Rupp Diagnosed With Hypothyroidism

How many articles do you want? They can be produced. Give us a number.

i read your post and it made no sense -- which explains my sardonic response. evidently clear concise writing was not something stressed at the fine academic institution you attended. mono is easy to diagnose? what planet did you swoop down from? i can't tell you how many people i went to high school with got tested multiple times for mono with positives and negatives and everything inbetween.

i agree that hypothyroidism isn't easy to detect because it's not black and white -- a level for 1 person may be fine but the same level for another person may be bad. however, it is a standard test in any annual bloodwork (unlike mono) and hashimoto's is black and white when the results come back.

produce 1 article that says that taking synthyroid to become hyper enhances athletic performance. it doesn't exist because it isn't true.

why is so difficult for the conspiracy experts to process the rather simple concept that, assuming synthroid increases epo, the other deleterious side effects of being hyper will result in a dramatic decrease in athletic performance? steroids, hgh, insulin, etc all have negative side effects as well but shrinking your nuts, giving you a nasty case of zits or causing you to have nasty bouts of road rage DON'T hinder athletic performance.

Maybe we're talking about optimizing the levels...just like one would with any other drug (see hemoglobin). So one wouldn't necessary have to put themselves in a hyperthyroidic state just by supplementing. Here's a conspiracy for you:

of the olympic athletes surveyed..95% said they would take drugs if it could guarantee them a gold medal. They would not be caught, but they would be dead in 5 years.

crazy conspiracy theorists. Why would anyone want to experiment with drugs?

Like Quacky said...how many articles do you want?

Are you their doctor, how do you know that they are taking synthroid? How about thyroid stimulating hormones? Plenty of articles.

I am also hypOthyroid (UNDERactive thyroid)female, 50 and NOT fat. Nobody in my extended family has hypothyroidism. I've read everything I can get my hands on about the topic. I was diagnosed in 2000 after suffering for over a year with unexplained exhaustion, put down to "overtraining" before I was finally tested. I used to be a world class endurance orienteer (that means I would run for 24 hours crosslots over rough terrain with only a map and compass to guide me.) Hypothyroidism took that away from me. Despite the synthetic levothyroxine. I simply cannot, (even with supplemental levothyroxine) metabolise fat in sufficient quantities to fuel my activity level, so once I burn up all the glycogen in my muscles I bonk... hard. Taking additional levothyroxine before and during a race to try to compensate did NOT help me to perform better, it only jazzed me up. People, sjm1368 is right on with everything he's been saying. A non functioning thyroid is a heartbreaker. Your metabolism doesn't return to normal even with supplemental hormone, your muscles and joints are tender all the time and you just can't put it up that extra gear, even if you are "corrected" to 1.0 TSH (as I am) Rupp's in trouble. Please afford him a little kindness!

You make having hypothyriod seem like an "end of all" type of disease. what research supports you statement that "your metabolism doesn't return to normal even w/supplemental hormone, your muscles and joints are tender all the time and you just can't up it up that extra gear, even if you are corrected to 1.0 TSH"

Unfortunately there is little active research in this area. What I was trying to explain is that hormone replacement does not fix a hypothyroid. Nothing works the way your own thyroid does. Hence you do not return to "normal." Hormone research is difficult as individuals are affected in a wide array of different ways. If you look on any website dedicated to hypo/hyper thyroidism there are long lists with numerous symptoms and most if not all mimic other illnesses. The only thing I can say with great certainty is how my body has been affected by being deprived of its natural source of thyroxine. I have muscle and joint pain. Period. No need to have research back me up. It's not the "end of all" (although if hypothyroid people cease to take their thyroxine they will eventually go into a coma and die) but it sure is a life changing thing. I can compete, but not at the high level as before as I simply cannot train as hard, nor keep going for as long a period, even if not pushing myself. Hey, that's life. Before I sign off: thyroxine is not a performance enhancer. Too little and it's like trying to move while being chained to the ground. Too much, and you are flooring the accelerator while keeping the clutch depressed.

[quote]red flea wrote:

"The only thing I can say with great certainty is how my body has been affected by being deprived of its natural source of thyroxine. I have muscle and joint pain. Period. No need to have research back me up.

It's not that I doubt your condition. But could the symptoms you describe be due to this type of activity?

"I used to be a world class endurance orienteer (that means I would run for 24 hours crosslots over rough terrain with only a map and compass to guide me."

Geez, i'd have more than muscle and joint pain and low energy levels. Sounds brutal

Martin has better things to do post messages with a bunch of people who think they know something about running. He has moved on--but for some reason I get the feeling that others (maybe even Al) have not.

And to the rest of you, how about actually trying to become a good runner instead of talking (posting) like it.

bob kennedy had thyroid problems too as I recall.

Is it a simple blood test to get diagnosed?

If you go to your primary doctor and simply ask for a thyroid test, will he test for it?

Or will you be sent to an endocrine specialist?

"Anorexia or bulimia. People with eating disorders are at risk for hypothyroidism. In these cases, however, reduced thyroid function may be an adaptation to malnutrition and, therefore, some experts think that only the eating disorder should be treated, not hypothyroidism."

Since there is a correlation between malnutrition and hypothyroidism, I would think that 100 mpw athletes should be looked at differently than the average person.

"Endurance athletes who train extensively (as opposed to those who call themselves athletes but don't train) typically have thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels a little higher than the general population. Your 8.48 is a little above the range I've seen in athletes, but that by itself does not indicate that you need treatment.

The thyroid gland produces thryoxine or T4. T4 is the hormone that actually regulates metabolism. TSH is like the gas pedal for T4. If you have a normal thyroid gland, a normal level of TSH will cause the gland to release the normal amount of T4. If the gland is weak, a higher level of TSH is needed to make the normal level of T4. In the normal population, the thyroid gland is usually only weak if it is about to fail entirely. Thus doctors who see a high TSH level and are not familiar with the hormonal profile of athletes will want to prescribe thyroid (T4) supplementation as soon as the TSH goes a little out of the normal range.

Endurance athlete's T4 levels should not be very different from anyone else's levels, so my suggestion would be to have your doctor send you for a T4 test. If that comes back low, get treatment. T4 treatment is very unlikely to hurt you in any way, except that you have to remember to take a tiny pill every day. If you really are hypothyroid, the treatment will correct your fatigue very quickly.

"

OldFart wrote:

Is it a simple blood test to get diagnosed?

If you go to your primary doctor and simply ask for a thyroid test, will he test for it?

Or will you be sent to an endocrine specialist?

Yes it is a simple blood test.

Yes if you go to your doctor and ask for a thyriod test he will test for it.

After being tested you can go to a specialist depending on your insurance. My insurance allows me to go to a specialist without a referal, some insurances don't. Its in your best interest to go to a endocrine specialist because they know more about the thyriod. Most doctors are not very knowledgeable. I wasn't tested for a thyriod problem until I started having problems with my stool. Before then I was just always tired but it got to a point where I was pooping blood. After taking thyriod medication the blood has stopped. Everyone reacts differently to thyriod conditions and in my case i had blood in my stool.

i have hypothyroidism too!

symptoms include:

Increased size of my dome, expanding jaws and china, 28" forearms with lactating breasts. Violent outbursts and decreased penis size.

sincerly

barry bonds

interesting. in all of my posts about this, i've never come right out and said it but i completely agree. i always felt by coming out and saying this that i was using it as an excuse. i think you can come back for a while and pull off a few good training periods but there is no consistency. you can't plan a training period and be confident that it will work. overtraining and injury happens with fewer miles. look at goucher and kennedy. both had a couple of good comebacks after their diagnoses but they had some lousy races and probably stuggled more with training than we knew about.

rupp is in the prime of his career. if he can pull it off then i want his doc. but i gotta wonder if he might have a few moments of greatness but will end up falling apart and being a has-been within 5 years.

i'm happy to see this such a hot topic on this board right now. it just might inspire the reseach that is really needed on this topic.

Salazar doesen't plan anything!

What causes all this thyroid stuff? Hard training or just genetic makeup? Salazar seems to have many athletes with this problem.