Rupp Diagnosed With Hypothyroidism

its possible...I didn't have it all throughout my life until I reached college.

jaguar1 wrote:

Is it possible his thyroid problem is simply a 'product' of overtraining? Just a temporary problem? I don't believe there's a single 'test' for overtraining, but given his symptoms (fatigue, pneumonia!) the first solution should be rest. If this doesn't help, then he should have gone to be checked out for any number of conditions. I know they're saying they think it's genetic, but how would they know? Did they do a genetic test? Sure, if he's producing low thyroid hormone, it may help, short term, to take exogenous TH. But long term-- it is a major concern to take a hormone, unless they know for sure he has a thyroid problem that is NOT simply the product of overtraining.

The kid needs a rest.

I also thought the symptoms of my problem were overtraining. I went on for about 3 years just assuming that it was that. Feeling tired all the time was typical to me because "i'm a runner" and its somthing that I just deal with on a day to day basis. But even with good night sleeps I would still feel the same and just thought that this was normal possibly. It was hard to compare how i felt in high school to how i felt during the present time. i had figured that i had always felt this way. That's the only problem with being a runner was that it took taking 2 years off to discover my problem. With the absence of running for 3 or 4 months I decided to go to a doctor because I wasn't feeling to well and I was having other problems too.

interesting debate on whether thyriod hormone actually stimulates red blood cell (RBC) production in the same way as EPO. In my GUESS it would. But the effects would be so minimal that to take to much sythetic TSH hormone the symptoms of HYPERthryiodism would outweigh the benefits.

"The Nike Oregon Project in Eugene, OR, is a systematic effort to help top runners do just that. Coached by former marathon American record holder Alberto Salazar, athletes such as Adam Goucher (13:11 5,000m PR) and Galen Rupp (American junior record holder at 3,000m, 5,000m, and 10,000m; now competing for the University of Oregon), use a wide array of cutting-edge techniques such as sleeping at simulated altitude, running on an underwater treadmill, and using the best legal supplements.

“The Nike Oregon Project takes a very holistic approach to training its athletes,” says Dan Browne, a team member with a 2:11 marathon on his résumé. “We have physical therapists, we have the best massage therapists, and we have strength and conditioning coaches who also work with professional baseball teams. We have a lot of experienced people working to keep us healthy and strong. There’s a lot to be said for some of the small things we’re doing, such as the core strengthening.”

Browne continues, “If you can orchestrate it so that you’re synergistically doing your best with each of those components, you have a chance. That’s always been Alberto’s philosophy—that we need to do all the little things.”

They are working under the same premise as Barry Bonds, Regina, etc. "X is not specifically defined as illegal; therefore, X is legal"

Quack quack

Here is the answer!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laboratory experiments have demonstrated that tetra- and triiodothyronine (T4, T3) enhance hypoxia-induced erythropoietin (Epo) production.

Altitude Tent (hypoxic conditions) - Legal

Thyroid Hormones - Legal

Altitude Tent + Thyroid Hormones = Legal way to boost EPO

No needles, nothing "ILLEGAL"

Bob Kennedy used an altitude tent, was diagnosed as "hypothyroid" and was a Nike sponsored athlete!

Coincidence?

Somebody, somewhere knows something!

This is rediculous.

Why fly to houston? Probably because the doc they went to is one of the best endocrinolgists out there.

Secondly, he doesn't just give the routine TSH, T3, T4 tests to diagnose the problem. He also would have tested for anti thyroid antibodies and a radioactive iodine test. I had all of those done when I got diagnosed. So it's not just as simple as getting the generic thyroid panel and saying, hmmm something is off, let's give him synthroid. Maybe thyroid levels can be altered by overtraining, but I'm pretty dang sure that the other two tests wouldn't be altered enough by overtraining to give a false diagnosis. This doctor isn't some idiot, if he says he's hypothyroid, then he did all of the necessary tests to figure it out.

So it's not just a matter of TSH being slightly off. You know you have a problem when your anti-thyroid antibodies are supposed to be max 50, and they are like 400 units of whatever...

The drug connection is off. I've asked my doctor about this numerous numerous times. Thyroid supplementation can only take you to what your normal is supposed to be, taking more or taking it if you don't have the disease will not aid performance what so ever.

As to why it didn't come on until now..Well we just don't know. It can come on suddenly, or it can slowly come on over years and years.

As to the person who said what drug is he taking......It's most likely synthroid, but could be levoxoqyin (spelling?). I'm just guessing that it's synthroid because that's what he prescribed me and I take.

I think we may have found the connection. The defense keeps justifying his supplementation by arguing that it merely returns the body to NORMAL levels. But living in hypoxic conditions isn't exactly NORMAL.

Legal? yes. Normal? no. So perhaps a limiting factor in reaching the maximum advantages from the bubble is thyroid hormone. In other words...one's EPO production is stunted in hypoxic conditions without synthroid.

This is comparable to hemoglobin's dependency on iron. Iron can be a limiting factor in manufacturing more red blood cells.

In my opinion, taking the synthroid is as legal as living in an altitude tent. Personally, I was naive to think that this sorta stuff was only taking place in the post-collegiate ranks.

Here is the answer!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laboratory experiments have demonstrated that tetra- and triiodothyronine (T4, T3) enhance hypoxia-induced erythropoietin (Epo) production.

Altitude Tent (hypoxic conditions) - Legal

Thyroid Hormones - Legal

Altitude Tent + Thyroid Hormones = Legal way to boost EPO

No needles, nothing "ILLEGAL"[/quote]

you really are becoming desperate here. it would be nice if you provided a source for your smoking gun quote -- otherwise it very much rings that you wrote it yourself. even if it does come from somewhere legitimate, it isn't exactly a smoking gun. so t4 and t3 may increase epo production. big deal. how much is epo increased (maybe a tiny bit) and what other negative side effects are there?

if someone is hypo, it is very simple to prove with a blood test (particularly if it is from hashimoto's). taking synthroid gets one back to normal. i am on it and i can tell from experience that taking too much and getting hyper does not help one's performances. your heart races all the time and you can't sleep right. it's better than being hypo (where you gain weight, are always tired and can't run for shit) but it hardly is the state that an elite athlete would want to be in to optimize performance. you guys need to find something else to bash rupp and goucher on -- or better yet, get your asses out the door and get some training in.

[quote]sjm1368 wrote:

This is rediculous.

What about this? Is this ridiculous as well? Maybe this is all just voodoo science. The American Journal of Physiology "doesn't exactly sound like a credible expert, does it?"

http://ajpregu.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/287/3/R600?maxtoshow=&HITS=&hits=&RESULTFORMAT=1&andorexacttitle=and&fulltext=hypothyroidism%2C+EPO&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT#BIBL

Here's the abstract. I'll let you come to your own conclusions.

Oxygen is of vital importance for the metabolism and function of all cells in the human body. Hypoxia, the reduction of oxygen supply, results in adaptationally appropriate alterations in gene expression through the activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) to overcome any shortage of oxygen. Thyroid hormones are required for normal function of nearly all tissues, with major effects on oxygen consumption and metabolic rate. Thyroid hormones have been found to augment the oxygen capacity of the blood by increasing the production of erythropoietin (EPO) and to improve perfusion by vasodilation through the augmented expression of adrenomedullin (ADM). Because the hypoxic expression of both genes depends on HIF-1, we studied the influence of thyroid hormone on HIF-1 activation in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. We found that thyroid hormones increased HIF-1 protein accumulation by increasing HIF-1 protein synthesis rather than attenuating its proteasomal degradation. HIF-1 expression directly correlated with augmented HIF-1 DNA binding and transcriptional activity of luciferase reporter plasmids, whereas HIF-1 levels remained unaffected. Knocking down HIF-1 by short interfering RNA (siRNA) clearly demonstrated that thyroid hormone-induced target gene expression required the presence of HIF-1. Although an increased association of the two known coactivators of HIF-1, p300 and SRC-1, was found, thyroid hormone did not affect the activity of the isolated COOH-terminal transactivating domain of HIF-1. Increased synthesis of HIF-1 may contribute to the adaptive response of increased oxygen demand under hyperthyroid conditions.

Read that whole thing... I bet you don't understand a single word of it.

It's not connected with taking a pill for hypothyroidism. Injecting cells is a little bit different....

Anyways, the argument is mute. The east germans tried messing with the thyroid for improved athletic performance. They scrapped the idea after the results proved to be negative. That's enough of an answer for me. If the east germans didn't find it beneficial to give their ahtletes synthetic thyroid because it didn't work, then that should give you the answer. The east germans were willing to do anything and they monitored everything with blood tests and all sorts of stuff. So if they didn't find it worthwhile, then I don't think others would either.

Okay, you may think that my argument is unsupported and unfounded. But let me just remind you that this isn't an isolated instance. People DO have a reason to have questions...

...Kennedy, Goucher, and now Rupp all have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I assume you are familiar with their resumes. All were/are living in hypoxic environments while being diagnosed. Just a freak coincidence that 3 of America's most talented runner's EVER...have the same condition.

17% of women and 9% of men in America have hypothyroidism...although it's more commonly found in overweight people over the age of 60. Whatever. Also, it is more common in women yet I haven't heard of too many super elite female women having hypothyroidism. Actually, not even one. But i digress. I'm not a statistician and I don't know what the odds are of a young healthy adult having this condition are...but i'm gonna ASSUME it's rare.

"Read that whole thing... I bet you don't understand a single word of it."

Well...it's true. I don't understand all of it. I just read the article, i didn't write it. But I understand this:

"Hypoxia, the reduction of oxygen supply, results in adaptationally appropriate alterations in gene expression through the activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) to overcome any shortage of oxygen"

sooo...the activation of HIF-1 is the body's way of adapting to a hypoxic environment. An increase in HIF-1 protein = an increase in the body's ability to adapt.Fair enough.

"We found that thyroid hormones increased HIF-1 protein accumulation by increasing HIF-1 protein synthesis rather than attenuating its proteasomal degradation."

So thyroid hormones (produced naturally, injected, taken orally...who gives a ****?) have a POSITIVE effect on increasing HIF-1 protein vs. weakening it.

And then there's always this:

"Oxygen-dependent EPO expression is regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1".

I have no idea what this means...help me out here, boss.

learn to read says- "Anyways, the argument is mute."

well that certainly packages this argument up with a nice little bow on top. Don't get me wrong...your east german evidence sounds good. Seriously. Although maybe a little documentation would be nice but whatever.

My documentation does happen to come from a physiology lab in Kaiserslautern, Germany circa May 2004. Ouch. That may put a dent in your east german story with no evidence or no documenation.

The argument isn't whether taking thyroid hormone increases EPO. As other's have already stated...it most likely just gets you back up to par. But the variable here the hypoxic environment.

My conclusion, based upon the evidence I gave (try and read between the lines a little better next time), is that while living in a hypoxic environment, HIF-1 is a limiting factor for the body to adapt. Throw in a little thyroid hormone which has been shown to increase the expression of the HIF-1 protein...and ka-zaam!...more EPO. Au natural.

Whether it works or not is anybody's guess. But to believe that we're dealing with just an ordinary hypothyroid condition is just a tad bit naive...don't ya think? Enlighten me 'learn to read'.

you really need to stop posting your conspiracy paranoia and do a little research first. kennedy's hypothroidism is genetic:

Kennedy was diagnosed two weeks ago with low iron. Further tests done this week revealed that the cause is an underactive thyroid, a condition that Kennedy's mother and grandfather suffer from.

http://www.usatf.org/news/showNewsnotes.asp?article=/news/newsnotes/2001-07-27.xml

have you ever heard of causation? the fact that he sleeps on the left side of his bed, goes for boxers over briefs and takes paper over plastic are all nice but have zero relevance regarding his hypothroidism (along with nike, his tent and his coach).

lots of people suffer from an underactive thyriod. Most people have an under active thyriod but are misdiagnosed most of the time as just not getting enough sleep, not eating well, or working to hard. This is also because the symptoms of an underactive thryiod are, most of the time, assumed to be part of our typical lifestyle. Its only until the symptoms are bad enough in our old ages that doctors are usually able to recognize the symptoms.

Kennedy has family history, and so does Rupp with hypothyroidism. Sorry guys, your paranoia is amusing. Rupp's father suffers from the same condition. It is genetic. Quit looking for something that isn't there.

what is your point? lots of people have had mono and herpes 1. lots of people have receding hairlines and suffer from ed or the irish curse. not a lot of people have 2 direct relatives with hypo. i don't know if he has hashimoto's, but he very well might, and even less suffer from that.

Wrong. Re-read my post. The conspiracy guy who is spending HOURS posting and re-posting the same stuff that he barely understands, and trying to "connect the dots" that will show in his mind that Rupp is using his thyoid condition as an excuse to cheat.....

(you know, sort of like connecting the dots that showed that Saddam was really behind 9/11. I am sure he bought that one hook like and sinker too, and spent hours pumping conspiracy theories about that on other internet sites. This poster got one thing right, his name, because he is indeed a QUACK)

....... is stating that taking EXTRA thyroid hormone (yes, under the guise of hypO-thyroidism) could help induce the body to produce more EPO and thus be an advantage. Extra Thyroid Hormone ='s hypEr-throidism. It is the definition of it (of course one does not usually self-induce such a disease, but one would try to correct it). So all of the side effects that I stated that would come along with HYPERthyroidism would be the same side effects of taking EXTRA thryoid hormone, which is what the Quack is accsuing Rupp of planning on doing. Get it??? It is confusing but those are the facts. Let me reprint for you the side effects of extra thryoid hormone, the supposed "secret weapon" of Rupp and Salazar:

"FAST HEART RATE .... MUSCLE WEAKNESS....FATIGUE......TROUBLE SLEEPING.....IRREGULAR HEART RATE..."

Sound like a winning combo for a distance runner?? Suuuuuure.

I never said they were theoretical. I did say that any possible increased EPO advantage that extra thryoid hormone would give one would be HEAVILY outweighed by all the negative side effects cited above. So apparently YOU did not comprehend what I wrote.....but no surprise there you since you are clearly a fool with waaaaay too much time on his hands (and do you ACTUALLY think your "quack, quack" shtick is amusing??!?! WOW......you are more pathetic than I thought )

[quote] ljkafjdsihaosidhg wrote

interesting debate on whether thyriod hormone actually stimulates red blood cell (RBC) production in the same way as EPO. In my GUESS it would. But the effects would be so minimal that to take to much sythetic TSH hormone the symptoms of HYPERthryiodism would outweigh the benefits.

yes, this is what I made clear repeatedly. Read my post and you will see that there is little to guess about it. Extra thryoid hormone compared to normal ranges would absolutely be a DIS-advantage for a runner. I've lived it, the side effects prove it, there is no debate about it.

[quote]Bitch Tits wrote:

"you really need to stop posting your conspiracy paranoia and do a little research first. kennedy's hypothroidism is genetic"

ok, genius...you mean I should do more research like you? Post some article that has no scientific basis whatsoever? This is not f***ing research!!! First off, it's not a scientific article. Secondly, it's word of mouth. Thirdly, you're mired in your own shit when you come across as an expert on the issue and that's the best you got. The journalist quoted Kennedy as saying this. This is not research....if you put that reference on a bibliography...I would flunk you. I mean, seriously, have you ever even done a research paper?! Next you're gonna lead me to some random mensracing interview and claim it to be the gospel. Get a F***ing education...then we'll talk.

Every single one of those guys are claiming that it's genetic...this is not new, this is predictable,..get up to speed here.

Honestly, there could be a chance that this is nothing...and that I'm just blowing smoke. Maybe they all do have a genetic predisposition to hypothroidism. Whatever. Let me speak in the abstract for a moment, if I may. The article that I posted (an actual authentic research article with empirical evidence) supports my hypothesis that one could potentially get more benefit from living in a hypoxic environment if they supplemented with a thyroid hormone.

PLEASE do me a favor...give me something that says otherwise. A real f***ing research article this time, slappy. We don't even have to include Goucher, Rupp, or Kennedy, or anybody else that says they have hypothyroidism in this conversation.

Also, it's not really that much of a conspiracy theory nor am i that paranoid about it (except for the fact that this could potentially lead others to start experimenting with thyroid medication and get seriously f-ed).

It's not illegal, nor did i ever say it was. I'm not upset, i'm not angry, and I'm certainly not gonna take some poster named "bitch tits" seriously...you kinda lose all credibility. It's difficult to have an honest discussion when you don't even take YOURSELF seriously.

I certainly do find it very interesting and unlike you, will not take this issue at face value. Personally, I think we owe it to the sport to dig a little deeper. And next time don't throw all your eggs in some shitty worthless article. Honestly. Seriously. Show me something that doesn't make you look even more ignorant.

Bitch Tits wrote:

what is your point? lots of people have had mono and herpes 1. lots of people have receding hairlines and suffer from ed or the irish curse. not a lot of people have 2 direct relatives with hypo. i don't know if he has hashimoto's, but he very well might, and even less suffer from that.

you didn't read my post or you just don't understand my point. go get an education. my point was about the majority of people being misdiagnosed. More people suffer from hypothryiodism yet are never treated or tested for it. Herpes and mono are totally different. They're easier to diagnose and so are receding hairlines. The fact that someone is tired on a daily basis would get the typical advice, "get more sleep","eat better", "drink less coffe" and never have their blood tested. Its not until they're 60 yrs old and much weaker than they were 30 years before that doctors are finally able to see the symptoms arise. An underactive thyriod is hard to diagnosed especially when its not extremly underactive. A slightly underactive thyriod could have you feeling fatigued all day long but not to the extent that you would actually attribute it to something beyond ones control.