Dear COTH doctor: what happened to me?

[NEWT]

About a month ago I had a weird weekend. I was home alone (husband on a business trip) and worked my usual work hours (I’m self employed and work from home). The outdoor temperatures were hot (about 85 and humid) so I came into the house often to chug water. But, my leg muscles hurt. I attributed it to riding during the week. The next day I was still sore but not just my legs. Now my back, abs and arms and delts were sore. Again, I attributed it to riding. Outdoor temps were HOT and HUMID. I drank lots and lots of water. I continued working outside. By six pm I attempted to eat dinner but was soooooo… … tired. Ate what I could and washed my dinner plate and pans. The household temp was 80 degrees but I was sore and cold… I was shivering nonstop even though my hands were in extremely HOT water. I couldn’t wait to get upstairs to bed. Climbed in bed, pulled down blanket over me and shivered for 1/2 hour before falling asleep. Woke up and hour later, no longer sore or tired or cold. Went downstairs and chugged electrolytes in a big bottle of water.

Was I simply dehydrated?
Was I suffering from human grade “tying up syndrome” ?

Any thougths? It hurt! I want to avoid it in the future if I can.

[HPFarmette]

I vote electrolytes

years ago people used to take “salt tablets”…

[HPFarmette]

I vote electrolytes

years ago people used to take “salt tablets”…I think your body restored your balance during your nap but maybe you should use gatorade instead of water at first…

[Simkie]

Does anything in this article sound familiar?

http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/outdoor-adventure/tim-noakes-on-the-serious-problem-of-overhydration-in-endurance-sports.html

[MelantheLLC]

Shivering in hot weather, tired, achy, sounds a lot like an infection.

[Ambitious_Kate]

I was going to say a fever. There are thousands of viruses out there, only a handful are ever ‘identified’. Its entirely possible you simply ran into one. I would include a tick or spider bite in possibilities. If you’ve been entirely ok since, the bites are unlikely. I would also seriously consider the salts problem, although I don’t know, and I am no doctor nor do I play one on TV - or COTH! There’s a reason runners and hikers carry salt tablets! Especially if you tend to eat salt free or low salt diet. We actually need salt, alot of people forget.

[NEWT]

All good thoughts. Yes, I think I will mix up some Gookinaide electrolytes on a regular basis as that could have been my problem. I didn’t use any salt or eat salty type foods that weekend.

Simkie, that article was so interesting. Thanks for providing that link. Drink fluids when you are thirsty, not before. The beverage industry is NOT going to like that book!

[FalseImpression]

don’t really agree about drinking fluids when you are thirsty and not before. My son was a competitive cyclist for years and always always hydrated BEFORE the races, not only during… you lose much more than you can absorb during a race for instance, so you have to start well hydrated… and drink before! I am sure it is true for any activity.
Don’t play catch up!

[Graymaresrule]

[QUOTE=FalseImpression;6389954]
don’t really agree about drinking fluids when you are thirsty and not before. My son was a competitive cyclist for years and always always hydrated BEFORE the races, not only during… you lose much more than you can absorb during a race for instance, so you have to start well hydrated… and drink before! I am sure it is true for any activity.
Don’t play catch up![/QUOTE]

Yup, that is one piece of advice I am planning to ignore. I’ve been working outside and this is my third 20 oz water.

[onelanerode]

Hmm. I had something similar happen back in late February/early March. It was a lovely weekend for late winter, temps in the mid-70s. DH and I took the dogs hiking and did about 4.5 miles, something we’re all capable of. I noticed partway through the hike that I was really struggling more than I should have been, and by the last mile, DH kept having to stop and wait for me to catch up.

We got back in the car and headed home, and I felt so wiped out I almost fell asleep. I took a shower and laid on the couch for a bit, and then suddenly got massive chills and wrapped myself up in a bunch of throws. DH made me take my temp and it was 102. I felt increasingly crappish as the evening went on, achy, cold and weak, and called in sick the next day to work, thinking I’d gotten flu or something and would be home in bed the next day.

The next day I felt fine. Maybe a little weak in the morning, but by afternoon I felt normal. Best I can figure is I caught some sort of 24-hour bug.

If you have a repeat performance, maybe have a word with your doc or a nurse practitioner. :yes:

[mswillie]

Heat cramps possibly bordering on heat exhaustion would be my guess. To avoid a repeat make sure that you’re replacing electrolytes as well as water and take frequent breaks to get out of the heat.

[gallopinggram]

newt - I don’t know how old you are, but when I was starting the perimenopause roller coaster, I had some episodes like that. Most notably a family reunion where I was staying with my sister on Long Island, the temps were in the high 80’s and humid, and I could not get warm! I was shivery and weak, put on several layers and everyone thought I was nuts! I talked to a couple of docs about it (long after, cause it went away with the arrival of my period the next day!). Sometimes our hormones get totally out of whack during this stage of our lives, and that may have caused it. I have no evidence to back this up at all, but have talked to others in my age group that this has happened to.

[Ambitious_Kate]

I can concurr with the bizzaro effects of hormones like this. However, exactly what you describe can also be the result of a spider bite. It is unlikely, though, that you would not also notice the bite site at some point, although they can be small, like a mosquito bite, sometimes. You can usually distinguish them, if it isn’t swollen and painful, just itchy, because if you scratch them enough, it becomes apparent that there are two, but usually three, sometimes four, pin pricks of ‘bite’ to the site.

Anyway, hope it doesn’t happen again~!

[Trakehner]

It also sounds like food poisoning. Aches, shivering, cold, headaches etc…sort’ve like an instant case of the flu.

[Whitfield_Farm_Hanov]

I heard an interesting interview with an MD who’s specialty was sports medicine. She said that when most runners/athletes have problems it is because they have essentially “drowned”. They are as the above article stated, waterlogged. She said that you should always alternate sports drinks like gatoraid with H20. For every drink of H20 you should then drink the same amount of gatoraid. If you’re sweating & exercising you’re already sweating out your electrolytes then, drinking H20 just dilutes them further.

Op, it sounds like you were water logged & deficit of your needed electrolytes.

[wateryglen]

Dr. Wateryglen wieghs in here…

Doctor Wateryglen diagnoses VIRUS.

That’ll be five dollars please…

[betsyk]

Another vote for a virus. Had something similar last winter and wasted an entire Sunday aching and snoozing. Felt fine to go to work on Monday (eye roll!)