My doc tells me it is virtually impossible to gain weight on 88mg of Levothyroxine. I am A?

Thyroid hormones mediate metabolism. If you're hypothyroid - insufficient hormone - metabolism slows down, you burn fewer calories so it's easy to gain weight as your consumed calories go 'unburned' and are stored as fats. Conversely, if you're hyperthyroid, you're cranking out too much hormone, your metabolic 'furnace' goes into overdrive and you burn calories easily and weight loss can occur. You don't indicate your height and actual weight, nor do you mention your hormone and TSH levels so it's hard to assess whether your 88 mcg dose is still leaving you hypo and thereby, susceptible to weight gain. I'm male, 5'10", weigh 152 lbs. and take 200 mcg daily, more than DOUBLE your dose. I'm asymptomatic and have maintained my weight without even thinking about it. If as I suspect, you remain hypo due to a lower than ideal dose of levothyroxine, your free T3 and free T4 levels may still be low. Sadly these days, many physicians, even endos, are fixated on TSH. Theoretically, it is the most sensitive measure of thyroid function, if the complex hormonal feedback system with its stimulatory or inhibitory effects is working normally. That's not always the case. Patient symptoms are too often sacrificed at the altar of ideal TSH scores. T3 is the metabolic workhorse, produced from T4 and if T4 is high normal and T3 is low normal, there may be an enzyme deficiency or you may have insufficient zinc or selenium levels. Do you know what your T3 and T4 levels are and where they fall in the established ranges? Do you have other symptoms of hypothyroidism? If it's not already, Google should be your best friend. Just Google 'hypothyroidism' and choose a hit that specifically mentions symptoms. Can't hurt to Google hyperthyroidism as well so you can compare and will know what to expect if your levothyroxine dose gets too high, rendering you artificially hyper.

I have this same concern. I lost 20 lbs in 2009 b4 taking thyroid meds. Seems as soon as I started, at first 50 then 88mcg, I was creeping up. I now am 15 lbs back to my old weight. My endocrinologist told me that taking thyroid meds "should not impede weightloss." She also said it's harder to maintain than lose weight--code for eat less and exercise more! I tried Nutrisystem one week and lost nothing, I went back to WW b/c I had been successful on it in 2009, lost nothing in 3 mos, I had to quit that. I don't know if it's me not doing enough or it's the pill. I wish I could tell you what's what, but I thought I'd share my story so you know you are not crazy!