[Sue_Conard]

#1069099

Welcome to a great site where you’ll receive a lot of support and knowledge. I’m sure a facilitator will answer your question, but I’ve been in and out of hyperthyroidism, in & out of hypothyroidism over the past yr. & my dr. asked me not to exercise while in hyperthyroidism due to the tachycardia, I’m sure. Hang in there…once they start leveling you out, you’ll be back to exercising, I’m sure. I believe it’s just a temporary set-back on exercise with GD for now, sorry!!

[James]

#1069100

I believe there are a variety of views on the subject of exercise and GD. I think most Dr’s will lean on the side of caution which isn’t a bad thing. However, I would have gone out of my mind sitting and doing nothing either, granted I was in top physical conditioning and used to working out a lot and was about 15 years younger at that time. I think our bodies will tell us to stop or slow down with any illness. If we push ourselves beyond our comfort level, and elevate our heart rates beyond what we would normally do in exercise, that wouldn’t be a good thing. Some people who have not been diagnosed early, or who may have a per-existing condition may have lost some muscle mass and not be capable of doing much more than a light walk. People who are used to exercising, who are young and diagnosed early and treated right away usually don’t have that much of a problem rebounding. It’s not a one size fits all answer as far as I’m concerned. You can mention the variables to your Dr. in your specific Graves case and he can help you assess what you are capable of doing. If you are not on any ATD or beta-blocker and are awaiting RAI, there probably is good reason as to why the nurse practioner is being cautious. In my case I was told not to go beyond what I would normally do. In other words, I was not train for a marathon (or equivalent) during that period of time, BUT I was on being effectively treated with ATD medication at the time.

Take good care of yourself!

James

[hyperm]

#1069101

Hi,

Are you hyper/hypo? How is your resting heart rate? I was a keep fit fanatic now I am fanatical about avoiding exercise

On a serious note I too was advised to refrain from any form of exercise which increased my cardiac output… gentle walking was my advice. To be honest I felt so ill and tired that I don’t think I could have exercised anyway and even climbing the stairs was done with a sit down half way to catch my breath and slow my heart rate down some days. You have to be careful of tachycardia as its not just an increased heart rate that will slow down after a few mins sometimes the heart then works itself right up into a faster paced rhythm and in many cases it can days for it to settle.

Its true that exercise can improve your mood but until your heart rate and BP etc.. are stable then doctors orders should be followed if you were asking my opinion.

Sorry its not much help with regards to how you are feeling but I always think its best to err on the side of caution.

I was even told not to exercise when I had a low ferratin count of 4.

HTH
xx

[tuxedo702]

#1019085

I was recently diagnosed with Graves and my doctor (actually the nurse practitioner) told me not to exercise until after the RAI and once they get me back to normal. But I’m really depressed and feel like exercise would help. I also noticed that in the general information on this website they recommended exercise. Do they mean once my levels are right and not now?

[runlacie]

#1069102

I unknowingly ran a May marathon with early Graves’. 2 weeks later I ran a half. I underperformed in both and knew something was wrong but blamed overtraining and anxiety. 2 more weeks passed and I could hardly run at all, finally went to the doctor. I now realize I had symptoms as early as February and ignored them. I begged my doctor to allow me to jog real slow, and did get an okay, provided I wore my heart rate monitor and didn’t let my heart rate go above 140. Little did I realize that keeping it under 140 while hyper was pretty impossible. I considered 178 my max heart rate before I was hyper and even in a really fast race going all out I couldn’t hit it, and then when I started getting sick I would see it as high as 184 and I wasn’t even going that fast. The reason, I’m told, that we shouldn’t get our heart rate up when hyper is that being in a hyper state makes us more likely to have an abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) which can initiate a heart attack and death. I stopped running. Once in a while I do get a wild hair and just blast down the road, but I shouldn’t. I’m walking 5-7 miles per day, but I think I’m only able to do that because my body was in marathon shape before and now walking 5 miles is to me like running 15 used to be. I wear my monitor and am careful. I can still do my core exercises and lift some weights while keeping my heart rate low, it’s just the heavy aerobics that I can’t get away with. I guess it all depends on what your body is used to. Beginning a fitness program while hyper would be a bad idea, but if you’re used to exercising, you should have a discussion with your doctor about continuing some lighter exercise if that is what you want to do. It has now been 16 days since I had rai and I am noticing some positive changes, but I still can’t run. Hang in there, it gets better.

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