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Exercise and Heat Tolerance

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Posted 7/18/2012 11:10 AM (GMT -5)
I have been having a major problem since a year ago. I have become completely intolerant to exercise. I feel fine while I'm doing the exercise, but when I stop, I feel very sick. The sickness can start immediately or it can take 10-15 minutes to kick in. I mostly feel extremely weak, to the point of having to lie down, but I also can have my Lyme symptoms flare up.

With the extreme heat we've been having lately, I have also discovered that I have no tolerance for temperatures in the 90s or above either. The other day, I was outside for about half an hour. When I came back in, I felt very weak and sick for about an hour. I had been drinking plenty. I wasn't doing any physical activity outside. The heat alone seemed to effect me.

I had my adrenal levels tested recently, and they are perfectly fine. Prior to this, I was able to exercise for an hour without any major problems. This problem started very suddenly. I am not sure what else to check for. As far as my illness, I feel better than I did a year ago, except for this one problem.

I have Lyme, bartonella, and babesia. The bartonella and babesia have not caused any symptoms for over a year.

Does anyone else have this problem? If so, have you found anything that helps?

Thank you.
Posted 7/18/2012 11:19 AM (GMT -5)
Yeah, I know the feeling. Maybe try a gentler kind of exercise? I have minimal problems with yoga or pilates, but much more trouble with cardio. I have a lot of trouble with this, but sometimes I think you have to listen to your body - if it's telling you no you can't excercise, maybe take a break - just be sure to keep on stretching to keep things moving.

Sorry I don't know anything that helps, other than time.
Posted 7/18/2012 12:07 PM (GMT -5)
At this point, I can't even exercise for five minutes. I can't do much less than that. On a bad day, I can't even tolerate a walk. I can't predict how I'm going to feel either. It just hits me out of the blue. It's been 7 months since I've been able to do any real exercise. I'm going a little crazy. I used to be able to run for an hour on a treadmill, even when I was feeling sick.
Posted 7/18/2012 12:26 PM (GMT -5)
I know how you feel - I wish I had a solution! You can look into post-exertional malaise/fatigue - there's been a lot of research on it, though I just haven't really addressed it much myself. I'd probably look at it as a lack of physical energy kind of thing (I only get so much and some days I've used it all up before 9 am!) or a muscle weakness thing, which could be deficiencies or neurological (which could be lyme toxins accumulating).....or maybe just your body's way of saying "I need to rest, period!" Sometimes no amount of perseverence translates into building up stamina, and I know it's frustrating! Hope you find some relief soon!
Posted 7/18/2012 1:37 PM (GMT -5)
Are you detoxing? I know that when I was having issues with detoxing, I couldn't tolerate temps above 80 degrees or below 72 degrees. For some of us, our detox pathways become "stuck" and then are quickly overwhelmed, so we can't detox well at all - combine that with these infections and it's a recipe for disaster!

I couldn't hardly tolerate exercise of any kind for a long while myself, and with treatment and increased detoxing I was able to slowing start doing things again.
Posted 7/18/2012 3:12 PM (GMT -5)
borderlyme - You can probably sense my frustration. I feel better, and yet I can't do anything physically active. I've been looking into the fatigue, but since I don't know what specifically is causing it, I'm not sure what to search for. The weakness hits me like a tidal wave. It's strange that I don't feel this during my exercise. It would make sense if I was getting burned out faster and had to stop earlier, but that's not what has been happening. It's almost like the exercise is causing some sort of herx reaction, but it doesn't feel exactly like that. I also can't explain why it started happening suddenly after being able to exercise so intensely for so long.

Traveler - Most detoxying suggestions haven't worked on me. The only thing that has ever seemed to help is...you guessed it...exercise and sweating. The more stagnant I am, the worse I become. This is adding to my frustration because exercise used to make me feel so good. I've had some problem with temperature extremes because of my hypothyroidism, but it was nothing compared to this. My doctor just recommended Pinella. I'll see if that helps any. It's supposed to be specifically for neuro-toxins, and neurological symptoms have always been my worst problem.

Another interesting note is that this problem happened at the same time that my thyroid went crazy. I've had hypothyroidism for years. I had been on Synthroid for a long time. All of the sudden, I started having major problems with feeling hyper and anxious. After weeks of torture, I finally went to see a doctor. He said I was just having anxiety and prescribed Xanax. I insisted he check my thyroid levels, and sure enough, they were way off. My medication, which had been fine for months, was now way too much. My primary doctor decreased my medication until I had to come off of it completely. Even at the lowest dose, my TSH was too low.

I've wondered if my changing thyroid could be related to this new intolerance problem, but I don't see how.
Posted 7/18/2012 3:29 PM (GMT -5)
I would suggest that you look back in to the thyroid/adrenal issues if I was you. Here is a link from a site that I have used quite a few times for myself, where I entered in the search terms "Heat intolerance". The first post is totally wrong - gluten intolerance - but the rest are speaking about this exact thing. T4 supplements (Synthroid & others) usually don't help for long. Once I changed over to a homeopathic supplement for my thyroid (& my adrenals), I had quite a few improvements! There are prescription thyroid meds that can do a much better job at regulating thyroid function too.

Oops! blush here's that link;
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?s=heat+intolerance&search=

I would encourage you to check out the entire site. It really has helped me to better understand what's happening with my thyroid and my adrenals - which helped me to get to a place where I wasn't suffering so much with those symptoms as well as the symptoms from my tick-borne infections.
Posted 7/18/2012 4:03 PM (GMT -5)
I took a comprehensive adrenal test less than 2 months ago, and they were fine. None of the adrenal supplements I've taken have ever done any good. I'm overdue for a thyroid test. The last test I took said that my TSH was too high again, but it was too low before that. It's been bouncing up and down, and I don't know why. That isn't supposed to happen. I can't tolerate any medications because when my levels go up, it's too much for me. I'll take a look at the web site you linked. I'll also take my thyroid test as soon as I can. Thank you for your help.
Posted 10/11/2012 1:46 PM (GMT -5)
Hello,

New to this site. Have those of you who posted on this forum ever heard of/considered Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)? It is a very unheard of nervous system disorder that prevents the body from being able to properly adjust to the pull of gravity. Many people with it also have Lyme, and symptoms vary greatly from person to person, day to day.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any.

Take care!
Brandi
Posted 5/14/2018 3:49 PM (GMT -5)
Hello I H8Ticks, did you ever improve from your exercise intolerance?
Posted 5/14/2018 5:18 PM (GMT -5)
Hi sgirl11 - welcome!


H8Ticks hasn't been back to the forum for about 6 years...so I'm thinking you won't get a response to your question.

But you can start a new thread of your own...and introduce yourself to us...and ask some questions regarding our experiences with exercise intolerance.
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