Cycling and loss of Thyroid gland/thyroxine

[touno2003]

Hi all from a wet Cornwall
is there anyone out there who cycles who no longer has a thyroid gland and is taking Thyroxin.I lost mine 2 years ago too cancer but have not cycled since
. I now would like to get back on my bike and do a trip to Holland next year so anyone who might have exsprence of this situation could they let me know if they have any problems all the best Neil

 

[summerdays]

My friend has lost hers ... It was nuked, and she uses drugs to control hers. She struggled a lot at first getting the levels correct and cried off many events due to feeling too tired.

I know when she first returned to cycling she was wearing a heart rate monitor and was advised to keep in a certain range. She was cycling occasionally but again found it wiped her out energy wise, then she tried an electric bike earlier this year! That has made a huge change in managing her energy and she is using the bike to commute daily about 5 miles each way with a hill in the middle. She isn't on here but if you have a specific question I'm sure I can ask her.

 

[touno2003]

thanks for that I take 150/175 mg of thyroxine every day for the rest of my life I have good and bad days ,my doc likes me to be a bit over medicated some im hyper for the first part of the day then tend to crash . tiredness can be a problem but im going to give it a go for sure might need to see the doc first as being hyper tends to make your heart rate a little high and i dont want it to go bang lol

 

[summerdays]

I can't remember how long ago it was now probably 5 years at a guess but she can still get tired, and has found it very difficult to shift some weight, whereas now she has the electric bike, although she doesn't quite expend as much energy on one ride she has enough for the next day etc so is getting more exercise.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Once you have correct amount of thyroxine you will be ok, But there will be other factors to control. Being healthy and a stable weight will help ..
good luck and be positive..

 

[touno2003]

thank you so much yes im working on eating better

 

[david k]

Yep, I had my over active thyroid cured with the drink which kills it off. I now take 100mcg a day, I think that's slightly low but with a irregular heart beat they won't risk putting me up.
Yes it get tired but multiple health issues, thyroid, heart, high blood pressure etc. I've now had a heart ablation and am losing weight. Off the bike at moment, partly due to heart issues, feeling rough and having work at home to do.
When your Levothyroxine is sorted you will be fine, but watch the weight, it crept on me and that's probably been a bigger issue

 

[AnneW]

Good luck in getting back to health and on your bike touno2003 (and Davidk)

I can recommend an ebike too, best decision, wish I'd made it sooner.

 

[ufkacbln]

I have a confession.... I do the nuking, Thyrotoxicosis, not Ca though

The thyroid gland is a regulator for the body's metabolism, and when it goes wrong the effects are varied, but can be debilitating

However when properly controlled post treatment the improvement can be life changing

The key is the relationship with you and the Endocrinology department

If you get the dose right then anyhting is possible

 

[PK99]

I have a confession.... I do the nuking, Thyrotoxicosis, not Ca though

The thyroid gland is a regulator for the body's metabolism, and when it goes wrong the effects are varied, but can be debilitating

However when properly controlled post treatment the improvement can be life changing

The key is the relationship with you and the Endocrinology department

If you get the dose right then anyhting is possible

I used to work @Amersham International, looking after the Health Physics of the packaging and despatch of Radioiodine capsules. A single capsule in a 4inch thick lead container with an barrired exclusion zone around. On arrival at the hospital, the pot would be opened and the patient would pod said capsule in their gob.

 

[ufkacbln]

I used to work @Amersham International, looking after the Health Physics of the packaging and despatch of Radioiodine capsules. A single capsule in a 4inch thick lead container with an barrired exclusion zone around. On arrival at the hospital, the pot would be opened and the patient would pod said capsule in their gob.

An accomplice...........

 

[jessand]

I had mine nuked 7 or 8 years ago and, after about 12 months during which the dosage was increased several times, I reached the 'correct' level of Thyroxine. May well be different with cancer but when overactivity is corrected with the radioactive iodine it takes several months to settle down. It seems to continue working until it tails off which means larger doses of thyroxine are needed. I used a HRM as a guide as to whether the level was about right (probably totally misguided!). Once sorted it's fine and I've been cycling for years completely normally. I think OP needs to talk to their consultant about it. I'd certainly recommend the HRM though, it's good to keep an eye on things.
I'd probably be inclined to to do a bit of gentle cycling and see how it goes, you may be surprised - but it's your call obviously. Good luck.

 

[david k]

It can be difficult to get your thyroxine levels right, took me a while and you can feel very very low while you find the right dose.
My thyroid level was the highest ever seen at my doctors, not sure what that was but it was very very high, the radio iodine cured it, apparently it was a big dose at Liverpool hospital, but when settled alls good
My issue has been my irregular heart beat , now that's looking good also I can get back drinking, I mean riding again

 

[ufkacbln]

I had mine nuked 7 or 8 years ago and, after about 12 months during which the dosage was increased several times, I reached the 'correct' level of Thyroxine. May well be different with cancer but when overactivity is corrected with the radioactive iodine it takes several months to settle down. It seems to continue working until it tails off which means larger doses of thyroxine are needed. I used a HRM as a guide as to whether the level was about right (probably totally misguided!). Once sorted it's fine and I've been cycling for years completely normally. I think OP needs to talk to their consultant about it. I'd certainly recommend the HRM though, it's good to keep an eye on things.
I'd probably be inclined to to do a bit of gentle cycling and see how it goes, you may be surprised - but it's your call obviously. Good luck.

Depends on the condition

One example is a nodule that is uncontrolled by the body

Not only is it kicking out too much hormone, but the level,of hormone in the blood has closed down the normal gland tissue

In this case the radioiodine is only taken up by the nodule, however as it stops functioning, the normal tissue stats up again over a period of time, so you are trying to balance the synthetic no natural hormone levels

However (again personal,experience may vary) Thyroxine is better toleratedhas better control, and has less side effects than other drugs such as Carbimazole which is used pre treatment

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I had radioiodine treatment 3 years ago to 'cure' my Graves Disease (variant of over-active thyroid) and take 100mcg Levothyroxine daily.

Can't say I notice any issues with either my cycling or hiking/climbing now that my dose has stabilised and I am 'in range' within the various parameters of my annual test.

Only thing I have noticed since my RI treatment is that my eyes can feel quite dry from time to time.

Only other thing is that I miss is being able to eat heaps of food without putting on heaps of weight.