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endurance running/thyroid
I am an endurance runner who had a partial thyroidectomy in nov 09. i have been training very hard for the last 8 months for a 100 mile run in june that i have been working for 5 years. my tsh test came back at 8.56, hypothyroid. which explains my cramping muscles and overall fatgue which i should not have. i have a drs appt, but am so worried that my race in june is over. my question is can my situation be fixed in 5 weeks and does intense training (80+/-miles a week) require different doses of medication? another endurance runner with hypothyroidism mentioned asking the dr about starting with a high dose to get me back on track....i can't miss this race any advice is much appreciated!
I am also a runner, I had cancer last year and lost my thyroid in June '09. Only now (May '10) am I running like I feel I used to, until I was on the right dose, my legs felt heavy, I was out of breath and I couldn't run for more than a 1/2 mile at a time. Now I run three miles and am feeling great the whole time. It took 10 months and my pressing the doctor to give me more medicine than he thought I should need. I just pressed it until i felt like I was normal. I am on a pretty high dose for most people, but I run or walk every day.
i am also a runner and have been running since 77. i am in love with the feeling of running and don t know any other way to get to that "place" BUT i agree with moose on this one every line that he wrote. if i were you i would get my levels in the best place and start looking forward to next year. i ran endurance for many years and now i am very happy running just a few miles with lifting and yoga. many times i ran too far and too long and didn t pay attention to feeling bad. you must have been feeling pretty bad training for this. YOU WILL RUN NEXT YEAR and you will be in a much better place. GOD SPEED YOUR RECOVERY..
Hi,
I am an athlete too. SO I understand how much you want to race.
Levels can improve dramatically in 5 weeks. However, it will have affected your training, your endurance and particularly your recovery ability. You need to think long and hard if you really want to do this race. THere could be long term repercussions if you are injured / can't recover properly.
You need to get your levels checked - particularly FT3 and FT4. If your doctor is willing you may ask him to add in a dose of cytomel to get your levels normalised more quickly. This will require more frequent testing too. It needs to be done by a doctor who knows what they are doing to monitor you.
Would be best if your doctor or endo is also an athlete so they understand your situtation and can give you best advice.
This is a lesson for you. IF you start feeling bad you need to test your thyroid levels early. (you should be testing about every 6 months anyway). You must test FT3, FT4 and TSH. Particularly the FT3 and FT4 should be at least middle and probably upper 1/3 of the reference range and you should have no symptoms.
Sorry, there are no short cuts for managing thyroid. And this is also not what you wanted to hear.
Best wishes.
I am an athlete too. SO I understand how much you want to race.
Levels can improve dramatically in 5 weeks. However, it will have affected your training, your endurance and particularly your recovery ability. You need to think long and hard if you really want to do this race. THere could be long term repercussions if you are injured / can't recover properly.
You need to get your levels checked - particularly FT3 and FT4. If your doctor is willing you may ask him to add in a dose of cytomel to get your levels normalised more quickly. This will require more frequent testing too. It needs to be done by a doctor who knows what they are doing to monitor you.
Would be best if your doctor or endo is also an athlete so they understand your situtation and can give you best advice.
This is a lesson for you. IF you start feeling bad you need to test your thyroid levels early. (you should be testing about every 6 months anyway). You must test FT3, FT4 and TSH. Particularly the FT3 and FT4 should be at least middle and probably upper 1/3 of the reference range and you should have no symptoms.
Sorry, there are no short cuts for managing thyroid. And this is also not what you wanted to hear.
Best wishes.
I think you know the answer............sorry. 100 miles is for a body that is in 100% working order. If your recent tsh came back 8.56, that is quite hypo for most. And to correct that in five weeks when the med takes six weeks to take full effect in lab results....well.......you see what I'm saying. It takes the body longer to recover even months after a decent lab test.
You could and most likely will do you muscles harm if you do this run while hypo thyroid. You can get long term damage that will never be the same - just ask, it happened to me from competing in an endurance sport for years while hypo. I did reach my goal, it was the happiest day of my life, but now I pay for it, still ten years later. Was it worth it? I dont think so anymore.
Do you get your free T3 and Free T4 tested, you need to now those.? As an athlete FT3 levels are the most important for muscle recovery.
You cant speed up thyroid med, heart palps, shakes and lack of sleep (insomnia) will result.
Hypothyroid drives out magnessium in muscle tissue allowing lactic acid to set in longer than it should leaving muscles in a constant burn state. The ATP muscle rebuilding process is then severely slowed or even stopped, that is why you can be sore for days on without muscle recovery. Deep muscle knots then form cutting of new blood flow, along with possible tendinitis, bursitis ect.
I can only imagine that the race is a annual event, so there is always next year. Can you just mentally prepare yourself to be even better next year? I understand your not going to like my answer, I am speaking from experience as a past national winning athlete in the 90's that had undiagnosed Hoshimotos disease - was hypo for years, it was painful for my body. In my case I did not know what was happening, you do.
Of course someone here will tell you to just go for it, that will be bad advice in the long term. I'v been there.
You could and most likely will do you muscles harm if you do this run while hypo thyroid. You can get long term damage that will never be the same - just ask, it happened to me from competing in an endurance sport for years while hypo. I did reach my goal, it was the happiest day of my life, but now I pay for it, still ten years later. Was it worth it? I dont think so anymore.
Do you get your free T3 and Free T4 tested, you need to now those.? As an athlete FT3 levels are the most important for muscle recovery.
You cant speed up thyroid med, heart palps, shakes and lack of sleep (insomnia) will result.
Hypothyroid drives out magnessium in muscle tissue allowing lactic acid to set in longer than it should leaving muscles in a constant burn state. The ATP muscle rebuilding process is then severely slowed or even stopped, that is why you can be sore for days on without muscle recovery. Deep muscle knots then form cutting of new blood flow, along with possible tendinitis, bursitis ect.
I can only imagine that the race is a annual event, so there is always next year. Can you just mentally prepare yourself to be even better next year? I understand your not going to like my answer, I am speaking from experience as a past national winning athlete in the 90's that had undiagnosed Hoshimotos disease - was hypo for years, it was painful for my body. In my case I did not know what was happening, you do.
Of course someone here will tell you to just go for it, that will be bad advice in the long term. I'v been there.
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