I know exercise can be counter intuitive with an UAT but I’ve been exercising with no issues 2-3 times a week for 18 months, mostly weight training.
As with most people who exercise I get delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and this goes after 2 days.
The past couple of times I’ve trained I’ve experienced the ache much worse than ever beforeand it’s boardering on pain rather than an ache, it’s also lasted up to a week.
This obviously isn’t right, is this my body telling me to stop?
Has anybody had experience of this & what did you do about it?
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Justliloldme
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I think your body is probably warning you that you're using up your T3 too fast, and conversion can't keep up. Are you on T4 only? Do you have copies of your labs?
I've been on NDT since last November (plus B12 supplements) My last bloods were in May (done by endo, who diagnosed me with ME!). However, since then I've upped my dose - was on 2 grains & went to 2 1/4 in September.
TSH <0.03 (0.2 - 6)
FT3 4.9 (3.5 - 7)
FT4 13.5 (10 - 20)
B12 1080 (180 - 910)
Ferritin 39.1 (10 - 291)
Folate 10.84 (>5.4)
It's only the past few weeks that I've had this problem and I'm not sure whats going on. Looking at this do you think it could be related to the increase in NDT?
Well, your FT3 is stull under mid-range, when most people need it up the top of the range to feel well. I should think you could do with an increase in dose!
I increased by 1/4 in September. I could really do with having bloods done again but my husbands just been made redundant so I'm not in a position to pay for any tests at the minute & the GP will only do TSH.
I've been taking my temperature upon waking for the past 7 days & it's averaging 36.38 so from what I've read that's an indicator I'm under medicated.
I weight train 3 times a week. I used to do more but "things started going pear-shaped" which I guess was me overdoing it (I have Hashi's). I do have good levels of T3 amd T4 and I supplement daily with selenium, magnesium, Vit B12, Vit C, Vit D3/K2 and a B complex every other day.
I used to get frightful DOMS but now get them only deservedly if working a muscle or muscle group in a different way or with low rep very heavy weight. Sometimes it even takes a day before becoming apparent and can last up to 4 days. I work through DOMS at less intensity and it soon goes or just go for brisk walks if it's really bad or some rather testy stretching .
Do you take any workout supplement support? I have found DOMS are pretty much a thing of the past if I sip a pre-workout drink of BCAA powder and l-glutamine powder. Use BCAA as my intra-workout drink and a post-workout protein and l-glutamine drink. All three of these have their fans in reducing muscle stiffnes and soreness. Lots of info on the Web for this and not necessarily from the "bro science" muscle forums!
Also a benefit of l-glutamine is twofold: helps muscles and is good for healing the gut lining if you have "leaky gut" syndrome which is in common with those with autoimmune conditions.
I take mine all in powder form from Bulk Powders. BCAA is in a choice of flavours (all rather sweet I'm afraid) as in its raw state it is not pleasant (like crushed paracetamol!) and the l-glutamine doesn't really taste of anything at all so go for unflavoured. Also drink enough water anyway.....many of us are dehydrated or at least borderline dehydrated. If you feel thirsty, you ARE dehydrated!
I'm also a big fan of having a bit of sloth time in the sauna and steam room afterwards. However if you do the hot/cold/hot/cold thing, I swear that reduces muscle aches. One time the cold shower was out of order so I had to just cool off normally in a recliner and then take a regular shower....the next day I was as stiff as anything and hobbled about like a gouty old carthorse! I do not get this if I brave the cold shower for a good soak. I also haven't had a cold for....well I can't remember when I last had a cold!
Maybe it does work and there is method in my madness!
I quite like the DOMS, I feel like I've worked out properly and it always disappears after 2 days, but recently I've been in agony. I was struggling to walk for 4 days the last time I 'did leg day' & it took 5 days before i could lift my fork to my mouth rather than my mouth to my fork (if you know what I mean!).
Its taking me so long to recover once a week is about all I can manage, I've even had to take a break from my pilates class as I it hurts too much after training & I'm so tired.
I haven't been taking any supplements around working out as I wasn't sure if it would interfere with my NDT & I don't like the idea of pumping my body with loads of different things.
I have tried l glutomine, mainly to curb sugar cravings, but I haven't been consistent with this!
I'm wary as to what is the right thing to take. Your advice here has been really useful & I'll definitely look into it - thank you
Maybe as Greygoose says, you really need to know what's going on with your FT4 and FT3....especially the FT3 since you have changed your dose, to see if you have suspect absorption issues.
My conversion isn't stellar but I'm sure it has improved since I started supplementing with selenium (I take 100mcg as opposed to the usual dose of 200mcg). I'm on levo only and my bloods taken in October were :
TSH 0.61 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.2)
FREE THYROXINE 20.2 pmol/l (12.0 - 22.0)
FREE T3 5.1 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8)
Your iron levels look rather low. Also have you had your vit D levels done? Low D3 and low magnesium (both being low is very commonplace in the population at large and even more so with hypoT's) can make bones and muscles feel "sore".
I'm Hashi's & get a lot of muscle ache. I use magnesium oil. It's brilliant as it repairs & relaxes muscles. I spray 2/3 squirts wherever feels sore just before I go to bed. I also take a Magnesium supplement as well as other supps.
Thanks Paula, I actually ordered some magnesium oil on Saturday! Hoping it'll make a difference. I'm going to look into adding in a few more supplements so magnesium will be on the list. Thanks for replying
I experience this. I'm happy someone else can relate to me, but I'm sad for your pain. I was an athlete and exercised intensely 5-6 days a week for 20 years before getting Hashimoto's. For me, the first muscle symptoms I noticed was an increase in hip/knee stiffness. At first I thought I wasn't warming up enough, I added an long warm up before every workout only to be stiff the next day. Looking back, I think that stiffness was me not being recovered from previous workouts. Normally 3 days after squats my soreness is nearly gone. This has been getting worse for the last few of years little-by-little. This happens to other muscles too, i'm just using squats here as this one affects me the most. Any muscle I work has this issue, but the hamstrings, deep calf muscle soleus, and my lat muscles cause me the most discomfort.
I've tried massage and I've done the TENS unit electric stimulation. They only help cover the pain for an hour or 2. And deep tissue massage in those areas of your soreness will cause you to scream/cry. I even took 6-months off and only did swimming.....but the moment I lifted weights or tried to do hill sprints again it came back. I've read that Hashi's sufferers muscles get changed from Type II (fast twitch) to Type I (slow twitch), I think that that is the result of us not being able to do intense exercise without encountering either an injury or the extreme soreness which trains us with pain to back off. I'm still fighting it. But muscle strains are easy to get with this problem.
I now get extreme soreness after doing a few sets of squats that lasts anywhere from 6-9 days. For someone who can't relate, think back to a time when you took 6-months off from the gym and then one day hit the weights hard. It is like the worst soreness you've ever felt that hits you 2 days after the exercise (DOMS), except this lasts at least a week or more. I believe the autoimmune Hashimoto's is acting on my muscles as well, somehow my cells are not getting what they need. I once saw after sitting in a hard chair a line of bruising where the chair had pressed on the back of my legs during that soreness period which shows me that I have internal bleeding inflammation that is going on after exercise (much more than normal). ****The cells are being torn down worse then normal and they are recovering slower than normal****
I take 5g of creatine monohydrate powder daily, which seems to help a tiny bit (might just be my imagination). I listen to my body and if an area is still sore/stiff I wait until it's not before doing that exercise again. I swim 3 days a week while I'm suffering my soreness to fill in the cracks. I'm still looking for a solution, I don't have med insurance at the moment so I'm limited as to what I can experiment with.
I take 75 mcg of Liothyronine (T3) daily. I don't take any T4 since 6 months ago.
Thanks for sharing your story and also the journal link. Really helpful. I’m thinking of starting a community for athletes with thyroid issues. I bet we will find that there are early, mid, and long-term thyroid disease sufferers and we will have similar patterns in those macro groups.
What I don’t know is, will there be a point where any activity is just too painful?
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I do not get this if I brave the cold shower for a good soak. I also haven't had a cold for....well I can't remember when I last had a cold! 
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