Wall St Journal looks at Houston Doc who treats Rupp, other thyroid users

Assumptions wrote:

given the same thyroid levels an elite may see performance worsen where a non elite, more sedentary person would never have noticed the issue and therefore not been diagnosed. This would explain why is appears that a higher percentage of elites have thyroid level issues than the general population.

..and we have a winner.

This article points out 2 thing:

1)for athletes at the low end of normal thyroid hormone levels, the lower the levels, the worse your oxygen kinetics during endurance exercise are.

2)it's not the training that tweaks your thyroid, it's not eating enough to fuel your training.

So it is possible that:

a) These elites are on the verge, if not already anorexic

b) Some doctors are aware of this association of thyroid levels and VO2 and treat a TSH of 2.5 because of the decrease in performance

c) The true prevalence of hypothyroidism is actually higher than reported because sedentary people are not going to have symptoms that are as objective as a 10k time and therefore, will never be tested for it.

carl lewis???

braces?

hgh?

thyroid

'commonly used in steroid cycles'

where are you ben?

heres your medal back

Does this phenomenon apply to all elite runners? Does anyone know what other non-American athletes with thyroid issues? I ask because those deep in the management of the sport for each nation are obviously ahead of the curve and must know the current trends/breakthroughs unless they are incompetent. So I am curious what other countries are doing about this urgent problem.

Or could that not be an excuse to abuse the use of steroids. I have a hard time to believe that someone with some severe case of asthma could even be able to do any endurance sport at high levels.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Ho Hum--

Absolutely correct about the number of swimmers who have EIA.

During the Olympics, all asthma medications containing beta2-agonists, such as salbutamol (also known as albuterol), were on the official World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances, due to their known ability to relax the smooth muscle cells in bronchial airways.

The thinking was that athletes who didn’t have asthma might be able to use salbutamol to further relax the muscle linings of their healthy lungs, kicking their breathing capacity into overdrive and gaining a crucial advantage over other competitors.

Asthmatics were exempt from this rule, of course, provided they could verify the inhaler was a medical necessity. That’s what Torres did some 18 months before the Beijing Olympics, petitioning the International Olympic Committee for a Therapeutic Use Exemption for Proventil — an albuterol-based asthma medication — which was then granted.

Starting this year, WADA lifted the ban on salbutamol, since research had yet to demonstrate that the drug enhances performance when taken as directed. The new doping rules simply state that all athletes must have a salbutamol level less than 1,000 nanograms per milliliter detectable in their urine sample when screened before competition (.pdf), which shouldn’t be a concern for athletes following the dosing guidelines of prescription inhalers.

I wonder is it a coincidence that last June and July there was a severe shortage of thyroxine in pharmacies in the uk and Ireland. The pharmacy I work in had no supply for about two months in the run up to the Olympics. Sudden unexpected increase in demand? It's back in supply now.

a study of 8 does not, unfortunately, a study make. Exercise research is notorious for this and it's unfortunate, but it is rare to have enough statistical power supporting many exercise studies. There is a lot more evidence based medicine showing that strenuous exercise DOES elevate serum TSH in some people. But given that, it still doesn't mean every athlete with high TSH automatically should be diagnosed with hypothyroid;

Go Afrika wrote:

Ho Hum wrote:

Exercise-induced asthma is probably caused in part by exercise. Look at the sheer number of swimmers, x-country skiers, and distance runners who have EIA, and it's hard to believe that it's just chance.

According to this NYTimes article (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/why-do-so-many-winter-olympians-have-asthma/), 17% of elite distance runners and greater than 50% of XC skiers have EIA.

Or could that not be an excuse to abuse the use of steroids. I have a hard time to believe that someone with some severe case of asthma could even be able to do any endurance sport at high levels.

Where is it said that these athletes have a 'severe' case of asthma? You are probably correct in believing that someone with severe asthma could do endurance sports at a high level. BUT, at a high level, even a 'mild' case of exercise induced asthma could be the difference between being a contender or an also-ran.

I haven't totally made up my mind on this thyroid issue.

I sort of see it similar to the asthma issue where athletes don't realize they have an issue until they hit a certain level of training. But, there is an underlying current of suspicion that these athletes have just discovered a still legal PED. The fact that most, if not all, of the cases are tied back to one doctor doesn't help my suspicion.

But what makes you think that thyroid medication is "dope" or "performance enhancing"? Is it a PED or just a D?Thyroid medication is nothing like the CLEAR:- The ban on anabolic steroids was broad enough to include the CLEAR, before it existed- The CLEAR was a secret. But when the secret comes out, athletes known to have taken the CLEAR were subsequently banned, stripped of prizes and dignity and medals. Some even went to jail.- Thyroid medication is not a secret, at least since 1996. Bodybuilders know about it's weight loss benefits, athletes publicly admit to taking it, and the IAAF and WADA took a long look at it, and decided it was not an issue, beyond some temporary "anorexic" effect.How can you possibly believe "the same thing is going on"?

TLW wrote:

rekrunner you are missing a major point.

People that dope or abuse drugs for performance ARE AHEAD OF TESTING AND GENERAL MEDICAL UNDERSTANDING.

An example: 'The Clear' wasn't banned because it was designed by BALCO - Testing DID NOT KNOW IT EXISTED so it WASN'T BANNED.

Please people, think. The same thing is going on with thyroid medicines and performance.

rekrunner wrote:

But what makes you think that thyroid medication is "dope" or "performance enhancing"? Is it a PED or just a D?

Well lets see. 12:55,12:56,12:58,12:58,26:48,26:59 all run by American-born runners, all since 2009, right around the time that rumors of wide-spread use in American camps began? Just one big happy coincidence?

How about 3:59, 3:59, 3:59, 4:00 run by American-born females in 2009?

How about 3 championship golds for an American-based Somalian, 12:53 for 37-year old Kenyan-American, also American based?

Just one big happy coincidence?

The entire TUE issue seems to have come to a head after a distance runner, posted exceptional times for shorter distances outside their specialty; 3:50, 7:30. Questions started being asked as they should be.

I think a lot of the misinformation that is being posted here can be cleared up here:

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2013/04/thyroid-madness-everything-you-need-to.html#more

Oops! I ran too fast! wrote:

The entire TUE issue seems to have come to a head after a distance runner, posted exceptional times for shorter distances outside their specialty; 3:50, 7:30. Questions started being asked as they should be.

But the problem with accusations of doping based on improvements is that if someone is actually hypothyroid, then they would not have been able to train much at all. treatment allows you the ability to train without having to take a week off to recover from one speed workout.

Duck, we know the prior excuse: "Slow, steady improvements." That no longer applies. Someone ran much faster than what would be considered, "Slow, steady improvements."

Oops! I ran too fast! wrote:

Duck, we know the prior excuse: "Slow, steady improvements." That no longer applies. Someone ran much faster than what would be considered, "Slow, steady improvements."

You should read Magness's work, and that of other doctors, or confine yourself to the tin hat brigade for life and just face up that you are crazy.

Rupp in fact HAS had a career with regular steady improvements.

Neither your hate nor your ignorance will change that.

Magness it turns out is a thyroid disease sufferer himself, and he lays out for you all very thoroughly the issues.

That article is interesting but clearly demonstrates what is most likely occurring in all of these athletes. They are on testosterone/HGH like Landis and it is causing acute hypothyroidism" Interestingly, if you followed the Floyd Landis case, you know he was taking synthetic thyroid. I don’t know the details, but it makes sense because he was also on a drug program that included EPO, testosterone, and who knows what. My bet is his drug taking knocked him into hypothyroid status."The end part about stress of training bringing Hashimoto's on early is pure drivel and speculation.What do we know for a FACT:(1) There are VASTLY more track athletes with hypothyroidism then can be expected.(2) Training most likely cannot induce hypothyroidism(3) Taking HGH can cause hypothyroidism(4) Floyd Landis needed T3 because of HGH use..Most parsimonious explanation?Elite endurance athletes need T3 because they are on HGH. Any professional on T3 is suspicious.

A Duck wrote:

I think a lot of the misinformation that is being posted here can be cleared up here:

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2013/04/thyroid-madness-everything-you-need-to.html#more

Nothing that Magness says is wrong but of course he felt the need to get out there with a counter offensive. He has a career to protect since he is a former assistant in the Nike Oregon Project.

I am sure some Nike executive told him to get on this.

If the Wall Street Journal is calling you out on your use of prescription medications, you're clearly doing something wrong.

If reporters are calling you about your use of prescription medication, and you respond, "no comment," you're clearly doing something wrong.

If employees of the company who sponsor you are having to defend your use of prescription medication, you're clearly doing something wrong.

If your body can't cope with the demands of the sport, requiring a team of doctors and bucket loads of medicines, you should not be in the sport.

If the medications you require to compete in the sport are harmful to your long-term health, you're an idiot for continuing to use them to remain in the sport.

If your use of medications has received more press than your actual performances, you're clearly doing something wrong.

The call from above to attempt to limit damage, change the conversation and cleanup this PR mess is the same reason you are on here A Duck.

Let's Contemplate wrote:

Nothing that Magness says is wrong but of course he felt the need to get out there with a counter offensive. He has a career to protect since he is a former assistant in the Nike Oregon Project.

I am sure some Nike executive told him to get on this.