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Experienced runner feeling exhausted, sluggish, having to take breaks -- why? (Read 684 times)

MrNamtor


    As Spaniel wisely points out, this could be a lot of things, but of the very important things it could be is a heart problem. I had the exact same symptoms just before they replaced my aortic valve with an artificial one and I had triple bypass surgery.  Get to the doctor now.  Spareribs

     

    Didn't see this before i posted. But yeah, this^

    Hedgehog25


      Time for an update. So to recap, I felt like crap (as I had been for the last few months) during the 5k I ran Saturday before last (about 1.5 weeks ago), and the day after that, I also felt bad and had to take several breaks. However, on the third day after the race, I started my run, kept expecting to start feeling exhausted and having to take a break, and yet, the extreme exhaustion never set in. I ended up taking one break during that run, but it wasn't because of feeling extremely exhausted. The next day, I ran a very hilly route that I haven't been able to complete without stopping since January, and I made it through with, again, taking only one break (and I probably could have done without it). Ever since then, I haven't had to take a single break during any of my running routes and I am *almost* feeling "normal" again.

       

      What gets me is that the illness (?) seemed to "peak -- on Feb. 21st, after feeling bad for about a month, I felt worse than I had ever felt during my run and ended up throwing up later in the day and feeling like I had some sort of stomach virus. For almost the next month, I continued to feel how I described in my earlier posts, and suddenly, two days after doing that 5k, I just felt better.

       

      I have continued taking the iron that I mentioned I was taking in my earlier posts, so that could be why I'm feeling better. However, I'm starting to lean towards the theories that some here have proposed regarding me having developed some sort of heart-related viral infection, because even though I've been feeling better for the last week, I will still feel random fluttery heart palpitations during my run and sometimes when warming up. Some of you may recall that I didn't start experiencing the heart palpitations until about a month ago (when I started feeling really exhausted during my runs).

       

      So now I'm basically feeling "normal" again aside from infrequent palpitations. Do you guys think it will still be necessary to visit a doctor?


      Feeling the growl again

         

         

        So now I'm basically feeling "normal" again aside from infrequent palpitations. Do you guys think it will still be necessary to visit a doctor?

         

        Yes.  If you really do feel you had a virus affecting your heart, feeling better does not mean you are better.  I knew someone who did have such an illness.  He ended up with a heart transplant and died 15 years later when he was not even 50.

         

        There are so many things this could be, but if some of them have the potential to be very serious I'm not sure why you have not gone in yet...

        "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

         

        I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

         

        northernman


        Fight The Future

          I'm starting to suspect this is a troll. Unclear why you would ignore your body shouting at you that something could be seriously wrong. There are a whole bunch of different things this could be, some of which would make it quite likely that you could get to experience sudden death during a hard or easy run. These are the sorts of stories that the Doritos eaters love - previously perfectly healthy young long distance runner drops dead at the end of a marathon. It's like Man Bites Dog, always a fascinating news article.

          Instead of asking and ignoring faceless anonymous people on the internet, why don't you ask your parents or kids or spouse, or close friends if they would mind having you possibly drop dead from a serious problem, or instead would they suggest you take a few hours and spend $100 to get it checked out.

          LeighDS


          Live Free & Run

            Go to a doctor before you run again. Seriously. If its nothing, then you'll know. But if its something....

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            MrNamtor


               

               

              There are so many things this could be, but if some of them have the potential to be very serious I'm not sure why you have not gone in yet...

               

              Fear. Very understandable. I'm the same way, but it's stupid.

              Hedgehog25


                My reluctance to see a doctor essentially comes down to me being told not to run anymore. When I was a young kid, I was always naturally skinny, and when I was in 6th-7th grade, I was one of the kids who was eating the same portion sizes of the same foods the other kids who never exercised were eating, and even though they stayed skinny, I started rapidly gaining weight. By the end of 10th grade, I was about 190 pounds (5'11"), so I was getting close to becoming bona-fide FAT. During that summer/fall, I started running and slimmed down to about 150 pounds, which is what I weigh now (most people do not believe I ever was/could get fat). Honestly, I think the best times of my life have generally been since I started running, so I don't want to stop running and gain weight (which I would do, especially since my natural BMR is only 1700 -- I had it assessed at a university). Also, I generally love being outside and getting fresh air and tend to feel kind of foggy-minded and "blah" if I don't run, so I'm not sure if I could follow a doctor's advice to not run (even if it was a life-or-death matter -- I'm not married and don't have kids, so it's "whatever" to me).

                 

                The upside is that, during my classes the other day (I'm a nursing student), we were learning how to assess patients' vitals, and when we listened to our fellow students' heart sounds, my teacher didn't hear any murmurs when listening to my heart beat. At least that means the chances of having a valve issue are lower (assuming my teacher is right -- she used to work as a cardiac nurse in a local hospital, so I would hope so).

                  My reluctance to see a doctor essentially comes down to me being told not to run anymore. 

                   

                   

                  Back when I started running, I went to a doctor who said exactly that.  The second doctor, a year later during a routine checkup, was a similar type of quack.  Then I found a clinic where the doctors are all fit.  They matched me up with one who was a cross country skier and who had run a marathon.  Much better.

                   

                  If a doctor tells you to stop running, ask why and pin him/her down.  If the doctor start writing a prescription, ask what it is for, what are the side effects, and (most important) if it is intended to cure something or to just make you feel better.

                   

                  If a doctor tells you to stop running, you are free to ignore that.

                   

                  If a doctor tells you to stop running, (s)he knows nothing about sports medicine.  Find a real doctor.


                  Jess runs for bacon

                    Find a doctor that is also a runner. Then if they tell you that you can't run, they mean business. I did that with my ortho.

                    xor


                      >> If a doctor tells you to stop running, (s)he knows nothing about sports medicine.  Find a real doctor.

                       

                      Hmm.  I guess that depends on the type of complaint.  "Bad knees" and whatnot... maybe.  But for something like this?  I dunno.  "Stop running" (temporarily) might be the proper answer if the diagnosis is DVT or some types of infection.  (then again, it could be "slow down your training runs", etc etc).

                       

                        Hey, Stevie Ray, good to see you around. Hope you're doing OK.

                          You started this thread two weeks ago. Please go see a doctor. For peace of mind, if nothing else.

                          Hedgehog25


                            Another update -- during my nursing classes earlier, my teacher listened to my heart with her stethoscope for an extended period of time and said that she heard no murmurs whatsoever and that it is extremely unlikely that I have any valve issues -- however, she did note that my resting pulse was high (112 BPM) as well as my BP (144/80) and that my heart beats were hard and forceful. I have also noticed during running that, in addition to the exhaustion, it feels like my heart is beating faster even though I'm being forced to run a slower pace (I think I mentioned this in my first post), and when I'm done running, my heart is almost always still beating fast like it is when I'm running for up to 30-40 mins. after I'm done.

                             

                            The teacher thinks it is mild hyperthyroidism, which would also explain why my legs get weak and shaky feeling when I'm finished running (especially if the route included lots of steep hills). Going to see about getting some bloodwork done at a local clinic....

                            xor


                              You started this thread in mid-march.  GO. TO. THE. DOCTOR.

                               

                              TJoseph


                                You started this thread in mid-march.  GO. TO. THE. DOCTOR.

                                 

                                I am pretty bad about going to the doctor myself, but +1 to this!  The doctor will be a better source of information than random people on the Internet or even your nursing instructor and they can't give you any treatment without your consent.  You have nothing to lose except a few dollars for an office visit.

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