[Ski]

#1074037

While you are hyperthyroid, you shouldn’t be doing any type of strenuous exercise, for a couple of reasons. The most important is that when we are hyperthyroid, our muscles waste away. This is because the typical "tearing down" mechanism is accelerated, and the "building up" mechanism is suppressed. Strenuous exercise accelerates even further the "tearing down" mechanism, so you can lose more muscle mass if you exercise. This will make it even harder to get back in shape, once your levels are brought under control. The heart is also a muscle, so even if you are protected somewhat by the beta blocker, you still risk damaging the heart.

The second reason for not exercising is because of the irregular heartbeat you can get ~ the beta blockers can protect you to a certain degree, but strenuous exercise can stretch even their influence on your heart rate/rhythm.

At the very least, don’t run any more until you have spoken with the endo. We do have several avid runners here on the BB, and they understand your plight ~ there’s a good chance you can keep up SOME kind of exercise regimen as you go through this, and you can probably handle more than the average bear, but at first, you need to stop, for your own safety.

[powergrrrl29]

#1019785

I have been an avid runner for many years. I was running 30-40 miles per week. I found out 4 weeks ago that I have hyperthyroidism, probably Graves. I realized I had a problem when I was trying to run and my heart rate went up really high. I have an appt with an endocrinologist next week. I have cut down my running mileage, but am still running. I take a beta blocker and run slower than I normally ran and I can keep my heart rate around 150. (it was going up to 200 without the beta blocker). Is it okay for me to continue running before I get treatment? Are there any graves patients that are runners and have experience with this.

Thanks,
Lisa

[jml]

#1074038

You need to be very careful exercising with graves. I am a marathoner and triathlete. The first time I was diagnosed with gd in 2002 I was training for a marathon, which I ran on beta blockers. I was diagnosed after passing out on a run, I had a resting pulse of 150 and overworked my heart while running after only about 2 miles. As for running a marathon on the beta blockers, It wasnt until medical school when I learned that this is infact quite dangerous because of the effect the drug can have on escalating potassium levels in the bood (which under the righ conditions could lead to major heart problems and in the most sever cases even death). It is important to undertand the long term negative effect such strenous exercise can have on your heart and as a fellow athlete I am positive you want your heart muscles to be fully functioning for years to come… so just wait it out. I went into remission after about 1.5 years on anti thyroid drugs then relapsed jsut last fall (2007) I was running and after 3 blocks on flat groud my pulse jumped to 190. I had to take a full month off, it was aweful, but the fact of the matter is it can seriously damage your heart to the point of ventricular hypertrophy, which as lasting negative effects, and that is far worse than a few weeks of no running. Good luck, it will work out ok, I am back up to my normal routine now, and of course, back on the antithyroids… but at least I can run again.

[npatterson]

#1074039

I think your body will stop you from running until you are stabalized. Of course, the best example of running is Gail Devers, the 2X Olympic track star. I have heard from a good number of runners over the years, and as best my memory serves me, they have all returned to running–AFTER they got treated and stabalized.
The only case I can remember that upset me, was from a call from a parent whose child ran track, and the coach was continuing to push the student–saying they were fine, just getting lazy!

[powergrrrl29]

#1074040

Well guess I’ll hold off on the running until I get treated. I really don’t want a cardiomyopathy. Running on beta blockers isn’t much fun anyway. I hadn’t heard about the problem with potassium levels that occur with beta blockers and strenous excercise. I see the endocrinologist in two days.
Lisa

[DianneW]

#1074041

I was an avid cyclist and rode my bicycle for a long time with untreated Graves’ Disease. I was in really good shape, riding at least 200 miles every week, but thought it was strange that my heart rate got so high. Later on when I had trouble making it up the hills, I thought perhaps I wasn’t eating enough, so I ate differently for the next ride and pushed on. My doctor had already dismissed other symptoms I’d consulted him for, so I hesitated seeing him again for anything. I went hiking with friends and noticed I had trouble climbing up on a big rock with my thigh muscles. I thought that was age creeping up (early 40’s). Silly me!

Eventually I couldn’t get up those hills at all on my bicycle, so just as Nancy says, untreated, the disease will keep us from vigorous exercising. (Strangely enough, I still didn’t realize I was sick.) Later on when I was diagnosed and told by my endo NOT to ride my bike, I wondered whether I’d risked heart damage without knowing it. Fortunately, my heart is now perfect.

[powergrrrl29]

#1074042

Hi Dianne,
I was wondering how you treated your graves disease and are you now able to cycle again? I see the endocrinologist on Wed. and think I would prefer to try the Antithyroid drugs for treatment.

[DianneW]

#1074043

Hi Lisa,

I had RAI, but if I had it to do over I would try ATDs and try to keep my thyroid if possible. If I didn’t do well on those I’d have surgery. As it turned out I had a difficult time getting stabilized following RAI and it was more than a year before I was well enough to get back on the bike. I chose RAI because of the possible risks of the other treatments, not realizing that RAI had some downsides that made the small risks of the other treatments worth weighing seriously.

I did a lot more cycling, and did it better than ever following my treatment, before continuing problems with eye disease grounded me. Now my eyes are so dry that I can’t be outdoors in any moving air, and can’t even have fans blowing on my eyes indoors or in the car. I wear moisture chamber glasses if I have to go outside, but they have vents so they don’t fog up, and can’t handle windy weather. Unfortunately, all my exercising lately has been in the gym.

Ask your endocrinologist for sure, but it could be that ATDs are the quickest way for you to get back to running if you can tolerate them okay. Most people are feeling much improved in 4-6 weeks; some a little sooner, if all goes well that is.

All my best to you,

[powergrrrl29]

#1074044

Hi Dianne,

I really do want to try the anti-thyroid drugs first. I’m worried that the endocrinologist won’t let me though because my WBC’s are low. Although I don’t think that it’s a contraindication to the ATD’s. I’m also a bit wary of the RAI because of my job. I work as a nurse in cardiac cath lab so I’m exposed to radiation almost every day and I’ll probably be doing this job for another 15 years. So the idea of ingesting radioactive material is not appealing. And I would like to get running again as soon as possible.
Thanks,
Lisa

[DianneW]

#1074045

The term "my endo won’t let me is not in my vocabulary, since I can always convince him it’s my body and my choice, even if I have to change to a doctor who will go along with my choice. Perhaps the question isn’t whether he will LET you, but whether it’s in your best interests to take ATDs if your WBC is already low. It’s definitely something to discuss. I’ve known several people who went ahead with a low WBC and have done just fine. The ATDs didn’t lower it further for them. When ATDs do lower the WBC, as you probably know, this is reversible by stopping the drug, and it’s rare to have serious consequences.

I can see that you’d be concerned about the cumulative exposure of radiation if you work around it on a constant basis. This does make it more important for you than for some others to avoid adding to the total whenever you can, but there are times when you might have to weigh the odds. Only you can decide if this is one of them.

Please don’t be overly swayed by my negative RAI experience, because many people have a much quicker and more comfortable recovery than I did and recommend it highly. Ten years ago when lower doses were given routinely I heard of many stories like mine, but more recently as larger doses are more often being given, it seems patients report faster recoveries with less discomfort. I talked to a Mayo Clinic endo at the LA conference, who attributes the faster recoveries to the trend to give larger doses, and he recommends larger doses for that reason.

From what I see, some people are motivated from the outset to do what it takes to preserve their thyroid glands, and those people generally choose ATD treatment. Since there are choices for long term management with ATDs, many of those people are successful if they are really serious about it. Other people simply don’t want to mess with taking the pills reliably and having frequent blood tests, or worrying about their levels all the time. They want it all over and done with, even if it means destroying the thyroid and going on replacement hormone. Others fall somewhere between. I don’t know if you have identified yourself with a treatment outlook yet, but it might help you to know what’s important to you.

I hope you can get whichever treatment you want started ASAP and get better soon, and back to running. In the meantime, think of all the things you never have time to do when you’re running, and get some of them done. ” title=”Cool” /> Maybe you’ll be well sooner than you think!

[jeck]

#1074046

I was diagnosed 3 years ago with Graves disease, I will be having the thyroid surgery soon. I have been going to the gym, exercising and lifting weights, but I do not think I have lost muscle mass, I have put some muscle on.

[Ski]

#1074047

Hopefully, after three years, your thyroid hormone levels have been normal, or near normal, most of the time. We only lose muscle mass when we are actively hyperthyroid.

[powergrrrl29]

#1074048

Hi All,
I finally started treatment for Graves after almost 2.5 months. I had a 24hr uptake of 50% and a TSI of 201. It took forever to get to see the endocrinologist and to get the thyroid uptake. I’ve been on beta blockers for the entire time and I haven’t run since the beginning of February. I started PTU 50 mg 3x per day yesterday. I’m hoping to be able to get off the beta blocker soon.
How long does it take for PTU to kick in? Also when I no longer need the beta blocker would it be safe to resume my running?
I was also very surprised that the Dr. prescribed me PTU and in such a low dose. I was expecting her to prescribe me Tapazole. Does anyone know why a dr. would prescribe PTU instead of Tapazole.

Thanks,
Lisa

[Ski]

#1074049

Hi Lisa,

This was posted twice, so I just deleted the duplicate, FYI. ” title=”Very Happy” />

There was a recent thread on PTU vs. Tapazole, you may want to check that out. I think the preference, if not due to a pregnancy (PTU being preferred through pregnancy), may be doctor by doctor. You should ask the doctor about that. Both meds work.

Once you start taking ATDs, it can take up to six weeks for your body to flush out the excess thyroid hormone you had in your bloodstream, THEN you can begin to evaluate what’s going on with your thyroid hormone levels. Keep a list handy of hypo symptoms, and ask the doctor if you can get a standing order at a lab so you can have blood drawn any time you believe you’ve slipped into hypothyroid. Look for four or five traditionally hypo symptoms you are feeling with some regularity, before being tested. You definitely want to be proactive about levels, and don’t let any imbalance last, if you can help it.

Now, when will exercise be okay? That is really difficult to say. It depends on how quickly your levels are under control. Remember that the day your levels are normal is NOT the day you are "well." It’s the day your body can begin to heal from the assault of hyperthyroidism. It will definitely take some time for the healing to occur, AFTER the levels are normal, and stable, for a period of time. Everyone’s different, so it’s something you have to continually evaluate. Once your levels are normal you should check with the doctor to see what they say, and perhaps get a referral to a physical therapist to evaluate your strength and stamina. You may need to build back VERY slowly. Best to have a professional evaluation to keep from hurting yourself in the process.

[hyperm]

#1074050

Hi powergirl,

I was advised to avoid any form of exercise while tachycardiac. With a resting heart rate at 150 you know that there is something wrong and as my endo said very clearly that my thyroid is making my body think that its running a marathon.

I am honestly truly surprised you have the energy to go running pass some over this way please ” title=”Very Happy” />

M x

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