Post-exercise malaise

[Gary836]

I suffer from post-exercise malaise and fatigue three hours after, and the next day after, modest exercise, i.e., a slow 20-minute jog. or a slow swim of 8 lengths in a pool. I try to do one or the other every two or three days. My doctor doesn't know what it is, and referred me to a sports medicine doctor who did blood tests doesn't know what it is either. Is the immune system being suppressed? What can this be? Should I see an endocrinologist? It's getting in the way of leading a productive life.

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

You need to calculate mineral levels of your body and connect it with fatigue and malaise.

You should always take the required calories for your age. You should have healthy breakfast before you exercise. Discontinue exercise if you continue having malaise till you are diagnosed properly.

You need to also do your blood work done, blood pressure estimated and follow up with your physician for proper diagnosis of your case.

Take care!

[Gary836]

Thank you so much for your reply. I am going to ask the sports medicine physician what all was looked at in the blood and urine analysis that he ordered (I can't remember, but there were about 8 or 9 values). We did one before exercise, i.e., after a week's rest when there was no malaise, and a post-exercise analysis, when the malaise was present and he still found no appreciable differences in the things he tested for.

Gary

[RobertSmith]

I am interested because I have something similar happening to me now. I ave been a lifetime athelete and have developed this post exercise malaise.Doctors and tests have found nothing much to explain it. I have had to cut back a lot on all my activities.

[Gary836]

I wonder if we have the same condition. You say you had to cut back on a lot of your activities (presumably not all). You can see from my first posting that the malaise I have is triggered even with minimal exercise, which I described. Is this the same for you?

I have been on testosterone replacement therapy for quite a long time now, because my levels were quite low. I started to experience this malaise phenomenon quite a long time ago as well. But I can't remember if the post-exercise malaise began at roughly the same time or a year or two apart, and so don't know if there is any connection.

[RobertSmith]

Seems similar. If I  take a brisk 20 min walk in the morming,  later that day I will feel  light-headed, and the next day I am exhausted and foggy-headed all day. Going on for 5 months with me now, Before that I played competitive singles tennis 3-4 days a week and could run for 1 hour and be ready for another run the next day. I'm in my 50s. Doctors have looked at lot of tests and haven't found much except a possible thyroid nodule dysfunction. Never thought about a testosterone link. I'll check into it. I'm thinking of getting a CT or MRI full body scan because I don't know what else to look for. Post if you find anything.gl

[Gary836]

Yes, quite sililar. I'm getting my thyroid checked also. I've had this for about eight years and it's getting discouraging. Lets stay in touch this way, because this sounds exceedingly rare as doctors don't know what this might be, and (so far) there are no other posts. If you get a CT or MRI, this may reveal something, and I appreciate your intent to check the testosterone link. I'll post any developments of my own at this end.

[daniiiii]

ouch i forgot that im unable to display links here...
anyway here the missing text of the link above = "************"

[daniiiii]

what.... still unable to.... try again with different method = h*e*a*l*t*h*b*o*a*r*d*s

[daniiiii]

oh no my post has been deleted because it contains link from another health forum site.

anyway, in my deleted post...
i wrote to you guys that im in the same boat with ya all...
i get shaky, fatigue,malaise, near fainting sort of feeling....totally wrecked and feeling worst.

these symptoms occur even after light exercise... its started about 2 years ago.

then... i attached a link there which shows same discussion as we are having here... cos i thought it might help a bit (knowing that we are not alone).... but i didnt know if we arent allow to display any links from other sites in here LOL.

anyway... one guy there gets this "situation" even after doing backyard activity. exactly the same experience as mine or us maybe.

pls keep in touch

*pardon my grammar... im not native

[Gary836]

Can you just describe this link to us? Was there more than one individual afflicted with this condition in the discussion that you describe?

What other key words do you think we should be using to attract more interested parties, rather than just "post-exercise malaise"?

And what other medical information links are there that we could pursue? I tried the Mayo Clinic, without success.

[daniiiii]

Gary i sent u private msg with the link. please check it.

[Gary836]

I will check this out. Thanks.

[RobertSmith]

test results for me so far:

thyroid:negative
depression:negative
cardiac ekg/echo:negative
STD:negative
diabetes:negative
anemia:negative
prostate ca:negative
blood ca:negative

getting an MRI brain scan soon .. not expecting much
thanks to my primary doc for trying
Where is this other forum?
gl

[RobertSmith]

forgot this one
testosterone: normal

[Gary836]

Thank you for this Robert. It's especially helpful to determine what it isn't, using the process of elimination. I will post anything I learn right away, including any other forum. I didn't get the private message from Daniiiii.

[daniiiii]

Gary, i did send you... pls check your medhelp inbox, and im aslo sending one to Robert Smith right now.

good luck,

dani

[Gary836]

Robert, I saw my G.P. today. He has agreed to refer me to am immunologist/allergist, and also to an endocrinologist. Should you do the same?
Why are you getting a brain MRI to investigate this versus an all-body one?
All those things you tested negative for, I also tested negative. I had both blood and urine analysis done. You too?
I can't believe that what we have would not show up in either blood or urine lab work. I think they are just not keying in on the right thing(s). Do you agree?

Gary

[RobertSmith]

brain MRI: normal
Got brain only because insurance would pay for it but not for full body and doc said full body not likely to show much. I've had many types of blood and urine tests, seen and endocrinologist and neurologist and all looked negative.


A new development is that I think am starting to feel better. I was able to exercise Oct 25 w/o excessive fatigue and I feel more alert. It been over 6 months since 3-1-09 to 10-25-09 since I was able to do anything like that. I did nothing special. I had gotten a head cold for several days and one night I slept real deep and real well and woke up feeling good.  More later.

[Gary836]

Robert: That's great. I'm envious that you may have turned a corner. I think I've had this for eight or nine years. Let me know if it doesn't last.

[RobertSmith]

The relief from malaise/fatigue didn't last ...I crashed on Nov 1 and I'm struggling 24/7.  I pretty sure this thing is virus-related since it feels like a constant flu or cold  and lots of other possibles have been eliminated. I'm running out of ideas of what to do.  The new media buzz for fatigue is XMRV virus. I'll follow that and maybe get tested for it some day.  GL to all who have this.

[Gary836]

I'm doubtful that this is a virus, at least any ordinary virus, when I examine my own situation, because while exercise brings this on, if I don't exercise for a few days, the malaise goes away, and I would think that a virus would persist. But I could be wrong.

From what you say, and my experience is largely the same, I think the immune systen is implicated in this and may be the actual culprit.

When I google post-exercise malaise, the first two hits are chronic fatigue syndrome, which this is not, because the malaise is temporary and transient, and chronic fatigue syndrome is not.

I'm going to be referred separately to an allergist, immunologist, endocrinologist, and internist. The latter is a general investigator. You might consider asking to be referred to an immunologist, but not any ordinary immunologist, rather someone who loves medical mysteries and challenges generally, who is infinitely curious, and who is always ready to roll up his sleeves to get to the bottom of something like this. Too many doctors don't know what it is, may check for things they think it might be in their knowledge and experience, like the thyroid, and then lose interest and give up.