Training and Hypothyroidism

[Gittit Shwartz]

OK. Thanks all for the input.

I think I have a pretty good idea of how I got to this point. I actually wised up and have been taking really good care of myself lately, which is why it's so dismaying that my condition is getting progressively worse. I quit IFing, stopped trying to lose weight, I don't count or restrict calories or any macronutrient, just eat Paleo when I'm hungry. I don't do any metcon, and except for Capoeira classes I don't do any training when I'm not feeling up to it. Sleep is so-so, I admit.

I actually took an AM cortisol test a couple weeks ago. It was too high, not too low. Don't know how significant that result is but it shows they're still working.

Maybe Capoeira needs to go for now, and more sleep. I'll try that for a couple weeks. Also doing some acupuncture and Chinese herbs so hopefully things will get better.

[Garrett Smith]

Gittit,
If your cortisol was high, barring any other condition (which if this keeps worsening despite treatment you'll need to get more thoroughly investigated), you are in the resistance/adaptation phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome. See here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(medicine)

If you have any family history of adrenal issues or pituitary issues, it would warrant further investigation soon.

The good news is, if you get this dealt with soon, you won't fall into the third phase of exhaustion, which takes a lot longer to get out of...

[Mike ODonnell]

Cortisol high in AM is the natural state....as you need it to wake your ass up out of bed.....it's when you blow it out and it's nothing across the board you are screwed and the damage is more severe. Sounds like you just need a little patience and things should get better.....the body heals at it's own pace, not based on how quick we want it to.

[Garrett Smith]

MOD,
In the "resistance/adaptation phase", cortisol actually gets even higher than it should be. This is the middle phase between normal and adrenal fatigue. Many folks, often nurses or military or shift work, find that they can maintain this chronically elevated cortisol state for years, until the bottom falls out on them and modern medicine has no explanation why, because they only check the adrenals for outright disease (not subclinical low function).

I have one patient with this currently, his cortisol levels are high across the board, all day long. This is not good, but definitely not as bad as crossing the line into the "exhaustion" phase.

I actually think I'm in the "resistance/adaptation" phase currently, due to all the life stresses I've been under lately. My wife and I will both be testing the Future Formulations products on ourselves (I think my wife may be in the early phases of "exhaustion", actually) to get firsthand experience with them.

[Steven Low]

Yup, elevated cortisol is basically "chronic" stress levels and stress on the adrenals. Definitely test it more throughout the day though and see if it stays up.... hopefully not but we'll see.

More sleep, more rest... even though it may seem like too much. Couple a weeks isn't going to be a bad thing in terms of training.

[Mike ODonnell]

Yes....all day elevated cortisol spikes is not a good thing....

[Liam Dougherty Springer]

Wow I bumped into this thread at the right time..... I have been haveing some similar problems.