Thursday, March 15, 2007
A question for you...
So, I wasn't specific about the latest allergy related thing, but I need to ask about a symptom I have because I don't know what's normal anymore... I have GERD (gastro-esophogal-reflux-disease) which is often the case when people have asthma (which I also have, but it's very mild and only seems to flare with very bad allergies or a cold). Anyway, I've always thought of myself as having an iron stomach because I rarely get sick or nauseous (I'm touching wood) and now am starting to realize that I rarely have those symptoms because I basically don't feel anything in my stomach until I'm at the extreme point of that state: e.g., extremely hungry, extremely full, extremely nauseous. I attribute this to decades of treating my appetite and food like family members I don't like but can't get rid of. Now that I'm paying attention, I feel a burning sensation almost all the time. Maybe it's psychosomatic, but whatever. The sensation of nausea/reflux is very strong when I workout hard, regardless of how long ago I ate. I remember when I first started working out at the gym, and experiencing this, and wondering about it, and then just becoming used to it and also able to tolerate more intensity just because I was becoming more fit. Anyway, what I want to know is, does this happen to you? I'm wondering if I'm doing permanent harm to myself by working out like I like to... The information I've read in medicine and health basically say work out but not too hard in order to manage these symptoms... I have some breathing exercises I can do to relieve the sense of not being able to breath when the symptom comes on, but the nausea part is concerning to me because I don't want to develop something worse...
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6 comments:
Wow, this is complicated. I'd be interested in what burpees has to say about it.
I would give a lot of consideration to it being an emotional response to something though.
Just this morning I stopped at the grocery store after my workout, and while I was in there, I realized that I was really tense. I thought about it for a few minutes, and figured it out. They were buffing the floors, and the machine smelled like a zamboni in an ice rink. I found that, in the back of my mind, I was thinking about when I failed the PFT in 2005...and that happened to be at an ice rink, and the zamboni was cleaning the ice as I took the test...the smell of the floor buffer took me back to that stressful time and it would've been very easy to just those thoughts away and not deal with them.
I don't know if this helps any...
Thanks K-smash. There are definitely emotional aspects to it, and I am really working with breathing and yoga to process that. Just this morning I decided I can only do what I can, and just keep honest with myself about my choices and how they benefit or hurt my health. I'll keep working out how I know, and when I feel like it's not good for me, I'll back off, do some breathing and yoga, instead of gutting through it.
I think that is a good approach. Don't abuse yourself. :)
The other thing to pay attention to is how different foods and such affect the way you feel as well. I've always thought that I had an iron stomach as well, but in the last year or so, I've figured out that cheese makes me feel that burning sensation, and a lot of bread, rice, or pasta makes me feel overheated and dry - its a weird feeling, but that's the best way I can describe it. I have no issues with eating oatmeal in the morning, but if I eat something like pizza with white crust...holy cow, I feel awful!! So challenging yourself to be aware of environmental, external, and internal cues will help you make progress...
GERD should not get worse during exercise. The only way I can think of that happening is if you have eaten too close to your workout.
Otherwise, if you're having burning pain in your chest during workout, I'd be more worried about some other cause (asthma, or heart stuff, but you're not a typical heart disease candidate!)
Feeling nauseaus is more common. Eating a protein load 30-60 minutes prior to workout and keeping hydrated both help. In addition, you can get nauseous if you do heavy lower body exercise, then transition to upper body afterwards. Im not sure why this happens, but when I mentioned feeling nauseous to Jon, he said it could be due to the above workout scheme.
Things to think about to reduce GERD-like symptoms (you probably already know this stuff):
elevating the head of your bed 6 inches or so with blocks.
avoiding certain foods:
chocolate, caffeine, mint-flavored foods, spicy foods, citrus, and tomato-based foods.
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. I don't know if what I'm feeling is GERD, or vocal-chord dysfunction related to GERD. It's definitely not chest pain, and it feels too high up to be asthma. Anyway, I have a follow-up with the audiologist to check on how the breathing strategies are helping, and another follow-up with the allergist the end of April. Maybe by then, things will be feeling different. I am really avoiding acidic foods and have cut way back on caffeine. I'm not a chocoholic, so that isn't a problem. I'll just do my best.
it sounds like you're on top of things. hang in there :)
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