Hyperthyroidism and exercise

[BlueRainArt]

Im different to alot of people who suffer from hyperthyroidism as i normally have hypothyroidism, but have recently had a period of possibly as long as a year when i was hyper due to my dose being too high. This has recently been diagnosed with a blood test and i am now on lower Levothyroxine. My symptoms came on slowly and weren't a problem until near the end, when it got really bad. I lost a lot of weight (35 pounds!) and had increased thirst, urination and insomnia.

But one of the other symptoms i had around this time was GI issues (i have never had stomach issues in my life before, well apart from sickness bugs). It first came on after a vigorous bike ride, where i had bad diarrhea for days afterwards and felt nauseous after eating. Had to take few days off work it was so bad. It settled down over a period of a few weeks and then when i thought i was better, i again did a bike ride and again the same symptoms. Its not just bike riding but jogging as well. Like when i go for a jog, within a few minutes i can feel my stomach being irritated.

I know that hyperthyroidism does cause GI issues but stuff on the internet is quite vague. Has anyone who has suffered from hyperthyroidism had this issue? I realize that it could be something else but would be interested to hear peoples stories.

Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after any dose change or brand change in levothyroxine

How much levothyroxine were you taking

What were the actual results on this previous dose ?

How much was levothyroxine dose reduced by

Dose should never be altered based just on TSH results

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies

Ask GP to test vitamin levels

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

Is this how you do your tests?

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Thriva Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins By DIY fingerpick test

thriva.co/tests/thyroid-test

Thriva also offer just vitamin testing

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

Gluten intolerance is EXTREMELY common with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s)

Being under medicated or temporarily under medicated after vigorous exercise can lead to poor gut function and gut symptoms

[greygoose]

Over-medication is not at all the same as 'being hyper'. If you have Graves or are in a Hashi's 'hyper' phase, your thyroid hormone levels would be a lot higher than you could reasonably expect them to be just taking a little too much levo.

So, what led you to believe you were over-medicated? Just a low TSH or high FT3? Do you have Hashi's?