From 30mg to 40mg

wow, Reading this Sharon,I thought you were speaking about me. I have not mentioned what I did as I did not want to confuse people, but because you are asking these questions and because I have pretty much done all the things you questioning, I feel the need to share my experience on all the above ..Firstly I have a very slow thyroid, and take med for it, a week before I started D doc took blood tests to c how my thyroid levels were and kidney function etc, all good , thyroid a little low, but doc suggested to stay on the amount I an currently taking, he started me on 30mg D , After two weeks and then plateauing, I was not to concerned as I thought it was the exercise routine that I STARTED ,and my body had to get used to it, I did question weather the D could have caused my thyroid to slow down even more causing my metabolism to become even more sluggish, but I was told that low thyroid worked well with D, so I DISMISSED that factor and concentrated on the exercise and calorie intake for the following week, my doc was unavailable at the time and I was referred to a women GP... She has no problem dosage, she listened to my concerns, and read my history with weight gain and yo yo dieting and of course my thyroid issues... She looked at me and said "right we going to put you on 4omg, to get that body of yours to wake up "..I was very apprehensive as I was "happy " on D , even though I still not sleeping LONG HOURS, or eating all my food , I had gr8 energy still, and a little dry mouth, but after that week of seeing her, I had changed up my exercise routine and started to eat ALL my calories, and at that point I was VERY HAPPY she had upped my D to 40mg, as I STARTED to get an appetite again and the 40mg helped me to control my potion size, as I had gone from eating 500calories for almost 4 weeks to 1200 calories a few weeks after, hahaha.. It was as if she knew this was going to happen, so for that I am grateful to her , that she saw I was serious about this journey and I was grateful that she took me seriously enough to trust me and walk with me on this journey, too, BUT I will not lie the side effects ,were more intense when it came to dry mouth and sleep deprivation, and huge pressure mentally now ,as she was expecting HUGE weight loss results now that I was on 40mg...I DID two weeks of 40mg, and thought I would stick to it from now on, but during my 2nd week I was so tired even though I had energy from the D40mg, my mind was tired, and I believe personally it cause me to be a little down, not depressed but a little off of my goal in terms of excitement and endurance, I felt like I was on a conveyer belt, and my body was moving non stop , I was not in control of it and my mind just followed ,ATE right, exercised, but had no energy for anything else, afterwards, sleep was no out of whack completely ,and I was not enjoying my journey as before I now felt it was hard work ,not the eating and exercise,but being in tune with my body and not knowing what it needed..So I decided on my own, not sharing with my doc or here on the forum that I was going to change back to D30mg, as I had two weeks left in a previous box. I immediately felt the difference the next day , thought it would have taken a few days but it was within that day that I felt more in tune with my body again, slept like a baby that night ,for the first time in weeks, did not have that buzz high, that felt so out of control, and I was enjoying my meals and excited to deal with each day again, feeling like you on autopilot when you have a family and need to be on top of everything is not a good feeling at all..

Thank you so much for sharing Leigh. It helps so much to know what to look out for. I'm happy on the 30mg. Your description sounds like what I went through at around 6 weeks. I had a couple of days off here and there and now I am having no problems. Sleeping about 6 hours a night too. Maybe I will give the 40mg a go when I am feeling strong. I will make sure I do it before I am due for my next appointment. Then if I feel I can't cope with the side effects I can switch back to 30mg. I won't know unless I try. It might just be helpful to get me out of the plateau. I think you have to go with what works for your body and you have done that Leigh. Sometimes having a break or changing the strength of your dose will stop the body from getting used to it. I don't know yet. But the 40mg might be useful as a once in a while thing. At least I know I have someone to talk to who has been through it. Thank you Leigh.

I then carried on for a week on 30mg, and decided to skip one day, just to see what my body would do, as the 40mg, curbed my appetite, while exercising longer and harder, and switching back to 30mg, was showing signs again that it was not enough to suppress my hunger after the full on exercise and busy day routine in my life ,SO I thought I would test my own threshold without D that day to see if I had it in me to control it by myself..Did not happen, that day I ate and ate and ate protein like a cave man , I was clearly not in control , so the next day, I went back onto my D40mg, and I was pleasantly surprised, I was having the "normal" side effects of D30mg, but just with a better control on my appetite and it felt good I felt balanced again like the first two weeks when I started this journey, my only concern now was, was it the fact that I skipped a day on D, or was it that I CHANGED BACK??? ...And I was only going to see my doc again in two weeks time.. Last week I decided I was going to continue 30mg, till I SAW MY DOC, and would tell her all of this ..but then AS you , I Thought what if I ALTERNATE with the two meds and skip a day here and there afterwards and see how that goes before I see my GP ,next week,but instead I DECIDED to go back on 40mg, this week, and man oh man, game change again, I have not slept well this week,at all, 12PM again just when I was back at 10:30pm .. DRY MOUTH ALL DAY and tastes like a RAT had died in it .lol chewing sugar free gum all day now, and thirsty non stop, exercise is a challenge just as I was 100% balanced with that and 1200 calories, so pretty much off the rails this week, in terms of balance, I am losing weight, more consistently, but it does not mean it is the 40mg, it could be that I had my balance right and sleep pattern right ? but will not know now as I messed up my routine with the meds..So I have come to realize this week, that the pill that was NOT in control of me, before, only my portion control , is now in control of ALL of me , not a good thing after 7 weeks on this journey, so I can only say to you, that mixing it up is a NO NO , and each persons body is different and responds differently and you might not go through any of the side effects like I did, but stick to one dose of the tablets only and go from there, and do not stop them if you possibly can , I have done this twice now, within the 7 weeks, and it is does not show good results, I accept that I need D, for my duration of needing to lose the last 30kg I need to lose, and will consider weaning myself off once I am 5,or 10 kg away from goal weight, for now I will carry on with 40mg, to see if the weight loss is much greater than my loss on 30mg, but I personally do not think so, and then chat to my doc, and see what she recommends, clearly I need to still have D control my appetite, and 40mg is doing that for me now, so the side effects will continue to be my challenge for now, but that is my personal choice, if I get to next week and feel like I cannot do it anymore, then I will ask my doc to give me 30mg, again till the end of my journey, because at some point I HAVE TO CONTROL MY APPETITE by MYSELF, I know it is not now, but soon I will be faced with it ..So my answer to you, is I did not experience D40mg, help me lose double my weight , like my GP was hoping, but It did stop me from reverting back to my old habits of no portion control and for that I am grateful, as that is my personal demon I am trying to fight on this journey and all the journeys before .. I have shared all of this not to scare you ,or make you negative, or doubt yourself , please know that. I have shared this so that you can just know you not alone if you go through the same things i did and that it is "normal", but that You can only make this choice, and find out by doing so . I really do not think mixing it up ,is good for anyone, and it only messes up your body and mind and the consistency of your juorney o nso many levels, I am so tankful though that is has not caused me to gain weight, or throw i nthe towel because of doubt and confusion with the meds, as I was not the one who wanted to change it but this happens when you not doing this alone and yo ua team and others help you , it is trial and error, sure, but it can be a steady trial and error instead of a eratic, confusing overwhelming one ,if you rather stick to the guidlines of your GP and those who share here of their experiences and what NOT to do,lol .. In a way I am so thankful I read your entry today, and do not feel like my terrible descisio was a waste of a week or two, as now I am able to advise you on being cautious with youe choices , go with what works for you , we are our wors enemies and land up jeopodsing a good thing ,because we want quicker results, or the fear that the weight will not keep coming off , or what ever the reason is ..we need to stay foccused and be patient and liste to each other and those who are qualified, as well as our gut instincts, but we do not often do this , hahah.. Hope I have not said too much ,and that I have helped a little ..All the best on your choices, it is not easy but we al lhere for each other and that is a gr8 comfort right ? Let me know how your journey goes and what you decide to do..

Hey Smick we can do this, friend, I know it is going to be a long fight this time round, but we have to beat it for good this time right ? and I too feel comforted knowing I was not alone now, thank you for being so honest and open with your thoughts and sharing all of this with us, you have helped me more than you can imagine, oh the irony , but that is what's so gr8 about this group, you never know what is going to happen next , what you will learn or discover about yourself , if you do not engage with others here and be honest with ourselves and each other right ? All the best ,and I too will keep you posted on what the end of the week results are for me and what my GP and I decide to do from here on ..HAVE A GOOD WEEK Smick.

Thanks Leigh. I think I will give the 30mg another week then, if I am still struggling, I might give the 40mg a go. I'm a tiny bit scared TBH but I was like that before I started on this journey too. Sounds like I need to commit and give it a go for a few weeks.
This week should be a good week to do it as I have to write everything down for my nutrition unit at school anyway. Should keep me honest.
This is why I love this site. If I have a question or having difficulties there is someone here who can advise or has been there before. The support is awesome. Things I could never talk with my friends or family as they just cannot relate.
Leigh, it sounds like you have had some real challenges of late and by helping me out sharing your struggles you have sorted some of your own demons. Please let me know how you go and I will keep you updated as well.
We have uncannily similar stories. It is good to have someone that is dealing with the same combination of obstacles.

Ye, Smick, I am a believer that nothing is by chance and that timing is perfect ,and people are brought into our lives ,even if it only for a season, to walk with you and learn, grow and move on .. I feel this is on of those times ..So glad ,as ONCE AGAIN timing was perfect for you to write all of this for me to read, and to overcome my demon and share with you at the same time ,for sure ..I cannot thank you enough, as after sharing with you, I have had such a different mind set change AGAIN {it is never ending lol }and feel much relief and not so mentally challenges about all of this again ... Good place to be right now, I reckon .. ,we can do this ,we are doing this... x..Thank you for your encouragement Smick..