Flu-like symptoms after exercise

[Jaune]

I love running, using aerobic equipment and lifting weights; however, I ususually experience flu-like symtoms for days, sometimes weeks, later. For years now, I have felt as if a virus surfaces in me everytime I exercise.
My PCP is unhelpful.
My ENT recommended L-Lysine which I have been taking with a multi-vitamin everyday for a year.
Any suggestions?

[cactus_jim]

Just like everyone else.

We've all overdone the exercise. In my case, massively. To cut a long story short, I lost about four stone in 18 months, mainly through running, 20-25k per week.

Then - whack. I had this flu-like illness, which dragged on for maybe a month. This was followed by what I can only describe as two years of torment; half asleep most of the time, general 'ickiness', extreme irritabilty at work due to the exhaustion, a weird aversion to certain chemicals, completely useless doctors. I was told I had CFS, and that was it. This led to some serious depression. There were a couple of points where I felt I might as well just end it, as there seemed no way out. It was that bad.

After maybe 18 months, where I barely did anything, things started getting a little better. I was less dozey. Actually, finding this forum helped a lot. I realised it wasn't just me.

The key thing was when I felt I'd improved enough to start running again. I realised something - I was gettiing 'icky' (and although this is imprecise, I know that most of you know what this means) a day afterwards, and while I was running I was quite often getting an itchy rash. Drinking loads of water helped (I think). But the real lightbulb moment was when I realised that my symptoms were actually classic allergy reactions. I was simply allergic to *something* that  was cropping up when I ran.

Whether its some breakdown product of anaerobic activity that was driving my immune system haywire I don't know. But I started taking anti-hystamines, marketed for hayfever (sold in Boots. They are the ones labelled 'non-drowsy' with Loratadene as the active ingredient). One after exercise, one or two the day after. That's it.

This simple thing - which not one of the five doctors I saw back at the beginning of all this ever thought to mention trying - has, basically, helped me get back on my feet. Feeling ill used to run my life. I know I still have to be careful and not overdo the exercise, but this simple discovery has allowed me to get back more or less to normal life. Now I just need to shed the two stone I put back on ...

Give it a go. A pack of 7 pills is 99p in Boots. If this helps just one other person to feel 10% better then I'll be happy.

Thanks for reading. CJ.

[bluerose927]

So glad that I found this forum. I thought I was going mad and finally googled my symptoms, which got me here. Athletic all my life with no issue. Now I am in fair shape - cardio 1-2x per week plus walking. Six weeks ago decided to add arms to my 2x week workout. Nothing spectacular, just bis, tris, shoulders. After the 2nd session I got the full-on flu like symptoms - aches, chills, sore throat and extreme soreness in my arms. Chalked it up to getting a virus. I went back to my normal routine and added arms back in earlier this week. Exact same results. I normally do cardio plus hill walking for legs and abs. But when I try to add in arms I get these extreme symptoms. I didn't lift to exhaustion but did 3 sets with medium weights. Does anyone have a suggestions as to what would trigger this? Why the arms? I don't want to go to the doctor and be told 'we are all getting a bit older my dear." The symptoms are definitely out of proportion to the amount of exercise done.
Thank you!

[look54]

Hi guys,
Thanks to all of you for sharing your problems and solutions. Great people.

I also had 3-4 times ill conditions right immediately after workout, the very next day. It was so strange - I don't get ill at all usually, once a year maybe, but after workouts it started. 3-4 times is so much. Yesterday was the 4th time. After the first time I got ill, I paused 10 days, workout after the pause and got ill again, and so on.

Physical aspect:
There can be lots of guesses, but consider this:
Find out what change you made before you started getting ill after exercise:
Change in diet - exactly what you started taking and/or stopped taking.
Change in exercise.
Change in sequence - eating - exercise - eating.

Find out the change, get rid of it and go back to the old regime, the one that was giving you good results and no ills.

Also, as a precautionary measure it is good to run blood tests (extensive not ordinary) and urine tests and have it examined scientifically, not by opinion.

Spiritual aspect:
Also, maybe most important, know that we are all under influences that can be harmful - but to be affected by it, you need to bring yourself in the condition to be affected by it. More than 70% of all body ills are psychosomatic - caused by the mind.

Ever noticed, when you are in the middle of a fatigue moments, when something nice happens, or you have some win or achievement - you feel more energetic?
Or the opposite - when you felt energetic and experienced some loss or failure, and then you get fatigue?
These examples show the mind's influence over the body or its seniority over the body.

Find out what in your life has changed - what failures or losses you have had, or define the emptiness that you might feel for some time, and find out how to resolve it.

I also believe that gluten is part of the problem - but it is a consequence, because we all had gluten since birth, but it "somehow" starts now to show ailments.  

The "resolution" for the physical aspect can be made by physical means, but it is not permanent, because it includes that you must dispose of something, or that you must include something (which in the past you didn't have to do at all).

It is like you driving a car, and every time you drive, you hit it. You fix it but you hit it again. So, physical solution would be to stop driving the car, for example. But spiritual solution is to find out what makes you prone to accidents and eliminate it.

It looks maybe easier to deal with life problems in a physical way, that's why so many people don't even try to understand the mind which is senior to body.

Love you guys

[Seanmichclarke]

Just so everyone knows pro biotica are rarely the solution to these symptoms. More likely the cause is mineral DEFICENCY and not depletion. It almost always has something to do with the endocrine or immune system. Deficency in b12 and D can cause these problems. As well, overtraining is a very common diagnosis. Although you are using your muscles to move the weight, the central nervous system or CNS is extremely taxed by lifting. In the bodybuilding world, our typical plan to treat symptoms like these are rest, and de load periods (1-2 weeks off of training every 4 weeks of HIT). Keep workouts under 60 mins, injest 1 gram protein per body fat and equal in  carbs. DO NOT cut fats out of the diet. Ensuring you get omega 3 fattys can speed up CNS recovery and boost hormone levels aiding in quick recovery and defensive autoimmune properties.

[ment]

Hi,
I have access to the article. Here is the abstract:

Purpose: To characterize differences in cytokine responses to exercise of different intensities and durations between healthy and illness-prone runners.

Methods: Trained distance runners were classified as healthy (no more than two episodes of upper-respiratory symptoms per year; N = 10) or illness-prone (four or more episodes per year; N = 8) and completed three treadmill tests: SHORT (30 min, 65% V˙O2max), LONG (60 min, 65% V˙O2max), and INTENSE (6 × 3 min, 90% V˙O2max). Blood samples were collected pre-, post-, 1 h, 10 h, and 24 h after exercise, and interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, and IL-1ra concentrations were determined. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to assess changes in cytokine responses to exercise. Magnitudes of changes and differences between groups were characterized using Cohen's effect size (ES) criteria.

Results: Resting IL-8, IL-10, and IL-1ra concentrations were 19-38% lower (ES:0.38-0.96; small to moderate differences) in illness-prone runners. Similarly, postexercise IL-10 concentrations were 13-20% lower (ES: 0.20-0.37; small differences), and IL-1ra concentrations were 10-20% lower (ES: 0.22-0.38; small differences) in illness-prone subjects. In contrast, IL-6 elevations were 84-185% higher (ES: 0.29-0.59, small differences) in illness-prone subjects. Postexercise responses of IL-2, IL-4, and IL-12 were small and not substantially different between the groups.

Conclusions: Cytokine responses to controlled treadmill running differ between healthy and illness-prone athletes. Illness-prone distance runners showed evidence suggestive of impaired inflammatory regulation in the hours after exercise that may account for the greater frequency of upper-respiratory symptoms experienced.



Hope that helps!

[DrEconomy]

Hi Chris,

I am so interested in reading this article, but I couldn't even access its abstract page; would appreciate sending me further info about it.

I am a researcher myself in another field too and just started to run and had those symptoms. I liked your thoughts and methodology in researching; well-done and thanks for sharing.

I would appreciate sending me what you reached on my email: rania.a.azmi (at) gmail.com

Many thanks.