Get well to exercise - not exercise to get well

[Danielj1]

having for me had the leanest spell possible aerobically over 2022, I have delved into much gentler stuff like walking and yoga to keep me mentally going.

What has been the best progress though has been on getting TSH down from over 3 to around 2 (was stubbornly stuck for a couple of years) - and sorting out diet and sleep.

Today I rejoined the gym and put my healthier self to the test with a 60 minute treadmill hard run without stopping and flew through it without stopping and feel great afterwards.

It makes me think all the times over the prior years I had tried to get myself well by getting more and more fit aerobically - which was with the benefit of hindsight doomed to fail as the extra stress was simply not being managed with a weakened thyroid.

So very late on in the day I have learnt lesson number. 1 of hypo recovery -get as well as you possibly can with all the best supplements/ balanced thyroid outcomes/ great sleep patterns/ flexible physiology (yoga) and then stress your body a fair bit to start getting fit aerobically and surprise surprise it all stands up to it.

Funny business this thyroid management-

[Buddy195 Administrator]

I’m so glad you feel well enough to rejoin the gym Danielj1. I’ve been better health wise since swapping running for spinning and for prioritising stretching. I’m also finding Pilates is helping me relax / breathe if I’m feeling anxious at all. When Hashi symptoms flare I’ve learned not to push myself and go very steady. Wisdom seems to come with age!

[Danielj1 in reply to Buddy195]

many thanks - i really only post these updates to offer a glimmer of hope to those starting out on the recovery journey - when you have a TSH through the roof (as I did) and a very slow path to optimal thyroxine dosing and the paraphernalia of all the supplements and the rest it is slightly overwhelming - but crikey for all the pain and effort you can reach an improved position that was not conceivable at the outset …