Post Viral Blues

[RoadRaven]

I know it was a very loooong letter and hence a very looooong post to read... I did consider editing it to be a little shorter...

Glad it was a useful story... a good warning/reminder for us all to listen to our bodies before we exercise...

I think there is some study/research to show that fitness, when linked with weight loss, can be linked to sickness. Stange i know, but its to do with how much reserve our bodies carry to fight infection, and as atheletes get fitter BUT ALSO LIGHTER... they become more susceptible... there is less body mass to fight off those unwanted sniffles etc and it is more likely to turn to a secondary infection because of less body mass, and also because atheletes diet does not help in fighting illness...

Wishing you all wellness and fitness

[mary9761]

I KNOW what that individual went through with the cardiac procedure was NOT pleasant. Days after the first photo in my weight loss pics was taken, I was in the hospital going through the very same thing. At one point I felt them touch a heart muscle and to say the least it was very alarming. Good news was albeit I came into the procedure a different route, just not feeling good for some time, having chest pains, heavy sweats etc but NOT being active, there was nothing wrong with MY HEART!
It was a wake up call by my body when I couldn't hold my new Grandson (now 2) and breathe at the same time, I'd be out of breath walking across the room and drenched in sweat just holding the baby. I'm now taking care of 2 small children at the same time and other than stress, I'm feeling GREAT!!

[LBTC]

What a scary story! Definitely worth checking into things, and resting when we need to!!

Googlie, have you thought about if you have any allergies? I had a similar problem this spring, although I felt "under the weather" probably even more frequently. I had all the tests: thyroid, diabetes, kidney, iron, etc....everything returned "normal". On my own, despite what the medical community could figure out, I discovered I'm allergic to ginger, of all things! And there I was, all spring, every time I got a sniffle or anything, I ate more ginger to kill the bug!! Silly me, I was poisoning myself!

Anyway, ginger free has meant very few illnesses since then. A whole lot of other things (including at times just not feeling like it) have kept me off my bike much more this year than I'd hoped, so I haven't proven yet that no ginger and training hard will work, but I'm really hoping for it!!

Just another avenue to explore! I agree with the others, too, though. If your body needs a rest, give her a rest!!!

Good luck,
Namaste,
~T~

[Trek420]

RoadRaven wrote "I think there is some study/research to show that fitness, when linked with weight loss, can be linked to sickness. Stange i know, but its to do with how much reserve our bodies carry to fight infection, and as atheletes get fitter BUT ALSO LIGHTER... they become more susceptible... there is less body mass to fight off those unwanted sniffles etc and it is more likely to turn to a secondary infection because of less body mass, and also because atheletes diet does not help in fighting illness..."

Not weight necessarily.

I also read something similar, my understanding is it has to do with white blood cell count. On the one hand as we increase endurance we get a healthy red blood cell count. Aparently it "crowds out" the white blood cells which have to do with immune system.

I read this in some coverage of the TdF, the racers have to be very careful on flight over there, in the time shortly before the race theu are very susceptable to anything out there. But I think that applies to ultra cyclists, not mere mortals like me.

[Googlie Wooglie]

Allergies ... that's an interesting idea worth investigating. I am going to the doc in a couple of months for a complete physical. I'm turning (gasp!) 30 and thought I should have some benchmark numbers taken. Maybe he'll find something I'm not thinking of.

I know my iron is chronically low despite supplements. I know I have a cold-induced asthma (cold as in temperature). I do feel soooo tired soooo often ... I chalk it up to exercise, and I am not good at taking the rest I probably need. I'll try to make that a priority too.

Thanks for the feedback.

[CorsairMac]

I know I have a cold-induced asthma (cold as in temperature). I do feel soooo tired soooo often ...

are you sure it's just cold-induced asthma? I asking because you could be asthmatic and not even know it. Which means you could be struggling to get oxygen into your system without realizing it. Which would explain the tiredness, also the weakened immune system. You might check your finger/toe nails and see if they have a blue tint to them. Also, do you seem to sigh or yawn frequently? Not all asthmatics are "wheezers". I'm what they call a spasming asthmatic, I don't wheeze but once I start coughing, I can't stop it. I have bad days (which I've learned to recognize by some of the above signs) where I just feel tired, or lack motivation, and on those days I just take some OTC Mucinex to loosen the phelgm blocking my airways and my inhaler. Speaking of, today seems to be one of those days - myyyyyy but my fingernails sure are a pretty shade of blue! lol You might ask the doc about it when you go for your checkup.

[traveller_62]

Allergies ... that's an interesting idea worth investigating. I am going to the doc in a couple of months for a complete physical. I'm turning (gasp!) 30 and thought I should have some benchmark numbers taken. Maybe he'll find something I'm not thinking of.

I know my iron is chronically low despite supplements. I know I have a cold-induced asthma (cold as in temperature). I do feel soooo tired soooo often ... I chalk it up to exercise, and I am not good at taking the rest I probably need. I'll try to make that a priority too.

If your iron is particularly low that will definitely sap your energy levels.

If you are chronically tired (not just after exercise) you may want to ask your doc to check your thyroid levels as well when you go for your checkup.

Rest is also key. We usually don't get as much as we need because we all seem to worry that we'll lose our fitness levels if we take time off. If you don't rest you will get sicker more often-- even with a higher level of aerobic and muscular fitness.

-traveller (who rests on a regular basis )

[DirtDiva]

Personally, I find stress is a big factor. I'll go for months without anything and then, when I just don't have time to be sick, I'll pick up bug after bug after bug.