Dr. Westin Childs Podcast: Thyroid | Weight Loss | Hormones

Does Levothyroxine cause weight gain? That is the question I am going to answer in this video today. Here is a common problem: patients with hypothyroidism present to their doctor, get put on T4 medication like Levothyroxine or Synthroid and they CONTINUE to gain weight - despite no change in their diet or exercise routine. How can this be? In this video I answer what I think is going on in many patients and it has to do with T4 to reverse T3 conversion when certain patients are given medications that contain T4 only. In the setting of inflammation, trauma, infections, liver/kidney issues, low calorie diets and nutrient deficiencies the body can take T4 and convert it into the thyroid blocking metabolite reverse T3. High levels of reverse T3 then compete for binding at the T3 cellular receptor site and put the brakes on thyroid and metabolic function. So how do you treat this condition? Most patients will need medication containing T3 like natural desiccated thyroid or liothyronine/cytomel to "flush