I think meeting with a second doctor, specifically an endocrinologist could be VERY beneficial. Either they will come up with another solution, or they might take the same hard line as your current doctor and from there you can come up with a plan that will work for your lifestyle.
Would you wait a couple months and have the bloodwork redone and then go or go now?
I would maybe call the endocrinologist and ask what they would suggest. There might be a long wait time to get in anyway (by me there always is!) so by default you might have a couple of months go by during which time you can get repeat blood work done.
I would also take a good hard look at how much you're eating and make sure that it's enough.
I also think your doctor was kind of ignorant/an ass about it though.
This was my first thought. I went through a similar thing when I was distance running a couple of years ago. I saw my PCP and had a full blood panel done which all came back normal. I upped the number of calories I took in and felt so much better. Now any time I get exhausted like that I take a good look at what I've been eating and make sure I've been taking in enough food to offset my workouts.
Post by katinthehat on Jul 28, 2015 11:55:48 GMT -5
eat more. sleep more. less meds (since it's already been discussed) and new doctor. pronto.
Also, I highly recommend using a sleep app to track the quality of your sleep. You might be sleeping enough but if it's shitty sleep, it's not doing you any good.
I'm not a doctor (oh wait, yes I am!) but I find your doctors advice to be unorthodox and irresponsible on a caregiving level.
Co-signed.
After reading your follow-up, I would ditch this guy ASAP. I was going to say get a second opinion anyway, but once I read he said to put your DH first...no.
Are you at a point right now where you could take a week off, and just rest? Give your body a solid break, and then pick back up with training? I'm not seeing a whole lot of issues with your training, but I like the suggestion also to take a second rest day and just add those miles into other runs.
I also agree with tracking your sleep to see if it's good quality sleep.
Team second opinion here. New doctor, or of staying with the current doctor, I'd continue on with exercise as normal (only because that does not seem like anywhere close to a crazy amount) and request follow up blood work after reducing the dosage of the meds.
Has your exercise changed drastically in the last two years? This isn't a new routine for you, is it? I just don't understand how your levels can go from almost non-existent, to 7 times what they should be in two years, and his main focus is your (not crazy) exercise.
I'm not saying that there is nothing to be adjusted with your exercise or that it might not be contributing to your exhaustion, only that I would not have been happy with that doctors visit, and I would want a second opinion before reacting.
If anything, I'm not running as much as I had been. I hit close to 1100 miles in 2013, 950 in 2014 and I'll probably hit 950 again this year. I'm behind where I was at this time last year, but with the 2 half marathons, I think I'll hit it. I haven't been swimming regularly in, gosh, 4 years? So that's an add, but I wouldn't call it a drastic change. Yoga is only a drastic change because now I can touch my toes whereas 3 months ago I couldn't
I would also take a good hard look at how much you're eating and make sure that it's enough.
I also think your doctor was kind of ignorant/an ass about it though.
This was my first thought. I went through a similar thing when I was distance running a couple of years ago. I saw my PCP and had a full blood panel done which all came back normal. I upped the number of calories I took in and felt so much better. Now any time I get exhausted like that I take a good look at what I've been eating and make sure I've been taking in enough food to offset my workouts.
I really need to take a hard look at my eating. I haven't done that in awhile.
eat more. sleep more. less meds (since it's already been discussed) and new doctor. pronto.
Also, I highly recommend using a sleep app to track the quality of your sleep. You might be sleeping enough but if it's shitty sleep, it's not doing you any good.
My vivoactive is shipping today, so I'll at least have something to look at. DH will usually let me know in the morning if I'm restless, but being able to look at something will be helpful.
I'm not a doctor (oh wait, yes I am!) but I find your doctors advice to be unorthodox and irresponsible on a caregiving level.
Co-signed.
After reading your follow-up, I would ditch this guy ASAP. I was going to say get a second opinion anyway, but once I read he said to put your DH first...no.
Are you at a point right now where you could take a week off, and just rest? Give your body a solid break, and then pick back up with training? I'm not seeing a whole lot of issues with your training, but I like the suggestion also to take a second rest day and just add those miles into other runs.
I also agree with tracking your sleep to see if it's good quality sleep.
I'll be honest, mentally that'd be a really hard thing for me to do because all I think about is a) what will I do in the meantime to "escape"? and b) my goals! I'll fall behind!
But the reality is, it may be what I need. I have 7 weeks til my next half. Mentally it'd be easiest to take time off when DH and I go OOT for our anniversary and I won't have an opportunity to get a workout in-and extend it a couple days on either side.
Also, thank you everyone. I've waivered between being angry at this whole appointment this morning to being frustrated to being sad that I didn't walk away with more. A second opinion is on my list of things to do-and as soon as my vivoactive comes I'm going to take a week and track my eating to see where I'm at. That way I can take a look at the eating and sleeping at the same time.
Also, thank you everyone. I've waivered between being angry at this whole appointment this morning to being frustrated to being sad that I didn't walk away with more. A second opinion is on my list of things to do-and as soon as my vivoactive comes I'm going to take a week and track my eating to see where I'm at. That way I can take a look at the eating and sleeping at the same time.
I use a fitbit and it shows i sleep horribly. Even though i'm in bed early, i'm restless most of the night & get less than 7 hours, usually. It's so hard to try & fit all of LIFE in and still have quality time with family, food, sleep, self-care. I hope you get some more concrete answers.
Also, thank you everyone. I've waivered between being angry at this whole appointment this morning to being frustrated to being sad that I didn't walk away with more. A second opinion is on my list of things to do-and as soon as my vivoactive comes I'm going to take a week and track my eating to see where I'm at. That way I can take a look at the eating and sleeping at the same time.
I use a fitbit and it shows i sleep horribly. Even though i'm in bed early, i'm restless most of the night & get less than 7 hours, usually. It's so hard to try & fit all of LIFE in and still have quality time with family, food, sleep, self-care. I hope you get some more concrete answers.
Thanks. What I cannot get over is that the exhaustion started basically 2 months ago and nothing changed at that point. I'm very curious to see if the med change helps quickly. I'm afraid of what the sleep chart is going to look like!
I second taking a week off and finding another doctor.
This.
A week off isn't too bad and won't set you back too much. For ex. I'm running 2000 miles this year so I have to get my runs in. But took a full week off to rest, reset myself and get back on track. It did me a world of good and didn't set me back. Honestly I'm much better off now! Also, find a new doc