Graves disease and running

chichi2130

I'm a 27 year old female and I'm looking for any tips/advice from anyone who's living with Graves and has been successful with exercise. By "successful" I just mean that you can run more than a mile or two and/or longer than 20-30 minutes without walking and you've gotten your original strength back. I have always been athletic - playing recreational basketball and softball, but the Graves disease really caused my muscles to waste away. Now I'm overweight, which is something I've never dealt with before, and I'm still working on gaining my muscle strength back, which is going well, but running is proving to be difficult.

I've been on methimazole for a year now and I'm doing well on it. My hyperthyroidism was severe at the time of diagnosis, but everything is in range now. My endocrinologist and my regular doctor both said I should be safe to do some cardio (they had me holding off until my thyroid levels were under control). I've been to the gym a few times to try to get back into some sort of workout pattern, but it's so discouraging not being able to run for more than a minute at a time or lift nearly as much weight as I used to.

Please share your exercise success stories so I know I can get back to (or be better than) the way I was before thyroid problems.

toddka1

I was diagnosed with Severe Graves disease plus Hashimotos back in 2008. I had gotten to the point that walking up a long flight of stairs winded me and I needed to rest in the middle. I was first placed on Methimazole and was doing well, but then developed an allergic reaction to the medication after a couple of months. I then underwent RAI and then after a period of 6-9 months was very much hypothyroid and had ballooned up about 50 lbs.

Right about the time I was diagnosed, I suddenly and unexectedly lost my mother. I went into a depression and didn't even focus on myself and what was happening. Just going to work and getting through the crazy, stressful day was all I could do.

So, it took me a while to realize that I couldn't eat like I did while I had Graves. It took a long time to get my muscle tone back I was working with weight training (small weights), aerobics, etc and walking. I think I'm still dealing with that, but it is much improved. I started back to running by walking for several months and then decided to slowly back into running. I did that by using the C25K interval approach and it worked wonders for me. I didn't have any pain, shinsplints, etc and completed the program. Felt so good, started the C210K in the middle and then did something to hurt my hip (which I'm still struggling with 6 months later).

So, I understand how you feel. You are much younger than I and will likely bounce back much quicker. My advice is to work back slowly. Don't get too impatient with yourself and work back into the running slowly. YOU CAN DO IT!

802meesh22

First, let me say how happy I am to have found this group... for so long i have struggled with getting information/ feedback or sharing stories with others, as I don't know anyone else who struggles with a Thyroid issue.

I am 29 and was diagnosed at age 20 with Graves. At the time it was very severe and I immediately had RAI. I had a hard time the first 2 years with energy and motivation in general. It took me about that long to get into a regular exercise routine and also change my diet & overall lifestyle to lose about 20 lbs gained.

Since then it has been a daily struggle and I think ( like toddka1 said ) the key is to start slow... Keep patient and NEVER GIVE UP! It is hard but we have to look at food & exercise differently then our friends/peers considering how different our bodies are processing. I sometimes get discouraged when my friends are seeing results and I am not, but I try to look at it as a challenge!

Do you belong to a gym or do you like to exercise outdoors or at home? I get bored and like to switch it up... spinning, swimming, kickboxing and dancing are my favorites for cardio & I strength train twice a week with Les Mills "Body Pump". I enjoy running but have knee issues and tend to suffer once I really get going on long runs. Do you live in an area where there is snow? I have really gotten into cross country skiing in the winter time, extremely good exercise (usually free) and very peaceful!

chichi2130

Thanks for the support, guys!

meesh, I do belong to Planet Fitness... I've never been into classes and they have enough of what I need. I've just been trying to get back into running and using the machines to minimize my chances of hurting myself as I rebuild my muscles. Before Graves, I was doing Insanity workouts when I wanted a challenge and was just starting to dabble in running (I have a marathoner friend who gets lonely during her runs lol). Most of my exercise is done indoors. It's already freezing outside and I don't have it in me to exercise in that weather just yet. I also live in a city where I'd have to travel 2+ hours for any kind of skiing, so that's out of the question unless I plan a day trip.

I also tried a beginner yoga video the other day... that was MUCH harder than i anticipated. I didn't realize how weak I actually got with this whole thing... definitely need to work on strength training a lot more. I also started a C25K program so I can get running into my routine with some structure. I'm taking it easy, but so far, so good.

I don't know if I'm going too slow and being too careful, but I guess it's better than overdoing it and getting hurt or something.