I’m posting this because I am so proud of myself. I hope that you’ll
will not take it in any way other than my wanting to share my feeling
of accomplishment with all of you. Maybe some of you will take it as
another example of someone fighting back.
I am a 52 year old female and was diagnosed with Grave’s in April.
I probably had it for at least five years. I’ve been a wife, mother,
teacher, coach, and distance runner for almost 30 years. I’ve run
20 marathons and many, many other races. Up until about 5 years ago
I was one of the top three runners in my age-group in the greater
Houston area. This post is related to my running.
Since being diagnosed I have been taking Tapazole and have responded
very well to it. Part of my successful treatment probably has as
much to do with my being able to stop coaching, which took away much
of the stress in my life. I have also been able to once again train
for distance races and it feels great.
This morning I completed an 11 mile run which is the longest run I’ve
done since September of 1995. It wasn’t nearly as fast as I ran years
ago, but I’m going to blame that on aging rather than the Grave’s.
I would like to encourage everyone to try to keep up with whatever
physical activities that you were doing prior to getting Grave’s.
I have been so lucky in that I have a endo who has really monitored
me as I try to resume competitive running. I know exercise is not
for all of you, but it is a very important part of my life.
I guess my point is—don’t let this disease beat you; keep fighting
back.
Becky