Bob Kennedy

You can look here but the short explaination is

"After feeling sluggish for some time he was diagnosed as being anemic and having an underactive thyroid, a condition that kept him from competing at the 2001 World Outdoor Championships."

He is supposedly on medication (I could not find out which one) and is back running again. I seem to remember an article at some point during the summer that he is planning on a 2003 comeback (he really wants that 10,000 AR) with thoughts of 2004 in Athens as his last chance. I truly hope that he does comeback in good form. I have always admired the guts that he has shown in races.

Is Bob a vegan?

no he's not a vegan

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping to find info on athletes who had a hyperactive thyroid and what treatment option they chose. Gail Devers is the only one I know of.

What can I do for an overactive penis and testicles?

Jason

Jason,

Since we've had a post on bible verses lately, here's one for your malady: Matthew 5:29-30. Do you see the application? OUCH!

Just having fun with you. I've heard that there were monks who took that scripture literally.

When's your next big race?

Anyway, i've had a lot of experience with the thyroid problems as i hav suffered with graves disease over the past four years...Bob's condition was most likely just from aging, not to imply that he is old, but the thyroid produeces T3 and T4 which are horomones that regulate metabolism...when these horomones are not being produced as much, as in Bob's case, the thyroid is underactive and the body is sluggish...it takes about four weeks after the medicine is taken for the body to re-adjust and in Bob's case it is probably just a minor correction and he will have to take the pill, most likely synthroid or some other derivative, once a day for the rest of his life...

ps knightman, what are you looking at treatment wise?

BK has an underactive -hypo- thyroid. Inherited genetically. He doesn't like to be bothered about it.

Have you seen a surgeon and/or endocrinologist? You obviously need thyroid studies - as aforementioned- t3, t4, rt3. Need an ultrasound of your neck as well- hyperthyroidism has a host of etiologies- toxic nodular goiter, Graves, etc. Probably can manage hypeerthyroidism by medicine- i.e. propylthiouracil,etc. Sometimes, people choose to ablate their overactive thyroid with iodine. Like I said though, make sure you get a succinct physical exam including labs and radiograohic studies.

I was given the option of drug therapy (PTU or methamazine?) or radioactive iodine (I-131). I decided on the I-131 since the drug therapy is only 30% effective. I'm scheduled for the treatment in a couple weeks, but now I'm having second thoughts.

Any advice on one treatment vs. the other would be appreciated.