[sutan351]

#1066321

gatorgirly,

I know how you feel and as you will soon find out Graves requires a great deal of patience and acceptance that some things have to give short -term. This is something that took me years to accept. I was dx in 2006 and my first endocrinologist told me to not work out – because of risk to my heart. I also had a racing heart – but not to the degree of your situation. I started Methimazole and a beta blocker and kept working out ….and found a new endocrinologist. I did pull back on my workouts and you will have to do this for your own health. BUT your situation may be more severe and I would highly recommend fallowing Drs. orders for the time being. Understand that your life could be at risk and no workout is worth that risk. In hindsight I was risking my health and may not do the same today. I have since gone from Hyper to Hypo after RAI last year and now have much more compassion for my body. I’ve gained 20 lbs since 2006 and at 5’2 that’s a lot of weight. But I’m fighting my way back and take each day eating healthy, working out and taking care of myself. Yoga is great for your body and can be a tremendous workout as well. Another plus on your side (if there is a plus in GD)…you’re only 25 and your body will bounce back much better with proper treatment. I was 44 at dx and hit early menopause as a result – not a pretty combination!

Best of luck to you and keep reading all the valuable info on this website!

Sandy

[enough3]

#1066322

When I read your post, it reminded me so much of myself when I was first DX with Graves.

I was 29. I’m now 32. I was an avid runner and did aerobics and weights. I lost around 10 lbs. or so and was too skinny with the Graves. My Endo said that I could run and lift weights as long as it was mild. Nothing that was insane, like "bootcamp" workouts..lol

From my understanding about the workout issue is that you can continue to do what you have always done-just not more. It’s kind-of like pregnancy. If you worked out before pregnancy, the Dr. is okay with you working out during. If you did not, then starting a workout routine during that time would not be wise because your body is not used to it. (other than walking easy, etc.)

The MOST important thing is to listen to your body. If you don’t feel good working out, then STOP immediately. I have many memories of working out with Graves (prior to RAI), that I had a "weird" feeling and MADE myself stop. Be honest to your body during this process.

I had RAI in November. It was a good experinece for me. I now workout as if I never had Graves. Sometimes I actually forget I went through the whole ordeal.

Listen to your body. Hang in there…you will get through this. Take your meds. on time and take good care of yourself. This is a wonderful site!!! EEveryone is very supportive and informitive.

[Kimberly]

#1066323

Hello – Welcome to the boards! I know this is extremely frustrating to have your normal routine turned upside down…but please stick with your doctor’s advice for now. You mentioned that you have a racing heart rate and muscle wasting, and these are issues that can be *aggravated* when doing intense exercise while hyperthyroid. Your #1 priority right now is to get your thyroid levels to return to normal…which will get you started back on the path to good health.

Sounds like you are working a crazy schedule. Is there any way you can get some relief at work, such as finding someone to help you…or working from home a couple of days a week? Anything that you can do right now to shed unneccessary commitments and focus on the healing process will definitely help you in the long run.

Best of luck!

[LaurelM]

#1066324

Hi,

You will start to get better with treatment and you WILL be able to get back to your normal life. At some point you probably will go about your normal life not even thinking about GD except for an annual check-up.

Please do heed your Dr’s advice. Remember that you heart is a muscle. If you have muscle wasting then your heart may also be affected by it. Pushing your heart to work harder right now could cause permanant damage. The betablocker can help control the tachycardia/fast rate but it can only do so much.

It took me about 3 months on my ATD (methimazole) to feel much better. I wasn’t completely back to my old self but I well on the way.

This disease can affect every cell in your body. Be kind to yourself and let your body start to heal. If you had a broken leg, it would be much more obvious that it needed R&R.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Laurel

[Jake_George]

#1066325

Actually your body is getting a major workout when you are hyper. That is one reason the doctor may have said no workouts for the time being.

When you are hyper it is like running a marathon every day and to add additional workouts to the stress of the body is dangerous. And yes if you have some muscle wasting, the heart is a muscle that can be overworked too much and cause you more problems than a short term workout ban.

Think of it this way, while you are hyper you are getting a workout with out the extra work. Bonus!

[gatorgirly]

#1066326

Thank you all for the support. It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one going through this, but it’s still very hard to deal with. As for work, I have been cutting back on my hours. I no longer check my emails from home at night or on the weekends, I’ve been sticking to a M-F, 8-4 schedule. I’m taking Friday and Monday off from work and spending a long weekend in New Orleans with a friend who lives there. There won’t be any Mardi Gras-esque partying, but it will be nice to get away for a few days are forget about work and stop obsessing so much over my recent DX. I take my meds on time, right down to the minute usually, and will be of course bringing them with me. I’m also going to tell my friend about it, since all he really knows is that I was hospitalized for the tachycardia. I didn’t feel comfortable explaining GD to him over the phone, and didn’t want him to think it was life-threatening or untreatable.

I should mention that my doctor said that since I have a small thyroid, remission is much more likely. Does that actually mean anything? His nurse called me back with my levels this morning, and until I can see him again in six weeks, I have no idea what they mean. TSH = < 0.006; T4 = 2.83; T3 = 10.2. I know levels are different from anyone, but can someone give me a broad explanation of "normal" levels?

[mamabear]

#1066327

Let me try a different approach with you… ” title=”Smile” />

You say you were a cheerleader…
Then you know what disipline means
You know what support means
You know what doing the right thing is
You know what continuing to do what you have to to support your Team is
You know what hard work is to improve yourself so that you are "the" best
You also know what’s its like to stick your middle finger up when you were in high school during a game because you just didn’t like them(yes I was a jock, I played basketball and volleyball and yes I did do that! LOL)

Ok so those aren’t all of them but they are some things that you being an athlete should know… Sooooooo what does all this mean i bet you are thinking… Lets look at it again;

You say you were a cheerleader…
Then you know what disipline means You have to continue to eat well, stay hydrated, and take your medicine when you should

You know what support means Support your body by eating well, staying hydrated, taking your medicine and listening to your dr., you can not do the wrong things and still be supportive of your body and mind

You know what doing the right thing is YOu knew as a cheerleader and working with your team that you had to know your routine and do the right things in order to compete. If you didn’t your coach might kick you off the team and your teammates would be peeved at you… Well your body can’t konk out on you if you don’t do the right things. Your mind can get peeved real fast and not make the right choices if you stay ill. Doing the right thing means relaxing and listening to good advice and knowing that although your head is saying "i’m fine i can do it anyway" that you really need to listen to your dr.
You know what continuing to do what you have to to support your Team is This means that you can’t just stop when you wish or start working out hard when you feel like it. Getting the ok from your dr. is different than "feeling like" doing it yourself. It is HARD not to work out, and yes it stinks. Being competative and being told you can’t do things is hard for us to hear. But again, your team now is your body… do what you have to do to support your body

You know what hard work is to improve yourself so that you are "the" best Working hard is key in being the best you can be…. staying fit mentally is also key. Improve yourself BY getting your thyroid under control so that you CAN do the things you still did before it but in a healthier way and safer way.
Your heart depends on YOU to keep it safe and support it. No dr. will be able to do that, the dr’s can only tell you what to do and it’s up to you to fullfill that.
Just like if your coach said to get up on the pyramid and don’t fall off or everyone else would fall with you. You would make dang sure you didn’t fall and you did what you could to be the best and help your team. Well your body is your team, your heart racing and getting stressed out is all dependent on what YOU do, so treat it with respect just like you would treat your teammates with respect.

You also know what’s its like to stick your middle finger up when you were in high school during a game because you just didn’t like them(yes I was a jock, I played basketball and volleyball and yes I did do that! LOL)
This one is my favorite.. and it’s just for fun…. If you are like most of us that played any sports, you know that middle finger came up once or twice in your life because you were made at the opponant.
Well, Graves’ Disease is your opponent and you can stick your middle finger up at it and say hey I’m going to get better and kick your butt and win this game.

You ARE THE ONLY ONE who can do this. There is no dr. who can make you take care of your body, they only give strong advice. Don’t be stubborn, please don’t take that path. You will find it will only make your journey longer.
This is competition, YOU vs Graves’…..who do you want to win? I’d really like to see you doing the right things and you winning this!
We are here for support…

Welcome I’m mamabear..I hope you take the advice on here with all the caring that we truly mean from it.

Good luck to you dear.

[Kimberly]

#1066328

gatorgirly wrote:I should mention that my doctor said that since I have a small thyroid, remission is much more likely. Does that actually mean anything? His nurse called me back with my levels this morning, and until I can see him again in six weeks, I have no idea what they mean. TSH = < 0.006; T4 = 2.83; T3 = 10.2. I know levels are different from anyone, but can someone give me a broad explanation of "normal" levels?

Hello – I’m not aware of a link between thyroid size and remission rates, so hopefully, someone else can jump in on that one. Some Graves’ patients will develop an enlarged thyroid (called a “goiter”), so it sounds like you *don’t* have that issue. “Normal” ranges will vary from lab to lab. We are not allowed to interpret test results on this board (that is your doctor’s job), but here is a rundown on the tests. It is helpful if you can ask your doc’s office for a hard copy of your lab results, instead of just getting the info over the phone. That way you can see the “normal” range for yourself…and you can track whether you labs are changing over time. Even better, if you can get on a schedule with your doc’s office where you are getting labs done *before* your appointment, then you can spend the visit reviewing the results directly with you doctor and asking questions.

TSH is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates the production of thyroid hormones. A below normal result *can* indicate hypERthyroidism and an above normal result *can* indicate hypOthyroidism. Other issues can interfere with TSH, though…for example, some Graves’ patients on Anti-Thyroid Drugs continue to have below normal TSH levels, even though their other tests are “normal”. The way this test is interpreted seems the opposite of what you would expect…but think of it this way. If the body has too much thyroid hormone, it doesn’t need any TSH to throw more fuel on the fire and make *more* hormone. On the other hand, if you don’t have *enough* thyroid hormone, TSH will increase, as the body tries to kick-start the production of more hormone.

T4 is a thyroid hormone containing 4 atoms of iodine. When the body cleaves off one atom of iodine, this produces T3, which is the most potent and active form of thyroid hormone. T3 and T4 can circulate in the body in two ways: (1) “bound” to proteins in the body, which renders them inactive or (2) “free”, which means they are available for the body to use. So if you have a choice between “Total” or “Free” T3/T4 tests, the “Free” test is a better indicator of how much hormone is actually available to the body.

Hope this makes things less confusing…and not MORE confusing!

[mamabear]

#1066329

Just saw what she wrote about thyroid and not being big. Maybe someone can research this a bit.

I too was told by the dr. that was Aw-SUM!! that my thyroid wasn’t big either and i should be able to achieve remission. That dr. had no clue that it would be so fast but he did say that thyroid was small and that seemed to mean something to him.

Hmmmmm

[runlacie]

#1066330

Hi, I also was told by my doctor that having a "small" thyroid was better. I had RAI and have seen that some of the formulas used to calculate RAI dosage involve the size of the thyroid. When I was trying to figure out RAI vs ATD’s and reading about ATD’s I do remember reading that remission chance is greater if you have a smaller thyroid.

Also, want to give you some hope… I am a runner. In June of last year I was dx’d with Graves. I had just run a marathon, then 2 wks later a half-marathon, and 2 wks after that I couldn’t run at all (HR way too high) and I was dx’d with Graves’. I was told not to run or do anything that would get my HR up too high. Could lead to irregular beat, cardiac arrest, and yes, Death. I listened to that advice. It was tough, but I spent the summer walking, doing easy core exercise and stretching. I watched my muscles literally drop off my body as the Graves’ wasted them away. Whether or not all of the walking and other exercise helped or hurted, I don’t know, but at least it made me feel a little better. Like I mentioned, I did opt for the RAI (but I now know that ATD’s can actually get you into remission faster than RAI did) anyways, I lost about 4 months of training total. Here’s the good news… though I continue to struggle some trying to get my replacement dosage regulated (my thyroid is still slowly dying), I’m back in full swing and running faster and more miles than ever. You will get back. If there’s one thing I learned about this disease it is that you have to be patient.

[gatorgirly]

#1018665

I am a 25 y/o female, diagnosed with GD two weeks ago after experiencing a racing heart for 24 hours and ending up taking am ambulance ride from my PCP to the cardiac er. I’m on PTU (100mg 3x day) and Propranolol (10mg 4x day) and have just about every symptom except for the Graves’ ophthalmopathy. I’ve still got a racing heart, fatigue yet insomnia, weight loss, muscle wasting (I was a competitive cheerleader and gymnast all of my life, so I’ve stayed pretty fit), painful joints, dry eyes, nervousness, shakiness/twitching, constantly hot and sweating even on cool days (I live in Southwest Florida, so cool days are rare), frequent and painful bowel movements, extremely light menstrual period, sore throat, dry mouth, thirst, and constant hunger than just cannot be satisfied. I also have excess ear wax and I’m suddenly very sensitive to loud sounds, especially loud men’s voices for some reason. Since my diagnosis, I’ve been taking my medicine religiously but being the person that I am, continued to workout as if nothing ever happened because I couldn’t stand seeing how flabby I had gotten. I have lost seven pounds since leaving the hospital and haven’t done anything differently from what I was doing before the diagnosis. I just saw my endo for the first time out of the hospital on Friday, and when I mentioned that I was still exhausted all the time, was able to workout almost as hard as before. He said that since I’m still so hyper, I cannot work out until further notice. I’m having bloodwork next week and a follow-up appointment in six weeks. He suggested I try walking, which I already do a lot of with my dog, and yoga. I have cried more in the past two days than I have since the diagnosis. I can handle the symptoms and everything else that comes along with the diagnosis, but not the muscle wasting and the no-workouts rule. I quit caffeine the day I was diagnosed to keep my heart down, but the workouts didn’t seem to aggravate my heart so I assumed they were safe. Being 25 and otherwise healthy, this is a devastating lifestyle change that I’m being asked to make. I should probably also mention that my doctor reminded me that surgery is a last-resort option, and one that he would be opposed to doing unless I insisted. RAI is not an option until I am less symptomatic. I’m not suicidal or anything, because other than GD I have always been the type of person who has a passion for life. I love to travel and play sports and continue to work out as though I were still a gymnast, but my time is now spent at the office close to 60 hours a week as a PR professional, which is obviously a high-stress job. Working out is my outlet and I have never been so devastated with my health. Any suggestions? I will certainly continue yoga and stretching, but without cardio and strength training, I feel flabby and disgusting.

[Author]

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