Author Topic: Post Viral Fatigue (Read 8173 times)

Creaky Knees · « **on:** 01 May, 2009, 02:13:14 pm »

I'm just getting to the end of eight weeks with barely any cycling now due to what seems to be post viral fatigue after just an ordinary cold.Been to the docs today for numerous blood tests to rule out anything else.
Cold symptons dissapeared ages ago but since then I can just about manage the 6 miles shortest route to work and am shattered when I get there.Doesn't seem to be getting any better.

I'd appreciate thoughts from anyone who's ever had anything similar or has expert knowledge of this.Is there anything I can do to help recovery?

Thanks.

Lucy

Creaky Knees · « **Reply #1 on:** 01 May, 2009, 07:33:26 pm »

Is Peli better now?

Thanks for the reply.

Lucy

Quote from: road-runner on 01 May, 2009, 03:09:07 pm

Peli has been there. See Getting cycling fit again.

Don't beat yourself up over it, Lucy.

David Martin · « **Reply #2 on:** 01 May, 2009, 07:41:54 pm »

Good nutrition. Vitamins and minerals (particularly zinc). Sufficient rest.

That is what seemed to help my wife after this (a long drawn out episode).

..d

hellymedic · « **Reply #3 on:** 01 May, 2009, 07:54:08 pm »

Problems vary enormously in duration. Some people seem to suffer for months.
Don't bother to even try major rides until you really feel like doing them. Start by doing short rides and see how you feel afterwards. If you feell pooped, rest another few days; if you feel OK, do another ride after 48 hours.
Don't rush things; you will get better.
Eventually.

innesh · « **Reply #4 on:** 01 May, 2009, 07:56:39 pm »

I felt like that when I was very anaemic. It's an awful feeling.

The blood tests should show if you are deficient in anything, but don't be in a hurry to push yourself to get back to fitness. You are a highly toned athlete and it's amazing how quickly you can spring back when everything is working properly.

In the meantime, I recommend you take up knitting

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #5 on:** 01 May, 2009, 09:48:24 pm »

If you're knackered after 6 miles, don't do 6 miles. Do three. If you're knackered after three, do one. Start by doing what doesn't tire you and build up. It can take quite a while to get fitness back up, and overdoing it won't help.

Creaky Knees · « **Reply #6 on:** 02 May, 2009, 09:13:49 am »

Thanks Helly and everyone for the advice.

It's that time of year when an AUK longs to be staying out all night exploring the lanes and chatting to pals,catching glimpses of badgers and deer and glow worms.Smells of honeysuckle and wild garlic.The feel of endlessly turning the pedals to keep the k's ticking by and before long the sun coming back up to warm away the early mist and sparkling dew.Eventually Arrivee and a chance to sleep the contented sleep full of dreams of the same as was real only hours before.

Oh Well.I'll just have to dream the dreams and wait till they can be real again.

Pedal Up and Thanks again.

Lucy.

Quote from: hellymedic on 01 May, 2009, 07:54:08 pm

Problems vary enormously in duration. Some people seem to suffer for months.
Don't bother to even try major rides until you really feel like doing them. Start by doing short rides and see how you feel afterwards. If you feell pooped, rest another few days; if you feel OK, do another ride after 48 hours.
Don't rush things; you will get better.
Eventually.

hellymedic · « **Reply #7 on:** 02 May, 2009, 10:42:22 am »

Frustrating though it is, find other enjoyayable things to do in the sun; visit a beach, formal gardens, non-cycling friends, hold a barbecue. Enjoy the sun some other way.
You'll probably get fit quite fast when you're ready.
Pushing yourself too soon will NOT get you fitter! You don't want to suffer overtraining and long-term trouble.
If you can't ride this season, help those who can...

Regulator · « **Reply #8 on:** 02 May, 2009, 11:05:33 am »

Quote from: hellymedic on 02 May, 2009, 10:42:22 am

Frustrating though it is, find other enjoyayable things to do in the sun; visit a beach, formal gardens, non-cycling friends, hold a barbecue. Enjoy the sun some other way.
You'll probably get fit quite fast when you're ready.
Pushing yourself too soon will NOT get you fitter! You don't want to suffer overtrainig ang long-term trouble.
If you can't ride this season, help those who can...

+1...

Very sage advice from Helly here.

Overdo it now and you will regret it.

D.G.E. · « **Reply #9 on:** 02 May, 2009, 11:30:05 am »

I fully empathise. I have been feeling very similar since September. I generally feel knackered, I have done a few 'long' rides where I feel fine and then smaller, easy paced ones that knock me out for weeks. I have loads of aches and pains most days too.

I have had more blood tests than a syringe could be shaken at and a brain scan. Initially the docs said it was post-viral and admitted that's what they say when they don't know. It's now looking more and more like M.E. - Bugger!

Creaky Knees · « **Reply #10 on:** 03 May, 2009, 10:06:10 am »

Hope you gradually get better very soon.

Looks like the garden will get plenty of attention this year.

Cheers.

Lucy

Quote from: D.G.E. on 02 May, 2009, 11:30:05 am

I fully empathise. I have been feeling very similar since September. I generally feel knackered, I have done a few 'long' rides where I feel fine and then smaller, easy paced ones that knock me out for weeks. I have loads of aches and pains most days too.

I have had more blood tests than a syringe could be shaken at and a brain scan. Initially the docs said it was post-viral and admitted that's what they say when they don't know. It's now looking more and more like M.E. - Bugger!

Rich753 · « **Reply #11 on:** 06 May, 2009, 11:03:45 pm »

Hi Lucy,

Just to wish you all the best. Be kind to yourself, the roads will still be there when you're ready for them, and the sun will shine again.

Creaky Knees · « **Reply #12 on:** 08 May, 2009, 09:30:50 am »

Many thanks Rich.I'll try to spend the time doing all the things that will get left undone when I can get back out again.Have a great cycling season.Enjoy every mile. Lucy

cyclone · « **Reply #13 on:** 08 May, 2009, 09:46:06 am »

Megajoules, sorry to hear of this... The absolute worst thing you can do is try to exert youself! My wife had a bout of this some 9 years ago and it still remains as ME! She (thanks to the medics) didnt get a diagnosis until 3 years ago! She has the mindset that if she feels bad and doing too much makes her bad then why not do it anyway.... Intensely frustrating for those who ahve to pick up the pieces every time.
So please, please take it easy, if you have to cycle do little and stop before you get tired, it just takes so long to get over it otherwise and you'll be very, very frustrated by it.

Lots of sound advice given by the other forumites I'm glad to read!

peliroja · « **Reply #14 on:** 08 May, 2009, 01:10:33 pm »

Quote from: Megajoules Expenditure on 01 May, 2009, 07:33:26 pm

Is Peli better now?

Thanks for the reply.

Lucy

Quote from: road-runner on 01 May, 2009, 03:09:07 pm
Peli has been there. See Getting cycling fit again.

Don't beat yourself up over it, Lucy.

Hi Lucy,

I am better now, but I'm still terribly prone to colds, sniffles and chest infections (I had one last week which meant I couldn't cycle all week). Being asthmatic makes it harder. I do eat healthily and take immune-system-boosting vitamins, but still come down with ~6 bad colds/chest infections a year. And it takes me ages to recover, too. It's not great.

So, I'm probably not the best person to consult!

I do hope you're back to your usual mileage soon!

Peli

Creaky Knees · « **Reply #15 on:** 09 May, 2009, 09:35:08 am »

Thanks Peli,

Great to know you're better now.A ray of hope

From whats been said so far,looks like it's really important to be careful early on in recovery or consequently delay progress. I'm catching up with paperwork today

All the best with your health for the future

Lucy.

megajoules expenditure · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 July, 2009, 04:44:01 pm »

An update and another question if people have time to help.

Following 3 weeks off work and a month totally off cycling I am feeling marginally better and returned to work last Weds.

The second set of blood tests that I had done actually gave a clue to at least a contibutary factor in my condition as my Iron stores(Ferritin level) were found to be very low. 8ng/ml.
I am now on a course of iron bombs for 3 months and then a retest.

My GP has been really helpful being a good marathon runner herself so quite understanding of how I feel about my cycling(or current lack of it).However I am always very concious of her busy time schedule for seeing people and also never think of things I'd like to ask until after I've left the surgery.So if anyone can help:

How much will my low iron stores have contributed to my inability to shed completely the virus I had back in March?

Will it be ok to head out for a gentle potter of 30miles with a cafe stop on days when I feel up to it? Or should I stay completely off the bike at least until I finish the 3 months course of megadose iron supplement?

Many Thanks.

Lucy

PS Please see under Creaky Knees for earlier posts

Quote from: hellymedic on 02 May, 2009, 10:42:22 am

Frustrating though it is, find other enjoyayable things to do in the sun; visit a beach, formal gardens, non-cycling friends, hold a barbecue. Enjoy the sun some other way.
You'll probably get fit quite fast when you're ready.
Pushing yourself too soon will NOT get you fitter! You don't want to suffer overtraining and long-term trouble.
If you can't ride this season, help those who can...

hellymedic · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 July, 2009, 09:54:31 pm »

Hello Lucy,
The iron bombs are mainnly to build up the iron stores.
Think of them as a 'larder'. You can cycle when you feel up to it (if your haemoglobin is above 10g/dl or so), but make sure you have adequate food, drink and rest both before and after any ride.
Do not push yourself to exhaustion. (A bit diifficult for an AUK, I know!
Difficult to say how much your delayed recovery was due to low iron/ferritin, but it won't have helped.

Helen

megajoules expenditure · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 July, 2009, 08:20:44 am »

Thanks for taking the time to answer Helly,

Sounds like little and not too often then.May need to keep up playing Tiddlywinks for a while longer.

Cheers

Lucy

Quote from: hellymedic on 15 July, 2009, 09:54:31 pm

Hello Lucy,
The iron bombs are mainnly to build up the iron stores.
Think of them as a 'larder'. You can cycle when you feel up to it (if your haemoglobin is above 10g/dl or so), but make sure you have adequate food, drink and rest both before and after any ride.
Do not push yourself to exhaustion. (A bit diifficult for an AUK, I know!
Difficult to say how much your delayed recovery was due to low iron/ferritin, but it won't have helped.

Helen

megajoules expenditure · « **Reply #19 on:** 03 September, 2009, 11:06:07 am »

Just thought I'd report,in case anyone else is in a similar situation that I've finally made some progress with the dreaded Post Viral Fatigue thing.
I did my first 'proper' ride for over six months last Sunday.A whole 52 miles to a cafe and back and more significant the next day I was still lively rather than completely floored.

I finally feel I'm on the up and getting there.Thanks everyone for your support over the last months.

Cheers and hope to make my comeback to AUKland on SimonP's Hauxton 100k all being well. Yippeeeeeeeeee

Quote from: megajoules expenditure on 16 July, 2009, 08:20:44 am

Thanks for taking the time to answer Helly,

Sounds like little and not too often then.May need to keep up playing Tiddlywinks for a while longer.

Cheers

Lucy

Quote from: hellymedic on 15 July, 2009, 09:54:31 pm
Hello Lucy,
The iron bombs are mainnly to build up the iron stores.
Think of them as a 'larder'. You can cycle when you feel up to it (if your haemoglobin is above 10g/dl or so), but make sure you have adequate food, drink and rest both before and after any ride.
Do not push yourself to exhaustion. (A bit diifficult for an AUK, I know!
Difficult to say how much your delayed recovery was due to low iron/ferritin, but it won't have helped.

Helen

hellymedic · « **Reply #20 on:** 03 September, 2009, 12:53:08 pm »

Yay! Enjoy your ride!
Vélocio's Golden Rules are more important now than ever.
Stick to them.
I'll look for a verbatim quote...

Edit: Velocio's 7 Golden Rules:

1. Keep your rests short and infrequent to maintain your rhythm.
2. Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty.
3. Never ride to the point of exhaustion where you can't eat or sleep.
4. Cover up before you are cold, peel off before you are hot.
5. Don't drink, smoke, or eat meat on tour.
6. Never force the pace, especially during the first hours.
7. Never ride just for the sake of riding.

megajoules expenditure · « **Reply #21 on:** 03 September, 2009, 04:26:19 pm »

Many thanks Helly,

Yes it would be very easy to go bonkers now and overdo things.

Here's to a sunny day for the Saturday morning ride at the AGM.Maybe a tour of the planets round the racecourse cycleroute out to a cafe somewhere.

Quote from: hellymedic on 03 September, 2009, 12:53:08 pm

Yay! Enjoy your ride!
Vélocio's Golden Rules are more important now than ever.
Stick to them.
I'll look for a verbatim quote...

Edit: Velocio's 7 Golden Rules:

1. Keep your rests short and infrequent to maintain your rhythm.
2. Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty.
3. Never ride to the point of exhaustion where you can't eat or sleep.
4. Cover up before you are cold, peel off before you are hot.
5. Don't drink, smoke, or eat meat on tour.
6. Never force the pace, especially during the first hours.
7. Never ride just for the sake of riding.

Si · « **Reply #22 on:** 04 September, 2009, 02:07:14 pm »

I had post viral fatigue around ten years ago - missed the fuel protests because of it

Can't really offer much that hasn't been said upthread.

Took me around a year to get back to where I was before.
I tried using a HRM so that I didn't overdo things but found that it did my head in on any kind of incline. Ended up joining the local CTC DA and doing their easy rides - this got me back into riding without me overdoing it, as I was want to do when riding alone.
My recovery coincided with starting on echinacea - coincidence, placebo or effective? I don't know.
One possitive that I noticed was that I didn't get any colds (which I was prone to before) for about four years afterwards.

And, importantly, once recovered I felt that I was still able to achieve what I'd done before.

megajoules expenditure · « **Reply #23 on:** 05 September, 2009, 09:19:16 am »

Thanks Bodger,

Glad to hear you made a full recovery.I feel like I'm getting somewhere now and I just feel really over the moon to be able to get out pedalling a bit but you're right when you're out on your own it's very tempting just to blast up the road which would be great at the time but not so good the next day.You're right about the HRM's too.I'd rather just go on feel and try to keep my rides at easy chatting pace.This does mean talking to yourself when alone to check that you're not overdoing it but singing is an alternative

The day I can have a good blast up the road and still feel great the following day I'll know I'm back to 'normal'

Cheers

Lucy

Quote from: Bodger on 04 September, 2009, 02:07:14 pm

I had post viral fatigue around ten years ago - missed the fuel protests because of it

Can't really offer much that hasn't been said upthread.

Took me around a year to get back to where I was before.
I tried using a HRM so that I didn't overdo things but found that it did my head in on any kind of incline. Ended up joining the local CTC DA and doing their easy rides - this got me back into riding without me overdoing it, as I was want to do when riding alone.
My recovery coincided with starting on echinacea - coincidence, placebo or effective? I don't know.
One possitive that I noticed was that I didn't get any colds (which I was prone to before) for about four years afterwards.

And, importantly, once recovered I felt that I was still able to achieve what I'd done before.

megajoules expenditure · « **Reply #24 on:** 07 October, 2009, 04:33:42 pm »

Just thought I'd update on my next progress step back to health in case it's any use to anyone else.

We visited Cambridge for a week last week to visit friends and family plus catch up with some old cycling clubmates.
We rode the Hauxton 100k audax plus riding out and back to the event.80 miles all told and non the worse for wear even the next day.Yippee!
Then over the week we did two more rides of 70miles steady with old pals and a good cafe stop halfway. So 220miles for the week but with plenty of rest in between rides and always a steady pace. It was good weather too but finally I'm feeling almost back to normal.

Still taking care as the iron stores saga continues longer.My result after 3 months heavy supplementation(2x200mg Iron Sulphate per day) was a rise from 8ng/ml Serum Ferritin level to 16ng/ml. I'm now just on the bottom of the scale for acceptable so my dose is now 3x200mg per day for another 3 months.Watch this space. ;~)

Cheers all .

Lucy

Quote from: hellymedic on 03 September, 2009, 12:53:08 pm

Yay! Enjoy your ride!
Vélocio's Golden Rules are more important now than ever.
Stick to them.
I'll look for a verbatim quote...

Edit: Velocio's 7 Golden Rules:

1. Keep your rests short and infrequent to maintain your rhythm.
2. Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty.
3. Never ride to the point of exhaustion where you can't eat or sleep.
4. Cover up before you are cold, peel off before you are hot.
5. Don't drink, smoke, or eat meat on tour.
6. Never force the pace, especially during the first hours.
7. Never ride just for the sake of riding.