Recent media have highlighted the controversy surrounding treatment of elite athletes for hypothyroidism. The World Anti-Doping Agency denied a request by the United States Anti-Doping Agency to ban the use of thyroid medicat...
High volume distance running causes reduced testosterone / thyroid levels for a lot of people. It's not like these people have naturally screwed up hormones, and then they decided to also run a lot. Look at Hall, he said he battled low T for years, but then he stopped running and started lifting and his T levels are good now.
Low T and underactive thyroid are 2 very different things. It has been shown that endurance training can lower T and weightlifting increases it like Hall did.
I have a problem with TUEs in general. If any athlete develops a condition that threatens her wellbeing, then they should absolutely seek treatment. They should also not be competing for a long period of time after receiving treatment that has the potential to make them faster.
I have a huge issue with TUEs that come as a result of over-training. She took thyroid medication because she over-trained. Why not take EPO because you can't hit your goal pace on intervals. Every human has limits, she found hers and then decided to take a medication that allowed her to surpass it. To me, this is no different than doping.
This is a shame because I really liked Des. Yet another runner I held up shown to be on something I would never consider taking myself.
I’m pretty sure Thyroid medication doesn’t require a TUE. Just like insulin. If your body doesn’t make it, the governing bodies can’t prohibit you from taking thyroid hormone replacement. They can ask for your medical records to prove your levels justified it, and you have to disclose that you’re taking it though.
Some distance runners might attempt to cheat by taking thyroid medication, even if they don't have a thyroid disorder, because these medications can have performance-enhancing effects. The primary active ingredients in thyroid medications are synthetic hormones, such as levothyroxine (T4) and liothyronine (T3), which are meant to replace or supplement the thyroid hormones produced by the body in individuals with hypothyroidism. Here are some reasons why athletes might misuse thyroid medication:
Increased metabolism: Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in regulating the body's metabolism. When taken inappropriately, thyroid medication can artificially increase an individual's metabolism, which could help to enhance energy production and potentially improve endurance.
Weight loss: Increased metabolism can also lead to weight loss, as the body burns calories more rapidly. A lower body weight could provide a competitive advantage in distance running, as lighter athletes generally expend less energy while running and may be more efficient.
Enhanced recovery: Thyroid hormones are involved in various processes that promote tissue repair and growth. Misusing thyroid medication could potentially speed up recovery times and allow athletes to train harder and more frequently.
It's essential to note that using thyroid medication without a legitimate medical reason can be dangerous and is considered doping in professional sports. Misuse of these medications can lead to various side effects, including heart palpitations, anxiety, tremors, excessive sweating, and, in extreme cases, life-threatening conditions like thyroid storm. Additionally, athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs can face penalties, such as disqualification, suspension, or bans from competitions.
Some distance runners might attempt to cheat by taking thyroid medication, even if they don't have a thyroid disorder, because these medications can have performance-enhancing effects. The primary active ingredients in thyroid medications are synthetic hormones, such as levothyroxine (T4) and liothyronine (T3), which are meant to replace or supplement the thyroid hormones produced by the body in individuals with hypothyroidism. Here are some reasons why athletes might misuse thyroid medication:
Increased metabolism: Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in regulating the body's metabolism. When taken inappropriately, thyroid medication can artificially increase an individual's metabolism, which could help to enhance energy production and potentially improve endurance.
Weight loss: Increased metabolism can also lead to weight loss, as the body burns calories more rapidly. A lower body weight could provide a competitive advantage in distance running, as lighter athletes generally expend less energy while running and may be more efficient.
Enhanced recovery: Thyroid hormones are involved in various processes that promote tissue repair and growth. Misusing thyroid medication could potentially speed up recovery times and allow athletes to train harder and more frequently.
It's essential to note that using thyroid medication without a legitimate medical reason can be dangerous and is considered doping in professional sports. Misuse of these medications can lead to various side effects, including heart palpitations, anxiety, tremors, excessive sweating, and, in extreme cases, life-threatening conditions like thyroid storm. Additionally, athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs can face penalties, such as disqualification, suspension, or bans from competitions.
Being able to manipulate your metabolism is just one helluva advantage in distance running.
Hypothyroidism in children directly correlates to poor growth and poor weight gain. These are also two of the most common features of elite runner's bodies.
If that is the case around 5% or runners should be on thyroid medication and another 5% should be but don't know it. There is no scientific reason why professional runners should suffer at a higher rate than the general population.
Ever since the cycling TUE leak I stopped trusting athletes that happen to have rare conditions that allow them to take otherwise banned medication that can, in any way, can improve performance.
Of course there is a scientific reason why professional runners and endurance athletes in general are over-represented in the hypothyroid group.
There is also reason they are over-represented in the hypogonadal group, just as all endurance athletes are.
There are many other things that professional endurance athletes "suffer" from as well.
The fact of the matter is that these are all natural responses by the body because it's number one goal is self-preservation. If these mechanisms didn't exist it would be too easy to kill or seriously hurt ourselves and that sort of dna would quickly die out.
We go hypothyroid under heavy volume because the body doesn't want to encourage us any further to use up all our fat and break down our connective tissue, skeletal system, muscles, etc. There must be a governor.
Any endurance athlete that tracks their testosterone will see it drop off substantially under heavy volume, especially if they they don't get a lot of sleep (hi new parents), to the point we medically qualify as being low-t. This isn't just an issue for men either.
Tldr; all of the "high-performance hormones" naturally scale back whenever the body is being pushed to the limit chronically.
For all you apparent experts on here, as a former high level runner and once teammate of Desi's, thyroid disease is no joke. I am on the other end of it and was diagnosed with Grave's disease (hyperthyroidism). It had gotten to the point where my TSH was undetectable, my heart was beating out of my chest at night, my resting heartrate was 40 beats a minute higher than normal. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't run because my heart would palpitate. I was losing weight and looked awful. I was having uncontrollable anxiety, and one time went into a thyroid storm. I finally was able to get into an endocrinologist and started taking medication to get it under control. The extremes of both are very dangerous, and I'm glad Desi got control of it because it is not joke. Yes some athletes abuse it, but she is a legit, honest person, and I'm happy she was able to balance it out through synthroid. Stop bashing her for taking medication that literally saved her life.
No one has bashed Des for taking a medication to save her life. Drop that spin. People are bashing her for racing while on it. Quit running and save her life would be the direction everyone should take.
It's all so disappointing. She should have just died with dignity, right?
If she had had a serious medical problem she wouldn't have been running.
If you read her book excerpt in the RW article, she had stopped running and her husband made her go to an urgent care doctor because she could hardly get out of bed. The urgent care test results showed she had a dangerously low level of thyroid hormone and needed immediate thyroid medication. She didn't believe the doctor at first and found another doctor to confirm whether urgent care was correct. The PA at the second doctor told her she had a life threateningly low level of thyroid hormone and might lapse into a coma and die before she could schedule an appointment with a specialist if she didn't immediately start a prescription of synthetic hormone.
Hypothyroidism in children directly correlates to poor growth and poor weight gain. These are also two of the most common features of elite runner's bodies.
Not sure if this is serious but it's wrong. Hypothyroidism symptoms include weight gain, lethargy, etc.
Hyperthyroidism symptoms include weight loss, difficulty gaining weight among others.
Synthetic thyroid helps you lose weight, and water.
If she had had a serious medical problem she wouldn't have been running.
If you read her book excerpt in the RW article, she had stopped running and her husband made her go to an urgent care doctor because she could hardly get out of bed. The urgent care test results showed she had a dangerously low level of thyroid hormone and needed immediate thyroid medication. She didn't believe the doctor at first and found another doctor to confirm whether urgent care was correct. The PA at the second doctor told her she had a life threateningly low level of thyroid hormone and might lapse into a coma and die before she could schedule an appointment with a specialist if she didn't immediately start a prescription of synthetic hormone.
And just like that - she was out of her sickbed, as she lay near death, and was running a marathon. Some medication.
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Here are 7 professional runners who we know of who have hypothyroidism.
Linden Rupp Kennedy Hall Goucher Ward Salazar
If 5% of the population has hypothyroidism and there are 140 professional runners, 7 runners is 5% of professional runners.
There are more than 140 professional runners.
5% of people do not have hypothyroidism. I have never met a single person outside of running who has this. There are stories from other athletes about Salazar approaching them to go see Jeff Brown who was diagnosing all the athletes with this disease and "medicating" them. And there is a much longer list than those 7.
It used to be well know that the medication for hypothyroidism when taken with asthma medication essentially has a similar effect to taking EPO. I have no idea why people no longer remember this common knowledge.
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