Topic: How many of you became sick at the peak of your physical fitness?
btmb03
Unregistered
posted
I'm wondering if there's any connection between fitness level/stress and this illness.
I'm talking about sudden onset - you know, working out one minute, bizarre symptoms, sick another.
I recall reading something about suceptibility to HGE and levels of cholesterol, wondered why so many of us were at the "peak" of physical performance then crashed.
cactus
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posted
I did too.
-------------------- �Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?� - A.A. Milne Posts: 1987 | From No. VA | Registered: May 2005
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posted
The same happended to me! I was a marathon runner and had the best racing season of my life. Right before I got sick I had a physical and my cholesterol jumped 40 pts - really weird b/c I was eating healthy and exercising. Now I am lucky if I can jog a mile.
Posts: 379 | From Sydney, Australia | Registered: Nov 2008
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posted
same thing happened to me.. ran my all time longest distance.. 11.5 miles and towards the last minute , crashed and wasnt the same since...
Posts: 245 | From East Brunswick, NJ | Registered: Oct 2008
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METALLlC BLUE
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posted
I was a bodybuilder and runner. My disease manifested immediately though the decline in severity grew and was intensified severely by exercise.
-------------------- I am not a physician, so do your own research to confirm any ideas given and then speak with a health care provider you trust.
Ocean
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Member # 3496
posted
Interesting, me too! I'd just competed in the State Track meet in the 4X400 the month before I got sick, also was a competitive gymnast, cross country, ect.
This is so sad that this has happened to so many others, it was just devestating to me (course that was just the physical, THEN the anxiey and depression slapped me flat).
posted
Ditto. Ran a 1/2 marathon, and then became sick.
-------------------- Severe neurological problems. Probably sick for years. Became chronically sick in Aug 2007. Undiagnosed for another 15 months. Started treatment for lyme and bart Sept. 2008. Improving, but very slowly. Posts: 515 | From washington dc | Registered: Aug 2008
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TerryK
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posted
Interesting thread. This is the first I've heard of a physical fitness connection.
I was doing heavy aerobics 3-4 X's per week when I got sick. I also hiked and played sports. I was very muscular and in great shape.
The first thing I noticed (besides bizarre weight gain and no periods) was that during work outs, my pulse would climb very high. Something that hadn't happened before. I think my blood pressure was falling at the same time but I didn't know it then.
There could be several other reasons that I got sick though. I had a lot of dental work the year before when I had almost no dental fillings before that.
My company moved into a new building that I swore had mold problems. They left the panels off the celing in my office for a long time which I thought might be making me sick.
I was also under a lot of personal stress during that time.
posted
Me too - had just geared up after turning 40 for Masters Cross Country and then fell ill...
-------------------- Increasingly ill over past 10 yrs; treating since October '08. Posts: 180 | From Philadelphia, PA | Registered: Oct 2008
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Hmmm..extremely interesting posts. Someone (I think on this board but I might be wrong) had posted an article about CFS and Lyme patients being couch potatoes *before* getting sick.
NO WAY I wanted to shout - you guys were super athletic, leading full and active lives.
There *got* to be some connection - I've never heard it mentioned in articles..maybe intense exercise is like stress..too much cortisol or some other connection makes us succeptible?
Keep the responses coming guys, it inspires everyone else too to know they're in the same boat...when I see someone "power walking" I could just cry...but I guess that's normal.
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seekhelp
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posted
Me too...ruined my life back in '97 IF Lyme is the cause. Had Mono in Nov 1996 and life sucked afterwards....just lost a ton of weight and worked out 6-7 days a week then. So depressing. Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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sutherngrl
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posted
I think it is the stress connection. I was also active, not to the extreme, but I walked and played golf; but I also had an extreme amount of stress going on in my life at the time.
I was pushing myself in so many ways back then, working 8 hours a day, playing golf every weekend, renevating the house, travelling and also dealing with a problem adult child. But I felt good physically and then wham! Woke up one morning ill!
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Yep same thing for me. I was very physically active playing sports or working out almost every day.
I was in college at the time living a not so healthy lifestyle of beer and more beer but i was still working out and playing sports more than i ever had before in my life.
Ocean
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Member # 3496
posted
Seek,
Weird because I have read of several people in OH/MI area who got sick in 1996 (me included) and were diagnosed with 'Mono', then later learned that it was Lyme.
Was there something going on that year/summer with the ticks?
Man, it sucks so bad that I can't do anything anymore. Over the years, my mom and sister (both runners) would tell me I just needed to get out and exercise, course we didn't know it was Lyme.
I hate this so much, having a rotten self pity party today.
I had just completed the 3 day breast cancer walk, 60 miles, and then shortly after ~got sick.
However, I was also pushing my self to be perfect! I was the energizer bunny, not resting until EVERYTHING was perfect and complete in my (and my kids) world!
High self-induced stress was what caused my finaly downfall in Dec. '06..
Never the same since! There's GOT to be a connection!
Posts: 232 | From MN | Registered: Jul 2007
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I think that training, aerobic or anaerobic, when done at too high a level of intensity, keeps the immune system on a very delicate high wire. All it takes an additional stressor, be it overtraining or a physical or emotional insult, and you are in big trouble.
In my observation, way too many Lymies and CSFers were serious athletes of one sort or another for this to be coincidence.
Posts: 845 | From Eastern USA | Registered: Jul 2006
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Ocean and others - with the validation of blaringly positive lyme tests, has that not helped any? The rest of us have dealt with clinical dx often misdiagnosed for years...the usual..EBV, etc.
I know someone is going to come along and say the reasons are probably multi-factorial. True, but then what about say medical interns/residents who get NO sleep, are stressed out, juggling often large student loans, personal lives, etc...
There's got to be something perhaps genetic that is triggered say like MS (recent discovery) where they found a gene on a particular chromosome that got activated in the presence of low Vit D3..leading to demylineation...
To everyone, this thread was not meant to be a downer, we do forget that many, many people have recovered their "lost" lives though perhaps at another level. That might be the key. To be functional..and HAPPY???
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posted
After a personal record pace in a road race I felt "off." Over the next month all hell broke loose. It could be a while before I nail another PR, as Lyme and Co. is a different kind of marathon.
-------------------- enjoy the day.
-jmb Posts: 208 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
Also, indeed the connection between physical and emotional stress is paramount. But exposure plays a role too; when I trained for adventure races trail ultra-marathons, I trained in the woods for 20 hours a week or more.
-------------------- enjoy the day.
-jmb Posts: 208 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2008
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disturbedme
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Member # 12346
posted
Same for me. I was working out 1 to 2 hours daily, aerobics as well as weight lifting before this all happened. I loved exercising and always made it a point to get to the gym. I was physically fit and toned nicely. Now.... not so much... confined to the bed and/or couch after so long will do that to you. Fortunately, I am doing much better but still have a hard time exercising.
-------------------- One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
My Lyme Story Posts: 2965 | From Land of Confusion (bitten in KS, moved to PA, now living in MD) | Registered: Jun 2007
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seekhelp
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Member # 15067
posted
I try to stay positive. It's hard because you don't see a lot of success here. The people who do (Groovy2) almost died to get it...250+ BPM heart rate, 89 deg temps, etc. Scary!!
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
I was and still am very tall and skinny, seems impossible for me to gain weight. Never did much physical activity. Before I got sick I was running 2-3 times a week in the gym for a mile or two. For me I was in the best shape I ever was at the time. When I got sick I continued this for about a year without any improvements in performance and eventually just stopped because it was too much effort.
Posts: 526 | From NJ | Registered: May 2007
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posted
Wow, it *is* interesting to hear all these stories of highly fit athletes getting this illness!
But it still makes me wonder - like many of you, I have so many super athletic friends in this endemic area (PA) who run many marathons & ultras per year and have stressful careers as doctors/lawyers/academics/etc, but they're seemingly fine. There must be some genetic component to being able to withstand the stresses of training & life...
-------------------- Increasingly ill over past 10 yrs; treating since October '08. Posts: 180 | From Philadelphia, PA | Registered: Oct 2008
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TerryK
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Member # 8552
posted
Yes, I agree with jmb, being outdoors where we are exposed to ticks is a factor. Then there are those of us who were infected years before we became severely ill and something triggered the infection.
seek said: It's hard because you don't see a lot of success here.
I don't agree. It does take a long time for some of us to see improvement but most seem to have varying degrees of improvmenet. Stick around, you'll see more as time goes by.
posted
the day this all happened was my personal best running day... 11.5 miles.. at the last quarter mile, i got dizzy and exhausted for the whole night afterwards.. all downhill since then.. that was july 31st , this past summer
Posts: 245 | From East Brunswick, NJ | Registered: Oct 2008
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posted
Its my opinion that its a weakened immune system start up. Whether you were working out heavily bodybuilding, doing a marathon, working 60+ hrs at your job, or recovering from another injury or surgery.
The Bb comes out when you're at your weakest, similiar to mono, EBV, zoster/shingles/chicken pox. Which would explain why someone may be bit one day, but not see the symptoms for months, years later, till the immune system is struggling.
For me, it was right after acl knee surgery, I was very active, doing rehab for the knee multiple times a day, then wham...it hit me the day before thanksgiving...and I havent been the same since.
If the brain endured heavy swelling, encephalitis, meningitis from the Bb, then the recovery of the cns/neuro lyme is even longer. The ease of which Bb can make it past the bbb, during surgery, taking meds that cross the bbb, just be permeation is strong...
I dont really think there is a cut and dry formula for who, what, where, how, when for lyme. ...although the suppressed immune system theory I believe in seems to be the most logical explanation.
Which therein lies the key to recovery..improvemetn of the immune system to the point of the body being able to not only recognize, but also fight the Bb longterm, even when someone has a flu, cold or other physical ailment. However, because youre already weakened, its hard to build back up the immune system without going backwards in recovery. Two steps forward, one step back..
Posts: 514 | From . | Registered: Apr 2008
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
This might explain part of what happens with a heart under stress during a time of infection:
[Post-polio expert] Dr. [Richard] Bruno points out that physical over-activity is the biggest cause of post-polio symptoms. [3] (See Dr. Bruno's "Fainting and Fatigue" in the Spring 1996 CFIDS Chronicle, page 37.)
EXCERPT:
when mice infected with Coxsackie B3 were forced to swim in a warm pool, the virulence of the virus was drastically augmented.
In fact, viral replication was augmented 530 times. This did horrendous things to the animals' hearts.
We all know that to play squash with the flu can lead to heart attacks. Much the same danger can be courted by undertaking hard exercise with M.E. [what CFS is called in the UK.]
. . . . Cont'd at link above.
============================
The most recent treatment guidelines by Dr. Burrascano (October, 2008):
Mitochondrial dysfunction can be a huge factor in lyme. Lyme damages mitochondra. So, as the mitochondria are the tiny energy centers of our cells, this presents a huge factor for energy output.
There are some things to help the mitochondria. Magnesium in one of those. D-Ribose is another. Hawthorn, too, as it helps the heart.
For more about mitochondria, you can search articles at: www.vrp.com and the CFIDS Chronicle as they have had excellent articles about that.
============================
This thread also has some great information about what might be happening to the heart function of some patients who struggle with fatigue (and what can help).
There is a 3 hour video - you can watch free on your computer and many articles at this thread:
Hoosiers51
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Member # 15759
posted
I was in the middle of intense physical activity (playing lacrosse as a mid-fielder) and as I was walking off the field, I had a squeezing in my chest, followed by soreness in my shoulder, similar to what you would feel with a heart attack.
It didn't go away so I went to the ER. They said it was fine. I was never the same after that day though......meaning, I went downhill VERY quickly and was couch-ridden within a week.
But, I had been in a tick infested area 3 weeks prior, during tick season......so it is possible that the exercise wasn't a trigger...who knows. I have always wondered.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Thank you all for telling your stories. It just can't be such a coincidence that we were so physically active when we fell ill...who knows what the true connection is.
Keebler, I will read your links as my brain allows, thank you for them.
I'm also curious how much of one's physical functioning one gets back - I don't mean the marathons or gruelling work outs, just "normal" everyday functioning. Good luck to everyone and thx again for sharing.
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CD57
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posted
My trigger was pregnancy. I had exercised intensively for 12 years prior and then moderately throughout pregnancy. Symptoms came out full blown after baby born. I am back in the gym 3x/week now and I think it's helping.
I know of several people who have had a pretty easy time getting over Lyme who were totally into exercise. I think there's a connection but don't know what?
Posts: 3528 | From US | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
This is an interesting thread. Although I can look back at symptoms that I believe were lyme related now back to 1995, I tanked the Summer of 2006 after I had reached the ability to run up to 12 miles at a time. Started feeling bad and found it difficult to run 3 miles.
Then I started a new job with my company and lost my father in law to suicide.
I believe the physical and mental stress were the cause of this disease to really take a hold on me.
I personally have been treating this disease since July of 2007. It took months like many of you to get a diagnosis. Still battling this thing....
Posts: 25 | From Missouri | Registered: May 2007
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posted
okay gang i feel like i need to weugh in with a contrarian view. this thread wil o coure attrrct people who are in the same boat, i wasn't excercising at al when i got bit..nor was i excering hard when i became acutely sick.
Ironically as part of my recovery i am excericing harder than i have in 20 years. This si for detox and to support the imnune system.
Just thought i would balance out the replies thus far...
Dave
-------------------- On my journey to wellness - One day at a time. Posts: 989 | From NJ | Registered: Sep 2008
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lymielauren28
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posted
I was in good shape and always very active before Lyme but at the time of falling ill I was working about 70 hours a week at a very stressful job and had a lot of other stuff going on.
I was definately burning the candle at both ends and constantly pushed myself to exhaustion.
I also drank alcohol several nights a week and because I was always rushed for time my diet was horrible.
I know all of this contributed to my illness...
Lauren
-------------------- "The only way out is through" Posts: 1434 | From mississippi | Registered: Nov 2007
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lymeHerx001
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posted
now that I think of it,,, me too! Holy Crap! I could never do what I used to, worked on the elyptical 1 hour strait.
Now when I do that my legs kill me all week!!!!!!!
I was really healthy and then crash. Within 6 months.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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shazdancer
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posted
Me too. Though I would have said my peak conditioning as a dancer would have been a decade or more earlier, I was still in very good shape and still performing and teaching full time when I got slugged by Lyme.
Which is why nothing ruffles my fur more than when chronic Lyme symptoms are blown off as the "aches and pains of daily living." The doc who wrote that clearly has no idea what a high tolerance for discomfort many of us had throughout our lives.
-- Shaz
Posts: 1558 | From the Berkshires | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Hey everyone, take the time to read some of the links Keebler provided earlier in the thread
Lots of good explanation why exercise is hurtful to our overall well being. (with lyme that is) Also the most recent guideline from borrescano, which I will print out to review.
I was not an athelete before becoming sick. An active mom, and enjoying life. Now, have had Lyme for 25 years due to misdiagnosis.
My husband also was not an athelete. However, we think he may have had Lyme for some time, but his immune system was keeping it under control
then when they shut down his immune system several times in a short period because he was allergic to the dye they needed for tests, we believe the Lyme took off.
If you think of your body as fighting an infection, then think of the exercise as putting a strain on your body, it makes sense that you cannot drain great levels of energy for exercise, and have the energy left over to fight the infection.
I'm a simple, common sense person, and this makes sense to me.
I don't think the exercise is the trigger for the illness, or that atheletes are more succeptible, except that they may have more exposure if they exercise outdoors.
Rather, once infected, the intensive exercise may take away from the body energy needed to keep the infection in check.
-------------------- Wishing You Showers Of Blessings! Lyme since Fall 1983 = Diagnosed Summer 2008 IV Rocephin 7 weeks Stopped due to drug fever Now doxycycline "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 Posts: 430 | From Sunny South | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
My best friend was an avid runner, 10 + miles everyday plus a bodybuilder when he got very sick about 10 years ago.
He is fine now, he had more of the ensephalitis symptoms, but he can't run 10 steps now without getting violently ill!
I was an avid walker, very active when I got sick also, but nothing like him. He was obsessed!
Posts: 303 | From Jekyll Island, GA | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
Well I wouldn't say I was a peak condition, but working on it. Four separate times before being diagnosed as chronic I ended up getting sick after being a good exercise routine for roughly 2 months. I just starting losing the weight I wanted, felt really good then bam. I am slowly trying to get back into something because I need it. Everything I do is very low impact, but I can still fee the "flare" when I do it.
Posts: 60 | From WI | Registered: Nov 2008
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lymeHerx001
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posted
I wanna push the excersise now, but I just do level one.
I feel like such a wimp and looking young I think people are judging me.
But then again, its really just me judging myself a failure for being sick!
Damn lyme in my brain.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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lymeparfait
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posted
I think the die off from intense aerobic exercise
lymeHerx001
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posted
I think it just causes inflamation and cortisol to go up.
I know allready that the HPA is screwed up and doesnt allow cortisol to return to a normal level one we excercise.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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btmb03
Unregistered
posted
Too many amazing replies to respond to each and everyone - yes, exercise + stress seems to have been a common denominator though through a weakened immune system.
Ironic that our "stress" pathways - HPA axis is so dysfunctional - though maybe for a reason.
I was no athlete though led an extremely active lifestyle. I truly believed I was at the "peak" of my physical abilities...until I was stopped dead in my tracks.
I have not had the chance to read Keebler's posts tho I know they must be very interesting/informative.
I guess I'm hoping that our aerobic systems haven't been damaged permanently and for those of us misdiagnosed for years still have a chance to repair those aerobic pathways.
Some of you have endured a lot stress-wise, I am truly sorry for your pain. Perhaps this is our chance to "re-make" ourselves and forgive those who have wrong us. Peace!
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lymeHerx001
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posted
Forgiveness is huge! You dont know what holding grievances does to you!
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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Bugg
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Member # 8095
posted
Yes, I was at my peak mentally and physically....at the height of my career which I loved and in great shape physically....I worked like a maniac but I loved my career...I often think it's strange that this disease happened at the exact time I felt like my life was at its best.....
Posts: 1155 | From Southeast | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
It happened to me too..I had started running 4 months prior to becoming sick. I was planning on trying a 1/2 marathon with my son. I was in great shape.
He has gone on to run a few marathons and I can't run at all anymore.
Posts: 343 | From North Carolina | Registered: Oct 2008
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