Goldilocks and the T3

Okay, I'm not blonde, and to make the allusion more clear the title should really read "...and the Three T's," but whatever.  It's the best I can do.  What I'm trying to say is that adjusting my thyroid meds has lately had me feeling a bit like Goldilocks...this one is too little, this one is too much.

I'm anxiously awaiting the "just right."

I'm on week three (I think) of my second increased dosage of Synthroid, which is a synthetic version of the thyroid hormone T4.  I also take Cytomel, which is synthetic version of T3. I usually take the T3 four times a day, but have always had to take 2 doses together 3-5 hours before a workout in order to feel normal.  (The stuff is prescribed to be taken once a day, but most people find that it's better if they split the dose into 2, 3, or even 4 smaller doses).  When my thyroid levels were low early this summer, I found I had to take 3 of the T3 doses before a workout to feel anything even approaching normal.  Well, clearly my levels are up quite a bit now, because the "3 doses before a workout" turned out to be disastrous on Thursday.

I knew before I started skating that 3 was too much; I was feeling hot and a bit shaky, feelings I recognized from when I first started taking the T3 two years ago.  These are the feelings, by the way, that lead most people to split their doses.  Anyway, I felt lousy during the whole workout, and was abysmally slow.  (And thus, for anyone thinking that perhaps thyroid hormone is a "performance enhancing substance," let me make it clear that it is not.  Too much is just as bad as too little).  And then I continued to feel lousy at my Improv class immediately after the workout.  (A little shout out, here, to my fellow middle-aged-skater-blogger Sharon.  Unlike me, Sharon has a greater purpose in her blog, beyond just relaying skating stories.  She encourages people to take risks, to push their envelope of comfort.  So, taking a leaf out of Sharon's book, when I had an impulse to sign up for a class in Improv comedy--I did. And it's been a blast. So thanks for the push, Sharon!)

So Friday,  I tried just one dose of T3 before I skated.  I've NEVER felt normal skating on only one dose, which is weird in itself; I've never heard of anyone else who has to time their thyroid meds in order to have normal athletic performance.  I suspect that maybe this means that my levels have been sub-optimal all along.  At any rate, I did just fine on the one dose yesterday (although it's painfully apparent that I have skipped many workouts this summer, and done many others at a sluggish pace.  I am out of shape!).  I can do another blood test in a week or so, to see how things look, and then my doctor will modify from there.

In the meantime, I'm still pondering whether to do the North Shore Inline Marathon, and I just got word of the this-year's-version of the Salt Lake City Master's Camp, which I'd love to attend.  So I'm really anxious to get the thyroid stuff "just right," and to get back into serious training!