness of how common excess weight gain may be can be a big relief for patients, Dr. Boelaert tells EndocrineWeb; knowing that weight gain can occur means patients can take proactive steps to anticipate the problem and lessen the result. Thyroid Res. Conclusion: We have demonstrated marked weight gain after treatment of hyperthyroidism. RhubarbAndCustard • • 24 Replies. Health Media & EndocrineWeb do not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. eCollection 2020. Share your opinions. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. After a single course of antithyroid drug treatment your hyperthyroidism may be cured if the cause of the thyroid overactivity is Graves’ disease. Clearly, more research is needed for us to understand the specific mechanisms behind the shift upward in body weight as a result of non-surgical treatment for overactive thyroid, she says. I also gain weight if over medicated and hypo. Treatment is crucial and so is keeping an eye on your weight as the treatment process progresses. Patients who became hypothyroid, despite T4 replacement, gained most weight. These symptoms arose in “June,” landing her in the intensive care unit, Dr. Boelaert says, and required urgent medical attention. Those with Graves’ disease seemed to gain more weight than those with toxic nodular hyperthyroidism. Weight changes in euthyroid patients undergoing thyroidectomy. "We want to avoid extreme fluctuations in thyroid hormone levels, which—if out of range—could accellerate the tendency to experience weight gain," Dr. Srinath says. The researchers compared the patients' weight gain with that of a matched comparison population of nearly 11,000 people who did not have an overactive thyroid. CONCLUSIONS: Weight gain during treatment for Graves' disease is common in children, and many children become overweight or obese during treatment. Yang H, Holowko N, Grassmann F, Eriksson M, Hall P, Czene K. BMC Med. Get the latest public health information from CDC: https://www.coronavirus.gov, Get the latest research information from NIH: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus, Find NCBI SARS-CoV-2 literature, sequence, and clinical content: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sars-cov-2/. During treatment, the men, in general, gain about 17.6 pounds while the women gained a little over 12 pounds. Conclusion: This study has shown a large increase (32%) in the prevalence of obesity following treatment for hyperthyroidism. Kyriacou A, Kyriacou A, Makris KC, Syed AA, Perros P. Clin Obes. Since the thyroid hormone controls the speed of all systems in the body (metabolism), with an overabundance, there is the tendency for these same functions to run at a faster rate. With Kristien Boelaert, MD, PhD, and Reshmi Srinath, MD. Following treatment for hyperthyroidism, patients will observe a steady weight gain despite not changes in their eating or exercise. A person’s genes may make him or her more prone than others to weight gain and obesity. An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) is where your thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones. Abbara A, Clarke SA, Brewster R, Simonnard A, Eng PC, Phylactou M, Papadopoulou D, Izzi-Engbeaya C, Sam AH, Wernig F, Jonauskyte E, Comninos AN, Meeran K, Kelsey TW, Dhillo WS. Patients treated for hyperthyroidism are at increased risk of becoming obese: findings from a large prospective secondary care cohort. Understandably, June was so distraught with the undesirable weight gain, so she stopped taking the medication meant to normalize her thyroid levels. USA.gov. We have demonstrated marked weight gain after treatment of hyperthyroidism. Address Weight Gain from Antithyroid Drug Therapy. Should radioiodine now be first line treatment for Graves' disease. Epub 2020 Aug 1. Dr. Boelaert still can’t say for sure why individuals who are treated with antithyroid drugs to reverse their hyperthyroidism show a tendency to gain back the lost weight plus more. The data gathered from this study puts concrete numbers to this adverse effect of hyperthyroid treatment. Medicines called thionamides are commonly used to treat an overactive thyroid. Blood tests. … 2020 Mar 9;13:3. doi: 10.1186/s13044-020-00077-8. Epub 2016 Jun 18. "If they then become overweight or obese, that is a further 'hit.''' "It appears something in the disease process or perhaps from the treatment makes them end up heavier." Short-term Change in Resting Energy Expenditure and Body Compositions in Therapeutic Process for Graves' Disease. We investigated 162 consecutive hyperthyroid patients followed for at least 6 months. Dr. Boelaert found slightly more higher net weight gain in her patients who had radioactive iodine therapy than drugs alone, but she doesn’t think this side effect should not steer people away from having RAI treatment since the cure is much higher with this treatment, she says.  |  In all, there were 1,373 patients, ages 18 to 90 years, who were evaluated, and their weight was tracked over time. Weight gain . That said, there are several mechanisms that may explain the connection in cases of low thyroid function. Awareness of the tendency for weight gain is the first crucial step for every patient with hyperthyroidism, Dr. Boelaert says. Totally, our goal is helping to furnish an educational and a reassuring site, and ardently endeavoring to assist tormented people to pick up energizing … Conclusion: As such, Dr. Boelaert laid out to evaluate out simply exactly how severe the weight gain … Although many patients with hyperthyroidism will indeed lose weight, weight gain is not uncommon. "Having an overactive thyroid is not a benign disease," she tells her patients. It usually happens after you start treatment for hyperthyroidism and gain back weight you previously lost from the disease. Provided you are symptom-free and your thyroid blood tests are normal one year after treatment you will need no further check-ups, other than occasional thyroid blood tests. The mean weight increase after … 2019 Oct;9(5):e12328. However, after treatment, the patients with hyperthyroidism were more likely than the comparison group to reach a level of obesity. 2011 Dec;21(12):1343-51. doi: 10.1089/thy.2011.0054. 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