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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [Triocd] [ In reply to ]
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Hi everyone, just a quick follow-up and question. I've been feeling MUCH better the past year. I've changed two major things though: I now have a much less stressful job and I've scaled my training back from 7-10 hard hours per week to about 4 30-minute very easy workouts per week. Yes, I'm no longer competitive in races, but I feel worlds better.

My question: Any time I "push it" in a workout, even just a little bit, I cannot sleep at night. I have a very difficult time falling asleep and end up waking up several times and basically tossing and turning all night. It's very frustrating because I'm the type of person that likes to be in shape, but I can't because I need to be alert for work. It's weird because it only seems to be related to cardio workouts. I can lift weights hard and then sleep like a baby. Cardio is different.

I have hypothyroidism, anyone experience anything similar? If you haven't noticed anything, next time you do a hard cardio workout and have to work the next day, take note of how you sleep. I didn't really notice the correlation for some time. I always just thought that some days I sleep well and some I don't... Trying to figure out a way to solve this problem.
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [Triocd] [ In reply to ]
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Funny, when I do a particularly hard workout, I sleep well at night, better than most nights (I too have hypothyroidism). I do not train in the evening at all though. Morning or lunchtime, no later. What time are you doing these sessions?

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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I've tried all times, but I usually work out around 4pm. I just CAN'T get up earlier than 5:40am to be able to work out before work. When I do, I need to be up before 5 and that is just too damn early for me. I do think I sleep better when I do a morning workout, but I think I'm really tired by the end of the work day which isn't good.
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [Triocd] [ In reply to ]
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I also have hypothyroidism and like AndyPants sleep better if I put in a hard workout at some point during the day (usually evening given my schedule). Swimming in particular in the evening is typically a garuntee I'll sleep like a baby.

Glad you're feeling better from a year ago. It's amazing how once you start feeling good again you realize how bad you were feeling beforehand.


http://smallfoodbiz.com
</blatent self-marketing>
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [Triocd] [ In reply to ]
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Mo too, way too tired for a post-work session... but I have always avoided those... I would rather get up at 4am and deal with it than try to work out at 7pm...

I would avoid the avro/evening sessions. Adjust the sked. Learn the way of the early morning person.... seriously... it's far easier than avro/evening sessions...

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [PBJ] [ In reply to ]
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PBJ-Let me know if you need a co-author for this book. You may also want to add "stuck in overweight" to the title :-)
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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Hi there,

I've got Hashi's and it was a real rollercoaster ride at first- took me a couple of years to get my levels stable. I was exhausted, depressed, and I thought my quality of life was gone forever. It was really tough at first, and I had to make radical lifestyle changes, such as not staying up drinking wine until 3 in the morning with my BF, heh heh. Also, I'm a real whiner, and at first I tended to blame everything on my disease. It took me a while to stop doing that and work out what else was going on- like having anemia, for example, and not eating enough on some days.

Now I just take my synthroid/cytomel in the morning and forget about it. I'm training around 14 hours a week and working- I don't get too fatigued unless I've been drinking, which I can't tolerate very well anymore. As far as broccoli etcetera is concerned- cooked is fine. I avoided soy, all goitrogenic foods etc at first. Now I'm eating raw broccoli and tofu now and haven't noticed a decline in my energy levels at all. I take a multivit at lunch to avoid interfering with my doses and avoid walnuts and soy and goitrogens in the morning.

I know some women who stabilize on their thyroid hormones far more quickly than I did incidentally, in case you're horrified by the prospect of spending two years feeling sub-par : )

Best wishes,

pinkerson
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [pinkerson] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks, good to know. I am WAY improved from 2-3 years ago, and still getting better. But it's always good to hear about others who have pulled thru, what worked for them and what didn't. I know I am going to have to reduce my alcohol consumption if I want to drop the weight; that seems to have the biggest effect on me. However, it'll have to wait til after the Olympics (I live in Vancouver) ;-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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Glad to hear it- I guess I was whipping through the thread and mis-read what stage you were in with the disease. Takes a while for the thyroid to lay down and let the synthetics take over.

Now please tell me you were partying with the Canadian women's hockey team last night : )
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [PBJ] [ In reply to ]
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Please read this book!

http://www.wikio.com/...76703-7472503,b.html

I never got the connection before between thyroid, diet, gluten, autoimmune issues, effects on the brain,etc. Id just take a pill once a day and forget about it. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it.
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [triLA] [ In reply to ]
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I just checked out the book reviews on Amazon and it looks pretty good. Question though - I'm technically hypothyroid because I had to have my thyroid removed. As such, taking replacement thyroid hormones is something I *have* to do. Do you think this book would be a worthwhile read for someone in my situation or is it really only geared towards people who have Hasimotos or other forms of primary hypothyroidism versus my secondary hypothyroidism?


http://smallfoodbiz.com
</blatent self-marketing>
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [TriToy] [ In reply to ]
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my TSH is up again and I have IM MT in a week. I am on generic levothyroxine but think Cytomel would be better. it is however 3 ties stronger than the levothyroxine and I'm only now on 50 mcg of the levothyroxine.

thoughts on this? I am also a doc (ER, IM and Tox)
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [triLA] [ In reply to ]
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What is the title of the book. The link is no longer working. I'm hypothyroid also. I feel symptomatic even though my TSH levels are low. I've found both my primary doctor and endocrinologist are resistant to amping up my dosage due to the cardiac effects.
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [Honey~Badger] [ In reply to ]
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I might be resistent to amping up to for cardiac reasons, now that i am trying to nudge my dosage down slightly by cutting 1/8 of a pill out 2x a week. not much but changes my tsh by about 1. doing this to see if it helps ease tachycardia before I decide if i need ablation to fix the problem
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [PBJ] [ In reply to ]
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I'm so glad I did a search on "low thyroid after endurance sports" and found this thread. The fact that it's several years old tells me that this is a recurring problem for many hypothyroid folks (myself included).

I had a bad cycling accident last August, and during my two-month recovery period, found that I was becoming hypothyroid. My osteopath wasn't surprised - she said that my body was using up a lot of energy to heal. Since I don't have a thyroid to compensate for extra demands (had a total thyroidectomy due to Grave's Disease), my body was using up whatever I had in reserve. My endocrinologist wanted to increase my dose, but I asked to retested a month later to see if my TSH would drop back to "normal." Indeed, it did. Three months later (five months after my accident), I ran my best half marathon despite feeling "off". However, it's now been a month since the great half marathon, and I'm finding that I still haven't fully recovered. I get fatigued easily, and although I can swim and bike (a big milestone for me to get back on the bike), my running has suffered.

Last week, I went to one of those do-it-yourself labs to get my TSH tested, and sure enough, I'm hypothyroid again (although my T4 and T3 appear to be within range). This leads me to believe that subjecting my body to stresses does increase the thyroxine demand by my body. My endocrinologist doesn't think there's a correlation, but after reading through this thread, I think there is a definite correlation, especially if one doesn't have a thyroid left to sputter out extra thyroxine when needed. I'm also post-menopausal with practically non-existent estrogen and testosterone levels despite HRT with the patch (lowest dose). Hormones sure are powerful chemicals! I'm getting my TSH retested by my endocrinologist this week to see if I need to increase my dose of Synthroid.

By the way, has anyone tried 7-keto? It's a metabolite of DHEA and it's not supposed to convert to any of the sex hormones. I tried it for about two months when I was going through perimenopause, and I felt fantastic! Lots of energy and feeling cheerful. Then I had my hormones checked. My testosterone level had shot up from about 10 to almost 1000! I quit taking it that day.
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [Thumper] [ In reply to ]
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Wow-- good to see still some low-grade interest in this thread. My TSH was up again this January DESPITE not racing all last yr since I broke my ankle and had a hard time getting enough ROM to run. So who the heck knows anymore about my thyroid fxn or its correlation to athleticism. I wonder about circadian rhythms as part of my dip in January, but too many other variables. I am back to training more seriously tho (Challenge Penticton) so I guess we will see how it all goes.
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [PBJ] [ In reply to ]
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My husband has studied under Dr. Datis Kharrazian,
http://www.amazon.com/...Normal/dp/0985690402, and I have severe Hashimotos. I've applied Dr. Kharrazian's plan of treatment and since 2010 have raced six Ironman races (all under 12:15, with a PR of 11:25) and numerous halfs and olympic events. My training hits 24-26 hrs a week in peak time and I have no issues since I followed these principals.
It's doable it just takes time and diligence.
Good luck!

Kat Donatello
2015 Betty Designs Team
RD, The Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival
http://www.pumpkinmantriathlon.com/
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [giddy-up-n-go] [ In reply to ]
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Sounds like a good read (based on the Amazon summary and reviews), but my problem is that I don't have a thyroid. The book seems to address methods to support your thyroid to function optimally. If I don't have a thyroid and I'm taking a constant dose daily, my body has no way of compensating for additional demands by producing more thyroxine. I think people who are hypothyroid due to surgical removal or radioactive destruction of their thyroid probably do have a harder time recovering from endurance sports. I do try to get enough sleep, eat organically, take top grade supplements to prevent nutritional deficiencies and support various organ systems, eliminate glutens (have been gluten free for the past 7 years), and most importantly, spend time in prayer. I'm turning 53 this year, and I like to put things into perspective - I'm probably doing better than 99% of other women my age. The other 1% are members of this forum :-) It still stinks to not have any hormones left, though.
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Re: hypothyroidism and endurance sports [giddy-up-n-go] [ In reply to ]
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giddy-up-n-go wrote:
My husband has studied under Dr. Datis Kharrazian,
http://www.amazon.com/...Normal/dp/0985690402, and I have severe Hashimotos. I've applied Dr. Kharrazian's plan of treatment and since 2010 have raced six Ironman races (all under 12:15, with a PR of 11:25) and numerous halfs and olympic events. My training hits 24-26 hrs a week in peak time and I have no issues since I followed these principals.
It's doable it just takes time and diligence.
Good luck!


Oh, and by the way, thank you for the suggestion and words of encouragement! I'm glad to hear you're doing well with your training. It's always good to hear positive results.
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