So, Mystery Diagnosis happens to be one of my FAVORITE television shows. I'm a sucker for anything medical related anyway... but I love the drama of hearing all the people fight for their health when they know something is wrong and don't give up until they find the doctor that can diagnose them properly. Seriously.. it sounds awful, but it's actually AWESOME.
Anyway... this isn't something so big that the producers from Mystery Diagnosis are going to give me a call... but it is something that I had to piece together to figure out...
Here's the deal... my running sucks right now. And it's been long enough... a couple of months now.. that's not normal. Sure, we all go through slumps.. a week or two... hell.. maybe even a few weeks. But two months or more?? That's just not right. I haven't had anything in me after about 6 miles these days. At first, I started blaming my fitness level... but in fact... I feel like I'm in pretty good shape right now. My yoga practice is making me stronger and strengthening leg muscles that should help me feel less fatigued during runs.
But.. I'm just dead on my runs. Sometimes it's my legs... but most of the time it just my whole body. I keep thinking I'm just going to shake it off and get back to normal... but it's not happening. And dude... running when your body feels like shit is NOT FUN. Even 3 mile runs sometimes feel like death marches. It's not good.
Saturday morning, I had another spectacularly shitty run... and as I made my running partner Carolyn walk for a good little stretch because I just didnt have it that day, I started thinking about what was going on with me... and it dawned on me... !!!!!!! I started taking blood pressure medication on March 1st again... after not taking them for awhile (I'm a bad patient, yes). Aha! And then I remembered I've felt this way before...
So, yes... I feel like my meds are jacking up my running. I mentioned this to Carolyn and she did some research for me this weekend and it turns out... I might be suffering from a bit of an electrolyte problem. Which makes sense... my meds are meant to take fluid out of my body... so, in doing so... I could be losing major electrolytes and I never take gatorade (except sips in races) or anything else.
I'm thrilled with this!!!! If it is an electrolyte problem... then that seems like an easy fix! I'll just start pounding the Smartwater.
I really hope this fixes the issue. I miss feeling good (or hell, at this point, I'd take feeling decent!) on runs...
Hopefully this I just solved my own medical mystery... To be continued, I suppose...
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5 comments:
what do you take for your pressure? I'm guessing hydrochlorothiazide; the reason I ask is that there are plenty of other options out there...
I'd ask your doc about an ace inhibitor.
Thanks for the advice! I am on hydrochlorothiazide. And... this is kinda my last chance with it (also just switched to a non-estrogen birth control pill). Anyway, when we first started talking about taking meds... my doc mentioned some other options (beta blockers? perhaps?), but he wasn't too keen on prescribing them for me... something about it might affect my fertility at some point?
And so, that totally freaked me out and we've just been trying the hydrocholorthiazide.
But, I'm seeing the doc in another month or so, and I plan on talking to him about this and will mention the ace inhibitor thing!
Thanks!
What about your diet? Are you eating enough and eating healthy? I know that can affect me and running.
Say no to the beta blocker! I'd try the ace first. Also watching your salt intake (less than 2grams a day) can make a huge difference in blood pressure-might notice some sluggishness on your runs for a week or so, but your body will eventually adjust. The other question-is your pressure under control? If not, that might be the culprit! I'd also ask about getting your blood count and thyroid function checked!
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