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exercise make you sick, too???

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Posted 10/9/2010 10:10 AM (GMT -5)
All,

I keep trying to exercise, but I get so sick and I don't know if it's from Lyme or something else. Does anyone else get lightheaded or nauseated, or abdominal/chest pain with walking or jogging? How about itchy skin when jogging? It takes me hours or sometimes a day or more to feel better. Am I alone in this, or do others ever get this? Some days I do really well, and then some days I feel like I will die.

I appreciate your input.

Thanks.
Posted 10/9/2010 11:00 AM (GMT -5)
I have gotten flu like symptoms when I exercise too. I was told that this was herxing - since Lyme hate heat and exercise and they are dying. The problem is that I really don't feel like exercising when I am sick, so I used to quit exercising.

My doc told me to press thru and exercise anyway, at a lower level, and see what happens. I just began exercising again this week, and not at a level that would make me hot yet. Working up to it slowly.
Posted 10/9/2010 11:10 AM (GMT -5)
Yes. Itchy skin from sweating. And pain in my chest with walking, but seems in my case to be related to water retention (from liver issues), because now that I'm off the IV abx that were making this worse, the chest pain thing has gotten less severe again. And sometimes I get nauseated & light headed when I stand for a long time or if I squat....comes in waves.....really odd...
Posted 10/9/2010 1:38 PM (GMT -5)
read on another site that some LLMDs say it's adrenal fatigue, and others say it is herxing...Curious if there are ANY data...any studies out there to confirm whatever "this" is. It is awful!
Posted 10/9/2010 2:28 PM (GMT -5)
I don't know of any specific studies, but I think it could be either one, or both. Exercise increases body temperature and circulation, and brings more oxygen to the tissues. All of these things can increase die-off, so that can lead to herx symptoms.

Also, if one is low in adrenal function, then the increase in demand on the body during exercise could potentially lead to symptoms. Although, I would think if it was adrenal exhaustion, then the symptoms would be more similar to addison's disease, but I could be wrong...
Posted 10/9/2010 4:02 PM (GMT -5)
I have adrenal issues, and when ever I exercise a little more than my body is willing to put up with, I have a lot of my tick-borne infection symptoms increase -to the point of making me miserable & couch-ridden for several days afterwards.

With that having been said - now with my acupuncture treatments & herbs I have been able to start exercising again!! Not much, but any is better than none!
Posted 10/9/2010 5:23 PM (GMT -5)
I am an ultrarunner, have been a runner for most of my life and have had Lyme for 15 years. I can train for upwards of 70miles a week, and be down to 0miles a week inside a month. No rhyme or reason. I can sometimes run during a herx, and then not run when I am not. Just one more thing about this disease that p*sses me off...

I do get the itchy *thing* when running sometimes...and the nausea as well...but in no reliable pattern. Sigh...
Posted 10/9/2010 6:41 PM (GMT -5)
This illness is really hard to pin down, each person has their own set of symptoms - as it attacks our weakest areas.One person may have a few similar symptoms with another person, but may still have variances within the similar symptoms.

The one thing I have always been able to count on is that my symptoms keep changing - I am really grateful for that some days - especially when I am going through a pain cycle.
Posted 10/10/2010 7:58 AM (GMT -5)
yes exercise can bring out the lyme symptoms, but it's important to keep doing it and not to stop. It can be a herx, but it's a good thing. For me, exercise helped me get well just as much as the meds did. I looked at it like taking medicine. If it takes you a day or so to feel better afterwards then I would exercise every other day. It won't take long, but you should start to notice a difference and it will make you start feeling better and eventually you will be able to do it without getting sick afterwards. start slow and work your way up, but def. keep doing it and it is perfectly normal with this illness to feel worse afterwards.
Posted 10/10/2010 9:18 AM (GMT -5)
wow...this is CRAZY! I wish I could understand it better. I finally felt better last night after drinking a sugary soda and having salty fries with salty ketchup. So, is it really adrenal fatigue- mini-adrenal crisis, with a crash of glucose and sodium levels that causes the awful feeling, or is it due to dying bugs or increased circulating bugs...or something else?! I have felt that it cannot be cardiac in nature, because one day i can feel pretty much fine while exercising, and the next I can feel as though I will surely die. Rawrunner, your post is interesting. I am amazed that you have continued to run despite feeling like "THIS".

Also, if it's adrenal, then continuing to exercise doesn't make sense, because if one is depleted, and exercise depletes one to the point of feeling like death, then further exercise should simply worsen things.
If it has something to do with the bugs, then eventually, al the bugs should be gone, if exercise is killing them. But, if exercise is mobilizing them and one is not on antibiotics, then will one just get more ill?? I hate feeling like an experiment. But, there are so few real studies going on out there, that we have no choice but to experiment with ourselves.

Thanks for the input!
Posted 10/10/2010 10:56 AM (GMT -5)
"I hate feeling like an experiment. But, there are so few real studies going on out there, that we have no choice but to experiment with ourselves."

I agree with you on that, Doc!!! We do have to experiment a bit on ourselves - but that is the nature of this illness.

Up until very recently, I could not exercise at all. I did a little bit of slow walking on my treadmill any time I felt like I won't be setting myself to suffer after doing such a thing - but that wasn't very often. Most of the time back then if I exercised at all, I would at the very least had to really load up on pain killers - both for muscular & nerve pain - and would end up on the couch or even go back to being bed-ridden for several days.

IMHO, it can be quite easy to over-do with this illness, especially if your health has been compromised for quite a while.
Posted 10/10/2010 4:12 PM (GMT -5)
Doc,

If you feel it is possibly adrenal, at least in part, perhaps trying some adrenal support supplements could be helpful...Vitamin B5 + Vitamin C supports cortisol production. Taking this combination can actually result in similar side-effects as Prednisone if taken long enough, but over the short term may be helpful for you. I think the dosing is 500mg Vitamin B5 with 1000mg Vitamin C 3x/day. It may cause insomnia, but if it does, drop the 3rd dose and only take it in the morning and at noon. The Vitamin C by itself shouldn't cause insomnia, so you can still take that in the evening if you want.

Yeah, I'm not fond of the need to be a guinea pig for this darn disease either...it sure would be nice to be able to go to the doctor, get my pack of pills or whatever, and be done with this. But nope, not enough is known to have such a nice, neat package that works for everyone with this disease.

Take care,
Posted 10/10/2010 8:44 PM (GMT -5)
When I was at my worst and bedridden I could not exercise. I would literally force myself to get up and walk 2 minutes on the treadmill at the slowest speed possible. I hardly considered it exercise at the time, but it was a start. I slowly built myself enough to where I could walk slowly for 20 minutes. As I got a better and stronger I was able to walk a little faster, but it was a slow process. 2 years later I was running 3 miles a day and had a person trainer at the gym and was going 6 days a week and was completely healthy.

So, it may feel like a step backwards now when you herx or feel worse afterwards, but if you keep it slow and steady to begin with you can work your way up. And on the days when you are too sick, rest. don't push yourself. It is easy to over do it so pace yourself, but try to keep it up.
Posted 10/12/2010 9:09 AM (GMT -5)
wow...I will try. I still feel sick 3 days after the exercise. It really is hard to understand, because the week before I walked/ran 5 miles on the treadmill at night, faster than I have in a ling time. I think the morning exercise really was so much worse. I never to do that in the morning, but I had a partner who wanted to go, so I went. I am so hesitant to go back to the gym now, at all. But from what all of you have said, I guess I should just keep trying. I do hope to be like some of you and running miles within a few years with no troubles at all. I'll try the vitamins, too, as my diet has been awful since my gut got sick.
Thanks
Posted 10/12/2010 3:01 PM (GMT -5)
Please be very careful!! I know for me that if I push a little too hard, I will go backwards for weeks or even months. I have always gotten back to where I was - but caused myself a lot more misery than I need to have. My suggestion is to take it slow - push a little bit to see if your body is at a place where it will tolerate that level of exercise. Again - no need to be in any extra misery!!
Posted 11/4/2010 3:36 PM (GMT -5)
Your right Traveler, if I overdo I am in bed for a few days. I have always figured the reason i get "sick" when excercising is because my body is weak from fighting disease and the added energy output just increases the exacberation of symptoms. I hate the pounding heart, I usually feel it the day after I excercise. For me excercise is cleaning our house (to an exent ) caring for various animals, laundry for 4 and our washer is in basement and I have to go not just on first floor but upstairs to put clothes away, And going to a grocery store and putting them away is excercise. i do the best i can I doubt it is sufficient, doc keeps saying YOU HAVE TO EXCERCISE, well I do the best I can, When I feel good i take a horse out although i have had to give up taking total care of them w/o help. They are wonderful therapy, nothing as good for the inside of a man's soul as the outside of a horse. they smell sooooo good too, esp the muzzle.
Posted 11/4/2010 4:33 PM (GMT -5)
Giggle!!! Roses, now you are sounding like me!!! I looooooooooooooooooovvvvve the way horses smell!! I used to camp out in our barn just so I could sleep close to my horse as a kid!!!

Now every time I get around horses, Hubby tells me I will have to ride in back on the way home if I roll around in the pasture! **wink wink** Giggle - he's half right!!! I miss the smell of horses & being around them soooooooo much!!!

I had dairy/meat goats for many years as well & I miss going out to milk early each morning & then again in the evening, the smell of the really fresh milk. I really miss that stuff!! We plan on getting some goats again down the road a bit. I want to be relatively certain I can keep up with taking care of more than our 3 dogs & 1 cat before I bring more critters home.

Wow, that was a lot of great memories you reminded me of Roses! Thank you!!!
Posted 11/5/2010 8:28 AM (GMT -5)
goodness i don't know where u live but why not throw in a small horse/ they are being given away around here .  will hubby help a litle on days u are sick or real cold days?   they are a very big part of my not having had giving up/ i have tried to downsize but gosh u can't sell a horse it'd be like selling a kid, if not harder : ) but we have had these 4 well 3 (montana came later) for years,  they each have their own distinct personality and i am just vain enough to love the fact they love me. The biggie here is hubby gladly helps ok does MOST of the work since i can't seem to get better than this present state of being.  i still ride or did this summer,   u hve dogs too?  we also have 2 g.s and 2 cats and a parrot who literally is a pain in the butt, way too smart smart enough to want want want and he will not shut up until u give in or kill him.  little green bald thing (eats his feathers)

was going to see about getting darvicot refilled today even if i have to go in  but my neck is screaming and i don't think i can get dressed,   im disappointed in the neuronotin but who knows.  my thigh muscle is just a jumpin away oh i hate this illness i better go to doc even if i wear sweats or pj pants that don't look too bad.

hope u consider a horse or pony, doesn't seem like it'd be much more work than goats. If they are on your property,

Posted 11/6/2010 1:39 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks for the encouragement, I sent you an email to explain a little further. For the last ten years I have been too ill to have any kind of livestock. I gave it up kicking & screaming about the whole thing, but I didn't know at the time that I was dealing with only tick infections & had no proof that TBI's were the culprit.

Hubby is soooo good to me!! We will be getting goats - maybe this year - but have to kind of wait a bit til the end of winter to make sure I am still improving & not going backwards again before getting them. There is no doubt that he will be right beside me in taking care of our critters!!! I will have the help I need when I feel like I can participate in their care on a regular basis.
Posted 6/14/2016 10:24 AM (GMT -5)
Hi all-I assume that like most everyone one else on this thread I am a chronic Lyme sufferer, who is very frustrated by the idea of not be able to do rigorous exercise like I used to. When I 1st starting dealing with Lyme, I would still be able to do an hour or so on the spinning bike without much of a problem, but unfortunately now that is not the case. I am in the throes of a very extreme Herx, since being on Dr. Zhang's Chinese Herbal Lyme protocol for the past 26 days. It is amazing that these herbs are just as strong as any antibiotic, and the die-off affect is just as intense, if not more so.

I did 12 minutes on the elliptical machine yesterday at a fairly moderate pace, and I felt pretty bad soon after that, and today I woke up with a really bad pressure headache(like someone hammering nails into my head). Does that seem unusual with such a short workout, and do I try do continue to exercise, or do I dial it back to just walking. I have heard comments supporting either viewpoint.

Any comments or thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,

rjb
Posted 6/14/2016 10:32 AM (GMT -5)
I had to ease way back when I first got lyme, most because I was so tired I could not exercise. Once I got my major symptoms calmed down I began to exercise. I did it very little and very slow. Those muscles had not been doing anything for about a month and they were way out of shape. I had to slowly train my body to accept exercise. And I did not want to herx and heavy exercise can cause a huge herx.

I would say up your detox and lower your exercise. This is not a race. Be very methodical in how you exercise and gently move your body to more and more.

Same with the detox. Add a little more and more gently.
Posted 6/14/2016 10:40 AM (GMT -5)
Thanks for the valuable input. In addition to the headaches, I also woke up with nausea this morning-I wonder if that has any relation to the workout.

I will start by walking on the treadmill or he elliptical, and see how that goes. Is the idea not to break a sweat at all, or just perhaps some mild sweating.

Thanks again,

rjb
Posted 6/14/2016 11:04 AM (GMT -5)
The idea is balance. Toxins are released and going out when you exercise. If you have not detoxed enough they will bind up in something..... liver, kidneys, skin, etc. That is why there has to be a ratio of balance in exercise and detoxing (and light exercise is a detox method) to clear pathways for the toxins to get out.

Water with lemon, dry brushing, and many of the other detox methods should be used. All these detox methods can be found in the New to Lyme thread.
Posted 6/14/2016 11:18 AM (GMT -5)
Just chiming in to agree with PeteZa - slow and careful. Dr. Burrascano talks about exercise intolerance when we have Lyme and for those that it causes huge herxes from, should avoid exercising until it passes some due to the herxing that can get pretty intense and that's not good for us.
Posted 6/14/2016 1:04 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks guys for all your insightful input-I am doing some detoxing-in fact I am going for a colonic today.

Just so I know I am not going crazy-it is unusual with Lyme /Herx that a 12 minute moderate workout yesterday on the elliptical could cause such an INCREDIBLE headache today.
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