According to Omar Minaya, because this is a ‘personal health issue, not a baseball issue,’ the team doctors requested they be cautious and so Reyes will refrain from baseball activities until they get the results of the test.
Minaya says the team’s Florida doctors cleared Reyes during yesterday’s physical, but their team doctors in New York later double checked and requested further testing, and so he’s traveling back north.
Minaya also said Francisco Rodriguez has yet to be cleared of pink eye, but is expected back soon.
Original Post at 11:10 am:
The Mets told reporters there may be an imbalance in Jose Reyes‘s thyroid levels, so he’s on his way to New York for testing on Monday.
They say it could be 48 hours before the team gets his results.
Reyes said he feels ‘good,’ but they feel he may have an overactive thyroid.
He said he can’t play baseball, or ‘do anything,’ until he hears back from doctors; which is a shame, he explained, because he feels fine, and says he hasn’t experienced any symptoms.
… i feel badly for him, he looked worried when talking to reporters, since this has nothing to do with his leg… that sucks, man… what’s worse, it keeps him idle and off the field…
OK, that explains things! Get well, JOSE JOSE JOSE!!!
he should be fine…speaking from experience here – he should be just fine; they can level that out with meds and he’ll be good to go.
Not only that, but it CRITICAL that if he does have an imbalance that it be treated. Everyone complained last year of the Mets being absent minded, I’d rather hear in 48 hours that they were A. correct and they are are prescribing medication which is how this is handled, or B. the screening was inaccurate and all is well.
The only thing I will never understand is, are there no hospitals in Flordia?
If he has this issue and gets on meds, how long will it be befroe he can get back to playing ball? Right away, or what happens?
I believe right away.
Honestly I can’t answer that question, but my guess is that other than monitoring for toxicity or reaction to medication it would be a matter of days.
Bengie – with thryoid issues, and im speculating he has an overactive thryoid because he’s full of energy all the time which is the total opposite to one who has an underactive thryoid…
With overactive levels they have to bring them down a bit, this usually involves a few weeks of medication level changes and blood tests…the usual normal healthy range is .4 – 2.0 — im guessing he probably showed above that level and thus the alarm. This shouldn’t be something that holds him out for weeks…he’ll get re-tested – probably have his thryoid scanned with ultra-sound and put on a course of synthroid…then in a week or so they’ll re-test his levels to see how he’s responding.
Personally being I have something in the similiar camp as this he should be perfectly fine in a few days..
not that easy. My boss (cancer / removed) and X (Graves / nuked) had overactive thyroids. It has been a roller coaster since for both. One of the sympotims of Graves is bug-eyes; like Marty Feldman.
Anytime you need to replace a hormone it is a nightmare. I am daibetic and on insulin. I can get my glucose readings every 20 minutes through my pump and continuous monitor. But for T testing it can only be done via blood testing and replacement therapy comes in different types. Everyone is different so type and dosage is a crap shoot and can change fairly frequently. Thyroid blood tests are not normally conducted so this explains the additional blood work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyroid#Treatment_for_Hyperthyroidism
Treatment for Hyperthyroidism
Beta blockers are used to decrease symptoms like fast heart rate, tremors, anxiety and chest palpitations, and are sometimes used to block thyroid hormones. These medications take several months to take full effect and have side effects like skin rash or a drop in white blood cell count, which decreases the ability of the body to fight off infections. Because of the side effects of drugs, many patients choose to undergo surgery or the use of radioactive iodine. Sometimes, radioactive iodine is administered to destroy the gland; the radioactive iodine is selectively taken up by the gland and gradually destroys the tissues. The treatment is very safe and effective.
Individuals that have underactivity of the thyroid gland require hormone replacement therapy. Several types of thyroid hormone replacements are available and all are very safe but need to be taken for the rest of one’s life. Thyroid hormone treatment is given under the care of a physician and may take a few weeks to become effective. [15]
Surgery is often used to treat overactive thyroid, thyroid nodules, and thyroid cancers. The surgery is quite effective but can have a few side effects:
The nerves controlling the vocal cords can be damaged.
The glands that produce calcium can be destroyed and one can develop bleeding.
If the entire thyroid gland is removed, one develops hypothyroidism, which entails taking hormone supplements for the rest of one’s life. [16]
This can be very serious. Let’s hope it is an infection or something that passes.
No offense here Sylow, but Reyes is young, in good health otherwise, and is a professional athlete who is in peak physical condition. I am guessing the people you mention above (your boss/X) fit none of these attributes and therefore should not be considered as comparison points for how Reyes may or may not react to treatment. Lack of exercise, obesity, and age are tremendous factors that negatively impact the body’s ability to right itself in these situations. Thanks.
no offence, but you are wrong. My boss was in his 30s and very active. So was my X. Both were rail thin. Autoimmune disorders are not triggered by obesity. Hyperthyroidism burns tons of calories. You never see a fat Graves patient. It doesn;t work that way. Hypotyhroidism is an underactive thyroid and hypos have weight issues due to their disorder.
Well, if you say so, thanks Dr. Sylow, but you could pretty much claim anything on a blog and we wouldn’t know the difference.
What? Synthroid is a replacement drug. If he is overactive (likely as he is not overweight) they need to reduce his levels. Synthroid increases them. If it is not acute this is via radiation or surgery.
Yes, he would need whatever the opposite of Synthroid is. My mom has an underactive thyroid and has been on synthroid for many years.
That is surgery or radiation treatment. There is no mediucation that exists. They need to shut down his thyroid completely down.
Yeah i don’t get that either. Why fly him up to NY for tests, then back to FL tomorrow to wait for the test results.
Apparantly, Florida doesn’t have doctors and hospitals that could perform tests.
Even if medical care in NYC is way better than FL (I’m sure there are excellent doctors in Florida), that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have the test itself done in FL and then send them to NY to have them interpreted by the doctors there.
The fact that he has to wait 5 days to get the results is completely ludicrous. This test should have been done yesterday and Reyes should get the results tomorrow.
Medical care in NYC way better than FL, and that’s where their medical team is. Here’s the organization’s first test with how they deal with the doctors’ recommendations–and how quickly.
Man, I hope ypour parents didn’t spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on your education so that you caould make the most obvious of pathetic pronouncenments.
The irony here is that you just made 2 errors yourself, Irony at its best.
How ironic.. 100 buccs Reyes NEEDS HGH to help treat this condition..
There is a certain irony in that HGH has been used for thyroid conditions, but the condition that it appears Reyes has would not require that.
i’m just worried that they will misdiagnose a knee injury as an imbalance thyroid.
I’m wondering if they are sending them to NY to make sure the follow-up work is handled by the best doctors since the original bloodwork could have been screwed up. Unfortunately that happens sometimes. If I had a serious condition, I wouldn’t want the doctors in PSL handling it, that’s for sure.
it could be much much worse… its almost like im used to hear bad news coming in from this team.. no matter what the circumstance. i dont even get worried any more. im numb about it all. He will be fine though. This is not a major issue at all.
Thanks Doctor, you didn’t even have to look at the test results!
It’s like people here think that he is flying all the way to NY to have tests done that will determine whether he is healthy or if he is healthy, and to 100% buy that this thyroid thing is the entire truth, after last year’s lie after lie, seems a bit gullable to me.
Whats today’s date? Is it April 1st? I feel like someones playing a cruel april fools joke.
thyroid controls metabolism, I wonder if the energy jose brings to the game in some way reflects an overactive thyroid.
read my reply to Bengie above — you may be right.
hope he is alright, get well jose
So long as this guy gets his Synthroid dispensed properly, Jose will be fine. I should know. I’ve been on this damn stuff for 4+ years. Jose will be back soon.
what roman said ;)
Damn it…I am trying to open this window so I can jump out….
i am not a doctor nor am i a extremist I do have a thyroid person and i have a hypothyroid . as long as he does not have Cancer he be fine. and as far as medication i have to take my hole life it helps he will get good assistance he can have a normal life and won’t effect his day to day playing in the long run if its not Cancer. if it is then he needs to take care of it . if its early it can be treated. i am 49 i been tested over and over so with todays advances he will be just fine.
Ok, how long is the longest recorded case of pinkeye? Isn’t this going on two weeks? Has anyone ever had it longer than a few days?
How about we give Omar a black eye.
kidding by the way…..and yes…when i or my kids had pink eye, we got some drops and in 48 hours we were good to go…but we are talking about the met doctors who probably prescribed flinstone vitamins for the eye.
It’s Pink Eye…of the rotator cuff.
If this was the regular season he would of been put on the DL for pink eye. Crazy.
dude, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised
Haha, we just learned about the thyroid in med school! I think Reyes should be fine, proper medication and diet should be able to control it. Most thyroid cancer (god forbid he has it) also have good prognoses, especially if caught early. Considering all the testing he’s been going through, I’m surprised this wasnt caught earlier. They must have some real quacks there…
I once put a band aid on my son for a scraped knee. I think that qualifies me to be a Mets team doctor.
no
this makes you over qualified.
Sounds like the numbers were borderline and probably weren’t elevated the last time he had a blood test (which was probably months ago back when he had the surgery)
thyroid tests are not ususally done in first bloodworks, they typically require an additional test.
Something in the first bloodworks tipped them off though obviously.
yes, that is the way it works. There is part of the basic blood profile that indicates additional testing is needed. That is why they needed the second test. IT has nothing to do with incompetance or anything else. I am insulin dependent diabetic and thyroid conditions are clustered with IID (both autoimmune) and they never test me unless they specifically ask for it; which I do every two years or so.
Not really, my boss had Thyroid cancer and it is ugly. Graves is another hyperthroid condition that needs radiation. Once you go on any hormone replacement treatment it gets very difficult. I am on insulin and my X had Graves (radiation).
Full Thyroid profiles aren’t usually done in the standard blood profile. There is a test in the standard that indicates there is a possible thyroid problem and additional testing is needed to determine what type. I am IID and get blood / urine work done quarterly.
He’ll be fine and ready to play in a couple, Mets are just being extra cautious with him which is the right thing.
I’m just throwing this out there. Although hyperthyroidism can be a common genetic condition, chronic use of HGH has been shown to cause thyroid problems.
Yup….what i have been thinking. I dont trust the Mets. I think they are hiding something, as usual.
Just out of curiousty where exactly do you get that, most everything I have read in regards to thyroid (which consequently was prior to anything in regards to Reyes) suggests nothing of the sort and that doctors have focused research on HGH as fixing not causing thyroid problems.
Anebolic Steroids on the other hand have been shown to cause thyroid problems.
There is a therapeutic use for HGH for thyroid function. The dose of HGH is determined by routine monitoring of TSH andT3/T4 levels, Chronic abuse of HGH without monitoring of the dosage effects on TSH and T3/T4 levels can lead to thyroid damage.
I have a Masters in Reproductive Endocrinology, The chonic effects of HGH on the thyroid was from something I read online. I’ll see if I can pull up the reference.
chronic use would suggest long term use, long term use of HGH would produce Barry Bonds, not Jose Reyes on the DL and burning out in Septembers of 2007 and 2008.
Yeah, exactly what i thought at first… it’s too much of a coincidence that he’s being questioned about the HGH Doctor last week, and now he has a thyroid condition (which can be caused by HGH use). I have a bad feeling about this…
Even if he’s cleared to play by doctors, are we eventually looking at a 50 game suspension???
They don’t test for HGH, so even if he used it nothing can be done. They are going to test to see if he has the problem not what casued it.
The Mets would be the first team to get their own player busted for something not even tested for…
lol
My guess is that all that energy Reyes brings to the table is part of the entire mutant package that he is (I say this in a positive manner).
I read an article once about how Lance Armstrong has a number of mutant-like body traits that make him the perfect storm for endurance sports. He has an abnormally low heart-rate, a larger heart that is more powerful than most, the ability to recover muscles much faster than most humans and more efficient breathing and oxygen use. These elements alone would often be called defects, or at least mutations, but at the same time they can have impressive results.
Reyes has more energy than most people, and faster twitch muscles than most people. If you measure body chemicals of a guy like Reyes you might find that chemicals and hormones associated with a super fast metabolism and speed might be found in higher quantities.
I wonder if these higher thyroid levels are something new (based on his historical blood samples) or if this is really just the first time they checked them.
The same in regards to the great racehorse, Secretariat. When Secretariat died and they performed his autopsy, they discovered his heart was 2 1/2 sizes larger than the average racehorse’s. A freak of nature. This allowed him to run the way he did.
Calm down, ladies. I’ve been hypothyroid for the past 15 years. I take Synthroid for it and have blood tests twice per year. The doctors check for the level of TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone, in my blood. If its too high, then my medication is increased. It is not life threatening or even dangerous. An underactive thyroid, however, can affect your energy level. If Reyes is hypothyroid, he needs to take Synthroid daily and he will be fine.
He is likely hyperthyroid which can be life threatening. Hyper and Hypo are vastly different disorders, causes, and treatments. Insulin Dependent Diabetes and Insulin Resistant Diabetes are not even close to the same disease yet both are diabetes.
He is not most likely hyperthyroid. He is not most likely anything. He has had no signs or symptoms of being hyperthyroid dude. He is not losing weight, he is not overanxious, nervous, or easily fatigued after working out. He has had one elevated thyroid function test. Going by what the FL docs read it was probably slightly elevated maybe just on the higher side of normal. The key is that this is SPRING TRAINING. That’s why the NY docs wanted to see him now. Make sure there is nothing serious going on or about to go on. Once the tests come back then they will decide if he needs meds or anything at all. It’s probably nothing but its the probably that they are testing for. Calm down folks he’s gonna be fine. If I am wrong I’ll be shocked.
seriously Sylow you are jumping to conclusions all they said at this point is they want to do the further tests because they saw some inconsistency.
Part of me says to calm down and not blow everything out of the water. Part of me says that there is not going to go the way we all hope and that Jose Reyes will be out for an extensive period of time.
Oh there you are Mr. Mack Truck it’s been a while since you’ve run me over!!!
What kind of voodoo strain of pink eye does k-rod have? damn it seems to be lingering a while
ok – is this something for us met fans to worry about – will this hold him back from starting opening day?
Listen Peeps my wife and I are nurses and lets put this issue to bed once and for all. The simple answer is that he had some sort of infection that caused some inflammation of the thyroid gland. This probably was on the silent painless variety since he has never complained of pain at the site. This inflammation may be the precursor of a bigger problem later in his life that he will have to watch out for but for now if there was an infection that caused it of an either bacterial or fungal variety the cure would be to fix that problem. However, if he has hyperthyroidism he will have to be put on PTU or Tapazole. Usually with people who are healthy (check), young (check), and compliant (check since we Jose will be if it comes to that) there are usually no problems. He has maintained his usual weight, he hasn’t complained of fatigue after exertion as you can see when by him hitting, running, and fielding after his tests and throughout spring training, and it was the blood tests that showed an elevation not a goiter which would have been seen on exam a long time ago. So to summarize, since we don’t know how high his levels are there is no reason for anyone to speculate any further. This will probably turn out to be nothing though. Jose is a healthy young athlete who has almost 0 risk factors for hyperthyroidism. What are they you ask? Well the most common risk factors are being over 40 which he isn’t and being a woman which of course he isn’t. I hope that clears things up a bit. Get well soon Jose.
Please let this be nothing. Please don’t let there be another communication about something else showing up in his bloodwork. After the last few years of bogus reports and all the cloak and dagger crap, I unfortunately don’t believe anything from the medical staff, and front office.
Let’s see, there are no doctors in the US. Therefore it is necessary for all of these top athelets to go to a doctor in Toronto. Who now is under investigation. Then all of sudden Jose needs to have a physical and miss a spring game. Now, he needs to go to NY for furher tests. Hmmmm???
All why KRod is MIA for weeks with pink eye. Another hmmmm????
I hate to be this cynical, but afer the last few years of being lied to I don’t think I have much choice. Sure hope I’m wrong!
The Krod thing is a bit ridiculous but unfortunately common. He probably had the viral form which there is no medication that will fix it. Only time will cure it.
Robert McConnell, co-director of the New York Thyroid Center, said Friday that Jose Reyes’ thyroid condition is not serious and can be treated.
“I wouldn’t think he should be inconvenienced for more than a few weeks or a month or so,” McConnell said. “This should have absolutely no long-term affect on his career.” Still, a month without Reyes will hurt the Mets significantly and will put a big dent in his fantasy value. The 26-year-old shortstop is on his way back to New York to undergo further tests.