Q: I am a 47 years old man and my weight is 210 kg and height is 5.4 feet. I recently underwent a total thyroidectomy and neck dissection for thyroid cancer. I am suffering from hypothyroidism and having a hard time losing the weight. I do exercise regularly and take low fat diet but still I am gaining weight. I am also having pain in my muscles and joints. The doctor told me that I might have fibromyalgia. I am taking Levothroid 1.5 mg daily. I could not find a suitable diet for myself. Please advise.

A:Your obesity is not because of thyroid disease. You are already on thyroid replacement and you should not have hypothyroidism if you are taking your dose of levothyroxine. There may be some other cause of obesity like cortisol excess. I would suggest you to get an endocrine work up for obesity and if nothing abnormal found then get anti-obesity medications like Sibutramine (a trial of 3 months). If still no response then you are a candidate for weight reducing surgery.