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Medication for thyroid disease-can it affect freediving?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

basilisladias

find your way underwater!
Mar 27, 2007
105
10
108
Hi guys! It' s the first time I post a thread and unfortunatelly it's about a health problem, after a today's blood test:so, I would like to ask the specialists of our forum how likely it is my ability to freedive and spearfish to be empeded by medication for a thyroid disease. (The test results are: TSH 9,26 μIU/ml and Anti TPO 401,8 IU/ml/ rest of the hormones is OK. More test will follow...)
Thanks...:crutch
 
Hi basilisladias , I don't know the answer to your question and if no one else does either there is still something you can do .
This applies to all queries concerning drugs and medicines , simply e-mail the manufacturer with your question , they should know the effects of their products under all circumstances .
If they don't know , they will find out for you ( they have to ).
Hope this is of some use to you .
 
I would check on the DAN site (DAN Divers Alert Network) and if you can't find anything there I would give them a call or write them an e-mail - they are really good about providing accurate information regarding topics like yours.
 
I would check on the DAN site (DAN Divers Alert Network) and if you can't find anything there I would give them a call or write them an e-mail - they are really good about providing accurate information regarding topics like yours.
Thank you for your answers, by the way DAN site really looks great...even though diving is not to be performed :naughty prior to medical treatment, hypothireoidism doesn't look that bad after all . I will finish the tests first and then we 'll see ...
 
Hi, I have hashimoto, so an underactive thyroid. The drugs are not in any way "bad" for you, you are just replacing the hormones your body does not produce, there is no need to worry about problems from side effects. What does affect your freediving is whether you manage to get your hormones well balanced with the drugs or not, as a underactive thyroid affects your whole body, and so does an overactive one. If you have too much of the hormones, you will notice it, if you don't have enough, you will notice, too. For most people, after some time, they achieve a good balance and feel normal and healthy. For some, it is a lot harder and never really back to normal. Problems with your thyroid will affect your freediving, as it affects things such as heartrate, circulation, how efficiently oxygen is metabolised, etc etc. It can take quite some time to get your body to be back in balance again, but you should be able to freedive fine, although you might notice that sometimes things are different (such as contractions consistently coming much earlier) and that may have to do with something going on with your hormone levels.

On the whole, you need a lot of patience when dealing with this. A great book to read is Mary J. Shomon: living well with hypothyroidism. I really recommend it, it gives you all the information no one else will! Good luck with it, don't worry, you can still enjoy freediving!

Anna
 
don't worry, you can still enjoy freediving!

Anna[/quote]

Thank you annamaria, it's always nice to get advice from a freediver with a similar problem. I will take this book you suggest too. I have had some problems during spearfishing that I practice mostly, ie. (''lack of energy'', feeling cold in the sea when I should n't, etc) before I knew something was wrong...
Have you ever had an hypoxia, caused by a sudden fall of hormones' level:ie. samba or blackout without hyperventilation? Do you think it is possible to happen?
Thanks again,
Basilis
 
With hypothyroidism, you even have the option of 'undoping'! The medication brings your body's metabolism back into the 'normal' range, so failing to take it will cause a very slow metabolism. There are other issues (tiredness, depression, lack of motivation), but if you can get past those, you'd have an advantage ;)
 
Hi, i take eltroxin every day, toroid gland deficiency...

and have been freediving since i was a kid (over 20 years now) so all i can say is that i seem to be doing fine. plus i come from a famliy of doctors, and believe me if one of them could think of an excuse to stop me from free diving they would. So with no guarantees! i guess your pretty safe. :crutch
 
Hi chrismar! I don't know if it is as simple as that (see above, what annamaria mentionned about oxygen metabolism and contractions). But even if hypothyroidism could be a short term advantage for someone let's say before a freediving competition, I would prefer to have normal hormones' level=normal life...I don't like to feel uncertain about the cause of symptoms you 've mentionned (+ abnormal heart beat rate and taking up weight).
 
Hi, to answer your question: I have not had a blackout (actually, never had one) or samba that I would say was directly related to my thyroid problems. I have certainly noticed changes to my freediving, though, which I felt were to do with the thyroid, such as that my dive response has not been working properly, ie not really coming on at all or very late. Also, especially in static, I have noticed contractions coming very early when I have been on a high level of hormones, so close to hyperthyroidism. I have not tried the "reverse doping" suggested above, mainly because it is so miserable to be underactive that I have no desire to do it for any reason. I also think that it would not work, because you just have lots of other problems, such as freezing, getting cramps, feeling physically weak, etc etc. I have generally been more careful diving when I felt that not everything was ok with the thyroid. You really have to look after yourself now, good luck with everything!
 
Don't worry, I know how it goes without medication (my mother takes eltroxyn). My post about a theoretical advantage was, well, theoretical and mostly in jest (hence the wink). Good luck with the diving!
 
I have generally been more careful diving when I felt that not everything was ok with the thyroid. You really have to look after yourself now, good luck with everything!

Hello annamaria, I think that is what I have to keep in mind from now on...

My post about a theoretical advantage was, well, theoretical and mostly in jest (hence the wink). Good luck with the diving!
Thanks chrismar! I think your post was ok, since it gave us another perspective of thyroid problems-freediving. Safe diving to you, too.

Thank you all for the replies!
 
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